Third Thursday

It was the third Thursday of the month. I had checked into the hotel alone; she was running late. I headed to the second floor. We always booked the same room on the second floor. Gemma and I had been lovers for more than two years. We had been introduced at a business reception and immediately hit it off. We both found the party boring, so we got really drunk. After leaving to have dinner, we decided we fancied each other and got a room for the evening. For several months, we could not get enough of each other even though we were both ‘happily’ married. The sex was just too good. Eventually, we settled into a routine: the third Thursday afternoon of every month. While we loved each other, we were both comfortable with our respective spouses and families. We did not want to lose each other, but we weren’t willing to risk all that we already had. As I walked down the corridor, I saw the housekeeper arranging linen in the cupboard. She looked up and gave me a big smile. She had seen Gemma and me come to the same room regularly, but bahis siteleri she never batted an eye. It was a luxury hotel where the staff were taught to respect the guests, especially regulars. It probably didn’t hurt that Gemma told me each month to leave the maid a big tip because we had “messed up the bed”. “Please let me know if there is anything I can do for you,” the housekeeper said with a pleasing Eastern European accent. “Extra towels, anything at all. It’s no trouble.”  I nodded, said thanks and continued down the hallway. My phone rang just as I was about to slip the key card into the door. It was Gemma, and she was crying. “I can’t see you, Brett, today or ever again,” she sobbed. “I stupidly left the last hotel bill in the waste bin, and Byron somehow found it. God only knows how. I had to tell him everything; he said he would leave me if I didn’t. I had to promise I would never see you again. Perhaps this is for the best. We’ve probably been living on borrowed time. This has to be the end. Goodbye, my love.” The canlı bahis siteleri line went dead before I could say anything. I slumped against the still-locked door. My mind was working overtime. Should I call her back? No, her husband could be with her. Perhaps this was for the best. One of our spouses was sure to have eventually found out. But still, could I live without her … without our Thursday afternoons? I felt empty and began crying. The housekeeper heard my sobs. “Here, let me help,” she said, taking the keycard from me and opening the door. She sat me to the bed and then got a glass of water for me. I murmured thanks, but much to my surprise she sat next to me on the bed rather than disappear out the door. I did not have to explain why I was crying; she had already figured it out. “I noticed you and your friend because you came here often and you were a polite, very attractive couple. Both of you always said hello when you saw me; most people don’t give me the time of day. “It’s been six years since I canlı bahis came to this country and started working at this hotel. Three years ago, my husband left me for a younger woman. I know emptiness; I know heartbreak. They never go away, but they do fade. I can promise you that. “I am here to help you.” While I should have probably told the housekeeper to go away and mind her own business, her words and gentle accent were reassuring. I leaned against her, and was a bit shocked when she put her arms around me. I don’t really know what I was thinking, but I got the sudden urge to lean over and kiss her. She probably should have slapped me, but instead she kissed me back, first gently and then with a bit of tongue. My senses returned and I pulled away. “Uh, I’m really, really sorry,” I stammered. “I don’t know what came over me, but…” She had put her finger against my lips and said, “Shhhh. I can tell you are hurting, and I think I know what may make you feel better, what may help to make you forget your misery.”  While I had seen her many times, I had never paid her much attention, not because she wasn’t pleasant looking. In fact, she was. However, you probably do not pay much attention to the hotel maid while on the way to have raucous sex with your lover.