She had a ring on her finger. Her left ring finger. It was undoubtedly a wedding ring. It glittered under the soft overhead light of the bar. Each movement of her hand as she turned her glass around, stirred her drink, or placed the glass to her lips threw glitters of light toward him. He watched her smile and chat with the bartender. A few times their eyes met, and they would smile at each other, but neither of them would look away.
He watched her. Nothing else was granted his attention. The bar was mostly empty, as hotel bars usually are on weeknights. His dinner, half eaten, had been pushed aside when she appeared. She had ordered a silly looking mixed drink, he couldn't tell what. He watched as she nursed it, barely drinking anything each time the glass touched her lips. Her lips... She wore no lipstick, no makeup at all from what he could tell, but her lips were a soft pink set against the creamy white of the rest of her face. He found himself jealous of the glass she was drinking from.
The light from her diamond ring bounced around the room, as if she had a disco ball strapped to her hand. It must have been a massive diamond, but he couldn't see it well from where he sat. He was facing her, on the opposite side of the U shaped bar. The soft beat and the slow sounds of the jazzy lobby music echoed around them as the bartender washed glasses seemingly oblivious to what was transpiring between them.
The eye contact, the way she squared her shoulders and leaned toward the bar as she tried to suppress a smile all told him she wanted something. He wanted to look into the dark wells of her brown eyes, and let the power of her gaze melt him into nothingness. The attraction he felt was so intense that he found himself on his feet and moving toward her before he could string the thoughts of doing either together. She watched him walk around the bar, and turned in her seat to face him as he approached.
"My name is Ryan."
"I'm Desiree"
Nothing more was said until they had left the bar together, left the hotel, and were walking in the cool air of the evening. The garish light of the street lamps burned away the mystery of the evening.
"You're married?" Ryan asked.
"Yes. You are too" Desiree replied.
"May I see your ring?" he asked.
She stopped, turned to face him and offered her hand. He held her hand gently, the shock of their first contact made them both stand straighter. He couldn't see her ring in the dark, but he held onto her hand nonetheless. She made no effort to break his grasp.
"It's not real," She volunteered, "The stone is a fake, my husband is very frugal, and I didn't want something so vain."
Ryan hummed his agreement.
