32

Ch. 24:

Friday Evening -- A Tasty Dinner

Later, they held hands as they rode down in the elevator and again looked at each other via reflections; in the car's mirrored walls. But this time, Tim's breath caught in his throat as he gazed at his wife's image. Janice looked devastating in her form-hugging red dress and he told her so.

"You clean up pretty good yourself," she answered with a self-deprecating smile.

"I mean it, baby," he insisted. "You look amazing."

He turned to her and took her in his arms. "You are even more beautiful and sexy than when I married you and that's saying a hell of a lot. Happy anniversary, my love."

He leaned in to kiss her, but she held him back with her hands on his chest. "My lipstick," she said with a smile. "At least let me make it to the restaurant before it gets messed up."

Tim laughed as he straightened, then the elevator car slid to a stop. Janice glanced up and saw they were at the mezzanine level, not the lobby, so she waited for someone to step in when the doors opened. But instead, Tim stepped forward, leading her out by the hand.

"We still have a half hour to our dinner reservation," said Tim. "Would you like to window shop or have a drink in the restaurant bar?"

Janice finally realized they were dining in the hotel restaurant; she could see its entrance about 50 feet ahead.

"Taking the easy way out?" she asked.

"I'll have you know this is one of the top-10 restaurants in the city," he replied.

She saw upscale jewelry and clothing shops on the way to the restaurant and said, "Let's window shop."

The shops were definitely top end and featured some beautiful and pricy articles in their display windows. They stepped inside the jewelry store to look more closely and Janice found a pair of diamond and pearl earrings that looked stunning on her. She looked half-expectantly at Tim.

"Tell you what," he said with a laugh. "You earn the bonus I expect you will for the European deal and you can spend it on those earrings."

"I'll hold you to that," she said as she removed the earrings and handed them back to the shop clerk.

They made their way down to the restaurant and were a little surprised to see a fairly thick throng of people at the bar near the front, with its view to the lobby atrium below.

"It is a Friday night, I guess," said Tim.

The restaurant itself, however, was still only half full. They checked in at the maître d' station and found they could be seated right away. Tim was really being more nerd than insightful genius when he'd made an early reservation, but why quibble about success?

The white wine and appetizers complemented each other perfectly and got their culinary adventure off to a start that lived up to the restaurant's high reputation.

"Why haven't we been here before?" asked Janice.

"The same reason we haven't been to the arboretum since junior high?" he replied.

"I never thought of us as boring, but what does it say about us that we don't even find the adventures in our own backyard?" she said.

"I wouldn't say boring," he protested. "But maybe we can be more open to possibilities?"

"More willing to try new things even when what we have is good?" said Jan.

"Like taking on a challenge in Europe when you're already succeeding here?" said Tim.

"Or getting out on the dance floor to something other than INXS or Dwight Yoakam?" she tossed back at him.

"Or tearing up years' worth of green grass for cacti and pebbles?" he returned volley.

"Or jacking off over your wife's ass while two guys fuck her?" she challenged.

The game was getting serious now.

"Or shoving a kindergarten teacher's face down over your husband's cock?" he shot back.

Their voices were deeper, but quieter to avoid spilling over to the surrounding tables.

"Or racing to see who can have back-to-back orgasms the fastest?" she replied.

Tim stopped, tilted his head to the side and then smiled. "You won that one for sure. And it was fucking amazing," he said.

She returned the smile. "It's all been amazing," she agreed.

He raised his wine glass in a toast. "Here's to an amazing past, an amazing future, and an amazing weekend in between."

Ch. 25:

Friday Night Begins

The rest of the dinner was delicious and the banter continued to bounce back and forth between the routine and the risqué. After settling the bill, Tim walked his wife out of the restaurant, which was now near to full. He had to fight to keep from laughing at all the guys he saw checking out his wife's tits, ass and legs in her hot red dress. The ones sitting with women tried to be sneaky, while the tables with only guys ranged from respectfully circumspect to downright gawking.

They retraced their steps toward the elevator, Janice on her man's arm. She glanced into the jewelry store as they passed, then back to Tim. He laughed and said, "I remember, I remember. And I have no doubt I'll be seeing those earrings hanging off your ears in no time."

As they rode down to the lobby level, Janice said, "There isn't a nightclub in this hotel as well, is there?"

"No, no, we're going to a real dance club," Tim assured her. "And even though that was a great restaurant, dinner tomorrow night will not be here either."

Another benefit of staying at a busy airport hotel was that there were always some taxis nearby, and the doorman handed Janice into a cab with no delay at all.

Less than ten minutes later their taxi glided to a smooth stop in front of a long, low red brick building and another doorman was taking Janice by the hand to help her out from the car.

Inside the vestibule, Tim checked his jacket, then they stepped through double doors to the club proper. It was even emptier than the restaurant had been and Tim felt even more like some country hick for getting them to their destination too early.

"All on purpose," Tim assured his wife as they looked around a club that had less than a quarter of the tables occupied.

A hostess saved him by stepping up and saying, "Welcome to

AeroDance

. We are going to be jumping tonight, but because you are at the front of the wave I can offer you a table right near the dance floor or a booth off to the side."

Tim looked at Janice with a 'What did I tell you?' smile, then said, "I think we'll take a table up front, eh, baby?" She nodded and the hostess put them front and center, so they'd have all the action of the floor right in front of them.

After they seated themselves, Tim said, "See, not only does being early get us a great table, it also means we can get in our first few dances with a smaller audience so I can get warmed up without embarrassing us too much."

"Does that mean you're ready to dance?" asked his wife.

"Hello," said a new voice. "Welcome to

AeroDance

. I'm Justine and I'll be taking care of you tonight. Can I bring you something to drink?"

"G&T?" Tim asked Janice, who nodded in agreement.

Tim pulled his money clip out of his front pants pocket, peeled off a fifty dollar bill and gave it to Justine. "Please bring us each a gin and tonic, then a tonic, then a G&T and so on, okay?"

"Got it," Justine answered.

Tim nodded at the fifty and said, "Just tell me when that runs out." Then he handed her a twenty and said, "And that's for you."

"Well, thank you very much," their server said with happy surprise. She certainly expected good tips, but to actually get one up front was rare. "I'll be right back with your drinks."

"Very smooth," Janice said. "I didn't realize I was out with such a smooth operator."

Tim didn't say anything, he just stood up and held his hand out to his wife.

Janice's face broke into a big smile as she took his hand and followed him out to the dance floor. There was plenty of room out there and Janice kept it nice and easy as Tim found his feet and the groove. They went three songs before he called a time out and they made their way back to their table, where they found two gin and tonics waiting for them.

They didn't stay at the table long before Janice's movement in the chair became too much and they hit the floor again. It was getting a little more crowded now, and the energy in the room was growing. Tim was doing a good job of putting his recent dance training to work, but Janice was warmed up now and really starting to move with the natural grace, power and rhythm that showed the difference between the two.

He didn't let it bother him, though, this was the very reason he'd brought her out dancing. Just like when they were in college, he just enjoyed watching her and did his best to give her a solid foundation to dance around. From the happy look on Janice's face, Tim felt he'd scored well on this anniversary.

Ch. 26: Friday Night - Cutting In

It wasn't until after their third or fourth set that another guy came over to ask Janice for a dance. They'd been sitting for three songs; Tim was feeling a bit overwhelmed, while Jan was chair-dancing more and more.

A young Latino guy came up and smiled at Janice, but addressed Tim. "Hi, I'm Javier. I have to say, you two have been looking really good out on the floor tonight. I'm just wondering if you're open to dancing with anyone else."

It was really pretty sexist that Javier was asking Tim for permission to dance with Janice, but some traditions still worked best to avoid unnecessary conflict.

Tim looked over at his wife, who held a neutral look on her face. He turned back to the first interloper of the night with a smile. "Well, Javier, we came here tonight to dance and if you want to ask Janice, it's okay with me."

The guy faced her full on for the first time. "Janice," he said, like a young Ricardo Montalban, "may I have the honor of this dance?" He extended his hand.

Janice looked briefly at Tim, checking to see if the look on his face matched the friendly tone of his voice. Apparently satisfied that he was holding true to his word that it would be okay for her to dance with other people, she took Javier's hand and rose to her feet.

"Thank you, Javier. I'd be delighted." The two walked out onto the dance floor. Tim's breath caught in his throat a bit as he watched her fine, fine ass move away in that tight, red dress.

Just then, their server Justine arrived at the table with their next round of drinks -- real gin and tonics this time. Tim glanced up and saw that she was staring at his wife's ass as hard as he had been. Or maybe it was Javier's ass, Tim really couldn't tell. But she was definitely zeroed in on the sexy looking couple as they hit the floor and started moving.

Justine finally gathered herself and gave Tim a bit of a look before putting their empty glasses on her tray and getting ready to leave.

"As I'm sure you noticed," he told her with a smile. "My wife is the real dancer and I promised her she wouldn't have to put up with only my two left feet."

"Well, I don't know about two left feet," she said diplomatically. "But, yeah, she does seem more experienced and it's really pretty cool of you to let her have fun on the floor."

"Happy wife, happy life," Tim offered.

Justine laughed and walked away.

Tim took a sip of his new drink and watched his wife and Javier.

"Javier, Janice and Justine," he suddenly thought. "Is it a 'J' night?"

Watching them, Tim decided that having a name that started with J might not mean anything, but Javier's dance skills certainly did. The guy moved smoothly and decisively and made everything Janice did look even better. They stayed out on the floor a good long stretch before she broke it off and headed back to the table, Javier in tow.

Her skin was glowing with a thin sheen of perspiration and before she sat down she picked up her glass and took a long swallow of the cold drink.

"Thank you, Janice," said Javier. "You dance beautifully."

"Thank you, Javier," she answered, matching his formal tone. "That was a lot of fun."

"I hope we can dance again later?" he said with a question in his voice.

"Absolutely," she said. "I do hope you'll find time to come and ask me for another dance."

"Absolutely," he repeated back to her with a smile. Tim thought he was going to kiss her hand, but he just gave a little head nod and turned away from the table.

Janice sat down, took another sip of her G&T, and patted her forehead with a cocktail napkin. Finally she looked over at Tim. "So," she said. "Are you okay?"

He knew what she meant. "You two looked pretty damned hot out there. But you also looked like you were really enjoying the dancing, so yeah, I'm okay."

"Thank you, baby," she said. Then she was on her feet again. "I'm going to the ladies' room to check my makeup; I'm sure it's running from the sweat."

"Actually you still look great," he assured her. "But go see for yourself."

While Tim waited he checked out the other dancers, trying to remember all the things Janice had taught him over the past week. When he glanced back the other way he saw her coming out of the hallway that led to the restrooms.

She'd only taken a few steps when a guy stopped her. He gestured toward the dance floor, so Tim guessed he was asking for a dance. Tim saw Janice nod and the two started walking. Since their table was right off the dance floor, it was easy for Jan to guide her latest partner by him.

"Tim, this is Tony, we're going to go dance a few," she said as they paused by the table.

"Have fun," Tim answered.

After only two dances Janice was back at the table, having said goodbye to Tony before leaving the floor.

"Not a good dancer?" Tim asked.

"Oh, he was okay," she answered.

"But...?"

"Too handsy," she said. She saw the question in Tim's eyes and went on. "I'm sure you saw that Javier also touched me quite a bit while we were dancing, but it always felt appropriate -- like only what was really needed to keep us in sync, you know? But this guy felt more like he was copping a feel."

Tim nodded, pleased that Janice was sensitive to the difference between the dancers. He got to his feet and led her back out on the floor for another turn of his own. "I'll try to keep my hands where they belong," he promised. "Although, I must say, the way you move in that dress does make them want to stray."

"Well," she answered wryly, "maybe after another gin or two I might allow a little more freedom."

"For me or for whomever your partner is?"

She considered. "Interesting thought. I guess we'll just have to wait and see." Then she was leading him back into the music.

Ch. 27:

Friday Night -- Meet the Neighbors

And so the night continued, with Tim doing his best to keep up with Janice, but her never having to wait long for another dance partner when her husband wanted to sit out a few.

Among the more interesting partners were Cillian and Deepa. They were both foreign grad students attending the state university. He was from Ireland and she was from India. The red-headed Cillian was a city boy from Dublin and was well-versed in American dance music. The dark and lovely Deepa, on the other hand, had only started dancing since arriving in the States. So they were basically the mirror image of Jan and Tim when it came to dance experience. On the floor they swapped partners and matched up the experience levels. Deepa obviously appreciated the slower pace Tim set, while Cillian enjoyed being able to up his game with Janice.

Another good dancer was Tyrone, a well-built black guy who was about Tim and Janice's age. After they'd danced a second set he pulled over a chair from another table and sat down with them. He was interesting and funny and all was cool until another black guy came over and asked Janice to dance.

"Brother, you see me sitting here don't you?" growled Tyrone, catching the other three by surprise.

"I see the lady sitting here," the new guy answered. "But she looks like she'd enjoy dancing more, so here I am." He gave Janice a dazzling smile.

Tyrone looked angry and about to say something else, when the DJ saved the day.

"Hey, that's

Sam & Dave

!" Tim exclaimed, getting to his feet and reaching out to Janice. "Sorry guys, but this dance is mine."

Before they walked away from the table, however, Tim turned to the new guy and said, "I'll probably only have her out 3 or 4 songs; come on by later if you see her sitting too long again." Then to Tyrone he said, "It's been good to meet you, Tyrone. Maybe we'll see you again later too." And with that he led his wife to the floor, singing, "You didn't have to love me like you did, but you did..."

"Very smooth," Janice congratulated him.

"I came for the dancing, not the fighting," he said as the DJ followed Sam & Dave with another 60's R&B classic that finally had Tim feeling comfortable out on the floor.

After that set of songs it was Tim's turn to visit the restroom. When he came back he wasn't much surprised to see someone else chatting Janice up at their table, but was a little surprised that it was two women they had seen dancing together throughout the night. The two hardly looked the minimum 21 to get into the club and Tim had pegged them as lesbians by the way they interacted with each other on the floor.

"There you are," Janice said happily, getting to her feet when Tim arrived. "This is Crystal and Chante and we're going to do some partner swapping with them, like we did with Cillian and Deepa." She and the girls giggled and Tim thought it might be time to cut back on the G&Ts.

But he just smiled and said, "And which of you do I have the honor of escorting?"

The one who turned out to be Chante raised a hand and they followed Janice and Crystal out onto the floor. Chante was on the short side and had a bubble butt that moved hypnotically as a real rump-shaker of a song came on. Tim nearly fell under its spell, but caught himself and looked over to where Janice was dancing to see if he'd been busted gawking at Chante's ass.

Instead, he found himself gawking at his wife and Chante's supposed girlfriend, Crystal. They too were getting deep into the raunchy feel of the song. And if Jan had been put off by Tony being handsy earlier, she seemed to be having no problem now with Crystal's hands riding up and down her hips. It hit Tim that the vibe of the whole club had been getting more sensuous, more sexual, as the night had progressed and Janice was fitting right in.

He brought his attention back to Chante and saw her give him a knowing smile as she read his confusion and excitement. She danced closer to him, shaking her small tits and big ass. Tim had a sudden remembrance of a thought from the recent past.

Dancing is dancing, fucking is fucking, loving is loving.

He smiled back at the woman and danced.

When he begged off two songs later, he looked to see if Janice was also ready to take a break, but she and Crystal were still having a good time. By the time he took his seat and a sip of his drink and looked back out on the floor, it was a threesome, with Chante shaking right into rhythm with the other two women.

"Gotta love fucking dancing," Tim said to himself with a smile as he took another sip.

Ch. 28:

Friday Night -- Interesting People

Later, the black guy who'd run up against the claim-staking Tyrone made his way back over to their table.

"I know you've only been sitting for one song," he said with a smile, "but I don't think I've seen you make it all the way through two since the last time I came over."

Janice smiled back, then looked over at Tim, who nodded. She held out a hand to the visitor. "Janice," she said.

He took her hand and shook it. "D'Andre," he said in a smooth baritone. He let go of her hand, moved to the other side of the table and held his out to Tim. "D'Andre," he repeated. "Hope you don't mind if I steal your dance partner away for a few minutes."