Page 16 of The Player in New Zealand
Tane pointed out a fast-food shop on the corner. “This kebab place is really good.”
“Maybe I’ll check it out for dinner.”
More silence.Awkward.
We reached my new digs and Tane opened the glass door for me, cold air rushing out. It didn’t get as miserably hot here as it did in Boston in the summer, but with almost everything I owned weighing me down, I was sweating.
“Thanks, you can just put it there.” I pointed to a chair.
Tane rested the bundle on the chair but didn’t release it completely, which was a good thing, I guess. The chair was small, the pile large, and there were enough eyes in the lobby that I didn’t want my underwear on display again.
I checked in and got my room card. A single room, shared bathroom. Tane walked behind me as I followed the receptionist’s directions up the stairs and down the hallway. The door swung open to a clean, bright modern bedroom.Oh, thank God.
“Set it down on the bed.” I gestured and Tane obeyed my instructions. The pile of laundry collapsed and a thong hit the floor of my new room. Oops.
“It’s better than your last place, yeah?” Tane—thankfully ignoring my embarrassment—strode to the window, checking out the view. No, wait. Checking out the windows.
“I think I’ll be fine since I’m on the second floor,” I said, amused.
“Do you have brothers?” Tane asked.
“No, just one sister. Why?”
He shrugged. “It’s the way I’d want someone to treat my sister or...” He trailed off, thinking. “Employee,” he finished.
“I’m telling Nina you don’t think she can handle herself.”
And then Tane grinned. Wow. The pictures of him smiling and laughing that Iris and I had scoped out online had nothing on real-life Tane.
I must have been staring, because Tane wiped the smile off his face and cleared his throat. “Okay, well.” He hooked a thumb over his shoulder. “I better go meet my friend.”
Something in the way he said it made it sound a little special. Like it was a girlfriend. Or a hookup? Or maybe I was reading too much into it.
“Thanks again,” I said as Tane stepped out into the hallway.
“You’re welcome. See ya back at the bar.”
And with that, Tane walked off to his hot date, and I was left with a pile of smelly laundry. At least I had kebabs in my future.
* * *
Havingmy own room was so much better. After laundry was done, dinner was eaten, and all my things were put away, I took a selfie in the doorway of my room and sent it to Iris.
And then I flopped face-first onto my bed. The new hostel was clean—really clean—and the privacy was like a long-lost friend. There were so many things I couldn’t do in a dorm room, like call my sister or change clothes or masturbate.
After a few weeks without, I was definitely horny. While I was not opposed to hookups, and thoroughly enjoyed the one-night stand philosophy, an opportunity hadn’t arisen yet. Most of the people I’d met in my last hostel had been coupled up or were also staying in the dorm room, and the guys who hit on me at the bar were often locals—or creeps. I didn’t want to sleep with someone who was going to come around to the bar over and over again.
Packing light meant I had only a small bullet vibrator with me. I had packed a dildo in my luggage at first, but the night before I left, I had a nightmare about customs searching my bag and pulling it out for everyone to see. Though I much preferred penetration, with enough pressure and concentration, the bullet would do.
I crawled into bed and reacquainted myself with my compact but powerful new best friend in my very clean, very private room.
SIX
Thanks to the Christmas holiday,the bar was closed for a few days, but then we were slammed with New Year’s and it was two weeks before I got a chance to corner Tane.
It was weird having Christmas in the summer, but my new hostel was full of activities for the guests, including a secret Santa gift exchange and a big family-style meal. That, combined with a very long video chat with Iris, rebooted my batteries enough to tackle the business of New Year’s.
I was at the tail end of a lunch shift and wrapping up the day before it got too busy again. Tane was behind the bar, sober—for now—and I wasn’t too busy filling drink orders to talk with him.
