It was getting late for a weeknight and the crowd at the hotel bar started to thin out a little bit. However, out of the corner of my eye, I could see three attractive ladies nearby. They were sitting at a high-top table and were not in a hurry to leave. It appeared that they were just out on the town having a nice conversation, which was punctuated by frequent laughter. They didn't seem to be over-served necessarily, but whatever they were drinking had definitely loosened them up.
One of these ladies, a pretty brunette, looked at me a time or two. She smiled when I caught her glance, but then she quickly rejoined her friends in conversation. I was trying to decide if she noticed anything out of the ordinary coming from our direction. All at once, the three of them looked over at us. The brunette was certainly close enough to have seen Lisa in action if she was paying attention, and it now appeared that indeed she was.
Meanwhile, Hank didn't seem to know what to do next. He stood at our table looking at Lisa expectantly, awaiting further instructions. Maybe he thought she was planning to reward him for his discretion right then and there.
"There is no charge for the water," Hank announced.
"Good," Lisa said. "That's very civilized."
More silence. I enjoyed the awkwardness of it all. Yet, I wondered if I should step in, because this was bound to get interesting if he didn't fumble.
"Hank," Lisa asked. "Are you working tomorrow night?"
"No," Hank replied. "I have class. I'm in the MBA program at Northwestern."
"Too bad," Lisa pouted.
"No, it's a top-rated school," he laughed.
Hank fully understood that Northwestern was not what she was referring to. Nevertheless, he seemed a little too timid to walk through the wide open door. I was surprised, since he seemed so confident just a short while ago. He had Lisa's underwear in his pocket – literally - and she was eyeing him coyly, waiting for the next move.
With nothing to lose on my end, I decided to help him close the deal. Since she was neither my wife nor my girlfriend, I was liberated. Free to go along for the ride without the normal feelings of jealousy or possessiveness that come with this territory.
"Hank, what time is your class finished? Maybe we could meet you afterwards for a drink," I suggested.
"That would be awesome," he said. "I am done around 10 pm."
"Great. Give us your phone number and also be thinking about a cool place to go. We have a group dinner to attend, but it will be over by then," I continued.
Cleverly, Hank said to Lisa "give me your number and I will just call you from my phone and you can save it that way."