I couldn't wait to get back out in the field after a long, miserable relationship with my now ex-fiance. I was free and single and ready to start over, and couldn't wait to go out now that my nights were my own again, so I accepted the invite to go out with a group of friends for their ritual Saturday night dinner and drinks.
I was surprised to see Hayden sitting at the table when Rachel and I arrived. Him and I shared mutual friends and became well acquainted over the last few years, up until his unusual disappearance last year he got mixed up with the wrong type of girl and she sucked him into her web. As a result Hayden didn't associate with anyone but her. The girl had gotten him into a bit of personal trouble, but since, Hayden learned the error of his ways and broke things off with her, deciding to start fresh from becoming the type of person he hated.
Rachel and I slid into the only seats left at the table, with Rachel sitting right beside Hayden. After we downed a couple Jack and Cokes, I whispered to Rachel, asking if I could switch seats with her to sit next to him. I heard he always had a thing for me, so I wanted to flirt. Absentmindedly, she blurted out, "Hey Hayden, can Jess sit next to you?" In which he excitedly replied, "Sure." As we made our seat switching in the booth, Hayden's hand brushed across lightly across my chest as he handed me a menu, which I hoped was accidental. I know I said I wanted to flirt, but this was unbelievable. We hardly saw each other and now he was trying to feel me up. I looked across the table to see if our two friends, Kyle and Sam caught it, but heir faces were buried in their menus.
Our table of twelve began placing their orders. As the waiter came to me, I felt a hand rest on my thigh, causing me to squeak when I went to speak. I cleared my throat, placed my order and looked inquisitively at Hayden, who kept talking in the conversation he was having across the table with Kyle and Sam, as if this didn't happen.
I sat quietly next to Rachel peeking down to watch Hayden's hand. His hand started caressing from my knee up, sending chills to my spine that made me squirm in my seat.
"Are you alright?" Rachel asked me. "You're really quiet and acting weird."
As Hayden's hand traveled further up and reached in between my crossed legs, squeezing my inner thigh, I gasped, actually kind of liking it. Trying to play it off, I replied, "I'm fine, just a little light headed. I think I need to eat."
Our food arrived and the table grew quiet as we stuffed our faces. Hayden removed his hand from under the table to eat. We engaged in our own casual conversation as we finished dinner and I downed a another drink. I started feeling brave and thought about his hand on my thigh, so it only seemed fitting if I returned his touchy gestures from earlier and ran my hand up his leg and over his groin. Shocked, he jumped forward and dribbled a bit of his mouthful of whiskey, that he which also created a couple of confused stares.
Hayden excused himself to the men's room and a few seconds later, my cell phone vibrated from my pocketbook. It was an unknown number telling me to excuse myself and meet him by the restrooms. I leaned over to Rachel and told her I was going to pee. When I walked to the back corner of the restaurant, I was pulled into the very dim hallway where the bathrooms were. Thanks God I don;t scare easily, because I probably would have screamed. Hayden was leaning against the wall and pulled me in for a gentle kiss. We broke away and looked at each other and I pulled him in, kis him harder. Someone behind us cleared their throat. One of the waitresses was trying to pass.
"Sorry." Hayden and I said and looked at each other, giggling. We went back to the table separately to avoid giving our friends something gossip about.
As the night came to a close and everyone began to say their good nights and disband, Hayden and I stayed and played catch up, flirting more innocently than earlier. At midnight, I looked around for Rachel, my ride, realizing she disappeared.
"Have you seen Rachel?" I asked Hayden.
"She mentioned she had to leave, but you may not have heard her. I hope you don't mind, but I told her I'd take you home."
"No, I don't. As long as I get home." The little me running around inside my body was screaming, "YES!"
We pulled on our jackets and left cash for the few drinks we had while we were chatting. As we exited the restaurant, the snow outside was falling softly around us and accumulating fast. Some flakes settled into his dark hair, making him appear even more sexy as he kept his head bowed and hands deep in his pockets. We walked side by side to his white Navigator, which was barely visible, covered in about a half an inch of snow.
"Let's go for a drive," he said, as he fumbled with his car keys.
