Around the World in 80 Men Series: Boxed Set 21-30 (68 page)

He
took the small glass from her fingers, just barely, then closed his
eyes hard and tried to focus on Morgan's face. Frustrated wasn't even
the word for how he felt right then. Her voice was beautiful; and her
skin was warm and soft, but he couldn't even tell if her eyes were
brown or green. In the light, he was able to see things a bit better,
but right then, in the lounge of the hotel, all he was sure of was
that she had blonde hair and she had the outline of a nice figure.
Her smile, what he would have given to see it clearly or to be able
to interact how he thought two people should.
I'm not going to be
good enough for paid company.
He sighed for the hundredth time
that night.
I can at least get drunk and forget about my damn eyes
for a night.

“
Cheers.”
He drank his third shot, then slammed it down, harder than intended,
and too close to the beer. First, Robbie heard the sound of glass
hitting wood, the sound of liquid sloshing, then, the sound of
Morgan's loud gasp as ice cold beer spilled all over her lap. “Fuck.
I'm sorry. I...shit!” She stood, and so did he. He made out the
napkin rack on the table and grabbed a handful, then held them out
for her and she gladly took them.

“
No,
it's alright. I can say they definitely keep their beer cold here
though,” she laughed as she blotted her jeans.

“
Here,”
he held out another huge stack of napkins. “I didn't mean
to....”

“
Hey,
it's okay. If I thought you
meant
to throw beer on me, then
we'd have to take this outside.” Again, she tried to joke, but
he still felt terrible. “Seriously, they're just jeans. I'll
throw them in the wash tomorrow.” He nodded and sat back down,
not knowing what to do with his hands that were still filled with
sixty napkins. He set the whole pile on the puddle on the table, and
Morgan laughed again. “I'm going to go change...uhm...do you
just want to meet me up there?”

“
Sure,
I can do that.” He regretted the words as soon as he spoke,
especially after Morgan told him she was on the sixth floor.

“
Six-thirty-three,”
Morgan told him, then flashed him her best flirtatious smile and
walked back through the lobby, toward the elevator doors.

“
Fuck
you,” he told the empty beer glass, once Morgan had left. It
was probably good she'd left when she did because the shots were
already kicking in, but he hoped she wasn't changing into anything
that might make it more difficult to keep himself under control.

Not
five minutes after she left, their food arrived by the hands of an
employee at the burger joint. Robbie knew he'd been paid by Loraine
to hand deliver the meal, as he also knew the place didn't deliver.
The knowledge that the man was willing to earn a little extra money
gave him another idea.

“
I'll
give you another fifty bucks if you take me to room
six-thirty-three.”

“
Oh,
no, Sir, I don't....”

“
Man,
don't ask questions, just get me there!” Robbie took the bag of
food and nodded his head toward the direction Morgan had walked.

The
delivery man shifted his gaze from the closed elevator doors in front
of them, to his side where Robbie stood with his bag of food, all the
while, both men were silent and anxious for the awkward moments
together to end. When the doors finally opened again, Robbie put his
hand out to suggest that he would follow his guide. His escort
cleared his throat quietly and nodded as he stepped out, then turned
his head slightly to see Robbie trailing closely behind.

Fifteen
feet down the hall, the man stopped and lowered his gaze to the
floor. “Here we are, Sir.” They had stopped in the dead
center of two doors, and Robbie looked at both of them, squinting in
the dimly lit hallway to read the gold colored numbers on each. His
focus was interrupted when he heard the subtle sound of his nervous
guide clearing his throat once again

“
Yeah,
here ya go.” Robbie pulled out his wallet and paid the man,
once again being grateful for Loraine who always kept his bills in a
certain order in his wallet. “Thanks.” He turned back
to the doors, and took a deep breath as the delivery man began to
walk away. He had to choose one, and he took a step to the door on
his left, and raised his hand to knock.

“
The
other one, Sir.” The voice from behind startled him, and he
looked over his shoulder to the smiling man behind him. “Thanks.”
With another deep breath, he moved to the correct door, and knocked
quickly.

Morgan
was still in the bathroom, having finally decided on a simple pink
long sweater and jeans, when she heard the knock. “Just a
sec!” She pulled the soft material over her head, and pulled
her long hair from underneath as she walked quickly to the door. The
delivery man was already on the elevator, so she opened the door to
only find her gorgeous soon-to-be client on the other side.

Chapter
Four

“
Thank
you! Thank you! Thank you!” Morgan took the two white bags
from Robbie's hand and held them in front of her. “I know, I
shouldn't be
this
excited about a burger, but you have no idea
what I've been through.” Robbie smiled and nodded as Morgan
turned quickly and walked to the small counter in her kitchenette.

“
Actually,
I do understand.” The man walked slowly to the bed and sat on
the edge. He watched as Morgan removed their meals and began to tell
her about his first six months in the area. “I can't even
stand the smell of kraut or sausage without flashbacks of wandering
aimlessly through the streets, opening every door to every
restaurant, hoping for the sweet scent of greasy burgers or a simple
hot dog.” He smiled when he heard Morgan giggle, and their
shared experience eased the slight discomfort of newness between
them.

“
I...uhm...usually
eat in bed. Is that alright?” Morgan stood before Robbie,
holding two plates that were filled with juicy burgers, thick fries,
and beautiful bed of lettuce and tomato on the side. Robbie reached
out slightly and was grateful that Morgan met him halfway with his
dinner.

“
I
quite enjoy eating in bed myself.” He turned to the center and
slowly dropped his plate until it reached the bedspread. The whiskey
and beer were rushing through his body, and as usual, right to the
part of his brain that was only used when he was....

“
Shit!”
Morgan nearly dropped her own plate when a stream of warm grease
plopped against her thigh, then to her knee. “This is not my
night!” She laughed slightly as she carried her dinner back to
the counter, and excused herself once again to change her clothes.
Laundry is definitely on the agenda tomorrow. You better come out
of these jeans, fucker.
She peeled the tight material from her
legs and gave the greasy spots a quick wash in the sink, hoping that
she caught it quickly enough.

“
If
I keep changing my clothes I won't have anything new for our week
together.” Morgan whispered her thoughts as her hand lifted
several pieces of clothing in her zebra print bag. “Okay,
shorts it is.” She realized that looking cute wasn't going to
happen any longer that night, but being comfortable was almost just
as good. “This will do.” Morgan pulled her white sleep
shorts over her long legs, and exchanged her sweater for a plain pink
tee shirt that Angel had insisted that she buy. He had told her that
it showed off her
girls
without screaming that she was trying
to. She shook her head and smiled at the memory, but at that moment,
her stomach was all that she cared about. “The girls can
wait.”

Robbie
was already half finished with his meal when Morgan joined him on the
bed, and she smiled as she stole a fry from his plate. “Typical
woman.” He moved his food from her reach and gave the air a
swat with his hand as he tried to ward her away from his food.

“
Oh,
I'm far from typical....trust me.” She crammed the stolen fry
in her mouth and they both laughed as they settled in comfortably
beside one another and enjoyed their meals.

“
I
can't do it!” Morgan turned her head and buried her face in a
pillow. Robbie had eaten his meal, and was trying to get his date to
finish hers. “I'm stuffed...you eat it.” Her muffled
words were met with laughter and she turned her head to watch Robbie
finish off the last of her burger in one bite. “It was so good
though.” She rubbed her full stomach and closed her eyes as
she rolled to her back completely. “In fact,” she opened
her eyes and looked up to the man that was staring down at her, “I
think it was probably the best burger I've ever had.” Robbie
smiled, but it had very little to do with their meal.

“
I'd
love to take credit, but it's just human nature to enjoy something a
little more than you should...if you've...not had it in...some time.”

Morgan
felt her cheeks heat as quickly as the double meaning of his words
sunk in. Her teeth found her bottom lip as she tried to hide the
smile that was fighting to form. “I can't imagine you've ever
had to wait long for
anything
in life.” She rolled to
her stomach and propped herself up on her elbows, not taking her eyes
off of the man.

Robbie
shook his head back and forth slowly and he stretched out on his
side, resting the palm of his hand under his jaw and tried to focus
on Morgan's face.
Green. I think they're green.
“Believe
it, it's been...a minute...”

“
Only
by choice. You're an American in Germany. Surely, you're melting some
of these girls' panties at
hello.
” Morgan laughed and
gave Robbie a gentle push at his shoulder. “The accent,”
she added when his eyes narrowed at her.

“
Mmm.
You think so?” Yes, it was true. There were women who adored
his accent, but he wasn't willing to give anyone a chance. Even just
sex, it was too much for him. He felt like he was having to tell
someone that he'd lost his penis in an accident. It was his sight,
but either way, he felt like less of a man, and it wasn't easy to
discuss with anyone.

“
I
know so,” Morgan nodded, then sat up completely. “I don't
know about you, but I've lost my buzz after all that food,” she
giggled, rubbing her full tummy. “You want something to drink?”
She still had two bottles of beer in the small fridge in the
kitchenette, those would do. Again, she didn't give him a chance to
answer and she gracefully jumped up from the bed and was halfway
across the room before he'd even lifted his head from his hand.

His
eyes watched her figure move across the room, and once more, he
wished he could see her clearly. His eyes closed slowly and he pushed
his lids together hard. It was something he often did, especially
when frustrated with his vision. Perhaps wishful thinking was all it
was, but he hoped when he opened them again, he'd see the world as he
used to. As every time before it though, when he opened his eyes,
things were no different. A long sigh escaped his lips, which he
quickly played into a yawn.

He
heard the soft pop of a bottle being opened, then another, and
Morgan's steps could be heard transitioning from the tiled kitchen
floor, to the soft carpet of the living room. On the way back to the
bed, Morgan flicked off one of the lamps with her elbow, making it
nearly impossible for Robbie to make out her figure. Good thing for
him, he could feel her presence when she placed one knee on the bed,
and even more so when she used his shoulder to settle herself in
beside him.

One
thing Robbie had learned as his eyesight had declined was the fact
the other senses had gone into overdrive to compensate for what he'd
lacked in vision. As Morgan stretched out and rested her head on her
hands under her head, her sweet scents and the sound of her slow
breathing filled his senses completely. The warm vanilla of her
shampoo and conditioner, the coconut milk lotion on her supple skin,
even the fresh mint that lingered on her breath...it was all enough
to drive him mad.

Morgan's
head turned to face him, that much he could tell, he could also make
out the dim white crescent of a smile on her face. She held out one
of the bottles of beer, “cheers...to...new friends.”

Robbie
reached his hand out and met her arm first, then slowly dragged his
fingertips downward, down to her wrist. He felt her shiver under his
touch and he curled his fingers around her wrist, holding her there.
Even though he'd meant to find the bottle of beer at first and not
her arm, he was wondering if it wasn't so bad after all.