Page 5 of Tame Me

“Jane, please don’t worry. Tomorrow, I fly home to Sweden, and you shall never see me again. Other than in your dreams I hope.”

I tried to smile at him, but it was probably more like a terrified grimace. Yanking the door open, I made a dash along the corridor. My heart was in my throat as I waited for the stupid elevator, and by the time the damn thing arrived, I was close to passing out.

As I rode the elevator to my floor, I yanked off my wig and tugged the pins from my hair. It was an eternity before I finally made it to my apartment. I glanced at the clock.

Oh faaark!

It was one-fifteen.

I’d been gone from reception for an hour and a half!

I dashed to the bathroom, and as I scrubbed off my makeup, I tried to ignore the fear in my eyes.

In record time, I showered and redressed into the clothes I’d had on earlier. Then, after brushing my teeth and swallowing two large glasses of water, I grabbed my diary, shoved it into my bag, and made the trip down to the lobby.

With each excruciating second, my heart thumped louder in my ears.

The doors pinged open, and with one last deep breath, I stepped out of the elevator. Everything was quiet. The lobby was empty, the bar was closed, and other than my pounding heart, everything was normal.

Able to breathe again, I crawled to the reception desk, flopped onto my chair, and plonked my head down onto my hands. It was an eternity before I grabbed my diary from my bag, pulled a pen from the top drawer, and turned to the 7th of October.

The elevators pinged, and I watched in horror as Magic Maxx strolled toward me with his arms open and a pleading look on his face. “Jane, I couldn’t leave you like that.”

I was dumbstruck, my heart set to explode as he came around the counter and reached for my hands. He pressed my palms to his chest and covered his hands over mine. “What happened upstairs was true magic.”

I gulped so hard it hurt.

“I don’t want our wonderful experience ruined by how it ended. I will remember you forever, but I want you to remember me, too.”

Realizing he wanted me to respond, I swallowed. “Oh, don’t worry. I won’t forget you.”

He tilted his head, and sincerity drilled into his eyes. “I promise you, nobody will ever learn of what we did here tonight. I will let this be our beautiful secret.”

He said it with such conviction I believed every word. “Thank you.”

He released my hands. “Can I have a hug?”

I chuckled. “Of course.”

We wrapped our arms around each other, and it was like a wonderful calming aura floated over me. Maxx had a gift, and once we finished our embrace, I felt truly relaxed.

Maxx lifted my hand to his lips. “Goodbye, Memphis. You will live forever in my dreams.”

“Goodbye, Magic, as will you in mine.”

He did his elegant skate across the lobby tiles, and when he pressed for the elevator, the doors opened immediately. With one last fleeting glance at me, he stepped over the threshold and disappeared.

Once again, I’d dodged a bullet, yet for some inexplicable reason, I felt like it was meant to happen. Was meeting Magic Maxx written in my destiny?

Wow, that was deep. I really am going crazy.

I sat down, and upon seeing my diary open on the counter, I began to chuckle. Another bullet dodged there, too. It would’ve been awkward as hell if he’d seen it.

Reaching for my pen, at the top of the page, I wrote, Magic Maxx Room 28, and as I thought about how wonderful both my body and mind felt right now, I wrote My Magic Elixir beneath his name.

As the small hours of the morning ticked by, I detailed at great length everything about my encounter with the yoga master.

Hours later, as morning sunshine lit up the horizon, I made a cup of green tea and headed out to my favorite spot in the hotel. I sipped my drink, watched the sun lighten the morning sky, breathed in the crisp air, and welcomed a new day into my life.

---