William and Melissa - 'May I?'

I have my shower, get ready to venture out and leave my room. I freeze. It's her. Standing before me. The girl from the train. She stops too, staring at me.

***

The door of the room next to mine clicks closed.

"Are you...is that...?" I stutter. "I mean, is that your room?"

She gives me a puzzled look. 'Damn' I think, 'what a stupid thing to say'. I collect myself together. Start again!

"Sorry, I mean hello! I saw you on the train, I was the one who..."

"Yes, I know. I do recognise you. And thanks for your help."

"It's okay, you said that before. Are you heading out?"

Her puzzled look returns.

"Yes, of course you are, you wouldn't have a jacket on otherwise." God, I was killing this.

She giggles. "Yes I'm going...outside." Her emphasis on 'outside'.

"Oh, so am I." I inwardly groan at myself again.

"You don't say!"

"Pardon?"

"You have a jacket on too!"

"Ah, yes, that I do."

I turn to move towards the lift. My thoughts from earlier play back in my mind - 'fuck it, just go for it'. I turn back towards her composing myself.

"Actually, I'm going out to find something to eat. I skipped lunch and really need an early tea. I was wondering if you would like to join me?"

"For a cup of tea?" She asks me, her puzzled look once again.

"What? No, for something to eat. Not to drink tea. Ah, sorry, it's a Scottish term. I mean dinner. Would you like to have dinner with me? Something to eat?"

"Yes, I know what dinner is. Something that you eat."

I shoot her a glance. Was she just taking the piss out of me?

"Yes, I'm sorry. Yes, I would like to have dinner with you."

She looks at me directly, a warm smile across her face. I feel relieved but with a sudden rush of confidence.

"Good!" I beckon for her to walk with me. "Do you know Manchester at all? Do you know anywhere that has food?"

"Hmm, I think they have things called restaurants. They have food."

I shoot her a glance again.

"Sorry, ignore that. I say these things when I'm nervous!"

"So I make you nervous, do I?" I say, wrestling back some decorum.

"No, it's just how you say things. I'm fine. You're fine. This is nice."

"So do you know Manchester then?"

She laughs. "Well I got a taxi from the station to here!"

"It's only two minutes away! " I exclaim.

"I know that now, don't I? So I would say that no, I don't really know Manchester at all!"

"Well that makes two of us. I stayed a couple of nights last year but no, I don't really know it either. Let's go and explore together."

Yes Sir!" She replies picking up on me finally taking a bit of control over our first conversation.

***

We take the lift down to the foyer, surreptitiously checking each other out. She is still wearing her skinny jeans but has changed her top to a lower cut one now showing off her breasts perfectly. I can't work out if she has a push-up on or if they naturally sit like that. I'm hoping for the latter. She is looking at me, I smile back at the glistening in her eyes. Her jacket is quite lightweight and as it's only February I am a little concerned that she might get cold. My eyes are drawn back down to her boobs. On the other hand... We step outside, stopping on the steps.

"Well, what do you fancy?"

She mumbles something quietly under her breath, it sounds like "You!"

She looks up quickly. "I mean you choose, I'm not fussy. Well I am. No, not really. I know what I like but..."

I sense that she is a bit flustered so I reach out to take her hand.

"Then we'll just walk and see what we come across, will we!"

She happily follows as I set off giving her hand a squeeze. The city centre is busy with the end of the day rush. It's still light but the sky is beginning to redden. I guessed it could be a spectacular sunset. Cities can look amazing at dusk, as the lights come on and the sky darkens. I decide that we need somewhere high up to eat - a rooftop restaurant or something. Yes, that would suit my theme for the week fine - romance! A nice romantic dinner as the sun sets over the city, perfect. 'And if we're going up, we may as well go right up' I think as I look up at the Beetham Tower which dominates the skyline for miles around.

"I think there's a restaurant up there. Someone told me there's a hotel, the Hilton I think about halfway up. That would be perfect!"

She looks up, stretching her neck. I can't help look back down to her chest. I compose myself as I see her looking a bit worried.

"You're not scared of heights, are you?"

"No, no it's just that..."

I sense what's bothering her.

"Please don't take this the wrong way. I invited you out. I'll pay. Look, I'm not loaded or anything like that but I don't have any commitments, so please, let me indulge you. I will pay! I guess it may be a bit more expensive that I anticipate and me being a Scot, well..." I try to lighten the talk, "you'll understand how difficult that will be for me. But really, think of the experience!"

She nods and smiles. "Thank you, I do accept your offer, Sir."

I look at her quizzingly, tug at her hand and we head towards the tower. The lift speeds upwards and we take in the view. I point out the conference centre close below us, its broad arch evidence of its previous use as a major railway station. I point in the direction of our hotel and then at the railway station that we arrived into.

"And you got a taxi, from there to there! It's barely 200 metres!"

"I know that now." She responds laughing at herself.

We step out and are immediately met by a concierge. He directs us to the restaurant but suggests a drink in the lounge bar first. A cocktail maybe? I look across at her, realising that I don't even know her name. I raise an eyebrow as a question. She is unsure.

"Yes, definitely, a cocktail first."

I take her hand and lead her in the direction of the bar. The bar has been split into four defined areas, each with a theme relating to a different ancient Greek God. I choose the one themed on Eros, thinking it rather apt. I help her remove her jacket, behaving as a perfect gentleman and we settle into our seats.

"I'm William, by the way." stretching out my hand. "And you are?"

"Melissa."

"Very nice to meet you, Melissa. Mel? Issy?"

"I'll be whoever you want me to be." Her reply takes me by surprise.

"Melissa it is then. 'Will' is fine by the way."

A waiter approaches handing out a drinks menu. Melissa begins to thumb through but I immediately ask for two French Martinis. She looks up at me. I shrug. The waiter moves off.

"I never got a chance to choose."

"You could take hours looking through that! French Martinis are lovely. It's a good choice. I've saved you the pain of choosing for yourself."

She looks at me intently, I move in close to her.

"On the train yesterday..."

She begins to blush "Yes, what?"

"You kept looking at me."

"I didn't. I did not.."

"You were, I saw you. You also thought that you had super powers."

"What? What on earth are you talking about?"

"Well, you thought your sunglasses made you invisible. They didn't! I could see your eyes perfectly!"

Her face reddens more.

"Well it appears you were also looking at me then. A super hero who uses a newspaper as a shield! That's a laugh, you never turned the page once." Her counter attack is quite good.

"Ah, yes. Hmmm, you've caught me. Yes, I was looking at you, but only for professional reasons. I was just observing details."

"Professional reasons? And what details exactly did you observe, may I ask?"

"Oh just the usual things. The colour of your eyes. Your warm smile. Your hair. Age, I guess early thirties. Just the normal things anyone would notice. And a few more."

She raises an eyebrow. "Go on?"

"Your general attractiveness. Your height - around five foot five inches, you weren't wearing heels - I would say a nicely curved size 12, and lovely boobs - 36D if I'm right - perhaps a bit shy, hence sunglasses; you may have been a bit nervous, hence wine; you gazed out of the window for a while covering up for what you were really thinking about, oh and yes, the little mannerisms."

"Mannerisms?"

"Yes, the way you bite your lip. The way you fidgeted in your seat. Just as you are doing now."

She stops herself moving. "It's these clothes, I should have changed, they're too...I mean..." she hesitates, "I mean I feel under-dressed for this place." she continues quickly.

Her face reddens again. Typical woman, I think.

"You're fine. They're fine." I say gesturing towards her. "You look incredible. And it's still early. They don't bother at this time that you're wearing tight skinny jeans. Look, he's not bothered is he?" I nod across to the bartender "He hasn't been able to keep his eyes off you since we came in."

She turns to look and he immediately busies himself with some glasses.

"See. You look perfect!"

Her hand instinctively rises to her ear, another observation from yesterday but I don't want to point it out to her. Our drinks arrive and we toast each other. She takes a sip.

"This is yummy! Good choice."

"I do have exquisitely good taste, thank you."

We sip some more. The bar is lit up with the orange glow of the setting sun. The view is amazing. We sit watching the city below for a while until the light outside fades.

"So, on the train. What you were listening to?"

"Ah, I wondered if you would bring that up. It's not what you think. I was just.." I stop her.

"It's okay, I understand these things. In fact, that's the type of stuff I write."

"You're a writer?"

"Well, of sorts. Just the type of stories you were listening to. Actually, I'm a little bit embarrassed to tell you that."

She laughs. "I'm a writer too, romance! That's why I'm here. I'm going to a book signing event."

"But that's what I'm doing too! I got a pretty bad review a few weeks back and decided my erotica needed a bit of romance! So I'm here to learn."

"Oh my God, I'm the opposite. My romance needs some better sex!"

"Bloody hell . My spice need romancing and your romancing needs spice. We're a match forged by the Gods!"

I look up, Eros is looking back at us.

"And this is the perfect place for us!"

We talk for a bit whilst we finish our drinks before heading through to the restaurant. I help her take her seat, performing as the perfect gentleman. We are handed menus and Melissa immediately starts leafing through. I leave mine on the table as I watch her. The waiter asks if we would like a drink.

"Red please, Merlot."

He nods and leaves us. Melissa looks up.

"You've chosen again! You didn't ask me what I would like."

"And?"

"Well what if I don't like red?"

"You do. Well, do you want red?"

"Yes."

"So what's your problem?"

"Nothing. No problem. It's just, how did you know?"

"The train, remember? I helped you open your bottle."

I note that she is biting her lip again as she nods slowly studying me. The waiter returns with the wine and to take our order.

"Fillet steaks please. Rare."

She looks at me again, her mouth open slightly.

"Look, what are you playing at? I was going to choose something else!"

"But it's what you want! I saw you looking. When it came to the page with the steak selection, you bit your lip then quickly turned over to the next section. You were doing what every slightly shy women does. You scan down the prices first not even looking at the dishes. You made up your mind that steak would be too indulgent to select at these prices, so decided to select something less expensive. But you really wanted steak, didn't you? So I chose for you, simple!"

She was staring right at me.

"Didn't you?"

"Yes." She nods, fidgeting in her seat again.

"Anyway, you told me to choose."

"No I didn't, when did I say that?"

"I asked you. I said 'What do you fancy?' And you replied 'You...I mean you choose'," I repeat her words from earlier back to her.

Her expression looks mortified. I reach across and take her hand.

"I'm really sorry, I'm just teasing. If you really don't want red wine, and if you really don't want some really expensive steak then we can change it."

"No, it's perfect! It's exactly what I want. Thank you for knowing what I fancy."

"You can choose dessert." I reply noting the flirtatious tone her voice had taken with her final words.

The food is delicious and we talk about our writing, what we will be doing at the event, the authors we want to meet. There are only a couple where we would be together but we talk about meeting up at breaks or lunch to catch up. It becomes clear to me how much effort she is putting into being here and I begin to feel a bit guilty if somehow our meeting is kind of interfering with her plans. I resolve to take things slowly. I really don't want to complicate anything so early on. I am happy to wait and see if anything develops, I decide.

Melissa chooses desserts for us and we sit with a second bottle of wine as the time passes quickly. I am provided with the bill which I nonchalantly look at, fetching out my credit card. Inwardly I'm thinking 'Jesus, that's fucking expensive.'

She leans into me, whispering "I'll pay tomorrow, if you tell me what you fancy."

'Ooo', I think to myself, 'more flirting!'

"Hang on a minute, is there not a free wine and canapés reception at the end of the day?"

She laughs. "Yes, there is! We'll fill up there and get a MacDonald's later if we need one."

I shake my head feeling I've just been conned, but loving every minute of it!

***

We walk slowly back to hotel. It isn't far and we chat non-stop. I take hold her of hand and I can feel the desire within me heighten but re-affirm my thoughts that I feel that I would be taking advantage of her if I were to allow anything to happen on our first night here. Besides, there was a busy day ahead and I had been up very early to get the train. Who was I kidding! I really really wanted this girl now! We enter the lift, I press the button for our floor.

"You're being a bit presumptuous, are you not?" She asks.

"How do you mean?"

"Well, you haven't asked me what floor I want?"

"Eh? You're in the room next to mine!"

"Oh yes, I forgot, sorry I didn't mean..."

"It's okay," I reply laughing. "I have no intention of taking advantage of you!"

"Oh." She replies, a little despondently.

We walk a long route around to our rooms. I note that she is biting her lip once again.

"Melissa?"

We stop and she looks me in the eyes. I sigh inwardly. My body is screaming out to me to take this girl now, my mind is telling me 'No!'

"Can I ask you something?"

Her eyes light up with desire.

"Will you have breakfast with me? Sorry, no that's not what I meant to say. Will you meet me early in the morning before breakfast. I'd like to go for a walk with you before the city wakes up. It might still be a bit dark but as it lightens I find that cities are amazing places when it's still so quiet. You see them so differently. So I thought, a nice walk, staying on the romantic theme, breakfast to warm us up when we get back. Plenty time before we have to register."

She turns and grabs my shoulders, raising herself up, her face close to mine.

"That would be perfect!"

She kisses me gently on the lips. We agree the time - 6.30am - and enter our rooms.

'Fuck, fuck, fuck' I think to myself as I flop down onto my bed. 'We could be lying here having mad passionate sex now, but no. Here I am alone again. What a stupid prick!' My heart beats fast as I think of her. Our heads are probably only two feet apart, separated by the partition wall only a few inches thick. The thought doesn't comfort me, it only heightens my desire to be with her. I strip off and cover myself over. It's still quite early and I listen for any sounds she may make next door but all is quiet. I set my phone to wake me at six and slowly drift off.

My sleep is restless. She appears in my dreams. A temptress, enticing me. I wake twice, sweat cold on my body. I pull the covers in tightly. A sweeter dream now. Or am I just imagining ahead, planning our adventures. I can't shake her from my mind.

***

I wait for her on the steps outside the entrance as agreed. What if she didn't appear? Had I read the signs wrongly. Was I simply an older man fantasising? I feel a tug at my arm.

"Morning you!" she says cheerfully, looking refreshed.

My face lights up. Any tiredness left in me retreats. I hold out my hand to take hers.

"Good morning. Sleep well?"

"Perfectly!" She replies. "You?"

I think back to my restless dreams.

"Yes, very well indeed. The minute my head hit the pillow... Right, are you up for a brisk morning walk then?"

"Absolutely! Lead on McDuff!"

"You do know that that is actually a mis-quotation from..." I stop myself. No need to say things like that!

I lead on. I want to take her down to the canal basins. It's a brisk fifteen minutes walk, and through some dodgy areas for a distance, but the tranquility is amazing at this time of the day. It's still quite dark but she strides along happily at the quick pace that I normally walk at. I like the energy she is giving off. We speed up more as we pass through a rather rundown area but I know that it will only take a few minutes to reach the areas that have been rejuvenated.

The sky is lighter now, cloudless, and the pre-dawn light a cool blue. There is a chill in the air and not another soul around. I slow our pace, taking her arm in mine, both for warmth and closeness. I look at her, still smiling, her head tilting inwards to my shoulder. I hope that she is feeling the same warm glow inside that I am currently experiencing. Something tells me that she is.

The road narrows as we pass under a railway bridge and into the area around which the main Industry of the Manchester of the 18th and 19th centuries was centred. The warehouses surrounding the canal basins had all been converted into flats, restaurants and bars. At night, the place comes alive but at this hour, so early in the morning, all we could hear was quietness. The tranquility of the canal water immediately relaxing us.

"It's a photographer's dream." I say as we stop at a point that juts out at the end of one embankment. "Especially in this light. Look at the juxtaposition of the railway bridges passing overhead, the lattice beams of the heavy goods line against the graceful arch of the later passenger railway, the peacefulness of the canal water reflecting the industrial architecture, the heavy engineering of the canal sides and remnants of..."

She looks up at me. "You're a natural writer aren't you? You're taking this all in! And no doubt will use it as a backdrop in some future story."

I laugh. "No, writing is a recent pastime. But this," I wave my hand around, "this to me is magical and what has always inspired me."

We stand for a few minutes looking. I figure I've said enough nonsense so keep quiet.

"We need to move on." I tighten my arm into hers. "We can walk along the quaysides for a while before we have to head back."

We slowly walk, our closeness keeping us warm, both inside and out. We pause now and then as the views before us change, from the hard industry of the basins to a more rural feeling as we leave the warehouses behind and nature takes over, the canals providing the link between. It feels that we are alone in the world, just the two of us. I stop and turn to her.

"Now this is what I feel is missing from my stories. To me, this is pure romance!"

I inwardly cringe slightly at my own words. But I don't really care. I feel relaxed, content, glad that I am sharing this experience with someone. She smiles up at me. She is biting her lip again.

***

We eat breakfast before returning to our rooms to shower and get ready. We agree to walk down to the Conference Centre together but go our separate ways until lunchtime, have a quick catch up then take it from there. There is the drinks reception later, so that will be a good start to our evening and I was sure that she would be up for some more fun later. I had arranged tickets to see one particularly well received erotic author in the morning, and another in the afternoon who concentrated on a more romantic perspective of erotica. It was him I really wanted to speak to - a guy's view of romance whilst keeping things spicy!