Jonna's life as a teacher is all routine, until she receives an online invitation from a near stranger, Zachary, and drops everything for a weekend of fun.
As the weekend evolves into much more, Jonna explores many facets of herself, with another s...
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Jonna: Just landed.
Her finger hovered over send. She clicked her tongue and stayed her hand. She was making herself too available, and Zachary was bound to get sick of her. A text could wait until she was settled at the hotel.
She rattled off the hotel name to the cab driver, who jetted from the airport, blasting NPR. The top stories elicited sighs from them both, and they chatted about the news for a short span.
Then he asked, "So why are you in D.C.?"
"Visiting a...friend," Jonna said.
But she wasn't sure what they were, or how she could label their virtual relationship. Friends? Half-true. Friends with benefits?
Yes, please.
Check-in at the hotel was easy, and finding her room even easier. For the price, the place was clean, well-lit, with a large bed that beckoned. Before undressing, Jonna reached in her pockets and pulled out a small slip of paper.
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While waiting for the cab at the airport, she had taken the paper from her purse to examine it once, then twice, transferring it to her pocket for whatever reason. The whole experience had been flattering, and curiosity-inducing. Even now, the winky face made her chuckle, and then she quieted. Only children passed notes, and added pictures to the notes. The whole thing felt wrong, like she was cheating on Zachary. Shaking her head, she crumpled the paper and tossed it in the small plastic waste bin by the door.
Once she unpacked and showered, she perched on the bed naked. Out of habit, she grabbed a sheet to cover herself, staring at the phone. Conversation that had sprung so fluidly before was now stunted. Braced with the prospect of actually meeting Zachary, she was punking out. She fell onto the pillows, contemplating what to say.
Jonna ended up typing:
I'm here.
That seemed too boring, so she added:
Let's fuck.
Simple. To the point. She deleted the second sentence, amended to read:
Where can we meet?
Zachary's answer warmed her, like always:
Can't believe you're really in D.C. I'm smiling so big right now, you've no idea. I know a great place, it's called The Grizzled Wizard. You'll love it. An hour work for you?
An hour for her to fret some more.
Jonna: Meet ya there.
Google Maps, wizard that it was, pointed her to the Wizarding bar. It was approximately two minutes away, and ten minutes away on foot. Hell, it was a sunny day, and she wanted to see the city.
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