A New Vista

Chapter 16

I walked inside the theater that late night and looked at the sign. It read The Front Page, TONIGHT. A small crowd of theater kids and parents crowded in.

In the play, Paul played a drunk man. He was obviously new to acting and hadn't yet mastered the polish and glamour of being in front of an audience.

After the play, the cast lined up and bowed in front of everyone. The audience began filing out, but I still sat in my seat. I watched as they took photos on the stage. Paul posed with his empty flask on stage.

After the flash of the camera, he smirked and turned to the girl next to him. He held the flask and pressed it against her lips, she gladly drank whatever liquid was inside. It wasn't empty.

I got jealous as I looked at the way she looked at him, then another guy held Paul's shoulders and said something in his ear. Paul looked out into rows and rows of empty chairs, all empty except for mine.

He nodded at the guy, then adjusted is ill fitting blazer that as a part of his costume. He jumped off the stage, landing on bent knees, then walked over to me.

"Liz." He said as he stood in the aisle. I was a few rows down looking forward at him.

"You did great." I congratulated him. "I was pleasantly surprised."

He fiddled with his goofy tie around his neck as he walked over to me seat. Then, he pushed past me as he got to the empty seat next to me. He took off his hat and sat down.

"Is this what you want to do?" I asked him. He twisted the hat around in his hands, not answering.

"I know I was condescending, I'm sorry for that." I said quietly. "Paul, if this is what you really want to do I'll support you through and through."

He looked into my eyes. "Yeah. This is what I want."

"Then I'll support you in this and I'll stick by you along the way." I told him as he I took his hand. He leaned in and kissed me.

While we kissed, people on the stage clapped for us. We smiled as we looked up at the stage, they all seemed happy for us.

Everyone except one: that girl he shared his flask with. She still held the flask, and squinted as she took another sip.

"Thank you, baby." Paul said, distracted me from staring at the mystery girl. He kissed my hand. "How about we get ourselves out of here?"

We walked out hand in hand as he led me to his car. We drove for a bit as the radio played in the background. Frank Sinatra's voice boomed through the speakers.

We parked in a mostly empty parking lot. He opened my door and allowed me to step out. We walked inside the building. I realized he had taken me to a hotel.

"Elizabeth, I know you wanted to wait for that special guy." Paul said as he wrapped his arms around my waist. I held onto his biceps as we stood there. "And you also made it clear that guy was me."

"It is." I smiled up at him and he grinned.

"So, how about we do it? Right here, right now." He asked softly. I thought for a moment, and glimpsed at the concierge behind the desk that stared at us.

Then I looked back up at Paul, whose eyes scanned my face as I thought for an answer.

Of course, the answer was yes, and I kissed him in the middle of the lobby. He squeezed me as we kissed, then immediately took my hand as we walked to the front desk.

I held onto his arm as he got our room. It seemed like time stopped for a moment as the concierge handed him our key. Paul looked down at me and placed the key into my open palm.

Then he left a kiss on my forehead. "Let's find our room."

He held my hand as we walked up the dimly lit staircase, and we walked along the floor of the local hotel. Once opened, we were revealed to a small hotel room with the bed tilted in a corner, a vanity against the wall and a dresser in front of the bed.

An old fashioned phone was on the side table. There was a candle stick with two candles and a match box next to it. Paul took the match box and lit the candles, then he placed it on a chair that stood next to the bed.

He stood tall and bowed in front of me. I laughed since he was still in his costume, his goofy hat falling off of his head. He held out his hand and I walked up to him, placing my hand in his palm.

He kissed my hand, then began to kiss up to the crook of my arm. Then he held my waist, his hand slowly making its way to my ass as he led me to the bed.

I slipped off my dress and stood next to the bed. His lips parted as he feverishly removed his jacket. "You look beautiful, Liz."

I smiled then began wiggling off my panties as he began removing his pants. While taking off my bra, he began to touch the bulge forming in his boxers.

I laid down on the bed and he got on top and laid on top of me. His hand found its way to my heat and felt around. "Are you sure you're ready?"

"I'm positive." I smiled at him and he smiled back. Leaving a kiss on my lips, he began kissing down my body.