I wasn't looking for anything, in particular; or anybody, for that matter. No long term relationship, not even a one night stand. I'd come by the party on a whim, bored to tears and facing Chinese take-out in front of the tube. But when Jerry pointed her out to me, I was intrigued and something clicked back in my reptilian brain. Cheri was tall, well proportioned and carried herself with an attractive self-confidence. Naturally, I was skeptical of any 3 second assessment from across the room, but my snap-judgments had been close enough in the past that I was willing to believe this one. Besides,
something
turned me on about her.
He made the introductions smoothly enough and I took the opportunity to chat with her over a drink while the party went on around us. I wasn't disappointed. She was clearly intelligent, had a great sense of humor (demonstrated by her continuing laughter at my jokes) and was unattached.
We agreed to have an official date the following week.
I had long stopped being nervous about dating. A devout bachelor, I wasn't too concerned about how I measured up, whether someone would like me, or what kind of impression I needed to make. I'm happy in my skin. I'm in good shape, I make a reasonable living, I'm not involved in anything illegal and I can hold my head up in terms of my interests. Life is pretty short, I figure, and it's all about being yourself and finding others who accept you for who you are.
So, when the night came around I hadn't fretted too much. In fact I had forgotten about it for much of the day until the reminder popped up on my phone. A little spasm wriggled through my spine at the prospect of having dinner with her. I didn't expect it to end in a glorious night of play between the sheets, but if it did, all the better. I hadn't had any for quite a while. At least a month anyway.
She was already at the restaurant when I got there, more stunning than I remembered. Brunette hair brushed straight down to the middle of her back, her brown eyes sparkling in the candlelight, her smile engaging and warm. She never took her eyes off me, even as I offered her the bouquet of flowers I had picked up on the way over.
"Hey, thanks!" She smelled the bouquet and found a spot for it on the table. A waiter came by asking if we'd like it in a vase. A first class place we'd picked—I like to eat and I like to eat well.
"I hope you haven't been here long?" I took off my jacket and sat down.
"Just got here."
"Well, I was a little delayed; I'm glad we could get together." I smiled and looked her back in the eyes. It was tough to keep from staring, or looking wolfish, but her face was so beautiful, so young with a depth of wisdom. I couldn't begin to estimate her age - she could have been 21 or 45 - it kept shifting. "So...have you had a chance to look at the menu? I understand the starts are really great."
We shifted into the mildly uncomfortable transition new friends encounter as they try and remember what it was that hooked them up in the first place. Thankfully she enjoyed as varied a diet as I did and was only too happy to explore some of the more provocative items on the menu. This led naturally into remembrances of prior meals, gossip about people who we didn't think matched our tastes, and anecdotes about our travels.
When I finally looked up, I realized we had spent almost two hours eating, finishing one bottle of wine and deciding our next steps.
"Would you care for dessert this evening?" The waiter had the dessert menus ready.
I looked over at Cheri, trying to gauge her appetite. "I always like to look," I said, non-committally. I was undecided. We could hang here for another half hour and then we'd be too full to do much of anything else. We could leave, go to a club, but then desserts there would be second-class at best.
We scanned the menu for a few moments. "You know," she said looking up. "I'm not quite ready for dessert, even though these look fantastic. Did you say you had another thing in mind after dinner?"
"The Kit-Kat Klub. Yeah. The desserts are horrible there, but the drinks are okay. I understand there's an indie group playing tonight and I really like the dance floor—it has lots of room. Would you like to check it out?"
She nodded enthusiastically tipping back the remainder of her wine. I paid, we grabbed our stuff and left. As we had both driven, I suggested we could take one car and swing back later if she was amenable.
As I drove us across town I stole glances at her during our conversation. She smelled wonderful; a faint tinge of something floral or spice. Her profile was as attractive as anything. I looked at her breasts, not too large, not too small. They stood out in a beautiful mound, possibly pushed in a little and rounded by her bra, I couldn't tell in the light. She had worn a top that exposed her navel, a feature I always loved looking at. Her jeans were low cut, hip-huggers I guess, and seemed to fit her like a glove. I imagined what it would be like to run my fingers from her neck all the way to the crease at the top of her thighs.
"Did I spill something?" She looked down at herself and back at me.
I grinned. "Nope. You look absolutely fantastic. I was just staring."
She smiled back, not offended in the least and shifted a little to afford me a better view. Nothing conscious, nothing lascivious, just a little rearrangement of her body so I could see more of her. It didn't hurt.
We arrived at the club and my first suspicion it wasn't going to go well was how easy it was to find a parking spot. The Kit Kat Klub booked a wide range of bands, usually they were spectacular, but every once in a while they ended up stinkers. I really hoped we hadn't picked a bad night—I'd regret leaving the desserts back at the restaurant.
We entered the club and looked around. About half the tables were occupied. I checked my watch. By this time of night it should have been packed. I looked over at one of the servers.
"Is Credo playing tonight?"
"Yeah. No. They cancelled last minute. They sent a replacement band, though. But no-one's heard of 'em, so I guess it'll be a quiet night."
I shrugged, looked over at Cheri with raised eyebrows as if to ask if she wanted to take the chance.
"Sure, let's see what they're about. It won't cost us anything to hang for a few minutes."
We found a table near the dance floor, ordered a couple of drinks and were just getting started when the band kicked in.
It was like a wall of noise had slammed into us. Cheri had been in the middle of discussing some of her latest work when I couldn't make out a single sound. I looked at her wide eyed. She stopped mid-sentence trying to catch her breath and we both started laughing so hard it hurt. A jet engine. It felt like being inside a jet engine. The screech of the guitar, the drums, the bass "turned up to 11." I looked at her and without having to say a word, pulled out some cash, left it on the table and offered her a hand.
We were still giggling as we got back into my car. My ears were still ringing.
"That was perfectly awful," I said, turning on the motor. "Uhhh, I'm open to anything. There's another club we could try, or find a quiet place for dessert, or?"
"Why don't we head back to my place? I've got a couple of things we could heat up for dessert, if you're interested, or we could sip some aperitfs. I mean, unless you want to hear a band?"
