The young pert receptionist was beaming at Isaac. “Just you then?”
“No,” he said, “I’m here with…umm…my neighbor. Elly.”
Elly walked forward, dragging the bags. The receptionist widened her eyes, looking from Isaac to Elly.
“Oh, sure. Okay, I see… So, your room is up the stairs to the right. The back door opens up to the deck, and you will find a bottle of wine waiting for you. Should you need…anything...” her eyes smoldered at Isaac, “Please let me know.”
Elly reached out and snatched the key out of the girl’s hand. “Please bring up our bags,” she snapped and led Isaac upstairs. They opened the door to their room.
“Shall I carry you?” Isaac asked. Elly raised an eyebrow at him and walked inside.
The oval shaped room was painted a pale orange and accented with dark browns and red. It had a cozy lodge feeling, plus a hideous flower arrangement on the coffee table, a kitschy disaster of red carnations and baby’s breath. Elly scooped it up and deposited it into the trash can. She walked out and stopped dead. In the middle of the room was a bed. One giant sexy-time bed, surrounded by hanging billowy white fabric and covered with a rich sage duvet. This was a bed that said “Sex!” and not so much “Cuddle-time.”
Elly gulped.
Isaac strolled in and collapsed on the bed. “Man” he moaned, “That drive up here was long.”
Elly sat down at the desk. “Well, it was certainly feels long when you’re…” Elly stopped short. The blindfold! Oh my gosh – why did he have a blindfold?? Was he into that kind of thing?
Elly felt like she was going to faint. “I need some air.”
She headed for the deck. The warm air felt good on her face, and she managed to calm herself momentarily with the breeze on her skin. Isaac handed her a glass of wine and wrapped himself around her.
“I’m so glad that we’re alone for once. No neighbors. No shop. No Cadbury. Just us.”
Elly was mildly annoyed at Cadbury’s inclusion, but was jerked away from her thought by Isaac’s hand creeping up her belly. I bet that feels like a bag of flour, she thought, before turning quickly around.
“Do you want to go look at the downtown? I saw a bunch of antique shops when we drove in, and I would love to find something for Kim’s baby. Then we could eat dinner overlooking the vineyards.”
Isaac frowned. “Are you feeling up to that? You didn’t seem like things were going that well” – he gestured to her stomach – “at the winery. I was thinking we could order room service and stay in, but we can go shopping.”
He made it sound akin to torture. Anything to distract you, she thought.
“I’ll change,” chirped Elly, and headed back into the room.
“Can I come?” Isaac joked.
“Um, no.” Elly shut the door behind her. How am I going to do this? she thought. Maybe I can keep him distracted. Kiss him until he’s satisfied. Mention jazz. Hit him over the head with a pan. Ask him about indie flicks. Or…I could get him drunk. And he’ll pass out early. YES! That was it, that was the plan. Elly opened her suitcase. What in here said “Nun” or “You’re not getting action tonight?” She pulled out her khakis and black cardigan. Perfect. She also grabbed her fuchsia tank top. Layers would be key here. More buttons, more fabric. She tromped out of the bathroom. Isaac eyed her up and down.
“You look great – love that sweater.” He winked at her. “Are you ready?”
Ready to get you drunk, she thought.
CHAPTER
THIRTEEN
As it turned out, Elly was the one to get wasted. Two hours and five cups of sake later, Elly stabbed her last piece of dim sum.
“I feel like I’m in a dream with you. No seriously. I mean,” she bit off a hefty mouthful, “you are, like, SO gorgeous, and I’m kind of a chubby. I mean, I have a pretty face, but you could be a model. Seriously. A SUPER model. I can’t believe how gorgeous you are. Sometimes I watch you walk home out my window. And I have a little song that I sing, it’s called ‘I’m dating Isaac…’” Elly motioned with her sake cup. She began to sing.
Isaac cut her off. “I can just imagine” he said laughing.
She stuffed a dumpling into her mouth. “Oh my gosh, I love dim sum...” she moaned.
Isaac kissed her palm. “You’re hilarious when you are drunk. And hot.”
Elly giggled, feeling shy. “Am I really that drunk?”
“Well, you did tell the waiter that sesame beef was like heaven made of meat.”
“I did?”
“You did. Also, I think your shoe is under those people’s table.”
Elly leaned over. Yup. One brown loafer lay underneath the next table over. The patrons eyed her warily. Their little boy whispered, “Mama,” and nuzzled into his mother.
“Whatever,” Elly announced to them as she turned back to Isaac. His lips curled up in a lupine smile.