Cleo: Travel escort London
A stolen pause in London with one of my favorite clients…
I left Brussels in the middle of a blizzard. Heavy snow, grey skies, and as I boarded the train everything slowed down. Stepping off two hours later, London was clear and bright, as if it had been waiting for us. I was there for just one day and one night, a stolen pause with one of my favorite clients. We hadn’t seen each other in weeks, and I’d felt the absence more than I cared to admit.
Just long enough for a smile, a look that lingered
We didn’t travel together. Instead, we met briefly on the platform before departure. Just long enough for a smile, a look that lingered, the unspoken agreement to stretch the anticipation as far as it would go. Then we separated, each boarding alone, carried beneath the English Channel with nothing but expectation for company.
For twenty-four hours, London belonged to us
The moment we arrived in the city, everything accelerated. We checked straight into a skyscraper hotel in the center of London. When the door to the room opened, the city spread out beneath us in full clarity, bridges, rooftops, and life everywhere. Floor-to-ceiling windows, a giant bathtub, the delicious sense of being completely visible and completely hidden at the same time. For twenty-four hours, London belonged to us.
Re-familiarizing ourselves came easily, naturally.
Just as we were settling in, he surprised me with a gift. An antique necklace, perfectly in line with my taste. I put it on immediately. It felt intimate, almost ceremonial. We didn’t bother pretending to be patient after that. Re-familiarizing ourselves came easily, naturally, with the thrill of knowing an entire city pulsed just beyond the glass while no one could see us.
We took our time: good food, flowing conversation, drinks …
Later, we headed to the National Gallery for lunch. We took our time: good food, flowing conversation, drinks that lingered. We finished just in time to catch the museum’s final hour. Wandering the halls we talked about the artists who inspired us and captivated us, sharing what we knew, exchanging thoughts and impressions as we moved from room to room.
Shakespeare, velvet seats, a packed theatre.
Back at the hotel, we changed for the evening and headed to the West End. Shakespeare, velvet seats, a packed theatre. The play was captivating, almost as much as his hand resting on my thigh throughout the whole second act, steady and unapologetic, pulling my attention away from the stage more than once.
We ended the night back in the room, London lit up beneath us, glittering around us like constellations. I fell asleep smiling, certain that some dreams are meant to last exactly one night.
-xxx- Cleo
