The bar was in the basement of a hotel in downtown Frankfurt am Main. Jack had started frequenting the place after making the acquaintance of the two bartenders who worked there. One was a dark-haired Slovenian beauty from Ljubljana, and the other was an attractive blonde Serb from Belgrade. He had been in Germany for only a matter of weeks, stationed at Rhein-Main Air Base, USAF, 6916th Security Squadron, and had learned of the bar and its bartenders from a Bulgarian-speaking airman who had been in Germany for a couple of years and knew the ropes, so to speak. Jack had learned Serbo-Croatian as a part of his training in the U.S. military, so enjoyed talking with the two women, sometimes in their language, sometimes in his, just as the other airman thought he would. Because of this he always sat at the bar, usually alone, as he wasn't interested in any of the other customers in the place. That is, until 'she' walked in one night.
She was another blonde, but this one stunningly beautiful. So beautiful Jack couldn't help but notice her as she descended the steps and entered the bar. The place suddenly grew unnaturally quiet as heads turned and the eyes of every man in the bar went to her face and form as she made her way almost languidly to an empty table and sat down. Jack automatically decided to ignore her and her skintight dress, and continued talking with the blonde bartender, but couldn't help notice as man after man approached the newcomer, offering to buy her a drink, asking if they could sit with her, asking her to dance, etc., etc. It became almost comical, as one man after another was enticed into trying his luck, most with absolutely no success. Eventually she did accept a drink or two, it appeared, but nothing more, and sat alone. Having seen enough, Jack decided to leave the bar and said his goodbyes to both of his bartender friends, then walked out without even a glance in the newcomer's direction.
A few nights later Jack was seated in his usual spot at the bar talking with the dark-haired bartender when the same woman walked in, wearing an even more form fitting dress, if that were even possible. Incredibly, the same thing happened. The bar grew quiet again, but this time for only a moment as a few men jumped up from their chairs in seconds to greet the woman, asking her to join them, offering to buy her a drink, etc. The same routine, and it was actually odd that this woman had this effect on the place. There were many attractive women who stopped in from time to time, many of them flight attendants staying at the hotel, but none seemed to have the allure this woman obviously possessed. Jack was determined not to be one of her subjects, all of whom were seemingly being summarily dismissed left and right, so he again got up and walked out after saying his goodbyes to his two friends.
A couple of nights later, the same thing happened again. The same scenario. A complete repeat. Men were making fools of themselves over this woman. It was ridiculous. Again Jack said his goodbyes and walked out without a glance in the blonde beauty's direction.
Three nights later when the woman walked in she walked straight to the bar, politely brushing off several men and leaving them in her wake as she flowed along, finally settling on a bar stool next to Jack, who had been sitting alone in his usual spot, talking to the blonde bartender. The woman ordered a drink in German-accented English, and paid for it herself. Almost immediately what had been a two person conversation between Jack and the bartender somehow became a three-way conversation, in English.
Up close it was very apparent what the attraction was with this woman. Perfect features, flawless skin, brilliantly white teeth, seemingly natural shoulder length blonde hair, perky but moderately full breasts, a trim waist, a nice rounded ass, long and shapely dancer-type legs, small perfectly manicured and pedicured hands and feet. In short, she was probably the most beautiful woman Jack had ever seen, period. Even in films or on TV. Amazingly beautiful.
Try as hard to resist as he might, Jack found himself falling under the spell of this mysterious woman who had chosen to sit at the bar beside him instead of accepting the invitations of so many other men to sit with them, and who had even chosen to buy her own drink, instead of having it bought for her, as she easily could have done. Little did she know one of the main reasons he had previously chosen to ignore her was his belief she was out of his league and he would be wasting his time, like all the other men, if he chose to pursue her. Little did he know his ignoring her was one of the main reasons she had chosen to pursue him.
"Annemarie" she said, extending her hand to Jack. He took it and felt a slight shock in her touch. He hesitated, then gave her his name in return, suddenly mesmerized by her eyes, which were some kind of blue he didn't think he had ever seen before. They were also unmistakably feminine eyes, the kind that let you know instantly the sex of their owner without seeing anything else about her.
"You're an American?" she asked, knowing the answer would be yes. Jack acknowledged that he was, and added that he was in the USAF, stationed nearby at Rhein-Main, which he thought she probably also could have guessed, although Jack had been told since arriving in Germany that he looked more German than most Germans. One person even went so far as saying he looked like he stepped out of an Aryan poster.
Jack asked Annemarie about herself, and she said she was originally from a small German village, but no longer felt she fit in there. She said she would be in Frankfurt for a while, but wasn't sure how long her visit would last. During the course of the conversation Jack learned she was staying in a hotel, but not the one in which the bar was located. She didn't say which hotel.
Jack wasn't sure how Annemarie managed to divulge so little information about herself without seeming purposefully mysterious, but she did. He guessed she was about twenty-five years old, making her slightly older than he, but she gracefully avoided his efforts to learn more about her, and he soon realized she was almost solely intent on learning more about him, and on revealing very little about herself.
Seeing that her drink was almost gone, Jack offered to buy his new acquaintance another, and she accepted. They continued talking, mostly about him, despite his best efforts to turn the conversation in a direction where he could learn more about her. She was really good at avoiding questions she didn't want to answer.
Eventually Annemarie said she had to go, and declined Jack's offer to see her to her hotel safely. She thanked him for his concern, and for the drink, and said it had been nice meeting him. She then left, leaving him sitting at the bar wondering what had just happened. He left after having one more drink, and headed back to the base, wondering if he would ever see his mystery woman again.
After a short night's sleep, interrupted by vivid dreams involving someone who looked a lot like Annemarie, Jack awoke to the knowledge he had to fly a mission that morning and would be gone a couple of days, with an overnight in Italy. Normally such a mission would be a welcome one, as Jack enjoyed any time he could spend in that country, but not at the moment. Jack's thoughts were on the small basement bar in Frankfurt, and the possibility that Annemarie would return to it soon. He suddenly realized the idea that he wouldn't be there if she did bothered him a lot.
After a long and boring ten hour mission, Jack landed at Aviano Air Base in northern Italy and spent the night in Pordenone, where he walked the narrow streets after dinner, wishing he was already back in Frankfurt. Another fitful night followed, filled with dreams about a mysterious woman he barely knew, which was something highly unusual for Jack. The next morning found him eager to complete his second mission and then head back to Germany, with every intention of urgently returning to the small hotel bar as soon as possible, and possibly another meeting with Annemarie.
On landing at Rhein-Main Jack grabbed a bite to eat, took a shower and changed into civilian clothes and headed downtown. It was getting late in the evening, but he couldn't wait another day to see if Annemarie had returned.
