A 'perfect' Stranger

Somehow, Autumn had snuck up on me. It seemed like just yesterday I was wearing sleeveless shirts, Capri pants, and sandals. The sun blazing from the crystal clear blue sky. The breeze, hot and heavy, full of humidity, that did little to cool you if one had to spend more than a few seconds outside. Heat so cumbersome, I could hardly drive with the top down in my new convertible, and when I did, I got a sun burn to prove it.

However, the dog days of summer were over. The cooler, crisp air had settled upon us. Which was fine by me. Darkness drove the sun down behind the horizon a little earlier, the kids were back in school, and already stores were advertising Halloween decorations.

My how the past year had flown. The break up, the new job, the holidays, the seasons... as I reflected back, I realized that it was a blur. Oh well, as they say, you've got to leave your past behind you.

I headed for the kitchen, and grabbed a mug out of the cupboard, pouring myself a cup of coffee. Gingerly blowing at the liquid's hot surface, I walked back to the living room. I took my charcoal colored sweater off the back of the easy chair, and set my cup down long enough to pull it over my jeans and black long sleeved tee-shirt. I had my black boots on, and thought I looked pretty damn cute. It's a shame that the cuteness was wasted on my day off.

I picked up my coffee and a sheaf of papers that were on the table, and headed for the patio. Pulling the sweater tight around my body, I curled my legs under me on the bench, and set out to read the monthly inventory sheets. I wrote down what I needed to order the next day, and other things that came with running a beauty shop. I sighed when I realized I'd have to go out in public after all. We were out of orange wood sticks to do eyebrow waxes with.

I was about halfway done with only a few swigs of liquid caffeine left to go, when my cell phone rang. It was Alyssa, one of the girls that works for me.

"It's me, I have like, seven waxes on my book today, and no sticks! I hate to bug you, but I can't get out of here to go grab some!" She said, sounding stressed.

"Hey, 'Lys, calm down. I just realized that. I'm just about to head out and grab some. I'll be there within the hour. Just take a deep breath," I laughed into the receiver. Lord but she was high strung sometimes!

We hung up, and I headed back into the house. Running up to my room, I checked my reflection in the cheval mirror. Frowning, I took off the sloppy sweater and the shirt, slipping a red light weight sweater on in lieu of the tee. Smiling at myself, I grabbed the eyeliner off my make up table and put some more on for good measure.

I skipped down the stairs and caught my purse by the strap as I stepped through the entry-way. Flipping off lights as I went, I locked the doors and headed out to my car, shivering in the chilly air. The sun was permanently lodged between the clouds. Starting the engine, I headed for the beauty supply store as if on auto-pilot. Finally arriving, I went in, got what I needed, paid and hurried back to my car. Destination- work. I hoped they weren't busy. I was in desperate need of a day off. The whole thing. All to myself.

Sighing as I pulled into the parking lot, I hoped that the majority of the cars weren't of the people inside waiting. And I hated that I felt honor bound to stay and help.

"You're a lifesaver!!!!" Alyssa came charging towards me, grabbed the bag from my hand, and ran back to her station. Chuckling, I headed for the front desk, realizing that the customers were all taken care of.

I got the money bag out of the drawer and got a deposit ready, then walked over to the bank, bringing the girls back change so they wouldn't have to worry with it. Deciding I'd done my good deed for the day, I was about to leave.

I glanced up, looking through the glass front of the shop. An attractive man walked to the front door, paused, then pulled it open. I almost turned and ran, lest I get sucked into working.

"Hello." He said expressively, flashing a smile that showed perfectly straight, white teeth.

"Hi. Did you have an appointment?" I asked, my eyes traveling over his chiseled features.

"No, actually I didn't. A friend of mine comes here, and told me I should start coming to one of the girls. Her name is Talya. Is she around?"

My heart leapt into my throat as he mentioned my name.

"Oh? Who referred you?" If I wasn't mistaken, I thought my voice wobbled a bit.

"Chris Matthews."

"Oooh yeah, good ole Chris," Giggling, I extended my hand. "I'm Talya, it's nice to meet you.....?" I let the question hang.

"Drake." He said, the rich baritone of his voice sliding up my spine, until I felt the hair on my neck stand up. His hand firmly clasped mine and it was warm and smooth. I felt a shot of electricity flow from my palm up my arm and down to my toes.

He released my hand, and smiled again. My heart slammed into my ribcage.

"Oh, anyhow. I'm actually off today, I just dropped by to drop some stuff off, but I can go ahead and cut-"

"No, no- you go home and have your day off. From what Chris has said, you work non-stop. I'll make an appointment for tomorrow."

"Aww, that's very sweet of you." Heading for my station, I grabbed my book and brought it back to the desk. "You know, most people would have jumped in my chair, without a second thought. That's very noble of you to tell me no." I looked up at him and smiled.

"The general public think only of themselves. But I don't know if I'd go as far as noble." Drake said with a laugh.

We set up his appointment, lingering for a few more minutes, and he finally cleared his throat.

"Look... Talya.. I know this might be abnormal. But I was wondering if, since you're off, you'd like to go out for dinner." Drake's eyes bore into mine.

"I.. I'd love to." Scribbling my address and brief directions down on a business card, he said he'd pick me up at seven, and with a smile he exited the shop.

Staring after him, I watched him get back into his Mustang, and heaved a sigh as he pulled away from the curb.

"Okay! Details! Fork 'em over!!" All three girls lunged at me, and started showering me with questions. Collapsing into a fit of laughter, I told them what had happened. We sat and chatted for a bit, then it dawned on me that I needed to get home. I still had some stuff accomplished, and get gorgeous for my date.

Saying my goodbyes, I left the shop and shivered as the chilly air hit my skin. I flipped the heat on in my car, turned up the radio, and jammed my way back home.

Once back to my house, I was light on my feet as I scampered around, cleaning, organizing, doing dishes, basically anything that would keep my nervous energy in check.

At about five, I tossed my dust rag to the side and headed for the bathroom.

Drawing myself a nice warm bath, I added a generous amount of Patchouli oil to the water, undressed, and slid into the luxuriant water, letting my mind wander to this evening. What would happen. Where would we go? How would he act? What does he know about me? My eyes flew open, and I recalled past conversations with Chris Matthews. I sat straight up in the tub, sloshing water over the sides.

Was this a ploy? Did Chris set Drake up to ask me out?? Suspicious, I decided I'd get it out of one of them, one way or another.

I finished my bath, wrapping a big fuzzy towel around myself, and draped another around my hair turban style. Wow, I was one hot mama. Giggling, I turned on the stereo and danced around the room while I got ready.

At 6:58, my doorbell rang. I jumped. Glancing into the mirror, I looked myself over quickly. I'd chosen a green long sleeve button down blouse, tucked into black slacks, with a pair of high-heeled black boots. Underneath, was a matching bra and panties set. Black. Not that it mattered, at least I didn't think so. Shrugging, my gaze traveled up through the mirror. I'd chosen medium sized silver hoop earrings and applied just enough make up to look classy, not overdone. I'd scrunched and dried my beyond shoulder-length hair and pinned it up, leaving little curly tendrils down around my face.

The second shrill ding dong knocked me out of my self-examination, and I rushed for the door. Arriving breathlessly, I threw the door open without bothering to see who it was. I knew it'd be Drake. And it was.

"You look stunning." He offered me a single red rose.

"Thank you. You too." I fumbled over the sentence.

"Are men supposed to be stunning? You couldn't think of anything more manly than that?" He laughed and tried hard to look incredulous.

"Handsome. Rugged?" We laughed and the ice broke. I took the rose, invited him in, and headed for the kitchen to put it in water.

His back was to me as I reentered the living room. He too was wearing black slacks, with a charcoal sweater. 'Hmm, his ass looks awfully nice in those pants.' I blushed at my thoughts.

He turned and smiled, flashing those perfect teeth again. His hair was dark brown, almost black. His eyes were a deep brown also, but they sparkled with life. He still had a tan, and he was clean shaven, his jaw a prominent feature of his handsome face.

I stood there, looking my fill as he did the same time. He took in my hair, curly, twisted up on my head, with the red highlights in it, my make up, my outfit, and for a half a second, the look in his eyes told me he was wondering what was underneath.

He burst out laughing. "Well, are we going anywhere, or shall we just stand here admiring one another all evening?"

"Wow. That's a tough one." I said, smirking.

We ended up leaving, headed for a nice restaurant downtown. Over dinner, he discovered that I was a small town girl, with small town goals. I discovered he was a city boy turned somewhat country, due to following his job around. Our small town was almost directly in the middle of the two cities he did most of his business dealings with, even though they were both more than an hour away.

"So what make you pick the name "Sheer Pleasure" for your shop?" he asked, about halfway through dinner.

"Sex sells." I laughed. "No, it's actually spelled 'shear', as in, the scissors. I barely bother explaining anymore. People don't get the pun, they're too worried if they accidentally called a sex line."

"That's understandable. To be honest, when Chris was telling me about you, and the name of your shop, I wondered what kind of place it was." Drake laughed and took a drink of his Rum and Coke.

"Yeah, I think people expect strippers to come out of the dispensary and dance around while they get their hair cut."

The conversation continued to flow. We laughed, joked, talked seriously, ate, and drank our fill. I was more than a little buzzed from my Margarita, even though I'd been eating. It must've been a strong one. Drake seemed fine. 'I must be a lightweight,' I thought to myself.

Finally, we decided it was time to go, so we paid and headed for the car. I stumbled on the sidewalk, and his strong arms wrapped protectively around me. I looked up at him, my lips parted in surprise. He was staring down into my eyes, but they slid down to my mouth and I saw his eyelids lower, and swore his head moved closer. But before anything happened, he must've snapped out of it, and he gently set me upright, and stepped away. He did keep one hand on my elbow, steadying me.

Drake helped me into the car, and as he shut my door, I sighed. So close, yet so far. I wanted that kiss more than I wanted my next breath. Well, almost. If I didn't have my next breath I wouldn't get that kiss.. Giggling at the absurdity of my thoughts, I quickly hid my amusement as his door opened.

We mutually agreed that we didn't want the evening to end, so we headed back to town, and stopped off at the park. Taking a walk, we held hands, and talked in hushed tones, as if we didn't want to disturb the stillness of the night. Before we knew it, we'd been there almost an hour, and it was nearing eleven o'clock.

The drive back to my house was made in companionable silence. He continued to hold my hand, letting go of it only long enough to shift gears. Each time he did, my gaze was drawn to his hand. The veins that stood out vaguely against his skin, the sparse hair, the neatly clipped and manicured nails... the guy took pride in his appearance. And each time, that same hand I'd been admiring would reclaim mine with a gentle squeeze, and I knew that all was right in the world.

* * * * *

The next day the girls drilled me all day long, for every detail, every word, every touch. God, but hair stylists are a nosy lot! They tripped all over themselves when he got there for his appointment. I cut his hair, and it felt different, as it always does with someone you care about. I didn't charge him. I told him it was repayment for our date. Therefore, he asked me for another, just to make sure we were even. He left and I slumped against the counter, dropping my chin to my palm. 'Oh, have I got it bad.'

We continued to see each other, going out almost every night. Then we started staying in some. And not once had he done anything untoward, didn't try to accost me. At first, I found it sweet and endearing, but the constant closeness with no contact other than the kisses, the hand-holding, and the embraces was driving me nuts. We'd been seeing each other for about two months when I decided that tonight was the night.

I went home from work and hopped into the tub, taking a nice hot bath. Once out, I slathered lotion on my body, and took great care in picking my outfit. I chose an ankle length black skirt that had burgundy, dark purple, and hunter green flowers and stems up the thigh high slit on the side. I grabbed the sweater in the deep shade of purple that matched, and slipped them both on over a burgundy colored bra that pushed my breasts up, giving the most cleavage possible, along with a matching pair of bikini cut panties, both trimmed with lace. Standing in front of the cheval mirror, I inspected my choice. The skirt was somewhat fitted, and flattered my legs, showing off my ankles along with my right leg up to mid-thigh. The sweater had a v-neck, and it enhanced my cleavage beautifully.

I went in and blew my hair dry with my head upside down, scrunching and shaking. Once dry, I flipped my head back up, and I'd achieved what I wanted. My curls drifted around my shoulders, and past, bouncing with every move I made. The side part caused some of it to fall over my forehead, and both sides framed my face.

I went to the mirror and applied eyeliner, and a little eye shadow in that same shade of purple, along with mascara and a little blush. My brownish gold eyes twinkled back at me as I smiled into my reflection. I was just about to put on my hose and shoes, but the door bell sounded, and not wanting to keep him waiting, I hurried down the steps.

Flinging the door open, I greeted him with a smile. He pulled a dozen pink and red roses from behind his back.

"You know, a girl could get used to this. Then you're in trouble." I said, grabbing the flowers in one hand, and his arm in the other.

"It's a risk I'm willing to take." Drake said, acting somber. He failed horribly.

I felt his eyes on me as I headed for the kitchen. Once the roses were in water, I grabbed a couple long stemmed glasses, and a bottle of wine out of the fridge and walked back into the room. He was still staring at me.

A little flustered, I set the bottle and glasses on the table. "What?" I asked, blushing.

"You look ravishing." Coming up to me, I realized he'd taken off his leather jacket, but the faint scent accompanied him to where I was standing. Stepping in front of me, he spoke again, in a quieter tone this time.

"In fact.. You look good enough to eat..." Drake let the comment hang, and my heart leapt into my throat. My breathing quickened, and I stood still, staring up into his rich brown eyes, and saw desire there.

Drake reached out with one hand, and brushed my hair back from my face, his fingers resting at the nape of my neck, his palm against the column of my throat, his thumb brushing over my jaw and cheek. I was sure he could feel my heartbeat under his hand, but I didn't think about it long. My gaze dropped to his mouth. My lips parted as I drew in a deep breath. Time stopped.

He leaned in, and by passed my mouth, his lips moving over my jaw, and down the column of my throat. My head tilting back on its own accord, and as his lips grazed over my skin, I felt his tongue flick out, followed by gentle nips against my sensitive skin. I gasped. He raised his head and there was a smile on his face. I tried to smile back, but my bottom lip quivered.

Before I could register anything, his mouth captured mine, and I was spiraling through a haze of desire. While Drake's lips molded and shaped mine, his tongue slipped out to tease the seam of my lips, and they opened hungrily. He pressed on, sliding his tongue against my own. A knot grew in the pit of my belly, and I already felt a wave of wetness rush between my legs.

Drake's hands moved down to my hips, and he pulled me up against him. I felt his hardness straining against my tummy and my knees almost buckled. He quickly moved his hands under my ass, and he pulled me up, more completely against him, also effectively pinning me against his manhood.

My arms snaked up around his neck, and I clung to him, moaning quietly into his mouth, while I felt one of his hands move up my back, stroking soothingly along my spine. Suddenly, I felt his hand against my skin, and realized he'd gone up underneath my shirt. Catching my bra hook between his fingers, he deftly unfastened it, and I felt my breasts release. I broke the kiss, and stepped back out of his embrace.

I looked into his face, which held a look of concern. Not wanting him to think I didn't want this, I quickly grasped the hem of my shirt, and lifted it over my head, letting it drift from my fingertips. Drake's face abruptly changed. His eyes smoldered as they traveled every area of exposed skin.

I rolled my shoulders forward slightly, and my bra straps slid onto my upper arms, and with a slight shake, the continued their descent, and it joined my shirt on the floor. My chest heaved slightly, as his eyes languorously took in the sight of my breasts. My chest quivered, my nipples hardened. From the chill in the air or the close scrutiny of his gaze, I don't know. But they crinkled and rose proudly for his eyes to behold.

I stepped forward, and caught one of the buttons of his shirt between my fingers, and slid it out of the hole. Then the next. Once all the buttons were undone, I grabbed a hold of the bottom of it, and pulled it from the waist of his pants. Sliding my hands over his bare chest, I pushed the shirt to the side then right on over his shoulders, hearing it drift to the floor with a soft whoosh.

He reached out then, and gathered me up against his body. The light covering of hair on his chest was enough to make my nipples harden even more as they brushed across it. I felt his thumbs hook in the waist of my skirt, and he pushed it down, dropping to one knee to follow it all the way to the floor. I gasped and swayed when I felt his lips press against my thigh. He helped me step from the skirt, his eyes raking over my legs and panties- including the now visible wet spot.

With a devilish grin, he stood, motioning to his belt. I happily complied. I unbuckled it, and moved to the button of his pants. Slipping that from the hole was a little harder- my hands had started to shake in anticipation. Taking a deep breath, I copied Drake, and fell to one knee, so that my face was level with his crotch... I looked up at him and smirked, leaning in and grasping the zipper tab with my teeth. He groaned. I unzipped it slowly, making sure my chin and nose nuzzled against his cock while I did so.