by
Sienna
@ 2007-07-25 - 19:01:06
I got a text from the Channel Man:
"U free tonight? I have just booked a flight over 4 one night! Call it impulse x"
Free I was, if mainly for the reason that my intestines were being wrecked by a nasty stomach bug, which had left me incapable of human movement and ingesting anything stronger than tea and Ryvita for the past 24 hours.
He had sent this text just after two, and now it was 5pm in the afternoon. I called him, half pleased, half confused, half apologetic (yes, I am mathsdyslexic) and explained that I was really too ill to do anything, but that I felt flattered he'd come to London (albeit without checking with me first, which I thought foolish and presumtuous beyond belief).
Anyway, I am no cruel monster and with this spontanous act he had managed to appeal to my sense of guilt: after all, if our brief meeting had bewitched him enough to leave his island and fly all the way to London on a whim just to see me again, who was I to deny him that pleasure - dodgy tummy or not!?
Sticking to The Rules like a fly to honey, I didn't pick up his next call (or maybe I was just in the loo, which is more likely) and he left a message saying sorry I didn't feel well, and that he'd call me as soon as he got to London.
I didn't hear from him until about 10pm, by which time I was ready for bed.
However, curious as we are, my flatmate and I had checked out the luxury hotel he was staying at on the internet and decided it would be worth visiting. Again, dodgy tummy/hot and cold sweats/churning insides/dizziness/the inability to drink anything remotely interesting or not...
It didn't take long for him to convince me to meet him.
After all, he had come ALL THIS WAY (just to see ME), and since I wasn't ready to play hostess to him in my (slightly neglected-looking) flat quite yet, I jumped in the car he so thoughtfully sent over, clutching my bikini.
Spotting the gorgeous-looking pool on the website, a boring day cocooned at home and him mentioning my favourite film (PRETTY WOMAN in case you forgot) contributed to convince me it would be a really great idea to travel halfway across London with stomach cramps to meet a forty-something guy I had only seen once before, well into my bedtime.
"I thought I'd do something really romantic, come over to London on a whim with some flowers for you, has any guy ever done this for you?" he said in a disappointed voice when I initially told him I was far too ill to move or receive visitors.
"What if I'd been busy, or away?" I asked him. "You should have checked with me before you came, I am really sorry but I was even too unwell to go to work today", I explained to him, clutching my duvet under my chin. "And I am sorry but it's just soo late now, I was planning to have an early night..." I added.
After all, two of my friends had told me to forget it. The whole thing about him trying to get back with the ex, being too drunk to remember much and so on, as well as his "I whistle, you come" attitude didn't make him sound too great.
What does he think I am, a pizza service?
In the end, expecting an obscene bouquet of flowers, a pool hired just for me and plenty of herbal tea, I was convinced enough to put on fresh knickers and some makeup, and pop my contact lens solution into my bag just in case.
I am proud to report that I have grown up though, and the "case" never occurred.
It started with him coming outside the hotel to meet me, clutching a cigarette.
Remember, I hate smoking and had been lying down all day, feeling nauseous even at the mention of food on the TV, so the last thing I felt like doing was standing outside in the cold sniffing second-hand smoke.
"Were we smoking when I met you?" he asked me. "Most certainly not", I replied, "I have never smoked in my life and remember, your companion was kicked out of the club after having a sneaky drag under the table".
"I want to go inside and sit down", I said, "and you shouldn't smoke either- it is bad for you".
He slipped me his room keycard and told me the number.
"I am not going into your room", I told him. "I thought we'd sit down and have a drink, then check out the pool?".
Needless to say, the cash he had saved on dinner for me hadn't been invested in any flowers, either. Instead, he had made two new "friends" at the bar who had become so attached to him that the waiter had to assure himself that "the ladies weren't bothering you, sir?".
He joined me after he finished with the evil weed, and we ordered some mint tea and had a chat.
That is, he chatted and I drank tea.
Although he was interesting to listen to, I didn't even get to tell him about my one (and only) car -whilst he told me about four of his.
A graphic description of an accident I would have found hard to stomach even when well was only interrupted when I threatened to throw up on his £6000 suit, and I didn't need to know how many of his exes were supermodels and why he had never had sex with his ex wife either.
I never even got round to asking him whether he would consider adopting, although he had gone on about his past working with underprivileged kids for quite some time.
We had a bit of a snog (that tongue again!), finished the tea and got in the lift- to the pool, I thought.
Instead we ended up outside his room (at least he thought it was his) - and couldn't get in.
"What's so interesting about the room anyway?" I asked him, "I thought we were going swimming". He gave up slotting the card through the reader and we went in search of the tropical paradise as advertised on their website.
Alas, it was shut. So much for: "Bring your bikini baby, I'll hire the whole floor!".
OK, back to the room. He seemed to cotton on to the fact that I wouldn't be staying with him... slowly.
Surely, anyone would understand this. It is hard suffering with the runs even when surrounded by your nearest and dearest, let alone by a near-stranger who you'd like to preserve at least a smidgen of sexual allure for!
Also, I was struck down by the longest period in womankind's history. I was tired and suffered from bouts of sweats and cramps. I didn't feel sexy, and the false intimacy of "just cuddling up to" a man I met only once before - and sober, this time (me, not him)- really didn't appeal.
I couldn't drink my brain into seductive submission, I wouldn't be able to eat breakfast and I had nothing to sleep in, so the whole thing seemed completely pointless.
The realisation started to hit him, and he became a bit uncomfortable.
"I thought you liked me more than that",
"I paid £600 for the flight",
"Do you think I'd jump you and rape you?" (small tip guys: "rape" is a good word to cross from your dating vocabulary),
"Don't you trust me?",
"I'd never do anything you didn't want me to do",
"No, it's not our first date, it's the second date",
"Don't you think it's nice to wake up in the arms of someone you like?" and
"Please, stay"
didn't manage to convince me either.
We admired the view from his balcony (like Edward Lewis, he is convinced the top floor is the best... unlike Richard Gere, his budget didn't stretch to the penthouse) where "look, no hands" didn't win me any brownie points for my ability to recite the film verbatim, so I doubt he even knows it that well.
Just to recap, Vivian got paid to "accompany him into the hotel", and she even scored some flowers at the end!