I couldn’t believe my bad luck. First I was being forced to fly halfway across the country for a work seminar, and then, due to a problem with the hotel, I was forced to share a hotel room with my boss, Alex. It’s not that I didn’t like the guy, its just that we weren’t close or even acquainted by any stretch of the definition, and I didn’t feel too comfortable sharing a bedroom with him for 3 days. At least I was able to take some solace in the fact that the room had separate beds. It’s the little things, you know?
When we got to the hotel it was already almost evening. I popped into the shower quick to wash the smell of airplane off of myself and when I emerged I saw Alex unpacking his luggage into the little dresser that they have in hotel rooms like this. I never saw the point in doing such a thing, I was fine just keeping my clothes in my suitcase. For someone who works in an office, Alex was a large man. He was muscular and worked out regularly. I, on the other hand, was quite slim. I did some biking here and there so I wasn’t completely soft, but I wouldn’t call myself fit either.
“Some day huh?” I sighed. “This trip is off to a great start.”
Alex turned from what he was doing and looked at me. “Yeah. Some trip. I’m sure it won’t be all bad, though.” He had a reassuring look in his eye, not a look I saw from him a lot. Most of the time Alex was pretty distant from his employees, and this is probably one of the longest conversations I’d had with the man since my interview with him 2 years ago.
“I’m pretty thirsty, do you wanna get a drink from the bar downstairs?” I didn’t really wait for his answer, I was already getting dressed.
“I think I’ll finish unpacking, maybe I’ll meet you down there.”
Off I went downstairs to calm my nerves from the trip. Not long after I had gotten to the bar and ordered my drink, Alex appeared and sat down next to me at the bar, ordering a drink for himself as well.
“That didn’t take long.” I said incredulously.
Alex merely smiled. “I can finish unpacking later. I was feeling pretty thirsty as well, to be honest.”
Over the next 5 minutes Alex and I sat in relative silence as we enjoyed our drinks, occasionally engaging in meaningless small-talk about the weather in town or about the upcoming seminar schedule starting tomorrow. Nothing important basically until Alex chimed in. “So, let’s talk about something other than work. We don’t talk much, David, I want to get to know you better.”
This threw me off guard a bit, like I said I rarely spoke to this guy at work. For a couple seconds I struggled to come up with a personal subject to talk about and eventually squeaked out, “So, are you married?” The fact that that was my first question made me kick myself mentally, talk about jumping in the deep end. Alex didn’t seem uncomfortable, though.
“Not anymore. I got divorced a few years ago.” That was another kick to myself.
“Oh, I’m sorry to hear that.” I had no idea what to say so I just said whatever I could think of. “I’m sure you’ll find someone else, someday.”
“Thanks, David. That means a lot.” Alex smiled that smile again. “What about you, do you have a wife or girlfriend?”
“No, actually. Not anymore, that is. I was in a relationship but that ended about a year ago.” I took another sip of my beer, mentally begging that the subject be changed. I didn’t like talking about my last relationship. It ended abruptly when I found her cheating on me, it still hurts. At the same time I don’t like talking about it because of how much, despite what she did, I miss her.
“Oh, that’s too bad.” Now it was Alex’s turn to be supportive. He put one of his large hands on my shoulder and rubbed it around. “I’m sure whoever it was is kicking themselves that they let someone like you get away.”
What was meant by “someone like me”? I tried not to think about it, Alex was probably just trying to say something supportive, like I was. I finished my drink and stood up. “Probably about time to turn in, don’t you think? I’m gonna head back to the room.” Alex just nodded and watched me walk away.
Once I had gotten to the room, I changed out of my clothes into something more comfortable, a pair of sweatpants and a thin grey hoodie, and sat down on my bed, goofing off on my phone. A few minutes later Alex came in. He looked around the room at my luggage bags and the relative little floor space left and he turned to me on my bed. “I think perhaps we should move the beds together. That will give us more space in the room for our bags.”
I stood up from the bed. On the one hand, I definitely liked that I had a separate bed, I wasn’t interested in sleeping next to Alex in what would essentially be one bed. On the other hand, he had a point and, to be honest, I’d always felt intimidated of Alex so I found it hard to say no to his suggestion. With a sigh I stood up and started pushing my bed toward the centre of the room, Alex went across the room and did the same with his until out two beds had become one.
I just about hopped back onto my bed when Alex came around and pulled me into a hug. I was shocked to say the least. I thought perhaps that this was some extension of his supportive words at the bar yet at the same time I wasn’t sure how supportive this really was for me. I tried to be polite and hug him back but after a couple seconds I realised something strange. I started to notice that I actually seemed to like how this felt. I didn’t think I was gay or even curious at the time so I had no idea why I was feeling this way. I eventually came to the answer that talking about my ex must have triggered some feeling of loneliness in me that this hug was now alleviating, at least that’s what I thought at the time. Rationalisations aside, I couldn’t deny how good this felt. Alex’s muscular arms wrapped around me, I felt safe and warm in them and I found myself smiling with my eyes closed.
However, this feeling of comfort was interrupted by the feeling of Alex’s lips on my neck. He wasn’t kissing it exactly but they were there, touching me. He did eventually start, though, and I could feel butterflies in my stomach as he did, first starting up high on my jaw and then lower and lower. Like the hug, I was surprised by how much I was enjoying this, however I knew this wasn’t right. After all, I didn’t think Alex was gay, at least he didn’t seem gay. And I certainly wasn’t gay either. Plus he was my boss so this kind of thing was triply uncomfortable. I pulled away slowly, my eyes meeting Alex’s as he looked at me with the same shocked expression that I imagine I must’ve had.
“It’s probably time to go to bed.” He said embarrassed as he hurried over to his side of the bed, slipping out of his pants and leaving only his boxers and shirt on before sliding under his covers. I did the same, slipping out of everything except my briefs (that’s how I liked to sleep) and sliding under my own covers. It wasn’t easy to fall asleep at first, that hug still fresh in my mind, but somehow I had managed.
Source: reddit.com/r/gonewildstories/comments/9v5l4s/mm_sharing_a_hotel_room_with_my_boss_part_1