A Week in Miami

I sighed and started to dress. I had sent my shirts and underwear from earlier in the week to the hotel laundry and they lay clean and fresh in cellophane wrappers on the foot of my bed.

That day was long and hard, the client more demanding that usual and late in the afternoon I was beginning to wonder if this job had been a good idea. I finished late, returning to the hotel after seven. As I walked in through the lobby I was feeling better about myself. I had done nothing to indicate to Niki how attractive I found her - in fact she probably knew that, knew how all men must feel around her - but I had been civilized and mature and would continue to be so. The pleasure of her company was enough for me - more than enough.

I was turning towards the elevators when I saw her standing at the reception desk. She had not noticed me, but the receptionist raised her eyes and said something and Niki turned and smiled, happy to see me. She waved me over to her and my heart began to flutter in my chest.

"Thomas, the man I wanted to see," she put her arm around me, pulled me against her and kissed my cheek. "Come with me." She drew me towards the elevators and waited for the doors to open. We stepped inside and she pressed my floor and then hers. Once the doors closed she pulled out a key card.

"For you, Thomas, because you had to wait when you came last night. I asked the hotel for a spare card, because I was always leaving mine in the room, so this one is for you." She placed the thin plastic card into my hand.

"Are you sure, Niki? What if I turn out to be a serial killer obsessed with blonde Finnish models?"

She laughed and clapped her hands together. "Then I am screwed already, yes?"

The elevator halted at my floor and the doors opened. I stepped out and Niki followed me, not yet ready to leave.

"You are the most trustworthy man I have met in a long, long time, Thomas. Tonight I thought we might go dancing. Do you dance, Thomas?"

"Uh, some, I guess. A little."

"Good. Eight o'clock. Just come on in and we will go somewhere to dance. I will ask the hotel where is good." She pecked me again on the cheek and stepped back into the still open door.

After she had gone I stood for a while in the corridor, looking down at the key card in my hand, shaking my head, wondering what the hell was going on and whether it was good, bad or insane. She could not possibly be flirting with me, but it felt just like that. I sighed and turned away to my room. I was reading the signals wrong, I knew, and would act on the assumption that I was wrong, and behave as I had been so far this week. But God, she was so beautiful...

I showered, this time resisting the heaviness in my cock, splashed cologne on and dressed in loose fitting shirt and slacks. At two minutes before eight I left my room and took the elevator to the ninth floor.

Approaching Niki's room I found my hand holding the key card was shaking. She had said to go straight in, so I slid the card in the lock, knocking at the same time, and pushed the door open.

"Niki! It's Thomas."

"Hi," she shouted from behind one of the doors. "Help yourself to a drink, I'll be out in a minute."

I poured a very small malt and added a lot of water. From behind one of the doors a hissing I had not been aware of stopped and I assumed Niki had turned off the shower. I went out onto the balcony and sipped my drink, watching the last of the light fade from the ocean.

Five minutes passed and then the bathroom door opened. I turned as Niki stepped out, wrapping a towel around her hair, dressed in a short silk robe that covered less than half her thighs, the neck scooped to reveal the upper curve of her breasts.

"Pour me a Vodka, Thomas," she said, "I am late, I'm afraid. I lay down after I came in and fell fast asleep. Sorry."

"Don't be," I said. "Anything with this?" I held up her glass.

"Some orange and soda. It's in the cooler over there." She pointed, pulling the hem of her robe up along her thighs and I looked away rapidly, already more disturbed than I should have been. I mixed her drink and turned back to her, but she had already gone through to the bedroom.

"Your drink, Niki!" I called.

"Bring it through, Thomas."

I swallowed and walked across the large room and into her bedroom. It was smaller than the main room, but not by much, with the biggest bed I had ever seen, and another window onto the balcony. Niki was sitting at a dressing table drying her hair, ice blond locks flying as she moved the dryer.

I placed her drink on the dresser and stepped back, but not before my eyes had unconsciously dropped to look at the large area of pale skin exposed where her robe had pulled away from her breasts. I glimpsed their full upper curve, the shadowed valley between, the hint of a pink nipple before I looked away.

"I'll be on the balcony," I said.

"Oh... Okay. I won't be long."

I went out and picked up my drink, poured more malt into it and swallowed it back, topped it up again.

Did she know what she was doing, I wondered? She must. Surely she must know the signals she was giving out. But I could not believe it, not me, almost twice her age and no great catch even twenty years ago.

I leaned against the balcony and looked back into the room. Niki's bedroom door was still open, but the dressing table was hidden. I watched the light falling on the wooden floor, saw a shadow cross it and then Niki walk across the gap completely naked, oblivious to my gaze, passing on to the other side of the room. For that brief moment I had seen her long legged, slim and perfectly formed, endless legs striding, tapering from toned thighs and the curve of her buttocks, her waist nipping in and then swooping up along her back. She had been half turned away and one breast had been partially revealed, not big, but rounded and perfectly shaped. Her sex had been hidden... but I could imagine... oh God I could imagine!

I waited, watching the pale wooden floor but when she reappeared she was dressed. But how she was dressed! There was no repeat of the designer clothes of the previous two nights. Instead she had on a pair of black pants, tight from waist to ankle, almost as fine as tights except they hid what lay beneath even if they failed to disguise the contours of her hips and thighs and legs. Above the trousers she wore a black tee shirt, also tight, accentuating the narrowness of her waist and the bloom of her breasts.

"Is this okay, Thomas? If we're going to dance I need to be able to move."

"I'll be fighting them off," I said.

She laughed. "Good. You are my knight in shining armor."

Not so shining, if you knew what was on my mind, I thought.

We took a taxi along the beach to a place recommended by the hotel. It was Cuban, hot and smoky and loud with brass music and guitars. Niki laughed and jumped up, entranced.

We ordered beer and pressed through the crowd to find a space to dance. We started apart, Niki fitting into my arms and twisting and turning. As the evening wore on and more beer was consumed she moved closer. We danced, stopped to eat from tables piled with hot, spicy food, danced some more, drank more beer.

By ten the full length of Niki's body was pressed against mine, her head resting on my shoulder, which felt odd because of the difference in height - odd but good. Her breasts pressed against my chest, hardly disguised under the thin tee shirt, flattened softly against me. Her hips pressed into mine and I had to keep leaning outwards to remove the pressure, not because I wanted to but because I dreaded her feeling my obvious excitement and being disgusted.

I rested my hand on her waist, tucked down against the angles of her hips, and let the smell of her hair fill my head.

Sometime between ten and eleven we took a break and sat at a table nursing two cold beers. The sweat was rolling down my sides like the moisture on the bottle. The room was even more crowded and noisy, the heat of all the bodies and our own exercise raising my temperature to almost fever level.

Behind Niki's shoulder I saw people move aside, and a tall black man walked through the space as they parted for him. He stopped by our table and looked at me. I felt my insides give a little flip. What the fuck?

"Can I help you?"

"Mr. Raul would like to see you," he said.

"I'm sorry?"

"Mr. Raul, the owner of this club, would like you to join him at his table."

"We were about to leave," I said.

"He insists."

I wondered whether we would have any chance of making it out before this giant stopped us. I glanced around, but the crowd was too dense, we would get nowhere.

"Niki?" I asked.

I don't know if she had picked up the same vibe as me, but she seemed unconcerned. Maybe that came from a life as protected as hers.

"Sure," she said, and stood. The man towered over her - something she was probably not used to.

He turned and led us through the parting crowd until we came to the back of the room where a large area was cordoned off. A small lean man sat at a table, two Hispanic women sitting with him. A bottle of champagne was open and chilling in a bucket.

The giant lifted the rope separating the area and we walked through into the lion's den.

The slim man rose and offered his hand. I shook it and felt a strong grip returned. For a moment he did the man thing and squeezed hard. I just returned the pressure until he nodded. It was the right move. Then he took Niki's hand and kissed the back of it.

"Please, sit and join me for a moment."

"We were about to leave," I said, "but your friend insisted..."

The man laughed. "Jesus always does as I ask him, but he sometimes does not appreciate that tact is more effective than muscle. Forgive me. I did not mean to detain you. If you have to leave now then please go ahead, but it would be my pleasure if you joined me for a drink."

Niki was already sitting, so I nodded and joined her. Jesus did the waiter thing, badly, and poured champagne for us both.

"I hope you do not think me too forward, but I have been watching you dancing and I was entranced. Such a wonderful couple. Such a beautiful creature," he said, and inclined his head towards Niki.

She smiled. "Thank you."

"Un hombre de suerte," he said to me in Spanish.

"Yes," I replied, "I am a very lucky man."

Raul laughed. "¿Hablas español?"

"Si, yo hablo espanol." I said. "But not enough for a conversation."

Raul threw his head back and laughed. "Then we will talk in English, okay?"

I sat back in my chair. The uneasiness I had felt was fading. Raul meant neither of us any harm, he was simply entranced, in the way of many men, at the presence of Niki's beauty. He did not want her for himself, and was perfectly happy she was mine. He simply wanted to catch a little of the envy that was being thrown my way by all the men in the room, and bask in some of my glory.

We talked about nothing at all with him, our conversation the very definition of small talk, and after half an hour, when I felt a polite moment had arrived I said we really needed to leave.

Raul smiled and shook my hand again, hugged Niki and then had Jesus escort us through the crowd to the door. In the suddenly cool night air Niki slid her arm through mine and pulled me tight against her.

"Shall we walk back along the beach again?" she asked. We were not quite a mile down from the hotel. I just hoped I would be alert enough tomorrow to work, but there was no way I was going to say no. Still arm in arm we walked out onto the sand and strolled along the surf line.

Inland, cars passed on the road. Restaurant, hotel and bar light glittered and the faint wash of conversation and laughter drifted across to us. On the other side the ocean murmured, deep and powerful, it's dark presence oblivious to the humanity clinging along its edge.

We reached the low fence marking off our hotel's private area of beach and stepped over it.

"Let's swim," Niki said, pulling me back towards the surf.

"Here?"

"Let's go skinny dipping, Thomas. Right here!"

"Uhm," I said.

Niki looked at me, cocking her head to one side. "You Americans," she laughed, "So prudish. In Finland we always swim naked. It's the best way."

She turned away from me and took four quick steps, grasped her tee shirt and lifted it over her head. Beneath she was naked, no bra marked her flawless skin which glowed pale in the light reflected from the hotel. Then she pulled at her pants and slid them down over her hips. Here too nothing lay beneath and she bent to pull them off, the round globe of her ass outlined fully. She tossed the pants onto her tee shirt and looked back at me.

"Come on, American, get naked and we will go swimming."

I couldn't think of any excuse to say no, and I didn't want to.

It took me longer to undress. I had shoes, socks, pants and briefs to negotiate. I unbuttoned my shirt and added it to the pile and straightened up, trying not to hunch over in the way many naked people do.

Niki looked at me and grinned, grabbed my hand again. She muttered something I didn't catch and involuntarily I said, "What?"

"Big boy," she repeated, and laughed, let go of my hand and ran into the water, dived and rolled onto her back.

I looked down. At least I wasn't hard, just slightly engorged. My cock swung down along my thigh, maybe seven inches long, my uncircumcised head still cloaking the glans. With luck the water would cause me to shrink. I followed Niki in.

Unfortunately the water was at blood heat, and wrapped silky fingers all across my skin, making the situation worse. Niki did nothing to help when she swam up behind me and wrapped her arms around me, pulling her slippery wet body against my back. I could feel her breasts flatten and part against the muscles of my shoulders, her nipples poking small dents against my skin. Niki's pubic mound pressed against the cheeks of my ass and all I could feel was skin and warmth.

Then, thankfully, she let go and stroked away. I turned and followed, keeping a distance between us.

"I love swimming in the ocean," she said, floating on her back, her arms and legs moving languorously. The ocean lapped at her breasts, rising and then falling, black water spilling down over the pale mounds. "I love swimming naked too. Don't you?"

"It has its charms," I said, and I must have been looking at her because she laughed and splashed me with spray.

"Behave yourself, Thomas. You are my guardian, remember."

"I'm trying," I said.

Niki stopped swimming and trod water and I became aware we had drifted out from the shore. She looked at me seriously.

"I'm sorry, Thomas. Am I teasing you like this? I never thought what I was doing. I apologize."

"There's no need, Niki. You are a very beautiful woman, and I would be foolish to say I did not enjoy looking at you. But I can appreciate a thing of great beauty without having to own it."

She still looked serious. "If you are sure, Thomas. I like you too much as a friend to upset you. Say if I am doing wrong and we can go back in."

"Act as you feel comfortable, Niki, and don't worry about me. I'll tell you if I think things are getting too much for me."

"Yes?" She gazed at me.

"Yes," I nodded.

"Good." She darted towards me, put her hands on my shoulders and lifted herself up against me, pushing my head under water.

I flailed, brushing against her stomach, then twisted away and tried to grab her back but she had darted away like a fish and when I surfaced she was three yards away. I dived and swam towards where I had last seen her, reaching out to grab her but when I got there she had gone again and I felt her slide against my back again, the whole length of her from stomach to knee slipping along the back of my thighs.

I turned, lifting my head above the water to gasp down air, went down and grabbed her ankle as it slid past me. She felt my grip and tried to kick away but I had her firmly now and pulled her back, walking my two hands up her leg to her calf, her knee and then her thigh. I reached almost to the top of her thighs and felt her stop pulling and drift. I hesitated, then moved on to her waist, grabbing her with both hands, almost able to close my fingers around her. We were both out of our depth, but not by much and I could reach the sand with my feet and heaved her up with all my strength, throwing her into the air. Even underwater I heard her scream and then splash down nearby.

I surfaced and pulled air into my lungs, turned to find her but she had gone. I twisted back to land, nothing there, back to the dark ocean and still nothing. I felt a flutter of panic start up in my stomach. Where the hell was she?

Then I felt her, fingers on my ankle now, then walking up my leg. She must have been lying close to me as she rose because I could feel a tickle against my skin as her fine hair floated in the water and drifted across me.

She reached my thighs and came on, and I started to worry. My cock had grown fuller in the water and with our playing and she might not realize that-

She hadn't. Walking her hands up my thigh she could not know how hard I was, and I felt her hand brush against my cock. There was a hesitation and then she snatched her hand back and burst to the surface beside me.

"Thomas, I'm sorry, I didn't think..."

"It's okay," I said. "If we want to go skinny dipping there's bound to be something like that now and then."

She looked at me, her face crestfallen. "I did not mean... I hope you don't think.... although you are an attractive man, I mean, not that I would... oh fuck!"

I laughed. "Niki. Forget about it. Here," I lunged at her and brazenly grasped her breast in my hand, left it there for a moment and then let go. "See - accidents happen."

Her eyes widened and then she smiled. "You are a good man." She drifted towards me and reached out, put her arms around my shoulders and pulled me towards her, face to face. I felt her body come across and touch mine, meeting in discrete parts, a breast against my shoulder, another against my chest, a thigh brushing my hip, her stomach meeting mine, her pubic mound pressing against my navel. She kept coming, pulling me into her arms and legs until I was imprisoned, then put her mouth gently against mine and kissed me.

I felt myself fill suddenly and stiffen and my cock swam through the dark water between us and lodged between her thighs, sticking out between the cheeks of her ass.

I saw her eyes open in surprise and I pushed and swam away from her. I tried to shrug but the water hid the movement.

"My turn to apologize, I think," I said.

"There is no need, Thomas. I think I would be more upset if I did not have that effect on you, don't you think?"

We drifted like that, three feet apart, my cock still hard and burning and I moved my hands and legs to ensure I kept it away from her.

"Time to go in, I think," I said.

Niki looked into my eyes, something clouded in hers, then nodded. "Maybe so." She rolled and began to stroke towards the shore. I watched her go, fluorescent algae in the water sparkling around her limbs as she went. Then I swallowed hard and followed her at a distance.

By the time I walked out through the waves Niki was pulling on her tight pants, struggling to get them up over her wet legs. I turned away and started to dress myself.

When we were both ready we walked up towards the hotel, me keeping a distance between us. Something felt as if it had changed, but whether for good or bad I could not be sure until I felt Niki's hand reach for mine again. I turned and smiled at her.

"Pool in the morning, Niki?"

She smiled back. "I'll come down earlier and race you."

THURSDAY

For some reason my client's attitude had changed overnight and we made huge progress, so much so that I was sure I would finish up early on the following day. I left their offices just before six, left with them happy, left with me happy that the job was being well done.