They had an agreement to meet in the bar. He knew he would be waiting for her, but she didn't know that he got there 45 minutes early because he was so excited to meet her. Finally, they would meet he thought. Would she be what he thought she would be like, how she described herself? Would this just be a rouse? Would she stand him up? What would she be thinking? How would she smell he wondered?
He looked in the long mirror hanging over the back of the bar. She approached from behind him. She had chosen the place to meet. Everything would be on her terms he knew. My God, she was more beautiful than he could have thought. She had described herself perfectly to him over the phone. She had shiny golden hair, her face was angelic (how could she unleash the demonic anger she had previously described to him?), her legs were long under the black velvet skirt and she wore crimson stilettoes to match her blouse and lipstick. Her neck was long and her smile was coy and unassuming.
"I'm Gloria," she breathed into his face. Yes, Glorious Gloria she was known as by her regulars, those who would seek out her services from the one would make them cower underneath her feet.
"It is a pleasure to meet you, I'm...," he started to say, but he was stopped by her mid sentence.
"I know, don't speak, I didn't give you permission," she ordered. "I could tell it was you by the hunch in your back, you sit like a troll," Gloria continued.
"I'll take a Manhattan," the woman told the bartender who was standing to assist her with her drink order.
The troll was embarrassed because he was sure the bartender heard her call him a netherworld being. His face flushed and he rubbed his eyes in fluster. He looked up again at her and she was grinning at him with her white teeth sparking.
"Are you embarrassed I called you a troll?" Gloria asked.
The troll nodded and looked down. He was shy and didn't know how to behave. He grabbed his beer and took a deep swig trying to cool his throat. All of a sudden he was without breath and he could feel his tongue flutter against the roof of his mouth. His lips were sealed, he was parched, he took that long drink to try to settle his nerves. The cool liquid dripped down his throat, he could feel it enter his stomach. He put the glass down on the counter and just turned to gaze at Gloria. She was still smiling.
"How are you?" she inquired.
"I'm really great, really great," he muttered. Now that she was asking for a reply, he knew he could utter something and that's all that came out.
"Well, I am really great as well," exclaimed Gloria. She had sized him up. He was harmless.
"Would you like to go to my room?" I am up on the 21st floor.
"Yes, I would," muffled the troll.
"Let's take our drinks then and skedaddle," demanded Gloria.
He slid off his bar stool like a warm lizard in the sun, completely mesmerized by Gloria. She led the way to the elevators and she pushed the button with her red manicured nails. Her rings reflecting in the mirrors around the elevators, he could tell she was any man's dream. He walked sheepishly into the elevator. She stood on one side and he on the other. She watched the numbers as they were pronounced, floor by floor. Finally the doors opened on the 21st floor, neither had said any words. It seemed like eternity for the troll. Finally Gloria walked out the doors and made a sharp left and led the way down to her room. Lucky 2121 was her room. She opened the door and let him into her room and she followed.
Her room smelled of perfume, her liquor was out on the bar along with a bucket of ice. Her "toys" her laid out on one of the beds, evenly and precisely. He looked at them and then at her. She was making herself a cocktail as she had finished her Manhattan in the elevator.
"Would you like another beer?" she asked.
"Yes, please." muttered the troll.
The refrigerator was opened and she reached inside for a Budwiser and tossed it to him.
"Shit" he thought, now it's going to fizz when I open it. He muttered in his mind as he was worried about spilling the liquid on the carpet.
"Open it, it doesn't matter if it sputters on the carpet," Gloria pronounced, like she could read his mind at that moment.
He popped the top and it fizzed and sputtered as he had thought, and his surprised look made Gloria laugh out loud. She was happy he was flustered she was thinking, that's a good sign she knew.
"So, what is that you want?" Gloria inquired.