Okay, so I was pissed off and that probably wasn’t the best time to suddenly accept an invitation to meet a stranger in a bar but frankly, I just didn’t care anymore. My boyfriend was a no show for the third Saturday night in a row. He always had a good reason for it but enough was enough. We were on a downward slide toward a break up and the reality was that I had dressed up expecting a good time and I was stuck at home again. Well, no more I decided! If he thought I was staying at home waiting for him again, he had another think coming.
My dark brown hair was fixed and hanging in loose curls down my back. My makeup was done, I had on a white dress with fringe at the hem that was made for dancing, and by golly I was going out! I slipped my high-heeled sandals on and ran my hands up my long legs to smooth out my pantyhose. I’m 5’8” and the heels added 3 inches to my height. My boyfriend is 5’11” so they put us at the same height but the guy who had been flirting with me online said he was 6’2”. I left a message on my boyfriend’s answering machine telling him we were through and then I jumped online and left a message for DARKLVR that said, “Fat Jack’s, 8:30 pm, I’m living dangerously” then I headed for my car.
Fat Jack’s is a nice hangout during the week and on weekends the live bands can really have the place hopping. I like to dance and I hadn’t gotten a chance to in weeks. I looked at the marquee and knew that I’d picked the perfect night. The band was a favorite of mine and they weren’t afraid to play a broad range of music including country, swing, pop, and rock. I put my purse over my shoulder and walked up to the door.
“Hello darlin,” the bouncer drawled as I handed him the money for the cover charge.
“Aren’t you the sweetest thing,” I drawled back and winked at him. I watched him flush with embarrassment as he handed me my change. “Better be careful,” I warned. “We don’t want the masses to discover what a big softy you are.” I winked again and left him laughing at the door. Greg and his wife, Mona were friends of mine. Greg was moonlighting at Fat Jack’s to earn the extra money they needed to move into a larger house now that Mona was pregnant with twins.
I chose a table for two between the bar and the dance floor. The waitress took my order for a whiskey sour as I looked over the men standing or sitting alone near the bar. I wanted to dance and if DARKLVR didn’t show I would dance with whoever was available. My eyes had made a complete circuit of the room when I saw him standing at the end of the bar. He was dressed all in black and my pulse raced as I looked him over. His description of himself was pretty accurate. He looked to be over 6’ tall with longish brown hair hanging over his collar. He had on tight, black jeans and cowboy boots. His shirt was black and I could see the glint of metal at his neck where a heavy chain rested. The shirt was open at the top but only for comfort. You could tell by looking at him, that nothing about him was affected. He looked like he knew what he wanted and didn’t care what anyone else thought. I dropped my eyes as he turned his back to the bar and surveyed the room. I didn’t want him to catch me staring.
The waitress brought my drink and the appetizer I had ordered. I busied myself trying the assortment of spicy chicken bites while the couple at the next table began arguing about whether he had flirted with some other woman before they arrived. Their voices were getting louder and several other people were starting to stare as her voice became shrill and she began swearing at him. He looked embarrassed and kept asking her to calm down. Suddenly she picked up her glass and flung the contents into his face. He tried to get back out of the way and ended up bumping my table. I rescued my own glass and the basket of chicken as his chair collided with the table and knocked down the chair on the other side of mine. Suddenly a black clad arm reached out and took the basket from my hand. I looked up into the piercing eyes of the man at the bar.
He held his hand out palm up and said, “Perhaps my table might be safer.” I looked at him and knew for sure that this was DARKLVR. I placed my hand in his and he pulled me up. Together we went to the far side of the room where several booths were placed against the wall. The seating was darker there - more intimate feeling and I felt a slight quiver of excitement chase up and down my spine. I wondered what this dynamic looking man had in mind as he sat across from me and I felt our knees brush under the table. Up close he was ruggedly handsome, the kind of guy you expected to see riding a horse in a western movie. He completely ignored the couple who had caused the commotion and watched me as I nervously twisted my glass around on its paper coaster.
Now that I was here, I had no clue what to say or do. My natural shyness kicked in and I couldn’t even look at him. His hand was gentle as he placed it over one of mine on the glass. I lifted my eyes to his and he smiled.
“Don’t be nervous. We won’t do anything you don’t want to do,” he said. I felt his knee bump mine under the table again and I wondered if he had done it on purpose. I looked into his face but it wasn’t giving any clues to his thoughts. We sat and looked at each other while the band began warming up the crowd with some light banter.
“You came here to dance?” he asked as if we’d never discussed meeting before.
“Yes,” I nodded.
“Then dance is what we’ll do.” We stood up and moved out onto the floor. The song wasn’t a slow one but it wasn’t fast either. He held me with some space between us as we moved around the floor. He was a good dancer and we matched up well. That song ended and we stayed on the floor, dancing to the next one and the one after that. I was becoming more relaxed and found myself moving more fluidly as we went from song to song.
The band changed tempo and moved into a slow love song. I looked into his face and saw his eyes darken before he pulled me closer to him. I put my hand against his chest to steady myself and his arm slipped around my back. We were both perspiring lightly from the faster dances and I could feel the beating of his heart through the thin black cloth covering his chest. I longed to be one of those girls who can think of a witty remark to make at just the right moment but the excitement of being in the arms of a virtual stranger had me tongue-tied. We danced slowly around the room and I could feel his thighs moving against mine. It felt so dangerously naughty that my heart beat faster with excitement. His hand was moving in slow circles against the small of my back as we danced.
I had a wild thought that he could so easily slide his hand down over my butt. I contemplated that for a minute and wondered what my reaction should be if he did. Then I decided that it didn’t matter what it should be, I was supposed to be having fun so I’d just go with the flow. The song ended and the band said they were taking a break so we went back to our table.
The ice in our drinks had melted so he ordered fresh ones before excusing himself to use the restroom. He still wasn’t back when they arrived and I was still hot from dancing so I thought I’d cool off a little. I picked up my icy cold glass and tipped my head back, closed my eyes and laid it against my neck. I heard a noise and my eyes flew open. He was standing at the table watching me and his eyes were hot. He slid into the booth and sat so one of my knees was in between his. The position forced me to sit with my legs slightly spread under the table. I could tell by the small smile on his face that he had done it on purpose.
I sat my glass down and pushed my hair back off my neck with one hand. His eyes followed a small trickle of moisture as it ran down my neck, over my collarbone, and disappeared beneath the neckline of my dress. When his eyes lifted to mine, I could see the lust shining in them. I couldn’t stop the involuntary shiver that snaked up my spine. My body tightened and an image popped into my mind of the two of us in bed. His knees shifted against mine and one slid further up the inside of my thighs. I looked at him as one of his hands dropped below the table.
He started making small talk about the band and we chatted about dancing and other favorite activities as I wondered whether he had moved his knees on purpose. He watched my face as his hand suddenly slid over my knee. He continued talking and I held my breath as I wondered what he would do next. Slowly he leaned forward and ran his hand up my leg as far as he could reach. One finger stroked my thigh as his foot nudged my feet further apart. I was completely mesmerized by that stroking finger so he had no trouble wedging both his knees in between mine.