This is madness! Claire told herself, as she pulled up outside the bar. At first glance, it looked a nice place; huge glass windows, a slightly scary looking bouncer at the door. 'At least he’ll look after me if something doesn’t go to plan!' Claire looked down to survey her chosen outfit; she knew that the short denim skirt showed off her long, well-muscled legs perfectly, and that the form-fitting pink jumper accentuated her two greatest assets. She smiled to herself, yes, she was certainly dressed to impress. But despite knowing that she looked good; she was still very nervous. She was here to meet Ryan. Claire had known Ryan for just over three years, yet they had never met face-to-face. She’d met him one evening while she was chatting in an AOL chatroom. They had clicked immediately, and not a week had passed since then in which they hadn’t chatted at least once. Of course, the subject of their meeting in person had come up several times, but they’d never actually decided to do something about it. Until now. With a deep breath, Claire walked into the bar, smiling slightly at the bouncer as his eyes swept slowly over her body. Running a hand through her long hair, Claire’s eyes searched the slightly crowded bar. They finally rested on a familiar face – Ryan. She smiled and gave him a small, nervous wave. He looked even more handsome in the flesh; his dark, slightly wavy hair was cropped short, and his deep dark eyes seemed to smoulder against his lightly tanned face. His body looked good too, clad in dark denim jeans and a light blue shirt that hugged his broad shoulders. With a nervous bite on her bottom lip, she began to walk over to where he was sat.
Ryan had been just as nervous as Claire. They’d been chatting for so long, and knew practically everything about each other – it only seemed right that they meet. Despite this, he’d spent the whole day worrying about how the evening would go. What if they didn’t get along in person? What if she found him boring, or vice versa? It would be a shame for them to finally meet, and then not get along at all. But, the moment he’d spotted her walk through the doors of the bar, smiling shyly at the butch doorman, he’d forgotten all about his doubts. The photographs that she had sent him of herself really did her no justice. Her long dark hair shone in a way that no photograph would have been able to show, and her blue eyes sparkled against her porcelain white skin. The smile that had lit up her face when she had spotted him was a familiar one, the perfect teeth white against the pink gloss of her full lips. And her body … well, her body was more amazing than he could have imagined. Her legs, despite her shortness, were long and slender, her waist narrow and her neck long and graceful. Her breast were also something else; they looked full and firm beneath her tight top, bouncing only slightly as she walked over quickly to greet him.
“Hi, Ryan,” she said, in her familiar sweet voice. She kissed him lightly on the cheek, having to stand on her the tips of her toes to do so. She pushed her hair back behind her ears, her eyes roaming over his every feature, seemingly drinking in every detail of him.
“Claire, it’s great to finally see you!”
“It is.” Another smile, warmer this time. Smoothing down her skirt, Claire sat down, patting the seat beside her, indicating that she wanted him to sit too. “This feels so strange! But I must say, it’s not a scary as I thought it would be.”
Ryan laughed. “You were nervous too, huh? I must admit, I’ve been shitting myself since this morning!”
“You’re just as crude in reality then?” Claire joked, her lips curving up into a smile. She crossed her legs, her skirt sliding up a few inches to reveal an expanse of creamy white thigh. Ryan swallowed, dragging his eyes from her legs back to her eyes.
“You know me, always crude, Claire. Can I get you something to drink?”
Claire nodded. “Gin and bitter lemon please, I can’t have too many as I’m driving.”
Claire watched as he strode over to the bar, leaning against it, waiting to be served. 'So far, so good,' she muttered to herself. 'God, I can’t believe I’m actually here, sat in a bar with him. He looks really, really good.' She was definitely attracted to him; she always had been in a way. Even from only seeing a couple of photographs, Claire had known that Ryan was her type. Something about the way that he had been looking at her told her that Ryan found her attractive, too. That sent a little ripple of excitement through her. She hadn’t come here expecting anything more than conversation, but now that they had set eyes on one another, Claire couldn’t help but anticipate that something else was brewing between them.
“Here,” Ryan set a glass down in front of her. “Sorry I was so long, they take ages in this place.”
“Thank you,” Claire smiled as he sat beside her, a little closer than last time. So close in fact, that his thigh was touching hers. “Don’t worry about it.”
“I was just thinking about what you said,” Ryan said, sipping his lager, trying his hardest not to look down at Claire’s breasts. He had noticed that her nipples had become significantly more pronounced since her arrival; probably due to the air conditioning. “About driving home? I have a spare room at my place, only if you wanted to stay over that is. I mean, it’s a shame for you to drive all this way and then we only spend an hour or two together.”
“Would you mind me staying over?” Claire sipped her drink delicately, her eyes never leaving his. “I mean, I don’t want to put you out or anything.”
“I wouldn’t have offered if I wasn’t sure. Drink your drink, and we’ll get a take-away and some alcohol, there’s a Bargain Booze beneath my flat. We’ll be able to talk more back at my place.”
*********
After a Chinese take-away and several bottles of beer, both Claire and Ryan were feeling more than slightly tipsy. They had been talking for hours, chatting as if they’d known each other for years; which, in a way, they had. Gone was any awkwardness between them, all that mattered was that they were together and getting along perfectly fine.
“How many have we had, Ryan?” Claire asked, her eyes scanning the mass of empty beer bottles that littered the carpet of Ryan’s lounge.
“Umm, about nine?” Ryan laughed, tweaking several strands of her silken hair playfully. “Why are you drunk? Lightweight.”
