Within hours of Dane Zirko's transfer to our division, my single, observant colleague, Sarah, had already noticed him.
"You know Dane who's been transferred from finance. He is so attractive." she commented as she spooned the white froth from her cappuccino into her painted mouth.
"But, Sarah, he's not only married with kids, I can't work him out. He's either super conceited or just too quiet." I replied. "You can find that out, he's got the office next to you." she giggled. I pushed the topic of our new colleague aside as we continued to talk about work projects.
I didn't think about Dane Zirko again until the department managers each did a short presentation at the quarterly meeting. Just after my presentation, it was Dane's turn at the podium. It quickly became obvious to me that he was not at all conceited. He was extremely nervous addressing his peers. I wondered what it was that Sarah saw in him. He was too quiet and lacked confidence. Not her type at all. And, certainly not my type!
Over the next few months, with Dane in the office next to mine, I slowly got to know him. Although he found it difficult to initiate conversation, he was comfortable to join in on our discussions. Soon, he looked for opportunities to come in my office to talk. Our conversation slowly explored aspects of our personal lives, like the ages of our children, our partners, our hobbies and where we lived. Beneath his shyness, I discovered warmth and sense of humour.
Then we were assigned to work on the new product project together. This resulted in more time together and we began to share stories of frustrations with the office politics and difficult people. I realised that when he smiled and winked at me, his attention made me feel quite special. I woke one morning to discover that I had just dreamed about initiating a delicious seduction of Dane. As a married professional, I tried to dismiss what was proving to be a physical attraction. I realised that I couldn't ignore this chemistry when he found a place in my subconscious thoughts. I had to face that turning point in my feelings towards him.
Now, I could see what Sarah was talking about months ago. The day after my dream, he came in the office kitchen to make his coffee. Was he looking for excuses to be near me? Did he know what I was thinking? My heart was pounding. I had to think of something to say.
"Did you have a good weekend?" I asked him, almost breathless and flushed.
There was a pregnant pause in our conversation when our eyes met. At that point, I found the answer I was looking for. There was the same sexual energy in his eyes. I sensed that it was just a matter of time and opportunity.
His sex appeal was accentuated by his exotic, brooding looks that spoke of his mixed European background. The scent of his aftershave blended perfectly with the smell of cigarette smoke. His intoxicating, rare smile that I was witnessing more frequently distracted me from my work. His softly spoken voice and those beautifully shaped hands had already made their way into my nocturnal subconscious.
Here was a man with a personality I was least likely to fall for, tempting me to risk my marriage and family life for lust. But was he ready for the risk? His body language told me that he was interested. It was Friday afternoon and almost everyone had left work. He came into my office, smiling.
"You look happy." I commented to initiate more conversation.
"Guess what I just found out." he blurted, like an excited schoolboy with a secret.
Before I had to beg him for more information, he said, "The new product project we're working on. In two weeks time, the supplier wants us to go to Vienna for five days of technical familiarisation. The project manager will tell us officially on Monday."
I was almost speechless, but managed to ask, "How do you feel being away from your family for a few days? Does it bother you?" He delivered the response I wanted. "Sometimes, it's good to get away."
I had two weeks to prime myself for my potential new lover. I busily made appointments to have my legs waxed, a few hours in the solarium, time in the gym, and my hair pampered. I tormented myself with hundreds of seduction scenarios and plots. I agonised over what clothes and underwear to take. I mechanically went through the routine tasks of being wife, mother and product manager, whilst my mind was obsessed with my lust for a married colleague I didn't even know existed one year ago.
Departure day finally arrived. In the airline's club lounge talking over coffee, I was overwhelmed with anticipation. We were seated together in business class for up to 24 hours together in confined space. I was counting on the mixture of alcohol and altitude to relax him for some serious, uninterrupted flirtation. We were flying from Sydney to Singapore, then to Paris for our connection to Vienna. Our first sector was around eight hours, mostly flying through the night. I once worked as a flight attendant and knew that the effects of alcohol were more pronounced in the air because of flying altitude. I was careful to drink slowly and consume plenty of water while he drank wine and relaxed. After the dinner service concluded I got up to find pillows and blankets and told him that soon the cabin lights would go out so passengers could sleep.
"I don't really feel like sleeping." he said, with uninterrupted eye contact. His smile flirted more than his words.
"No, me neither. But you might get cold or...something." I replied nervously.
I curled up in my window seat, put down the window cover to shut out any imaginary intrusions and leaned towards him to continue our conversation.
It wasn't long before I felt the time was right. The cabin was in darkness. Most of the passengers appeared to be asleep.
"Dane, there's something I need to tell you." I started. "I'm telling you this because I've had a few drinks. I'm quite nervous disclosing this because we have to work closely together for the next few days and of course, when we get back to head office. But, I feel quite attracted to you, and I need to know if you feel the same."
He smiled sheepishly, to say, "I think you know how I feel."
I wished he was more specific, but this was a big step for someone so shy.
I was so close to him now that my lips almost touched his ear as I whispered, "Do you want to do something about it?"
His response was typical for someone so reticent. "Hmmm" as he nodded.
In the comfort of silence, blankets and darkness that surrounded us, I kissed his ear and nibbled on his earlobe. He turned to find my mouth with those lips that had tormented my fantasies for so many months. The taste of red wine in his mouth made me want to drink him with my desire. There was something erotically adolescent about necking in a place where we could never remove all our clothes.
He expertly slid his hand under my top and undid my bra. As he gently massaged my breast and found my welcome nipple, I was breathless at the touch of a new lover's hand on my bare skin. I wanted more of him and continued to materialise my year long obsession as I pulled the shirt out of his jeans to explore the smoothness of his back and chest. Every few seconds I stopped kissing to look at him to make sure this was real. He took this opportunity to caress my neck with his hot, eager tongue. I decided to make the assertive move below his waist.
I rubbed his now impressive erection through the protective denim of his jeans. His excited, soft moans encouraged me to undo his button and zipper. For a few moments, I rubbed him through the noticeably thinner fabric of his underwear, before releasing his stiff cock from the constraints of clothing. He eased his jeans down a little to give me more space. My hand finally circled and stroked the object of my desire's crown jewel.
