The Matchmaker Meets Her Match

SIX

I asked to leave early from work the next day and Rachel didn't mind. Not that it wasn't busy. The diner was usually packed later in the evening than it was during the day. It was a Friday anyway and their son, Vince, was going to take over. Anabel would be there in an hour after her classes were done so there was no need for an extra hand. I was very excited and nervous at the same time when I left the diner. Mary watched me in my ecstatic mood. She knew that something had happened between me and Sosha, or that something was about to, be it bad or good.

I didn't head straight back to the dormitory and roamed the city early in the night, contemplating between taking Hannah's advice or following my own heart. I had already made up my mind but taking other people's opinions into consideration wasn't always a bad idea. She was just worried about me, a naive country girl who had never experienced love and had never been with a man before that moment. To her, I was being too hasty with a man I hardly knew other than his name and his occupation.

I didn't know anything else about his life but he was the same when it came to me. He didn't know my name but he expressed interest in me. I came to think that he had felt the same way the time he first saw me. 'Love at first sight' is what they called it but I wasn't certain if it applied to him. He could have been infatuated with me but only time could tell if it was love or not. I was prepared to wait and take the risk to see if he had any feelings for me.

I waited in a small cafe until it was almost the time that was written on the picture. I brought it with me and read the address over a map to see where the hotel was. It didn't take long for me to find it and the hotel itself was only ten minutes away from where I was. I would make my way there. I convinced myself that once I had gone in, there was turning back. Not that I wanted to. I wanted to meet him and let anything that would happen take place. I wouldn't stop anything nor would I change my mind.

I kept the same mindset when I entered the extravagant lobby. That was a building meant to be occupied by people in a higher social class than I was. I stood out even though I did not fit in there and everyone around noticed me. Not only was I nervous when I walked over to the reception area, I was dressed in the most plain and simplest skirt and shirt anyone could find, all of which cost not even ten percent of the prices of what the other guests were wearing. I was already doubtful that anything would work out between Sosha and I because of the age difference but the status withing society discouraged me further.

I stopped at the receptionist, a woman who looked up at me and instantly thought of what I could have wanted. To her, I was obviously not there to book a room and indeed I wasn't. I was only there to visit someone. I told her the name of the person I had gone there to see and she looked through the book behind the counter. She didn't believe that there was anyone who could have been waiting for me but the name 'Sosha' had a note written beside it that stated that he would have a guest at a specified time and that they should be allowed to pass through.

It was only five minutes past that specified time but it made no difference. The receptionist, clearly disappointed or annoyed, told me the room number and the floor where the person was waiting for me and pointed to the side of the lobby where the elevator was. I walked away without another word and entered the elevator, pressed the button on the floor and waited until the doors opened again.

My mind went on and off during the walk from the elevator to the right door. I changed my mind and then convinced myself not to turn and leave so many times that I was not certain on what decision to decide on as I stood before the door. I waited there, unmoving, for two minutes straight. It wasn't too late to turn around, I told myself. But I would regret not pursuing my love later that night in bed, I said to myself next.

Finally, I decided on turning away before I involved myself too deeply with Sosha when the door opened and said man appeared behind it. He had on only a towel wrapped around his lower half, his hair dripping with droplets of water that ran down his shoulders and his chiseled torso. I didn't look at his half naked form for too long, instantly turning my head away to hide the red hue covering my face.

"I honestly didn't think you would show," he said, moving away from the door for me to enter the room. I hesitated for a moment. He raised an eyebrow, wondering if I was too nervous to enter the room with him.

"Are you not ready-"

"No! I'm fine... I just need a moment," I said, hurriedly walking in before he could change his mind at seeing me about to change mine. He closed the door and I walked over to the middle of the room. It was a nice room, one that only the rich could afford. Sosha stood next to the closed door. I was looking around, taking in the fresh smell of tobacco in the atmosphere. It was a nostalgic scent that filled me with nothing but regret. I hoped that I wouldn't feel anymore of that later on.

"If you're too nervous, you can take a shower to clear your mind. I don't mind waiting," he suggested, being nicer than he had been to me before. I thought of him as a mean person who was both callous and not easy to impress. Him being in nothing but a towel and being nice and patient with me made me understand why I had found an older man attractive. The younger ones were only interested in getting together with pretty girls and messing around with them, not taking life seriously and being impatient with them when they weren't ready to take the next step.

"Right. Give me a moment," I said in a low voice before walking over to the other door in the room. I entered it and closed the door behind me, resting my back against it. I sighed heavily. I was too nervous and stiff. I had to loosen down a bit and a shower would definitely help me. So, I stripped til I was naked, turned on the water and hopped in. The hot water worked wonders like a rejuvenating spring that washed away all that weighed my soul down. I didn't think too much about anything and just stood there, enjoying the moment of peace.

Five minutes later, I thought I had kept him waiting for too long and exited the shower, noticing that there was no other towel in the room. I couldn't put my clothes on without drying off first and I was too scared to appear in front of him naked. I was still thinking about what to do when the door opened. At that moment, my mind went blank. I didn't think to cover up my body from his eyes and stood there, wet and dripping from water.

He was still in the towel, a sight that still made my face hot. He released the door handle and stepped into the room. I stood there until he was in front of me. He brought his hands up to the back of my neck and firmly held onto it as he leaned in and planted his lips against mine. I didn't respond for a moment until he slipped his tongue past my lips to explore my mouth. The kiss lasted for only a minute, then he moved away.

"Shall we get started?" He asked, a smirk on his face that caused my heart to beat so fast. I nodded, allowing him to take my hand and lead me back to the room where the bed was waiting for the two of us.

I woke up early in the morning in the bed. The sun was high up in the sky and my body ached from the rigorous activity that I took part in for hours until a little over midnight. I was naked underneath the sheets. From the moment I opened my eyes, a terrible feeling came over me. I didn't know how to describe it. I felt sick and upset at the same time. I was depressed and the thought that I had gone through my first time with a man I hardly knew made me feel terrible. That was the regret I hoped I wouldn't feel later.

I didn't even know if Sosha had any feelings for me. I turned to face the other side of the bed to see that it was empty. I sat up and looked around the room. I even called out his name but there was no response from the other room. That was it; I had been used. Just as I was warned by Hannah. I was about to huddle up in the bed, filled with a deep sadness when I saw a note on the bedstand on his side. I reached over at grabbed it, then read over it twice to make sure what I read was real and I wasn't delusional.

'I have to go in to the office.

Have some breakfast before you leave.

I'll see you again soon.

Sosha.'

The sadness I felt was washed away and a smile appeared on my face. I had feared that I wouldn't see him again but the note reassured me that what happened between us wouldn't be a one time fling. I did as the note instructed; ordered breakfast which I waited for while taking a shower. Once I was done, I checked out of the hotel and went straight for the diner. I still had to work on Saturdays and had to explain to Rachel that I was late because I overslept.

It had never happened before and she was quick to believe me, however, Mary knew that I was lying. Anabel was either too naive to notice I had lied or did so and didn't get involved just as Mary did. She pulled me aside into the pantry where the ingredients were kept, the only place we could have a private talk.

"Were you with that man last night?" She asked like a mother who was about to scold her child. There was no point in lying to her and I told her the truth, expecting her to be happy that I was moving forward with the man I was in love with. She wasn't ecstatic at all and expressed disappointment on her face. I didn't know that she wasn't disappointed in me but rather with someone else. At herself for not doing her best to meddle in my life, and at Sosha, who had stolen the heart of an innocent and vulnerable girl.

"... I know that I love him and he has some feelings for me, too. They might not amount to what I feel about him but that's enough for me," I said, trying to reassure her that she didn't have to worry about me. She averted her eyes from me as though she wanted to say something but didn't know how to word it. She was too reluctant to tell me and even thought about not doing so until I told her she could tell me anything.

"I'm not saying he might not have some feelings for you," she began and I listened attentively, "... but I know for a fact that his heart belongs to someone else. Bea... that man has a wife and two children."