Thanks to all the international travel he did for business, David had the highest frequent flyer status. That meant he always boarded in the first group, never had to worry about overhead space, and usually got upgraded to first class. He was surprised he wasn't upgraded today, but it must have meant a whole lot of people actually paid the first-class ticket price. So, he was sitting in the extra-leg-room section of coach as he played his usual game of examining people as they got on and deciding whom he did -- and did not -- want to be seated next to him.
There were three categories of people: fuck yes!, fuck no!, and ok.
Of course, the people in the Fuck Yes category were hot looking, young women. This was a rare time when David allowed himself to be shallow and somewhat of a pig, judging women based on their looks. He didn't do that in "real life" instead always judging women more by their brains and their values than their looks. But during the airplane seating game, looks it was.
The Fuck No category was pretty much based on one thing: size. He had been on way too many flights where he and the larger person next to him shared his seat. Again, he had nothing against large people -- except when they sat next to him on an airplane.
And the OK category comprised 90% of the people on the plane -- anyone who didn't fall into the other two categories.
So as he watched people enter the plane and walk down the aisle toward him, he quickly put each of them into a category: ok, ok, YES, ok, ok, NO, ... And so it went.
A larger person started slowing down as he approached his row. His size was somewhere between ok and fuck no, but he was wearing a sleeveless shirt with a dropped armhole, with body hair coming out everywhere. This definitely threw him into the no category. When he looked at the seat next to David's aisle seat and nodded, David sighed. He got up to let the guy in. Much to his pleasant surprise, he moved into the window seat, not the middle seat next to David.
As fewer and fewer people were walking onto the plane, David thought maybe he really lucked out and the middle seat between him and Mr. Hairy would remain empty. He closed his eyes for a minute thinking about his trip, and he heard a sweet voice say, "Excuse me." When David opened his eyes, he was staring at an angel. A tall, well-toned, blond, young woman -- maybe 26 or 27 -- with beautiful, small breasts hidden behind a tight stretchy top was pointing to the seat next to him. "That's mine."
David flashed the biggest smile possible as he jumped up and stepped out of the way. After she climbed in and sat down, David returned to his seat.
The woman fit in the seat easily, but she pushed herself completely toward the armrest between her and David. Apparently, she wasn't keen on the idea her body touching Mr. Hairy's. David smiled to himself, thankful both that she was between him and the other guy, and that she was leaning toward him. In his mind, he figured that she would lean further into him, when their bodies touched she would get incredibly turned on, and she'd invite him to join the mile-high club. David actually chuckled out loud at his over-active imagination, but, he figured, he could dream.
As the woman put her computer bag under the seat in front of her, David noticed her business card.
"Do you work with Randy?" he asked her. She had a confused look on her face.
"I saw your business card on your bag," he said. "Randy Simons and I were friends in college. Perhaps you've heard of him?"
The woman laughed. Randy was the head of the litigation department at the law firm and brought in more business to the firm than anyone else. EVERYONE knew Randy.
"Let me think," she said sarcastically. "I THINK I might have heard of him," she said with a beautiful smile. "Hi, I'm Dana."
"Hi, I'm David. Nice to meet you, Dana. So, are you the Managing Partner of the firm?"
Dana let out a loud laugh. "Almost. I've been there just over a year. I like to think of myself as the Managing Second Year Associate. But I don't tell anyone."
David explained that he hadn't seen Randy in a couple of years, but they'd trade emails every six months or so just to say hi.
"Were you friends with him in law school?" she asked.
"No, I'm in private banking," he said. "But if I DID go to law school, they sure as hell weren't going to let me into Yale, like Mr. Smartypants."
Dana laughed. "Oh, I see. You were the dumb friend who only got to know him at Harvard. Amazing to think you could even find a job after only graduating from there," she said with a smile.
It was obvious to David that Dana was smart -- if for no other reason than she was working at a top law firm -- and funny. And she just happened to be quite beautiful. The trifecta.
She asked about his trip to Chicago, and he explained he was combining business with pleasure.
"I've got three days of meetings, including one at your firm. You guys represent one of the other parties in a deal I'm working on. Then I'm taking a week off to visit my brother in the northern suburbs. We grew up here, and he moved back almost a year ago. I haven't seen him since he moved back, and I'm really looking forward to it."
"Are you staying at his house?"
"Next week I am. The first few days I'm staying downtown. At the Peninsula."
"Oh!" she said. "That's supposed to be a great hotel. I've always wanted to see those rooms."
David smiled. "Are you asking me to invite you to my hotel room?"
Dana turned bright red. "Oh my God. No. I didn't mean that! I'm sorry... I just meant...."
David interrupted her, laughing. "It's okay. I'm just giving you a hard time."
Dana gave him a gentle whack on the shoulder just as the safety announcement started.
When the safety announcement was over, David and Dana continued talking. He asked her about her ridiculous hours, and she said she knew what she was getting into. But she liked the work, and MOST of the partners weren't assholes. She told him at her last trial, the partner in charge totally excoriated two attorneys and three paralegals -- and that was before the actual trial even started. Except for that guy, though, she said most people were pretty decent.
David asked Dana if work left her any time to date, and she laughed. "I haven't been on a real date since I graduated law school. Between studying for the bar and immediately being expected to bill lots of hours, there's no real time."
Dana asked David what he was going to do while he was back in Chicago.
"The only plans I know about for sure are that we're going to a Cubs game Sunday. My brother and I used to go games all the time, but we haven't gone together since high school. It should be fun." He explained he was looking forward to hanging out with his brother and his wife.
"Do you get along with your sister-in-law?" Dana asked.
"Oh my god, yes. I absolutely love Jackie. My brother was at Harvard, too, two years ahead of me. He started dating Jackie shortly after I started my freshman year, so I've known her a long time. She's fantastic. Smart. Funny. Just a great person. We got along right from the get-go."
David started thinking about Jackie and just how happy he was that she and Nick got married. He would do anything for either of them. In fact, he once got into a fight for Jackie.
Jackie was always a little overweight. She had a beautiful face and beautiful blue eyes, but it wasn't her beautiful face that made Nick (and David) fall in love with her. She was just a wonderful person. She always helped people, she volunteered tutoring underprivileged kids, and would do anything for anybody.
One day some asshole said to David, "Why's your brother date that fat pig? She must really give good head."
Before the guy pronounced the "d" in the last word, David punched him in the face and broke his nose. The guy took a couple of swings, but a few other guys held him back, knowing David would beat the crap out of him. He never told Nick or Jackie what happened.
David and Dana continued talking during the entire flight. When the pilot made the "prepare for landing" announcement, Dana looked stunned. "Oh my god, I can't believe we're already here. I talked the entire flight. I hope you weren't planning on getting any work done on the flight. I'm sorry."
David smiled. "Don't be silly. I loved talking to you. It really was my pleasure."
When they got off the plane, they exchanged the usual "nice talking to you" pleasantries, and they each went their own way.
After he got his luggage, David got an Uber and headed to one of his clients. It was a hot, humid, sunny Chicago day, and he was sweating while just waiting for the car. By the time he got to his client's office, he was ready for a shower. Fortunately, he knew this client well, so he didn't feel too bad looking a little disheveled. But his client couldn't pass up the opportunity to ask him, "How much do I pay in fees to have some hot, sweaty guy show up to help me invest my money?" They both laughed as they got down to work.
He was happy when the day was over and he finally got to check in at the hotel. The rooms were top notch, and the bathroom looked more like a spa. David stripped off his clothes, took a shower, and put on some lightweight clothes before heading out to dinner.
The next day he had a couple of calls and meetings with clients and some potential clients. As soon as he got to his afternoon meeting, his potential client apologized but said he'd be unable to make dinner. David had been trying to woo this client for months, and he had made reservations at a very hot, very expensive restaurant. He was disappointed, but then he smiled to himself as he thought about Plan B.
At one of their breaks, he went on line to look up a number and placed a call.
"Dana Anderson. How may I help you?"
"Hi, Dana Anderson, this is David. From the airplane. Hope you remember me."
Dana smiled. She certainly remembered him. In fact, she thought about him a couple of times since the flight. "Hi, David. To what do I owe this pleasant surprise?"
"I enjoyed talking to you on the flight. And it turns out my dinner plans just got cancelled. I was wondering if you'd be willing to meet me for dinner."
"Hmmmm," she said, rather sarcastically. "So, I wasn't your first choice for tonight?"
"Trust me," he said, "If I had met you before I met my potential client, I would have planned dinner with you instead and thrown away the millions -- no, make it the BILLIONS of dollars I would have made from this guy."
Dana laughed. "Actually, I'd love to have dinner with you. Thank you. Where and when should I meet you?"
David told her the restaurant and said reservations were at 7:00. Dana got very excited.
"Oh my god! I've been dying to go to that place, but it's really hard to get into. Oh yeah, and I can't afford it."