What the hell was I thinking? This had to be the craziest thing I'd done in a very long time. I could stop; should stop. Yes, I should just turn around and go home and yet I kept on driving. A few minutes later I was questioning my sanity once again. Why had I agreed to this? No, be honest, why had I offered this? Pursued it even. At the time it seemed like a perfectly rational offer, though a little offbeat. Now that the moment was at hand, however, I was having second thoughts. The whole thing had just mushroomed out of proportion to the original idea.
Late night movies from the 1940's where women lovingly watch their men go off to war had provided the impetus. Granted we weren't at war... yet but I knew it would happen eventually. And Tom couldn't really be called my man either. But over the months that we had chatted via the Internet and the phone, he had become such an integral part of my life, that I felt that there was a very small piece of him that did belong to me.
So when he told me that his military reserve unit was being deployed on a temporary training mission, I got a sick feeling in the pit of my stomach. I'd spent 12 year in the military and could read the signs. Yes, they might be calling this a training mission but I recognized it for what it was... a prelude to the unit being called to active duty. That fact scared me and spurred me into action.
I wanted to do something to help insure that Tom stayed safe while he was gone and that he returned unharmed to his friends, family and job. After a bit of thought I came up with the idea of giving him a talisman, something small and innocuous that he could keep with him. It didn't take long to make one, just a small stone charged with all the power I could personally summon and blessed by the four guardians of the elements. Then came the interesting part.
Believing that our desire to protect the ones we love comes from the heart chakra, I chose to keep the stone next to my heart until we could meet in person and I could give it to him. The only way I could accommodate that was to keep it tucked inside my bra, under my left breast. Since it was a small stone, it wasn't really uncomfortable, unless I wanted to sleep on my stomach but that was easily remedied by simply choosing not to do it.
And this is what led me to the point where I was seriously questioning my sanity. For all the romance and fantasy that surrounded this, the sober truth was that I was about to meet a complete stranger for dinner and... well, there was the problem. I had no idea what would happen after the meal was consumed. I knew he had a hotel room reserved but I wasn't sure just what that meant. Did he expect me to spend the night with him? We'd developed a rather intense online flirtation, occasionally bordering on cybersex. If he did expect me to spend the night, did he think I could/would actually do all the things I'd sort of fantasized out loud about to him? Oh dear, I'd really put my foot in it this time.
We were meeting for dinner at the hotel's restaurant; a rather upscale place known for it's fine cuisine and excellent service. I'd never eaten there before. I tend to go for more casual dining. But Tom had been there once and was very impressed. He said I'd like it and I was willing to give it a try. So not only was I meeting a stranger, I was doing it without my familiar 'armor' of jeans and a T-shirt.
Dressing up is not a completely foreign concept to me but I always felt like I wasn't in my own skin when I did it. However, in honor of the occasion, I put on a knee length black skirt and a semi-sheer off white poets blouse. It was cut in a deep v-neckline that was trimmed with a ruffle. Underneath, I wore an ivory lace bra that actually gave me a hint of cleavage and matching lacey panties. I debated whether or not to put on pantyhose and finally decided that my legs looked good enough bare to go without them and that I could just slip on a pair of strappy sandals and thank providence that I'd had a pedicure earlier in the week.
So there I was, parking my car near the entrance to the restaurant, looking for Tom. I'd seen him via his web cam so I knew what he looked like and he'd also told me what kind of car he'd be driving. Within seconds I spotted him and nearly gasped. I thought I was prepared for this moment. After all, I was no ingenue. I'd been around long enough not to be impressed by just a pretty face. This however, was something I was not prepared for. The images I'd seen via the Internet didn't do him justice. I expected to see a nice looking man but I didn't expect him to be so devastatingly handsome.
Swallowing nervously, I got out of my car and walked towards him. A big grin sliced across his face and suddenly I felt much more at ease. The anxiety that had consumed me earlier simply melted away in the warmth of his smile and I felt my arms reach out to greet him with a hug. I really don't know what came over me as I rarely initiate a hug, especially strangers without their permission. Yet there I stood, locked in the warm embrace of this impossibly attractive man and it felt so good.
After a few seconds we parted, said our hellos, inquired about each other's health and made a variety of small talk as we walked into the restaurant. The hostess seated us immediately and suddenly I began to feel tongue-tied. I had feared this would happen. For all my glib and flirtatious ways online, the truth is that when it comes to one-on-one encounters, I'm really very introverted. Tom, however, was prepared for my shyness and managed to introduce topics of conversation that were easy to comment on until I could regain my equilibrium.
I turned my attention to the menu. Since I hadn't been here before, the selections were completely unfamiliar to me and I knew I would have to rely heavily on his guidance. My experience with French cuisine was pretty much limited to frozen Chicken Cordon Bleu and chocolate mousse and so I told him what kinds of foods I liked and disliked and let him order for me, praying that this would work... and it did.
I couldn't find fault with anything he ordered. Steak Diane, herb and garlic-roasted potatoes and snap peas all delighted my palate. Though I don't normally drink a lot of wine, he chose a bottle from a local vineyard and I had to agree it was excellent. All in all a wonderful dinner with sparkling conversation. We split a dish of bananas foster for dessert, taking turns feeding each other in a fashion normally reserved for two people who are a lot more intimate with each other than we were.
It was while watching him nibble a bite of torte from the fork that I felt the butterflies in my stomach take flight again. Just looking at him I could tell that he had a really talented mouth and could probably cause the most delicious sensations with it. And then I thought about the stone in my bra, the talisman that would keep him safe and reminded myself of the reason I was here. It wasn't to have hot wild sex. It was to do a favor for a friend.
But when dinner ended, I was reluctant to end our evening together and it was obvious that he was too. After a brief, marginally uncomfortable silence he finally made an offer.
"Look, I've got something like half a dozen movie channels on the TV in my room plus pay-per-view. Would you like to go back and watch something with me?"
I thought about it for a moment. What could it hurt to spend a couple of hours watching a movie? I knew from our sometimes lengthy chats that we had very similar tastes in films so it wasn't unlikely that we'd be able to find something that suited us both.
"Sure, that'd be nice."
He paid the check and led me back to his room. I was surprised to find that he had a suite. In the first place, I was completely unaware that this hotel even had them, and I certainly didn't expect the military to spring for such nice accommodations. But once I got over my shock, I quickly settled in on the sofa and waited for him to join me. He grabbed the remote control and the channel guide and we began to look through the selections before finally settling on a drama that we'd both missed on the big screen despite it getting rave reviews.
About 30 minutes into the movie, I began yawning broadly. It was nowhere near the time I normally go to bed and the movie was far from boring. I assumed it must be the wine that had affected me as I rarely drink the stuff and never in the quantity I'd consumed tonight. Earlier, Tom had put his arm around me and I'd snuggled close to him. Now he subtly guided me so that I was lying down on my side with my head in his lap.
While a part of me appreciated being able to lie down, since that's the way I often watch TV at home, the intimacy of the position was disconcerting. I had difficulty getting past the fact that his cock was just behind my head... even if it was behind his pants and underwear. He left his arm resting across the back of the sofa and made no effort to touch me at all so I relaxed and let the drama on the screen transport me to another time and place.
I became so wrapped up in the story that I didn't notice at first that Tom had started to stroke my hair. It was the lightest of caresses, barely touching me at first and then there was more feeling behind it. Occasionally he would twirl a lock around his index finger and then let it slide off. I smiled and tried to stifle a sigh. I know I had never told him how much I love to have my hair played with and yet he was doing something that I really loved.
I felt his left hand on my shoulder and didn't think much about it. The back of the sofa was rather high and it was probably uncomfortable for him to put his arm up there. And since he hadn't made any moves on me that would be considered truly inappropriate, I didn't feel like I had anything to worry about. All in all, he'd been very kind and considerate, as if he'd sensed that I was nervous about our meeting.
As the closing credits to the movie closed I felt his hand begin to move. At first I wasn't concerned. And then I realized that he was reaching for my breasts, his hand aiming for the bottom of the deep V neckline of my blouse. Just as his fingertips made contact with my skin, I put my hand over his and gently stopped him.
