What had started out as loving kisses and stroking of cheeks quickly rose into fervent need. It had, after all, been nine months since Fenny and Brad had seen each other, nine months of thinking of nothing but each other’s touch.

“I’ve missed you so much,” Brad whispered hoarsely into Fenny’s ear as he disentangled his fingers from her hair to peel her t-shirt over her head.

“We shouldn’t be doing this,” Fenny said softly, “Rona’s in the next room, she could hear.”

“You’ve never been a screamer,” he said with a naughty grin as he leaned down to tease that well-memorized spot under her ear. She shivered and clutched at his arms. “But we could stop if you want to.”

“God no,” Fenny gasped and pulled him into another hungry kiss.

Brad nudged her backwards towards the bed and, with the fingers of one hand slipping between the elastic band of his shorts and his warm skin, she slipped off her glasses, dropped them where she hoped the bedside table would be, and didn’t flinch when they clattered against the floor.

She tugged at the fabric of the red boxers with both hands. “Did you wear these for me?” she whispered.

“There’s no one else,” he breathed as they collapsed onto the bed. “Why do you like them so much?”

Her fingers trailed down his chest, followed by a line of soft kisses. “Because they look so nice on the floor.”

“What do you mean, you don’t love Greg?” Paul gasped.

“Oh, you have to know, Paul,” Gina began indignantly, “that I never stopped loving you, and as much as I’d like him to, Greg can’t fill your space in my heart. I don’t think anyone could.”

“Really?” he asked, a bit surprised by her revelation.

“Why do you think I never signed the papers?” Gina shrugged, looking back to the floor. “I know you hate me for what I did, but I couldn’t make myself let go.”

“I never hated you.”

She turned to face him and their eyes met, each reading the sincerity in the other’s gaze. At once, they leapt for each other, reveling in the nearly forgotten but instantly familiar feelings of his hair through her fingers, her skin against his palms, the exploration of each other’s mouths.

They fell back on the bed, kicking off their shoes as they scooted up towards the pillows, not breaking their embrace until Gina sat up to throw off her shirt. “This is why you never signed the papers,” Paul grinned as he quickly undid the remainder of his shirt buttons, tossed it over his shoulder and pushed Gina back onto the bed.

“Damn straight,” she agreed before grabbing him for another kiss.

Fenny and Brad lay panting, sated, and grinning giddily as they stared at the ceiling, fingers entwined.

“Remind me again why I ever left you?” Brad breathed.

“Because we’re human, and we make mistakes,” Fenny answered.

“Well I’ve learned from them, and we’re not gonna make any more mistakes,” he assured her. “I can’t wait to get you home to my—our—apartment.” He looked over at her adoringly, and she smiled, rolling over to lay her head on his shoulder.

“Where we can do this every night, right?”

“Twice on Saturdays,” he chuckled.

“Ooh, aren’t you Mr. Stamina, huh?”

“Fucking television!”

Fenny jumped upright in bed at the voice from the next room. “It’s up,” she gasped, peering nervously at the wall that separated her room from Ritza’s.

“Sorry Fen, not for another few minutes,” Brad giggled, peeking under the covers.

“No, Rona’s awake. You’re gonna have to go. Now,” Fenny commanded, crawling off the bed to find her shirt and Brad’s boxers.

“Come with me,” he cooed.

“I can’t.”

“Yes you can. Remember why I’m here, saving you from fiendish Ritza?”

“But Gina, I can’t leave without her.” Something hit the wall from the other side with a dull thud and a stream of menacing obscenities from Rona. Fenny slipped into her clothes as she watched him step into his shorts. “What’s your room number?” she whispered.

“Uh, 201, but Fen—”

“Go.” She bundled Brad to the door and, with one last searing kiss, pushed him into the hallway, shutting the door silently behind him.

“Crap,” he muttered as he reluctantly trudged down the corridor, remembering he was still locked out of his room. He stood before Paul’s door, fist poised to knock, but stopped when he heard a shrill cry and Gina’s familiar voice shouting, “Harder, oh god, give it to me Paul…”

He grimaced and headed across the hall. “And behind door number two…” Pausing at Greg’s door, Brad heard soft snoring and decided against waking Greg; better to wander to the lobby in his underwear than inform Greg that Paul and Gina were doing the nasty.

“Jesus fucking Christ,” Paul gasped as Gina curled up next to him. He wrapped his arms tightly around her. “If that’s what a couple years of sexual tension between two people’ll do, I don’t mind so much anymore.”

“So, was it good for you?” Gina giggled.

“Yeah,” he breathed, too contented and exhausted to come up with a snide remark.

“I’ve missed this,” Gina cooed.

“What, mind blowing sex?” Paul asked.

“Yeah, that too,” she giggled. “I’ve missed you.”

“I missed you too,” he said. “To think,” he added after a moment, “none of this would’ve happened if Fenny and I hadn’t been bothered by the same phallic sculpture.”

“Fenny, shit,” Gina cussed. “I should get back. I don’t know what I’d do if Ritza came back already, or what she might do to Fenny.” She leapt out of the bed and hurriedly wrestled with her clothes. “Oh, and I hope they didn’t wake Rona.”

“What’re you gonna do, walk back into the kidnapper’s den?” Paul demanded.

“If the psychos aren’t back, we’ll come back here,” she assured him.

“And if they are?”

“Then things are gonna be bad.” She grabbed her shoes and headed for the door. Paul leapt up from the bed and caught her by the hand to kiss her. “I love you,” she said.

“I know,” he smiled. “Good luck. We’re gonna get you out of this.”

“I know you are,” she agreed before disappearing into the hallway.

Gina couldn’t help but sigh with relief when she saw the door was still unlocked and she was able to slip in unnoticed. Fenny was curled up in the fetal position on the far side of the bed, facing away from the door, her glasses in the middle of the floor. Gina rushed over to check on her.

“Fen,” she said, shaking her shoulder. “Fen, you ok?”

“What?” Fenny grumbled as her eyes fluttered open.

“Are you ok, did Ritza come back?”

“I’m fine,” Fenny said, rubbing her eyes as she sat up in bed. “I just fell asleep a few minutes ago, Ritza hasn’t been back.” Fenny turned the television on out of habit to block their talking from being heard in the next room. “Rona’s up though, she’s been throwing things in there. I don’t think she’s pleased.”

“Did you and Brad wake her up?” Gina asked with a knowing smile.

“No, she—what do you mean, me and Brad?” Fenny demanded defiantly.

“I know he was here,” Gina announced.

Fenny glared at her. “How?”

“Well, your specs are on the floor, your bra is halfway across the room, and I heard you two in here talking earlier.”

“Oh,” Fenny peeped, crawling across the bed to reach for her glasses. “Where’d you go then?”

“I kept a lookout for Ritza.”

“You did not,” Fenny countered. “You were with Greg, weren’t you? I know they’re on this floor.”

“Greg? No,” Gina shrugged.

Fenny frowned for a minute. “You weren’t with Paul, were you?”

She grinned guiltily. “I think we might be on the road to maybe working things out.”

“What about Greg?” Fenny demanded.

“What about him? He’s known from the start that this wasn’t gonna work out.”

“Are you sure about that?”

The door flew open and both women jumped back. “Would you shut the fuck up, I’m trying to sleep here!” Rona shrieked blearily. The door slammed shut again, and both women heard the distinct click of the lock.

“Dammit,” Gina cried as Fenny reached for the volume button on the remote.

“Thanks again,” Brad smiled to the maid who unlocked his room for him as he slipped inside to remove the robe they had given him in the lobby. He smiled to himself as he remembered the startled and wholly distracted young woman at the desk having to ask three times for him to start his explanation over again before her male associate produced a robe from behind the counter for him to put on. From there it had been a quick call to housekeeping and now here he was, ready to succumb to the warm, heady feeling of sleepiness that he had been fighting since leaving Fenny’s room.

Without bothering to turn on the lights, Brad slipped into the bed, snuggling under the covers and wishing that Fenny was still with him.

Just as he was slipping into sleep, he was jolted awake by a swishing noise from the bathroom. “Fenny?” he called, remembering that he had given her his room number, not sure if he had locked the door.

“Guess again, darling.”