They've made a date to meet for lunch. She's excited, but nervous, wondering if they'll meet each other's expectations and imaginings that have developed over the year or so they've been corresponding online and talking on the phone. But, she thinks, no matter what, it will be lovely to finally meet again this dear man she's come to intimately know and care for. On another level, It will be especially fun to see him as he is the only person from her long-distant high school days that she's had the opportunity to meet again now that she's an adult.
She's wearing a floral sun dress that hugs her curvy figure, with a low cut, but modest neckline. She's got a little summer sweater on too, since the restaurant will most likely be cool. As she approaches the restaurant's entrance, she nervously touches the pendant at her neck, her mother's pendant, heart-shaped and covered with tiny diamonds. She adjusts the clasp of the pendant's gold chain, moving it to the back of her neck where it belongs, and centers the pendant again.
As she opens the door to the restaurant, she catches a glimpse of her hand. Her nails are trimmed short, with a pretty shade of plum lacquer on them that coordinates nicely with her dress. She's done her toenails the same color - she glances down and sees her little toes peeking out of her sandals. This prompts her to do her usual check for the gold band toe rings she wears on the second toe of each foot. "Yep, still there." She never takes the rings off, but has a nervous habit of always checking to make sure they're there.
After she steps inside the restaurant, she adjusts the rings on her hands, another nervous habit. She moves her mother's huge diamond wedding set back to an upright position on her finger. It's a little big for her, but she loves it and will always wear it. Then she adjusts her wedding ring on her other hand. She loves that ring too. When she first saw it in the jewelry store, she couldn't even imagine having it, but her husband said, "Get it!" She smiles at the thought of her husband, and laughs to herself that she has to be very careful about what she admires when they are together, because he will always get it for her.
She tells the hostess that she's meeting a friend, and she'll wait up front till he arrives. She checks her watch again. She's a few minutes early, but thinks she needs this extra time to calm down and quit blushing. She sits on the bench and crosses her legs, uncrosses her legs, jiggles her feet around, then decides to just stand up.
She sits back down again and opens her purse. She pulls out a little mirror to check her lipstick, as any self-respecting cosmetics rep would do. She's got the same plum shade on her lips; yes, she is cosmetically coordinated today, even the eye shadow is working with "the look." That reminds her, she takes her business card out of her purse, and a little sample of lipstick and gives it to the hostess. Never miss an opportunity to share her line of cosmetics!
She chuckles as she realizes that now she can "write off" this lunch as a business expense. Her chat with the hostess about cosmetics has taken her mind off of her nerves for a moment, and she's feeling a bit more relaxed. As she turns to go back to the waiting area, she sees him enter the restaurant. She catches her breath, sighs softly, and her cheeks flush hot. She's not sure what to do: approach him? just stand there? bolt from the room? In the brief moment from when she first saw him, he has looked up and seen her as well. She takes a few tentative steps in his direction as he walks toward her. Her heart is beating so fast that it's making her temples throb.
As he gets nearer, she smiles shyly and mouths the word "Hi".
No sounds come out, but he reads her lips and responds, "Hi!" in that charming Indiana drawl that she cherishes hearing. She begins to reach her hand out to him, which he takes and uses to pull her toward him into a hug. As she steps closer to him, she breathes in deeply to memorize his scent: his cologne is so sexy. It's such a rush to finally be in his arms.
Their hug is warm and friendly, and she thinks to herself, "He's the perfect height for hugging, our bodies fit together at just the right places."
She'd like to stay in the embrace for hours, but since they're standing in the doorway of the restaurant, they decide to disengage and get a table. He whispers into her ear before he lets her go, "Are you ok?" He knows how nervous she gets.
She smiles as she remembers their first phone conversation all those months ago. She was so flustered and surprised that he'd called her that he had to do most of the talking that night. She had finally relaxed about two hours into that marathon phone date. And unexpectedly, they'd both had their very first phone sex encounter during that conversation. On the phone and through their computers, they had quite a hot sexual relationship. Would they have those same passionate feelings for each other in a real-life encounter?
She smiles and whispers her response to his question into his ear, "Mmmm, I think I'm ok." They are shown to a booth in the back corner of the dimly lit restaurant. As they scoot in and take the menus from the hostess, she's glad that he's able to carry the conversation, and comfortable enough to take charge. The hostess asks if they would like a drink. He answers for the both of them, and orders something from the bar.
It's been many years since she's had any alcohol, but she's ready for a relaxing drink right now! She's decided to follow his lead, and go wherever the afternoon (and he) takes her. After the hostess leaves them alone, he turns toward her and smiles, looking at her with his head cocked a bit to the side. Through smiling, narrowed, blue-gray eyes, he suggests, "Why don't you move a little closer?"
She moves nearer and looks at him with her eyebrows raised, wordlessly asking, "Is this ok?" He smiles his approval.
"So, howya doing?" he asks. She giggles nervously. They know the most intimate of details about each other, and have made passionate love to each other on the internet and on the phone, but now, here in person, she's suddenly very, very shy.
He was prepared for this, and takes charge again. He takes her hand in his, and shakes it a bit, as if to say, "get a grip, it'll be ok." As he begins to let go of her hand, she suddenly takes hold of HIS hands, holding both of them in hers. She loves men's hands. She looks at his closely, intensely studying them. She begins to caress them, enjoying the smoothness of his skin, admiring the strength in them. She bends his hands at the wrists, and touches her palms to his palms, matching their sizes and enjoying the feeling of her hands being enveloped in his. She laces her fingers between his, and as they gently squeeze each other's hands, she gets the courage to look up into his face.
As her soft brown eyes meet his, he smiles warmly at her again. This causes her to smile back, and let out a soft sigh. She feels dizzy now; she's not touched a man other than her husband in this way in over 20 years. "Wow," she thinks, "the smallest of touches can be so erotic and exciting."
Just then, the waitress arrives with their drinks. They release their hold of each other and reach for the drinks she is handing them. The waitress asks if they are ready to order, or if they need more time. As they look at each other and chuckle, he answers, "Yes, we'll need more time."
She doesn't know if she'll be able to eat much, she's afraid she won't be able to eat at all. Noticing the drink that's just been handed her, she decides to take a big sip of it to calm herself. It doesn't take her long to nervously devour nearly half the big glass of strawberry margarita, a girlie drink he knew she'd enjoy, while absentmindedly staring at her menu.
