‘Seizing the Moment’ by Guest Contributor Miss Jay

[This is a multi part story. Read part 1 here , part 2 here and part 3 here]

For the next few months, we enjoyed each other’s company whenever we could, creating opportunities to get together as often as we were able. The most difficult part was when we were apart for more than a few days as my job took me around quite a bit. We would chat incessantly whiles I was on the road and I would send him stories and pictures from the places I was visiting. It was a beautiful few months and I enjoyed every bit of it.

Whenever I was in town, we would take long drives, to the beach in the evenings after work, to sit and watch the waves roll in, chatting, cracking jokes, laughing. One thing that never seemed to surprise me was the extent of his knowledge. I do admit I am an intellectual snob, and so I am extremely particular about dating men who possess a certain level of acumen. So it was refreshing to be able to sit and talk for hours on end without having to watch what I say or how I say it, without having to stop to think about how my date would take anything I say, or whether he would even get the joke I was making. For once I could confidently share my opinion on any subject without fear of being labelled ‘overbearing’, ‘argumentative’, ‘condescending’ or the popular Ghanaian term ‘too known’. He was incredibly knowledgeable on a wide range of subjects, and where he was not, wasn’t afraid to ask. I was seduced by his brains as well as his body!

I have always believed in the saying that opportunities come once, and in the need to make the most of any opportunities that may come one’s way. And so, when I learnt of a possibility of the two of us being in the same part of the world at the same time, it seemed like destiny. I say destiny because I had long planned a meeting in this particular country, but as the time for the meeting grew near, I found that I was not really inclined to make the trip. That was, until I was informed that he was also scheduled to travel to the same country, albeit a different part of that country. My mind went into planning overdrive mode, the Leo in me was not letting this opportunity slide. To be away together for a whole 10 days was an opportunity that was too good to miss and unless I was incapacitated in some way, I was determined to make the trip.

I meticulously made all arrangements and having overcome all potential hurdles, was on a plane enroute to our destination 5 days ahead of him. I had to take care of official business and get that out of the way to pave way for the holiday of a lifetime. We had agreed that I would take care of my business, he would take care of his, and then we would meet. Of course I had other plans, reason being, up to this point, we had not made love, not in the conventional way. We had only enjoyed moments of intense fondling, arm chair lovemaking, and what I like to call ‘spreadsheet’. This wasn’t due to the fact that we couldn’t afford a love nest, but more because he felt he couldn’t handle it at this point. He had two sources of worry – he was worried it will be written all over him when he got home after, and then at the same time he felt what we had was too special to just indulge in short periods where he had to rush off home. According to him, he wanted to be able to linger and bask in the afterglow – well, I was planning enough afterglow to last him a few months!

I arrived, dispensed with my business, and headed out to our meeting point, or rather, his meeting point. I wasn’t wasting any of the precious time together, not even a convoluted travel route could dampen my spirit.

Now, this meeting point, was a place I had heard and read beautiful stories and seen glorious pictures and TV commercials off. It was a lover’s paradise, where often couples eloped to get married, where everything and anything one could imagine, one could most likely find, and where one could do anything and be sure that whatever one had done, will remain there! So of course I was excited. I had spent part of my last few days before setting off, shopping for interesting negligee. I say interesting because I wasn’t looking for purely provocative, I was looking for a combination of provocative yet not too obvious – something that would enhance the parts of me I knew my partner loved without being overly revealing. I love to be undressed and I intended to have enough on for him to take off.

So on the appointed day and time I set off, through two airports and a three hour layover, I plodded on undeterred, excited and anticipating a wonderful few days. My first impression of the Entertainment Capital of the world’ was everything I had imagined and more. Right from the arrival hall to the taxi stand, it was obvious I was really in ‘Sin City’, the lights, images of slot machines, music, colour everywhere. The taxi driver who picked me confirmed this by telling me, ‘anything and everything you can think of, happens here’. I was inclined to believe him.

The drive from the airport was short, the driver rambling on and on about the pleasures to be discovered in this part of the world, helped to make for an interesting ride. He took great pride in informing me he could provide any service I needed. He had been married and divorced seven times he told me proudly. I did not enquire about the kind of ‘services’ he could offer, just took his card politely, thanked him and said I would give him a call if I needed any services. He deposited me at the entrance to my hotel with a flourish and wished me a pleasant stay.

Now, the circumstances which led to my making a reservation at this particular hotel (which apparently is the crème de la crème of Sin City) was very interesting. I have long been a loyal customer of an IHG hotel in East Africa. I enjoyed staying at this hotel because they treated me like loyalty and made my stay very special anytime I stopped over. Being a frequent traveller to that part of the continent, I had apparently build up my loyalty points such that I was a platinum member. All this was unknown to me before August this year when I was informed on my last stay that I had enough points for a two week free stay. At the time, I wondered what on earth I was going to use all those points for. I was soon to find out. In fact, the knowledge that I could stay at this hotel, free of charge was one more sign that this was meant to be.

I picked up my handbag and grabbed hold of my weekend bag and walked with determined steps into the foyer, and promptly stopped dead in my tracks. I pride myself in the fact that I am widely travelled, I have stayed in plush hotels from Geneva, to South Africa, to a number of Eastern African countries, to the USA and many more, but the sight that beheld my eyes, took the word plush to a whole new level! For a split second, I almost turned round and walked back out, sure I had made a mistake. It couldn’t be, not this huge, incredibly beautiful place. I wondered what the rest of the hotel would be like if this was just the foyer. I mustered courage and walked in though, to the desk that catered for IHG Members. I held out my reservation confirmation form, half expecting to be told, ‘oh, you got it wrong, it’s not this hotel’. To my surprise, I was welcomed like a beloved relative who had come to visit after many long years. Then, another surprise, they apologised profusely to me – and what for? Well, according to them, as a platinum member, I was entitled to a 1,400 Sq. Ft. suite however due to meeting that was taking place there, they had an increase in reservations and so they could only offer me a 1,100 Sq. Ft. suite. If I would agree to take that for the night, they were prepared to move me to the appropriate room the moment one became available. I found that hilarious considering I had been prepared for news that I had the wrong hotel!

I took what they offered, assuring them it was perfectly alright for my one night stay, all the time thinking in my mind, ‘I wish I didn’t have to wait one more night’! This was so incredibly romantic that I couldn’t wait to share. By this time, it was late so I quickly settled in, took a shower and went to bed. I was also thinking along the lines of, the earlier I went to sleep, the earlier the next day would arrive. I had a very restful night, woke up bright and early, had a nice breakfast tried calling my sweetheart to see if he had arrived, couldn’t get through and decided to check out my surroundings. I walked round a bit to some shops, and as was bound to happen, got caught up in serious retail therapy and ended up spending more time than I was planning. When the call came, I had to get myself out of the shops, back to the hotel and into the shower to wash off the sweat (and boy was it hot!). I was impatient to see my lover and the plan was to check out of my suite and join him in his as soon as he checked in. I quickly packed up my bag, called his room to alert him I was ready, and sat waiting for him to come to me.

The sight of him walking down the corridor towards me was enough to make my legs turn to jelly. I felt like I was melting inside. I wanted to rush to him and take him in my arms and never let go. Finally, we were together, miles away from home, nothing to stop us enjoying the pleasure of exploring each other’s bodies to the fullest! We quickly gathered up my stuff, I went down to the reception to check out of my room, went up and checked into his arms!