Monty, too, expressed his appreciation of this sight. It had been years since he had driven into San Francisco at night - his annual trips to the Cow Palace usually kept him in South San Francisco where there were cheaper motels. Besides, he had never had the excuse on such a trip of delivering a beautiful girl home into the city.
When they turned onto 4th street and reached the Marriott with its soaring façade of glass, curved at the top, Monty swung into the curb and parked. Laura was disappointed, because she was sure he couldn't park there so near the front of the hotel and expected that he'd be saying goodbye right then. To her surprise, he killed the engine and set the parking brake.
"Are you sure you can park here?" she exclaimed, starting to open the passenger door. "I'll just jump out so you don't get a ticket, or get towed."
"Don't worry about that. Notice the yellow line on the curb? That means it's a loading zone, and I have commercial plates on the truck. I'm safe parked here for a bit. Besides, my mother always told me to be a gentleman. I'd never just drop a lady off at the curb," smiled Monty.
Laura relaxed her grip on the door handle and waited for Monty to come around and open the door for her, taking her hand to help her down from the truck. Neither seemed to notice, or care, that he didn't release her hand as they walked toward the hotel and in through the large doors opened by the doorman. They were still holding hands as they strolled through the ornate lobby toward the bank of elevators, but when they reached that area Laura dropped her hand, turned to Monty, and smiled as she said, "Well, I guess I'm home now. Thanks for driving me here, and thanks for making this a really great night."
"If you don't mind, I'd like to see you right to your door, Laura. No ulterior motives, just that I've read about women being attacked in elevators, even in fancy hotels." Monty's face wore a concerned expression as he said this, and Laura felt that the offer was sincere and had no strings attached. This man was unlike any she'd encountered before. She gladly accepted his offer, and leaned forward to push the button to call an elevator.
Once they entered the elevator and Laura pressed the button to her floor, they both seemed less at ease than they had been all night. Others had entered the elevator too, and their presence had a stifling effect on any conversation. Although the newly-acquainted couple were standing very close together, they had not rejoined hands. Both were hoping this was not to be just a case of two strangers passing in the night, neither was quite sure how to move it beyond that.