The Work Trip Predicament

By the time they got to the hotel they were both exhausted. As they exited the cab he filed the receipt away in his wallet to expense later.

"Thanks for sorting the cab, I can pay for the taxi to the office in the morning," Alina said as they got out. They hadn't been working together long, so there was still an awkwardness when either of them had to pay for anything. Mike didn't mind racking up all the extra points on his rewards card though.

"Don't worry about it," he replied with a smile. As the senior, Mike was the more confident of them, and he was used to travelling for work. Alina on the other hand had only been with the company for a little over a year. She didn't like being away from home.

They walked up to the counter of the lush hotel, the high-ceilinged lobby full of pale stone and the familiar scents that nice hotels have, a faint swimming pool smell and some artificial lavender. This place was quite fancy for a work trip, but the cost was surprisingly within policy. It didn't belong to a chain which was also fairly rare for work accommodation, so no hotel reward scheme. Mike was a tad disappointed by that, but Alina was pleased with her choice. They each gave their names and the immaculately dressed woman behind the desk quickly retrieved their bookings. When the receptionist recalled her training on the unique features of the hotel's custom-built room allocation system, she noted that the blue flag on the system indicated this was a business booking made for a solo male and female traveller of a similar age. The system had scanned their social media profiles as part of the checks, and had automatically assigned an appropriate room with specific arrangements. She handed each of them a key to their rooms, 411 for Mike and 413 Alina, right next door to one another.

"Apologies," The receptionist said, "But it says on my machine that I'm afraid we have some scheduled maintenance in the morning which means there's a chance we might not have hot water in your rooms. It might be best to shower this evening if possible. We've added complimentary breakfast to your stay as compensation. I hope that's alright."

Normally Mike might have caused a bit of a fuss about this, but he was pretty tired and he usually preferred to shower the evening before anyway. Given the company was paying, he sighed and accepted. The receptionist did seem genuinely apologetic, and the conversation moved to booking a cab for the morning, which the hotel would sort for them. Alina wasn't best pleased but, she was too shy to speak up. Instead they headed over to the elevator together. Alina walked ahead, and Mike took the opportunity to admire her physique. She was very slim and short, with dark hair in a loose bun. She dressed conservatively, but it was still clear that she kept physically fit. Her fitted dress gave away her peachy behind and shapely legs. She was much shorter than him, but then Mike was quite tall. He managed to snap away his gaze from her lithe figure as she pressed the elevator call button and turned to face him. Snapping to meet her eye contact, he was reminded of the luscious blue glow of her eyes, in contract to her otherwise tan and dark features. She was certainly attractive, with smooth youthful skin and a subtle beauty spot by her cheek. Her face was small and round, with a button nose and long eyelashes. There was something quite innocent about her, at first glance around the office she seemed plain, but her looks were deceiving. Now that Mike had been given the opportunity to work with her for a few weeks, he had noticed her timidness gave way to a certain confidence in work situations. Her shy affectations were tempered with moments of sharp intellect. Up close, if you looked, you saw that she was strikingly beautiful. Everything about how she dressed was intended to draw attention away from her physicality but there was no mistaking it. Past the thick rimmed glasses and cardigans, Alina was hot.

"What time do you want to meet in the morning? We could go over the plan for the interviews at breakfast." Alina asked, suddenly he was reminded they were there to run workshops for one of their clients tomorrow.

"7:30 suits me."

"Ah great, that's my natural sort of time anyway." Alina said with a small smile.

It was strange to work under someone so similar in age. Mike was only a year or two older than Alina, but with her year abroad and volunteering after she graduated, since he had joined straight after graduating he had been at the company nearly five years by now. Despite their small age gap, she respected him hugely. He was renowned for being great at what he did, and in the short time on this project together she had learnt a lot from him. He was great with the client, and exuded the sort of confidence one gets after having done things many times before. She felt she was in good hands working with him, and she found him a pleasure to work with. After a few tough projects, this one had been a welcome relief. The client was nice, and Mike afforded her a lot of autonomy, the worst part was the travelling. It meant she hadn't gotten to see her new boyfriend much... This was the eighth hotel they had stayed at. They soon found their way to their rooms and shared an awkward "goodnight" before retiring to their rooms simultaneously. Something about being right next door to each other felt a little odd, they were practically strangers after all, and Alina didn't like the idea that if she was too loud he might hear her through the wall. She decided against calling her boyfriend to chat, and instead text him that she was going to sleep.

Mike found that his room was of the standard setup, a bathroom by the entrance, the main bedroom behind it with a lavish double bed, in crisp white sheets and suiting a velvet buttoned headboard. There was a classic armchair, and a small desk beside a narrow open wardrobe without doors. Curiously there was no TV, which was unusual, but he didn't plan to use one anyway. He threw down his backpack onto the bed, pulled off his jacket and discarded it on the armchair. Pulling some cables out of his bag he set up his phone to charge, slumping onto the bed to catch-up on some messages.

Alina was naturally neat. Despite them only staying in the hotel for one night, she unpacked her bag to set aside her toiletries and clothes for tomorrow. Her room was the mirror image of Mike's room, their headboard sharing a wall as well as the walls of their bathrooms. It was similarly spacious and tasteful, and having studied the pictures before arriving, she had known what to expect and was content with what she found. She continued unpacking, removing electronics and ensuring her laptop was put on charge. She removed her cardigan and dress, placing them in a small laundry bag she had brought with her. She peeled her tights off of her slender legs, and placed her black heels by the desk. Now wearing only her matching lilac underwear, she padded into the bathroom, stopping to admire herself in the mirror. Over summer she had been working hard to maintain her fitness in preparation for her upcoming holiday to Mexico. Her waistline was especially trim, her breasts full and perky, giving a pleasing bounce along with her bum as she walked. She studied it's small rounded shape and gave a smile, running her hands down her soft skin in self-admiration. Her dark green fingernails and toes stood out against her brown skin and complimented the tone nicely. Looking at herself now, she enjoyed how well coordinated she was. It made her feel ready and confident for tomorrow.

She remembered the comment the receptionist girl had made about the shower, and decided to have one now. It had a single button at a set temperature, and a small black sensor built into the tile. She pressed the button from outside the cubicle to let the water run but nothing happened. She considered that maybe she needed to be inside for it to work, hence the sensor. Hotels were always trying to save on water bills, she reasoned. So she removed her matching bra and panties, placing them on the floor and stepped naked into the cubical. It was in the corner of the room, so two of the sides were solid tiled white walls, one was a thick glass panel which ran floor to ceiling, and then the glass door. She pulled the heavy door shut behind her, and it clicked in place, yet she found that the water button still wasn't working. She groaned aloud now, pressing it again to no avail. She was growing annoyed, displeased that she would have to call down to reception.

Pushing the glass door, she found that it wouldn't budge. She searched for a handle, but there was nothing. The door was stuck. She gave it a few hefty shoves, confident in the muscle she had built up in her fitness classes, but she couldn't get it to move. Her frustration faded gradually into fear. She was locked in this thing, naked, and had no way to contact anyone. She tried to retain her composure, and pressed the button a few more times, as well as fiddling with the sensor, but nothing happened. She screamed out, yelling for help and slamming the shower button with her palm but nothing happened. She shouted for Mike through the wall a few times out of desperation, then waited to hear for a response, but nothing came. She couldn't believe she was trapped. She started to panic, before reasoning that worst case scenario Mike would ask after her in the morning, that meant she might be spending the night locked naked in her glass cell. The thought almost made her cry. After kicking the door a few times, she decided she needed a moment to think. She collapsed to the floor in the little space it allowed her, panting from the exertion.

Meanwhile, Mike next door finished reading his messages and began unbuttoning his shirt to take a shower. He tossed his clothes in a heap on the floor, picking up the hotel folder on the desk to check when the gym opened. He planned to go around 6am to continue his daily workout routine, and was pleased to find it was 24-hour access. Heading into the bathroom, he spent some time brushing his teeth and shaving a little. He could hear some noise coming from nearby, shouting or perhaps some music... it was hard to tell given the thickness of the walls, but Mike decided that it wasn't too loud so there was no need to call reception. He stepped into the shower and pressed the button to start the water, expecting a refreshingly cold blast. Instead, he jolted with surprise as the tiled wall to his side clicked and slid heavily away to reveal another shower cubicle behind it with Alina naked inside it. She jumped up from her seated position, her expression clearly mortified as she tried to cover herself with her hands.

"Alina!?" Mike exclaimed, "What the fuck?!" Both their eyes were wide in shock, moving back and away from one another as far as they could. Mike turned to try the door, pushing at it to find what Alina already had gathered. This was intentional. With the wall now parted, they were locked in a glass cell together naked. The panic began to rise in her, paralysing her in indecision as to whether to turn away from Mike or keep her eyes on him. She used her left arm to cover across her breasts, with her right hand covering between her legs.

"Mike. Mike!" She yelled to get his attention away from his assault on the door, "We're locked in here. I've been stuck for like twenty minutes. I tried shouting and everything, it's no use. It's designed to lock us up in here."

"What do you mean?"

"The door locked as soon as I got in and the water didn't come on."

"We have to get out of this thing!' he was shouting, but he wouldn't turn to look at her. He began kicking at the door, but it was thick and sealed tightly. It had no effect, other than causing him to half-fall. Instinctively, Alina reached out to steady him, betraying her modesty. Mike couldn't help but meet her eyes as he got back to his feet sheepishly.

"M-Mike just, calm down a second okay." She reasoned.

"Alright, okay!" He yelled, stopping and gripping his head in his hands, frustrated and confused. "You've been stuck for twenty minutes?" He remarked, finally absorbing the information.

"I dunno. I think about that long." She spoke softly.

"I don't understand, who is doing this? The hotel? Why?" He was still yelling. Alina didn't reply, her mind was racing and she was beginning to feel faint.

"I, uh-"

"What am I even talking about..." He cut her off, thinking aloud, "Why would anyone lock two people together naked..."

"What do you mean?!" Asked Alina. Mike fought hard to keep his eyes on her face, but it was a losing battle. Her flat abdomen was calling out to be appreciated, the soft curvature of her hips inviting his caress. She blushed, noticing where his gaze had darted to before glancing off. He was making no such effort to cover up, and she too was finding it hard not to ogle his growing member as it hardened and began to point in her direction.

"I mean... you know?" He said, gesturing to her and not knowing what else to say.

"I'm not... we aren't doing that!" She said sternly, "Even if I was... single, I don't-"

"I wasn't saying we should." He cut her off, "I was just saying, why else would someone lock us up like this."

She paused, her expression still stern but her mind turning over the argument to dissect it. "Or perhaps it's some sort of test. The door could be time locked." She offered less convincingly. "We should wait."

"Yeah, that's true. Good idea."

Alina sat on the floor, half facing away from Mike and covering herself as casually as she could so she didn't appear too guarded. Mike stood, leaning against the door he had come in from, as if trying to get as far from her as possible. He was staring out at where he had left his toothbrush not long before, now locked out of reach. He gave a frustrated grunt. Alina's eyes wandered up his muscular build, admiring his toned calves and arm muscles, as well as his broad shoulders. She jolted herself out of the daydream, and willed herself to return to her initial anxiety, but she couldn't ignore the fact that she felt better being locked in with Mike than alone. Though she wasn't sure why. At least now she had an idea of what might be expected of her in order to escape, however gastly the concept.

They had been sitting in tense silence for around half an hour before Mike spoke up. His face was still fixed in anger and frustration, "You're being pretty calm about this..."

"Well, I had some extra panic-time before you showed up in here." Alina half-chuckled. It was the first time he had heard her laugh, it was surprisingly girly. "Still, this is fucked up." It was the first time he had heard her curse too.

"Fucked up is right!"

"I still can't believe this is happening! How are we going to work together after this?!" She remarked, "How are we going to be... professional."

"Well I mean, we've spent weeks planning these interviews for tomorrow. We have a signed contract, we've got to deliver it."

"I know it's just... This is so weird, how can I work with you without thinking about all this?"

"What as in you're going to be picturing me naked in our meetings?" He said with a smirk. His directness caught her off-guard.

"Yes, well no I mean..." She stumbled over her words, "Well, you seeing me naked. It's humiliating!"

"It's not that weird to see someone naked. Come on Alina, we can be adults. It's definitely a weird situation but, seeing another person naked is hardly a crisis."

"I'm not saying it's a catastrophe, I'm just saying it's uncomfortable." Alina said quietly, almost to herself. She was finding it hard to avert eye contact as they spoke, especially as she could feel Mike looking straight at her.

"Well, maybe instead of being shy about it, we should just try and let it not be weird?" Mike said, thinking aloud.

She looked up at him, "What?"

"I dunno like, it's fine. I'm naked, and that's not how you usually see a colleague but, I'm not ashamed of you seeing me like this." He stopped leaning and stood up straight, turning a little for her. She couldn't stop her eyes from scanning his body, he had an impressive physique.

She couldn't help stifle a giggle, "You've got an... erection."

"Yeah well, I'm locked in here naked with you. It would be weirder if I didn't have an erection!" He quipped, laughing with her before realising he had inadvertently given her a compliment. Her laugh trailed off.

"I'm not so comfortable with you seeing me that way..." she mumbled.

"Well like, it's sort of too late." He said, "I've already seen it."

"No you haven't!"

"Yeah well, most of it. How long do you think you can really cover-up in here? I don't think your time-lock theory is really holding up!"

"What, you want me to give you a show?" She spoke over him, her stern expression returning.

"You know that's not what I mean!" He shot back, *Don't lash out at me, I didn't choose to get locked in here either."

"Fine." She said standing up, angrily parting her arms and pressing them to her sides, "Here, check me out to my face for a change!" He was shocked by her tone. Had she noticed him admiring her figure? That worried him a little, he thought he'd disguised his previous admiration of her pretty well. She softened at his look of concern. She accepted that trying to be mature about the situation and stop pretending not to look was sensible. She shrugged her head to the side and turned around a bit for him. As much as she hated how trapped she felt, she got a certain thrill out of his eyes wandering over her body. All her relationships had grown steadily, giving away parts of herself bit by bit. She had never experienced revealing herself so fully to someone, his reaction gave her a strange confidence. She noticed how his tongue met his lips as he scanned her ass and ran his eyes over her hardening nipples. She noticed his thick erection twitch and his body tense as she turned to face him. As their eyes met, she gave him an inquisitive look,

"You have nothing to be embarrassed about, trust me." He said warmly. Some of his familiar charm was peeking its way into this strange predicament, and somehow it made it feel more normal.

"Thanks. You're..." She had begun to reply without thinking about what to say, "Bigger than I imagined." She blurted, staring at his pectoral muscles and suddenly realising how vague she had been. She'd not only unintentionally implied she had imagined him naked, but also somehow that he had a big dick all in one horrifically embarrassing blabber. She didn't even know what she had meant, and which part of it was or wasn't true. Had she imagined him naked?

In that moment, seeing her naked and staring at him blushing, he wanted her. As well as a certain flirtatious fondness growing between them, it was the most logical way to expect them to escape. He moved towards her a little, and when she didn't move away, he placed a hand gently on her upper arm.

"It's okay." He said, noticing how much she had blushed with her last statement.

His touch sent a certain electricity through her. She felt suddenly drawn to his body. Compelled to press her fingers daintily to his tense muscles. The room was a little cold, and to have his warmth against her would be a relief. She wanted him against her.

"Mike..." she muttered, looking up at him with wanton eyes. When they were both dressed, her heels allowed her to better meet his eyeline, but now he looked down at her petite frame and she felt vulnerable. It only lasted a second though, before he gave into the temptation and took his hand to her neck, pulling her in for a tender kiss. Their lips locked in a passionate exploration of one another, her hands quickly rising to meet his body. He slid his palm up the sides of her hips, moving around to caress her back and cup her ass in his hand, simultaneously pulling her in closer to him. One of her hands met his throbbing member, and gripped around it. Their kiss grew in intensity, until he was dotting kisses down her neck as she moaned.