The Cowboy

I was nervous and excited as I slipped under the covers. I made sure to set my alarm so that I'd have plenty of time to get up and take a bath before going to meet Mike at the restaurant. Smiling as I drifted off, I began to dream of all the things that could happen with a cowboy like him if I were allowed to continue searching for a partner. Floating images and freeze frames of interesting positions and orgasmic faces glided across the backs of my eyelids until morning.

Suddenly, I awoke with the vague memory and sense of urgency of a random sexually charged dream. Exhausted, I checked my clock. I was horrified to see that it was 5 after 11, and 5 minutes after I was supposed to be at the restaurant to meet Mike. I jumped up and brushed my teeth. I called Mike, almost tripping over the charger that was still plugged into the wall. Hastily explaining why I was not there, I promised to ready myself as soon as I could and speed there. He sounded only slightly irritated, but assured me there was no problem, thanking me profusely for calling him and letting him know what had happened.

I quickly pulled a nice shirt and my favorite jeans out of the dryer and got dressed. So much for a bath, I thought to myself. I turned on the curling iron and ran to my bedroom to get my face on. After hurriedly applying my makeup, I sprayed myself with a little perfume and went back to the bathroom to straighten my hair. In my exhausted disorientation, I was frustrated to find that I had forgot to even plug in the curling iron that I had turned on. I brushed my hair, grabbed my keys, and squealed tires getting out of the apartment complex.

Within 25 minutes of my phone call, I was at the restaurant. In the picture on his profile, he'd had long dirty blond hair and a goatee, and I was surprised at first when I didn't see anyone resembling my mental picture. I started thinking all sorts of unpleasant thoughts about who might be awaiting me as I strode towards the doors, pulling out my cell phone and dialing him again. He answered, telling me to slow down. I looked through the doors I had just entered and saw a tall white-blond man in sunglasses walking toward me. He introduced himself to me, and I recognized the devilish grin on his face right away. I told him my name, smiling, and we requested a booth away from everyone so that we could talk in peace.

He slid my jacket off my shoulders before I could slide myself into the booth. He sat directly across from me and removed his sunglasses, revealing stunning icy blue eyes. This man was incredibly hot! It was such a pleasant surprise after all the losers I had met from the site. We talked about everything as we waited for our appetizers, and later our food, to come out. I was also surprised at his amazing wit. He was incredibly intelligent, and in his short years had accomplished much, not unlike myself. He was a former Navy man, as he'd said, but he'd also been a ranch hand, a bartender, a deejay, and a security officer. His stories were charming while lending him an air of mystery and strength, and I felt strangely more at ease with him than any of the others from the site. He was staring at me suddenly. Struggling to hide my surge of nervousness, I asked what was wrong.

"Wow," he said, surveying as much of my entire body as he could while I adjusted myself uncertainly. I opened my mouth to ask what he meant, but sensing my intentions, he interrupted. "I've just never seen a woman as beautiful as you. I really mean it...and for getting that gorgeous in less than 25 minutes? I mean, it's absolutely incredible. I half thought when you called earlier that I'd be here for an hour before you showed up."

I flushed a deep crimson, and before I could stifle it, a stunned giggle escaped my throat. I knew he could see how immensely pleased I was that he had recognized my frenzied preparations were so that I would keep him waiting no longer than necessary. We slowly ate and shared stories. I hardly remember now what we even discussed between bites, but I remember still that confidence and cockiness I had first sensed upon reading his profile. Both seemed to pour out of his body as if it were radiating from his pores, and shining out through that crooked grin. We ended our meal by packing the leftovers in boxes.

"Scooch," he said softly, looking at me.

"Uuuuhhhh...pardon? I didn't hear you," I said after a pause.

"Scoot over so I can sit next to you, or you come sit next to me so I can show you a few pictures I brought," he commanded gently, still holding my eyes in his chill blue gaze.

I hesitated only a split second before slinking over in the booth to make room for his tall, wiry frame. His cologne was light, drifting faintly on the small breeze created by his quick, certain movements. Within seconds, he was seated inches away from me, and had placed a small stack of photographs on the table before me. He quickly went through them, showing me a small snapshot of himself in his uniform next to his car, and then switching to a shot of him on the ranch in Colorado where he used to work. I saw everything from stunning pictures of sunrises captured by the camera of an impulsive man's sudden whim to make an overnight trip to Galveston, and to the usual funny pictures associated with someone popular who is a bit of a prankster.

Soon, all the sweet tea had taken its toll on my body. I requested a short trip to the bathroom, and was countered by a request to leave. I was already rather excited by his nearness to me and the many aspects of his personality which had attracted me to him in the first place. He suggested hiking in a local park he had haunted in his youth. I, knowing how easily I might be swayed from my promise to seduce no more men, declined, and countered with an offer to go somewhere more public. We decided on the mall, and that he would ride with me. It was not lost to me that he fell into a slow shuffling gait behind me, and I swore I could feel that sub-zero stare causing goose bumps up and down my backside.

I returned to the waiting area when I had finished, where he was watching the traffic outside the huge windows and patiently holding my box of leftover goodies. I grabbed the box as I walked by, and winked at him as I looked over my shoulder to inform him that I knew his reason for walking behind me; so he could watch my ass, and that the fact that he claimed to be a back door man had not escaped me. I chuckled to myself as I heard him stammer slightly before retorting with the fact that he had never denied he was watching me walk. I then informed him that I had made sure that I was adding a little extra sway to the movement in my hips for his enjoyment. I turned just in time to see the smile that I currently refer to as the Cheshire cat grin spread across his lean, handsome face.

He directed me to his back door street to the mall, and we cruised while listening to music from my broken stereo. I parked, and we walked inside with no particular destination in mind. As we strolled, we again fell into the easy chatter of fast, comfortable friends. He was amiable, polite, and downright predatory. We wandered in and out of leather shops, smoke shops, and Asian trinket shops. Each time I saw something I admired, he offered to buy it for me, and each time I refused. Eventually, we ended up in the Dollar Store, where I made the comment that it was the perfect place for a poor college student to begin her Christmas shopping.

"You know...there aren't any cameras in here..." he drawled, raising an eyebrow at me.

"Oh really? And how would you know that?" I queried.

"It's my job to notice the small details like that. Just like I noticed the Peppermint chap stick you just put on. I have a powerful sense of smell, and I just got a whiff of it. I think I'd really like to taste it," he said, looking pointedly at me. I knew exactly what he was alluding to, but I chose to play coy.

"Well, I have plenty. It's brand new. Here ya go," I said, holding the blue tube out to him, mocking his raised eyebrow with one of my own.

"I had kinda hoped that I could try it another way..." he said, looking away and starting to walk again.

"Like this?" I asked, planting a kiss squarely on his lips. I felt the very tip of his tongue slip lightly along my lips before he drew in a deep breath and stepped back, looking into my eyes.

"Mmmmmmmm...." was all he said, licking his lips and starting to walk again. I strolled casually in front of him, glancing back over my shoulder again. I gave him my best "you know you want me" smirk, complete with raised eyebrow, before laughing and leading him through the mall.

"You know, you really do have the sexiest lips. You definitely just proved that to me. I've been wanting to see if those lips were as soft as they implied," he said slyly.

I just chuckled and continued walking. Up one aisle and down another we strolled as he described his work to me. He spoke of guns and excitement, maneuvers, training drills, and patrols. I did my best to contain my attraction to him, and just enjoy the delightful company. At one point, our talk turned to tattoos and piercing as he pointed out the obvious blue stone sparkling in my nostril. I showed him the recent tattoo on my lower back. He showed me the tribal symbols on his left arm, and the outline of a skull with a logo "HK" underneath it. I asked him what "HK" meant, and he explained it was the logo of his favorite firearm brand, Heckler and Koch. I turned my back to him once more, pulling my hair to the side and asking him to pull down just the top of the back of my shirt. I heard his sharp intake of breath as he peered at my neck and the small blue rose tattooed just underneath it.

He sighed as I walked away. I ambled around the next aisle partition and looked at the small toys. He grabbed my arm and gently pulled me away from the toys and the nosy little old ladies that seemed to materialize in every aisle we strolled. He pulled me into the kitchenware aisle, pulled me close, and planted a kiss on my lips that had me melting into his arms. I felt the soft press of his tongue between my lips, so I opened my mouth and sighed as it slipped inside my mouth and caressed my lips and tongue. We stood surrounded by hand towels and cookies sheets, locked in each other's arms for the next few minutes. I felt like I was melting from my center outward toward my limbs.

I broke away before I got myself too excited. I smiled coyly at him and led him out of the store. From then on, whenever we got a chance, we would embrace and thrust our ravenous mouths together. I could hardly contain my excitement each time I felt him drawing closer for another exhilarating kiss. We kept walking and eventually wound up near the video arcade where we'd entered the mall.

We walked in and looked at all the games, and I immediately spotted my target: the air hockey table. Telling him I was the Queen of Air Hockey, I challenged him to a game. He pulled out a few quarters and got us started. The first game was a blur. I took off my over shirt and did my best to distract him with my abundant upper body. The game was obviously rigged...he scored only six goals, two of which were wildly ricocheting shots of my own that had made it past my defense, and yet the infernal table showed him as the victor, 7-6. We played again, and I creamed him 7-0. I jumped up and down in my happiness, squealing with joy. My grin threatened to crack my face in two when I saw his eyes following the movements of my body very carefully, and his own face break into that sly Cheshire grin.

We played basketball, and raced virtual cars, and suddenly he looked at his watch and announced that well over four hours had passed since we had first met outside the restaurant. He looked at me with the most sorrowful, pitiable expression on his face. He looked haggard from his late night shift, and then driving straight out to meet me. He still had an hours' drive at least to get to his house and get enough rest before he worked another night shift. Reluctantly, I walked with him out to the truck. We chatted about nothing in particular until he directed me to his car back at the restaurant. I pulled in right next to his car and put on the emergency brake.

His eyes took on a bit of a glaze, and suddenly he was smiling that wicked smile again. I couldn't hold back anymore, and I grabbed the front end of his shirt and pulled him to me. I ran my fingers through his hair as his hands stroked my face and our lips met delicately. Earlier in conversation, I had compared kissing to dancing and said that both partners must work together to make it a great experience. He proved his skill at taking the lead with each gentle brushing of his lips against mine. His tongue pressed into my mouth and I sucked it lightly. Our make out was making both of us burn. I could hear both of us emitting little sounds of pleasure. Finally, he broke our kiss and said he had to go, smiling sadly.

He turned to open the passenger door, and I grabbed his shirt again, locking my lips against his. We continued to tease each other with just our mouths, not even attempting to touch other parts of each other's body. I broke off after a minute or two and told him to leave before I was tempted to break my promise to my husband. He grabbed his photos, undid his seatbelt, and quietly stepped out of my truck. I told him to be careful and call me to let me know he made it home safe, and with that I pulled away. Even miles down the road, I was still shaking my head and attempting to still my trembling hands; all these afflictions were symptoms of the desire that I was rapidly developing for him.