Mia stared at the man across from her and blinked. She had come to Bangkok to escape the pervasive thoughts of Johnny, not to be confronted by his doppelganger, who even shared the same name. She shook her head, baffled. She must have heard him wrong. The world couldn’t be that cruel, surely.
“Sorry, what did you say your name was?” she asked, hoping he hadn’t noticed her shock.
“John,” he said.
Mia groaned inwardly. Apparently her ears still worked fine and the planets were colluding against her.
“Have you ordered?” he asked. “I’m sorry to just sit down like this, but I hate eating alone and I recognised you from the ferry and I thought – well I hoped – you wouldn’t mind.”
“Uh, sure. OK”, said Mia hesitantly.
“Great. That’s just great. Thanks.”
He had a lovely lilting voice that carried all the best aspects of the British accent and he did indeed sound very grateful for the company. She glanced at him as he settled himself into the seat, which he had been merely perched on the edge of before, and he smiled shyly at her. It wasn’t a conceited, self-confident smile, but a genuine one that spread all the way to his eyes. She liked that in people; when they smiled with their eyes. He blushed and looked away, unsure of himself, like he didn’t know what to do next.
Perhaps not so similar to Johnny, after all?
He started flicking through the substantial menu and she took the opportunity to peer at him surreptitiously from beneath her lashes. She could see the muscles in his jaw flex in concentration and he ran a hand idly through his hair, pushing the sandy mop off his face. Around his left wrist was a well-worn string bracelet – a memento of his travels perhaps? Despite the difference in ego, the physical likeness to Johnny really was uncanny.
“You, err, don’t have relatives in Australia, do you?” she asked casually.
John shook his head. “Not that I know of. Why?”
“Oh, no reason,” shot back Mia, hurriedly.
***
The conversation over dinner, despite its stilted beginnings, was easy and fun and it wasn’t until about half way through the meal that she realised he was trying to impress her. John regaled Mia with grand stories of his travels and life thus far, which, Mia established, was significantly less than she herself had experienced. Although he claimed to be 27, she suspected he couldn’t be more than about 23 or 24. Mia – despite having seen the other side of 33 – didn’t look a day over 25, and thought the whole situation highly amusing. She got a strange buzz that a total stranger was lying about his age in order to seem more worthy of her attention, and she started to relax and enjoy herself for the first time since she’d left Australia.
The more time they spent chatting, the more differences Mia started seeing between this John and her Johnny (who was, she kept reminding herself, not her Johnny at all because otherwise she would not find herself in this situation). John didn’t have the same confidence of Johnny and although very well travelled she suspected that he perhaps wasn’t as well… errr… ‘Travelled’.
They ordered a portion to share of fresh mango and sticky rice for desert, which they devoured in no time at all. Mia picked up the Mango stone, cocking an eyebrow, challenging him to try and take it from her. He would have had a fight on his hands, as Mango was one of Mia’s absolute favourite things. He knew a losing battle when he saw one, and graciously allowed her to have it, contenting himself with the scraps of rice that were stuck to the plate. Mia tugged the remnants of the fruit from the hard stone and ran her tongue along the furry edge.
John had stopped what he was doing and was staring at her, mesmerised, his excitement palpable. Mia was astonished. Never before had she witnessed her own ability to make a man stop in his tracks.
I wonder how far I can push this, she thought to herself, slowly bringing each finger to her mouth and sucking the sticky fruit from them, enjoying the feeling of being desired. It could have been the heavy heat or the spicy, fragrant food, but there was something about the situation that made Mia feel strong and untouchable. She felt a familiar warmth spread downwards through her body and realised she wanted more than just mango for desert. She looked across as him and smiled slowly. The anticipation that she was about to do something so completely out of character was a powerful aphrodisiac.
“Let me show you my hotel,” she said in a low voice.
***
They didn’t speak much on the walk back to Mia’s room. She could feel John’s eyes darting to her and she felt excited by the power that she wielded over him. When they arrived she took his hand and pulled him towards the lift. She could see his adams apple bobbing up and down like crazy. He was nervous. She put his hand to her mouth and slowly kissed each of his fingers, like she had done to her own in the restaurant, feeling him tremble beneath her touch. She slid her hand underneath his t-shirt and held it over his heart, the beats quickening to her touch. She could hear his breath in short shallow bursts. He tried to kiss her, but she smiled and shook her head. Not yet.
Once in the room, she peeled off his t-shirt to reveal a perfectly toned and tanned torso. She trailed light kisses across his chest and shoulders and ran her hands down his perfectly flat stomach. She removed his belt and finally his jeans, taking a sharp breath as she felt his substantial groin push against her.
Finally she leant in and kissed him; a long, passionate kiss. A growl escaped from the back of his throat and he wrapped his arms around her, pulling her close.
“You are so beautiful Mia,” he whispered in her ear, between kisses down her neck.
She could tell that he meant it too.
The rest of the night and much of the next day was spent in a tangle of sheets and limbs
***
Hi Ana and Willow!
Sorry I haven’t written for a few days – haven’t been back at the hotel much to check emails. Am heading to Ko Phi Phi tomorrow with some friends and then back to Bangkok to fly back to Melbourne. Having such a great time. Not looking forward to coming home, but I miss you both and I suppose if I want to keep my job I need to get back…
Mia stared at the blinking curser on the screen in front of her and giggled. Should she tell them who she was really going to the island with? Or should this be something that she should keep to herself? She couldn’t believe that so much had happened over the last few days.
A knock on the hotel room door startled her and she jumped up to let John in. He had his bags packed and a big smile on his face.
“You ready?”
“I just need to quickly send this email,” she said, receiving the kiss that he offered.
Mia smiled to herself. Holiday romances: Why had she not tried these before?
