[Spirit of Lust 2] Chapters 348 & 349. (Patreon)

Chapter 348: Valentine’s day.

I still felt bad that the girls were left to organize something for us for Valentine’s Day since I didn’t think the Talent Show was a good enough excuse. If anything, I’d say a better reason for me forgetting was that being single all my life had made me not register the date as anything special. Hell, I resented it to some extent and I can’t be the only one.

You’re alone, wishing you had somebody who cared about you, and all the while couples around act all lovey-dovey, stores begin to sell heart-shaped chocolates, flowers and cards, and all the advertising shows people being in love. It’s like rubbing salt on a lonely man’s heart wounds, so I never expected I would ever be buying flowers and chocolates in heart-shaped boxes, yet that was exactly what I was about to do.

As I was getting ready to leave the house that afternoon, I saw Isabelle coming out of her room just as I came out of mine. I looked her up and down in surprise. She was wearing sweatpants, an old long sleeved T-shirt and her fluffy slippers.

“You’re going out now?” She yawned and scratched her stomach. “Have fun.”

“And… you don’t have plans for today?” I asked her, a bit skeptical.

She grinned. “Nope, and it feels better than I thought.”

“Huh?”

“I can count with the fingers of one hand the times I’ve had a good Valentine’s Day, dear brother. This year, I’m free of obligations. Honestly, being single is more comfortable than I remembered.”

She seemed honest, and really, Isabelle and I had different perspectives on this. She had had boyfriends before and lots of them turned out to be jerks. Now she was focusing on herself rather than her love life, so I suppose that skipping Valentine’s Day this year came to her as a welcomed break. For me, though, it was my first time actually celebrating it instead of hating it.

“So long as you’re satisfied,” I told her. “Just don’t be a slob all day.”

“Hey, I plan to get some work done later. What about you? Are you coming back tonight or…?”

“I’m… staying out tonight. It was awkward, but I have mom’s permission.”

“Figured. You got them something right? Chocolate? Flowers? it’s cliché, but it’s still nice to receive them.”

“I plan to buy both now.”

Isabelle nodded. “Good. Anyway, enjoy your first Valentine’s Day.”

After that little interaction, I went on my way.

At my first stop at the candy store, the lady had to stop herself from giving me strange looks when I bought five boxes of chocolate. It was like she was trying to decipher my intentions, analyzing if I was a cheating scumbag, a playboy or a very, very devoted boyfriend. It made me very uncomfortable, so yeah, not going to that store ever again.

The lady at the flower shop was a lot nicer. Without me asking, she told me which flowers to avoid if I was picking a Valentine’s Day gift (because of their ominous meanings) and which ones were more associated with love, care and beauty. Honestly, the way she put it made it hard to pick anything. I had thought of picking a single type of flower that reminded me of each of the girls, but as the lady explained some of their meanings to me, they all reminded me of them all in some way or another. I’d need a full course on flower language to do something like that, so I ended up picking a bouquet of four flowers: red roses for pleasure and happiness, white daisies for loyal love, blue hyacinths for sincerity and yellow honeysuckles for devoted affection. Honestly, there were probably at least 5 more layers of meaning behind these flowers, but I’d already learned that indecision and inaction can be dangerous. When I asked the lady for five bouquets, she laughed and called me a charmer. See? That’s how you sell and get people to come back. She even gave me a small discount and five small, blank cards for free. I decided to write a short, personal message for each of the girls.

Anyway, it was time for me to head over to the place. Since I had to make these purchases, I’d been forced to decline Mila’s generous offer to pick me up, and since the place we were going to this time was rather far from my house, practically at the other side of the city, I had to do something I rarely ever did. I had to take the subway. I put the chocolate boxes in my backpack, but I had to carry the flowers in my arms. I definitely made for a very stereotypical image of a guy on Valentine's Day. I was certainly getting all kinds of looks. They also made me uncomfortable. Worry about yourselves, dammit!

I followed the directions to the location Grace had sent me, a quiet street in an entertainment district in one of the richest parts of the city. Perhaps unsurprisingly, it was a love hotel, but I was perplexed nonetheless. I mean, the building was huge! At least three times the size of the other place we used. Fourteen floors, I think, but also very, very wide. The whole thing was painted red and had large, one-way glass windows. However… I saw some heavy machinery parked around, construction equipment and such. None of it in use and everything carefully stashed away, but it was close at hand for when it was needed. The building did look particularly new, but still, the sign at the glass double doors said it was open, and just to make sure, I confirmed the name of the hotel with the name Grace had sent me.

Pleasure Lake Hotel.

Was this the ‘something interesting’ that Noelle said she and Grace found? I admit, I felt pretty anxious. Entering a place I’d never been to before still gave me that feeling. Those stupid questions of ‘what if this isn’t the place?’ or ‘What do I say once I’m in?’ but Alice said they had already made reservations. Besides, I needed to… wanted to get rid of that dumb anxiety, and what better way to do it than the age old adage of ‘fuck it, here goes nothing’?

And so, I went inside. After all, I’d been to a love hotel before. How different could it be?

************

Chapter 349: New hotel.

I began to regret it immediately.

I went into the reception lobby, which was a lot smaller than I expected considering the size of the building itself, but I guess you don’t need a big lobby for a place like this. The floor was all black tiles and the walls painted in dark blue. Other than the reception desk by the left wall and the shelves behind it, it was completely empty. Also, said reception desk did not have the black glass screen like the other hotel, meaning… you’d be seen by the receptionist whenever you came in. Not that it mattered, though, because the moment I went through the door, I saw the receptionist in the middle of the lobby with a broom in her hands. The woman shot me a glare that could’ve pierced an elephant through and I almost ran away.

I froze. I didn’t know what to do or what to say, and the woman’s eyes were locked on me with a sort of… cold disdain that was the stuff of nightmares. But then…

{Oh God… It really is him!}

I blinked. I read someone’s mind without meaning to. It was a voice I didn’t know, and… there was no one else in here but the woman in front of me. More baffling were the… feelings that came with the words. Shock, elation, agitation, excitement… and anxiety. How do I explain this? Even though she was glaring at me, I could tell this woman was… glad to see me? The most puzzling thing of all was that I didn’t know her.

She had short black hair in a bob cut that reached just a bit above her neck, dark eyes and white, creamy skin. I swallowed. She was… very cute, though she looked to be around her mid or upper 20s. She was tall, perhaps as tall as Thomas if not just a bit less. She was wearing a white dress shirt that… seemed to be missing its first two buttons, leading to her showing a fair bit of cleavage in her ample, ample chest. The shirt was also a tight fit around her slim waist, and her tight black pants accentuated her hips and her peachy butt.

Sappy as it sounds, her beauty was so dazzling that it made me forget to be afraid of her glare. That, combined with the mind reading that, while still random, I had learned to trust, I felt surprisingly relaxed. Maybe it was because I knew this woman was anxious as well.

“Um, excuse me? We… have a reservation under Grace Valentine,” I said, trying to sound calm and nonchalant. It seemed to have worked, because the woman’s features softened enough that she was no longer glaring or even scowling. That said, she remained very serious.

She nodded and walked over to the reception desk. “Your ID, please,” she said. Her voice was low and cool, yet kind of soothing.

I gave her my ID and she began to check stuff on her computer. The reservation was done under Grace’s name, but our names should be there, too, they said. “Oliver Brooks. A reservation for six, correct?” She kept looking at the computer screen as she spoke.

{Five girls…}

She glanced at the flowers in my hands. Jealousy, desire, acceptance, arousal.

“Y-Yes.”

God, what was happening?

“The other guests are not here yet. Would you like to go to the suite or will you wait?” She sounded professional enough, but also with a cold distance. I could appreciate it, but it felt strange and awkward considering...

“I’ll go to the suite now,” I said.

The woman nodded, turned back to the board behind her with several keys hanging, grabbed one and gave it to me without looking me in the eyes. “Yours is the penthouse suite 1 on the 10th floor.”

“Thank you.”

I walked over to the elevator, feeling the woman’s stare on my back.

{He has a nice back…}

Ignore it, ignore it. I had similar thoughts regarding her and I’d be mortified if she heard them.

I got in the elevator, and when I pressed the button for the 10th floor, I spared one last glance towards the reception desk. The woman was glaring again, not as intensely, but still.

…

I smiled at her and gave her a little wave, sort of how I would do it at the coffee shop. I didn’t know that woman, didn’t even know her name, but… I’ve glared at people without meaning to before. Thomas was the first one to return it with a casual smile, and it meant something to me. I thought I saw the woman’s face soften as she blinked in surprise, but the elevator doors closed just as it was happening.

Man, I miss the black screen.

Ah, but… Really, why did she recognize me? Why was she… happy to see me?

No, ignore it.

ANYWAY.

Coming out of the elevator one faced the stairs in the small space. There were only two other doors there, one at either side of the elevator. Penthouse suites 1 and 2. I unlocked the door to suite 1 and entered.

It was… even better than the room we used at the old hotel, somehow. It had a living room area with marble flooring and beige colored walls. The lighting gave the space a soft orange tint. There were three brown, polyester couches surrounding a… small stage with a dance pole  and facing a large TV on the wall. There was also a large hot tub in the corner with mirrors on both corner walls. Six people would be a tight fit, but it was feasible. Lastly, a wet bar and a fridge next to the TV.

Just this was more than I expected, but then I went into the bedroom. The lighting here was dimmer and purple. Two large king beds with soft, linen bedding and a fluffy brown rug between the beds, a walk-in glass shower right there for everyone to see, and a small restroom with a toilet and a sink. And of course, can’t forget the huge mirror in the ceiling.

The six of us were staying the night here. Just how much did this all cost? Better ask that question tomorrow, AFTER we left.

My phone buzzed. It was a text from Sarah, apologizing for the delay. She said that her aunt, who was going to look after her siblings that day, was late. And since she was the one who was going to pick the others up, everyone was late. They would be arriving in about 10 minutes, though.

I decided to make use of that time.