I want to thank my muse for her encouragement and editing. This story is a slow burn and I hope you'll getting there is half the fun.
4:00 am Huffing in frustration, I started my day. 5 hours of sleep would barely be enough for this marathon 16 hour day. Shrugging, I calculated that I could get a couple of naps in on the flight. Visiting Phoenix was a quarterly event; and, one I did not look forward to. My employees were great. The flight from Orlando to Phoenix was the culprit of my grief. The flight was long. Jet lag was real. And, I was unable to secure a direct flight making this trip particularly dreadful. Fortunately, the roads were empty at this time of the morning. Commuters tended not to be stressed or find parking at the terminal... The security lines were my nemesis at Orlando International. Every quarter I curse myself for not subscribing to TSA PreCheck. This morning the lines were exceptionally long. Quickly, I did the math in my head and knew I had plenty of time.
Traveling for business was a sterile event for me. I avoided chit chat with tourists/commuters and even avoided significant eye contact that could encourage dialog. As with anything business-related, my main focus was on increased efficiency and effectiveness. It was the main reason I was able to grow the program out of the red, from my predecessor's efforts, into the black. Thus making my quarterly visits a requirement. Orlando's TSA was neither efficient nor effective causing my eyes to roll in disdain.
A two and a half hour flight later, we touched down. And, I was at my next gate waiting for my Phoenix leg to begin. My eyes scanned for a place to charge my phone and laptop. Frustratingly, none were available. Quickly I assessed that Dallas/Fort Worth was not effective and that I had enough cell life to last the trip. During my scan, my eyes settled on a woman having breakfast. Not just any woman mind you, she was, "A grade 'A' hotty," I mouthed. I found myself staring just a little too long. It was definitely more than the once over I was accustomed to giving. Trying to be slick, I turned my head while still keeping her in my peripherals. Reviewing my actions, I definitely did not rate my perving skills as effective and stopped my foolishness. ( this part is so cute and adorable. I love the male viewpoint throughout. But super adorable here) My mind mulled over the woman's image painted in my mind. She looked to be a couple years younger than me, probably 38. She had blonde hair and a sexy silhouette. She was smartly dressed in a classy but sexy blouse. The blouse accentuated her substantial breasts, adding to her allure. No doubt she was "smuggling," as I would crudely put it to the guys. This thought brought a smirk to my mouth. Yes, I was going to sneak another look. I was alarmed that she was waiting for my gaze. I flashed my signature smile. It was self-assuring enough to convey confidence yet genuine enough to impart friendliness. The moment was redeemed. I continued to rotate my head as if it was my original intention. After nodding at my fictional target, my attention was directed back to my iPad.
That quick moment of exhilaration waned as I crashed down into reality. I was in an airport full of transient travelers, nothing would build from the moment. On the bright side, there was nothing to lose if I leered again. Armed with a smile, I turned to ogle. My smile faded. I groomed my appearance to help psychologically recover from the disappointment. She had moved on. "Transient," I reminded myself.
The moment had passed. I shrugged off the occurrence as I returned to reading my iPad. As I got lost in my article, I noticed a pleasing fragrance. It was Joy by Dior. A particularly lovely fragrance that several women in the office wore. It was a perfume I would recognize and compliment at every chance. It was never beyond a compliment because I was never one to dip my pen in the company ink. I turned to compliment the wearer, only to be stopped dead in my tracks. It was the woman from breakfast. She was sitting at my gate. Again, we locked eyes, and I smiled, "I love Joy?"
"What?" She narrowed her eyes, letting on that she was momentarily confused. "Oh, my perfume. Thanks. It's my favorite," she lightly laugh. Following her laugh she added, "Obviously" with a shrug and half wink.
At a more intimate range, her details grew into focus. Striking, her eyes were captivating. Her makeup accentuated her green-blue irises. What made her eyes special was her predominate dark outer iris halos. The dramatic contrast created a sexy effect. Her beautiful eyes were a blessing because, at such close proximity, my perving eyes would have traveled to her breasts. She was sultry, and there was no doubt about it. She was startled by her phone. After digging it out of her handbag, she mouthed, "Thank you," and turned to take her call. "Alex, hey yup, I'm in Dallas..."
Alex. A spouse? Maybe a boyfriend? I turned and slipped my earbuds in and listened to music. Disappointed, I wanted nothing to do with the conversation. 45 minutes slipped by fast. After racking up airline status, my next concern was to get overhead space in the main cabin preferred section. Because I had just earned the status I was going to be in the last group to be seated. There were times I had to put my bags further back. This led to a less than efficient debarkation. The travel gods were kind, I had overhead space. Quickly I slid into my window seat, shoved my hoodie into the crack between the bulkhead and the seat. This was all in preparation for recouping some sleep lost from the night before. My ulterior motive was to avoid conversation with my seatmate. Leaning over, with my earbuds positioned, I closed my eyes. My thoughts meandered to the image of the gorgeous woman at the gate. Exercising discipline, I willed my thoughts to concentrate on my agenda for the next couple of days. As I got to the afternoon portion of my schedule, I started to feel a poking at my shoulder. I feigned sleep, hoping the poking would stop. It persisted, so I opened my eyes to address the matter. As my eyes adjusted to the light, I took notice of a young traveler. "What are you listening to?" He asked with a smile.
Both of my children were in their 20's. Breaking my no chit-chatting rule was pretty easy in this case. I missed having little children, so I welcomed the conversation. "A band called Khruangbin. Do you want to listen?" I offered an earbud with a smile.
The young traveler took the earbud in earnest. He stared off, listening to the music. I watched in amusement as his face went from contemplation to a smile. He then started to nod to the beat. This caused my smile to widen. As we grooved to the music, I noticed the lovely lady from the gate walking by. At this point, I had very little interest because I was not going to get in Alex's way, Bro' Code. Politely, I returned a brief smile and went back to chatting with my young seatmate. But... I did not miss the opportunity to look at her lovely ass as she shuffled by. We listened to some of my 80's stuff. I discovered that the boy was the product of poor parenting. Guns and Roses, Def Lepard, Salt n' Pepa were all a mystery to this poor child. After a couple of samplings, he committed to looking into the 80s. This brought me some satisfaction. An airline attendant leaned down to speak with the child. They were going to change his seat so he could be closer to his parents. I was disappointed, but relieved because I really needed to get some sleep. We said our goodbyes, and he headed off. The added benefit of an empty neighboring seat was gravy.
I started to drift off to sleep when I felt some movement in the seat next to me. I repositioned my head, hoping to get some shut-eye. After lunchtime, my schedule opened up to some one-on-one meetings with my direct reports. These were the highlights of my trip. A familiar smell wafted over me. Joy, a smirk broke on my face. There was no doubt ... it was the lovely lady. But, I refrained from turning to greet her. Any conversation would have just been practice. She will be speaking to Alex in a few hours, Bro' Code. The sweet smell persisted. Her silhouette and her eyes once again invaded my thoughts. It must have been how undeniably hot she was combined with her perfume that triggered my next movement. I was growing an erection. This development was very vexing. Would she notice? Would precum leak from my cock? After a quick poll, I realized I'd have to wake up and check on my condition. Slowly I roused myself from my sleeping position. As I moved, I made sure to check out my boner situation. It was noticeable, but not notable, and no precum. Okay, time for some acting. I transitioned carefully from sleeping to acknowledging she was sitting next to me. Looking over, I smiled, "Joy."
She smiled back, "Hey there, sleepy."
I rolled my eyes, pretending to be embarrassed. "Yeah, it's been a long day and, I haven't even started. What brings you to Phoenix," I prodded.
