Ever since I became friendly with a chap who joined the company I worked for, we had been going out once a week, just the two of us, no wives. Normally, we'd meet up, have a game of squash or a swim, then go and have some dinner and a drink, all very relaxed.
These weren't late nights, usually ending around 11 as we both had work the following day. It was when I was driving home from one of these evenings that the story I'm about to tell happened.
It was about a 30 minute drive home and I usually took the same route but for some reason, I decided to take a different route that night. This route skirted the town centre and it turned out to be a poor decision as there'd been a concert in town that night and I got caught up in the traffic as the audience exited the venue and started to make their way home.
I crawled through the slow moving traffic in frustration but then I was distracted by a very pretty young girl who appeared to be waving at me. I eyed her up and down, liking what I saw, pretty sure she wasn't actually looking at me. I was wrong though. As my car approached her at no more than a walking pace, she bent down, looked me in the eye and knocked on my window. I dropped the window so we could speak.
"Are you going towards Warleigh?" she asked.
I stuttered "Uh, well, yes, I am."
"What's the fare from here?" she enquired, with imploring eyes.
"Uh, the fare?" I said, mystified.
Then the penny dropped. She thought I was a taxi. Well, it was quite dark and I was driving a black Mercedes which didn't look unlike the taxi cabs used by many drivers in this town.
OK, I'm a red-blooded male. Put another way, I'm a horny mid-thirties guy not getting much action at home! What's the worst that could happen? I help a young girl home safely and have somebody cute to look at in my rear view mirror.
I didn't want to lie to the girl though, so I answered her "I'm not a taxi, sweetie, but I'm happy to give you a ride home if you like."
There was no way my pretty new friend was going to get a cab in this melee of pedestrians and car traffic.
She smiled and said "Are you sure? You're not an axe murderer are you?"
I grinned at her and said "Nope, not today, I'm having a night off! Hop in, you can text my registration number to whoever's waiting for you at home if you like, I've got nothing to hide."
This seemed to reassure her, so she opened the rear door and slid in behind me.
"This is really kind of you, thanks, um..." she said, fishing for my name.
"Steve, nice to meet you, um..."
With a giggle, she replied "Shelley. You sure you don't mind? I thought you were a taxi and I'd got lucky finding you."
"Well," I replied with a chuckle in my voice, "I'm not a taxi, but you did get lucky! I'm just a decent guy who doesn't mind helping a pretty girl out!"
I looked at her in my mirror and Shelley flashed me a dazzling smile. I could see her more closely now. Her eyes were vivid blue, her teeth were the whitest I'd ever seen and she had the cutest dimples when she smiled. I guessed her age to be around 23 or 24. She was fiddling with her phone, obviously sending a text.
"How was the gig?" I asked, trying to sound as if I was interested. It had been by an artist I wasn't keen on. I won't say his name because that would be unfair. Let's just say I'm not a Belieber...
Shelley laughed. "Well, I hope it was good cos we've got two more nights to do!"
I was puzzled. "Uh, you mean you're in the show? Don't tell me, one of the sexy dancers?"
That got me another dazzling smile. My mirror had never been full of such a pretty face and I couldn't take my eyes off it. Luckily, we were still plodding along at about three miles per hour so I could look properly at her.
Shelley laughed at my suggestion. "Oh yeah, I wiggle these hips round and flash my bum all night in front of thousands!"
"Well, I'd pay to see that!" I blurted out, unintentionally sounding like a pervert.
Shelley laughed again. "No, silly, I'm one of the promotional girls at the venue. I'm sure this singer can afford his own dancers wherever he goes."
I nodded my understanding. I'd been to gigs and seen the promo girls. I'd just never seen one as pretty and sexy as Shelley before.
"Um, I like you and it's hard to talk being behind you. Can I, uh..." said Shelley and motioned to the front seat.
"Of course, that would be much nicer," I replied.
Shelley quickly got out of the car when I stopped at a red light and jumped into the passenger seat instead. She leaned over and gave me a peck on the cheek, which took me a little by surprise.
"You're bloody lovely!" she said, the Welsh lilt in her accent coming to the fore.
I didn't know what to say. "Wow, thanks Shelley. I'll take that as a compliment coming from the prettiest girl I ever met!"
She gave me a playful punch in my arm and said "Oh, you!" the beaming smile never leaving her face.
"So, where am I taking you? Home to Mum and Dad or have you got your own place?" I asked.
"Home to hubby actually!" she replied. "I've sent him a text telling him I'm getting a ride home from a sexy stranger!"
I was slightly disappointed to hear she had a husband, although I've been married for several years myself and wasn't expecting to pursue this girl. However, my ears did prick up when she described me as 'a sexy stranger'.
I like to think of myself as tall, dark and handsome, don't we all? But being at least ten years older than Shelley, I expected her to think of me more like a Dad than anything else, yet here she was, flirting with me.
"Hmm, you got a hubby, have you? He doesn't mind you working late and flirting with strange guys?" I asked.
"Yes, no and no!" replied Shelley.
I was working out her reply when her phone pinged with a text message.
"I bet that's him now, right?" I asked.
Shelley was reading the message and nodded as she replied to it. We'd started to move at a normal pace now and would be in Warleigh in no time.
Shelley looked at me and said "Yep, that's him. He said I should invite you in for coffee to say thank you. You'll like my Rhys, he's one of the good guys. A bit like you!"
Well, I couldn't really refuse and I was intrigued by this couple.
"Sure, that would be nice, thanks," I agreed.
Shelley directed me to her house and we parked up. Wow, nice house, I thought to myself. I lived about a mile further on so it would only be a few minutes until I was home, so easily time for a coffee.
I didn't want to be too late tonight having work the next day, but I wouldn't disturb my wife when I got home. I always slept downstairs in my den on nights when I got home late as Sue has to get up earlier than me so it's only fair.
We got out of the car and I followed Shelley to her door. It opened before she had a chance to put the key in the lock and a chap about my age peered out. This must be Rhys and he and Shelley kissed hello. Hmm, I thought, Shelley must be in to older men!
"This is Steve, my saviour this evening. Steve, this is Rhys," said Shelley, introducing us.
We shook hands and Rhys said "Come in, I've got the coffee on. Thanks for giving Shell a ride home. I told her to pre-book a cab but she always knows best..."
Shelley looked down her nose at him and said "Rhys? Fuck off? OK?" and all three of us laughed.
She continued "Besides, if I had booked a cab, we wouldn't have made a sexy new friend, would we?"
Damn, she described me as sexy again. Rhys handed me a coffee and whispered "I think she likes you, man. Wanna fuck her while I watch?"
Talk about shocked!
"Uh, wha.. are you kidding me?" I stuttered. My mind was racing and I really thought I'd misheard Rhys.