I couldn’t figure out when the actual moment of realization was, but I was able to remember the first time I ever acted on it. It was the previous year, November. A wedding in Los Angeles, held at a small church with the reception at the pool of a crystal white hotel hanging off the Hollywood Hills. The wedding itself was notable, only in that it was fast and quick and painless. Getting everyone to the reception that they desperately wanted to be a part of anyway.
It couldn’t have been better. Cool enough for a jacket, but not so cool as required more. A smooth clear night that left the pool un-rippled and gave the guests incentive to drink a bit more. A bit more to leave shirts unbuttoned and let eyes linger a bit longer than possible. Eyes that caught the attention of others and made introductions that would never have been made under normal circumstances.
And that is how I met them. They were at the bar, a youngish couple in their late thirties. Just enough tan to show they got out, but not so much to say they lived at the beach. In shape and attractive – a pair that may not have caught my eye if they were in another place. But they did, and that is how it started. And somewhere in there, between the drinks and the party and the cake a nerve was struck that made us all laugh our way into their room for a nightcap after the party wound down.
The door was opened and we fell into the room. Lis ran to throw the balcony open while Jan opened the mini-bar and proceeded to make drinks from whatever was available and to usher me outside. And there, fourteen floors up and overlooking a city of lights was Lis, her top open to the world below as a breeze rippled her hair. I was floored. I couldn’t move. I could only stare at her through the vodka tonics and smile. She looked at me and laughed. Her finger motioned me to her as she spoke. “It’s okay, we swing.” She shrugged and turned back to the city below. “I hope you don’t mind. We just though you’d enjoy joining us.”