And a cute voice too...

Regretfully, I pushed myself back from Carla. and darted to the small white door that had to be the bathroom. The bathroom done up in tile and orange marble... Damn it, there was even a glass shower with conspicuous hand holds. Whoever had designed this room had designed it for an affair. Flowers, full length mirror, and a couple counters at just the right height. And Carla had enjoyed the amenities, along with my wife, and Charlotte.

A chill went through me as I remembered exactly how creative Charlotte could be. Ok, next time, I swore to myself, next time I do this right. I get, wait... who would be the woman I came out here with, did I want... suddenly Carla's little comment about Harem politics made complete sense. Yeah, a romantic getaway in a room like this would be great. It also would mean that the rest of the women in our group would be left out completely if I had left them behind. I'd already spent a huge amount of time with Helen and Charlotte, and even Kaila had taken her fair share of my honeymoon. And now, Carla was getting her chance, and she wanted to spend it working out how everybody could get along.

I finished with the basic needs quickly, and I heard Carla's voice laugh loudly from the main room, along with the sound of a roller and the clink of glasses on a tray.

"So, did you and Kaila work it out?" The voice was bright and earnest. A pleasant soprano, actually, which I hadn't heard often. I rinsed my hands in the sink, hearing a few more words but not getting the total conversation. I grasped the nearest hand towel, dried my hands, and opened the door.

I was not expecting to see Carla kissing a woman. A young one at that. She was dressed in the Dark blue Sport coat and Slack combination that was the de rigueur uniform for hotel employees in this part of the world. Her dark hair was done up a bun behind her head, and her angular face bore a look of surprise as she startled at my appearance.

I was especially not expecting to see Carla push back from the woman with an embarrassed fluster at my presence.

"Brent... I.... fuck... Don't, don't start freaking out," Carla babbled quickly as the other woman seemed to appraise me and my presence. She glanced back and forth between me and the other woman, a look of panic on her face. "Okay, this is... exactly what it looks like, but it's not serious."

"So, uh... He was with you. I thought so," The woman's face was now suddenly somewhat placid. "It was just once in a lifetime, wasn't it?"

"I didn't... I didn't want to hurt you," Carla apologized to the woman, her gaze darting back to me nervously. "I thought we..."

"I know. You all made it pretty clear. And it was a lot of fun. So uhm... damn it, now I hate to ask you to just sign the check," The woman shrugged apologetically and pulled a small leather folder from under one of the trays.

"Right... Uhm, well, you've... I mean, yeah, if I'm ever around I've got your number, and you've got mine," Carla glanced back at me. "Brent, this is Joan, she's a friend. I promise, soon as the door is shut, full disclosure on this."

"Ok, I'm... you know I'm really short on trust right now," I couldn't help but notice that Joan's expression wasn't jealous or disappointed. I actually had no idea what she was thinking, since she had seemed to snap into some kind of professional demeanor. She accepted the signed bill from Carla with a smile and favored me with a gaze that I swear was one of the most brilliant I'd ever seen.

"No hard feelings, I hope," Joan shrugged apologetically. "I probably should let you two have some time alone, I don't want to make this complicated."