It was the day of the America's Cup Parade. Four hundred thousand people - almost half the population of the city - had gathered on the streets of Auckland to cheer the victorious crew of the Black Magic boats and share the party atmosphere on a warm sunny day. We were all tremendously excited, as our company had been involved in a very small way in helping get some of the smaller sponsors on board early on, so like the other 3.8 million kiwis we really felt we'd had a part in Black Magic's success.
We're pretty good at knowing how to have a good time in our office. The directors had organised a champagne brunch before the parade. It started early, the champagne flowed freely, we watched the video's of the races, and eventually we all strolled down to Queen Street for the parade.
If you were there you'll know what a great atmosphere it was. A bright sunny day, hundreds of thousands of people all in a good mood, and something enormous to celebrate. Even without the champagne I would have been on a high.
A few of us had taken a little collapsible bench from the stores to stand on. We set it up at the back of the crowd and found that, although it only gave us a foot or so extra height, at least we could see over the heads of the tall guys in front of us. Other people later came in behind us but they didn't seem to mind, so we had a reasonable view.
The excitement was building up well before the parade started. Someone had brought down the rest of the champagne from the office, so we went on celebrating in the midst of all the other happy people. It was a great crowd and a tremendously fun atmosphere, and we attracted a few cheery insults about the champagne set in the grandstand, which we returned.
I'd forgotten it was red socks day that morning (lucky red socks had become the motif for the campaign), and had dressed more normally in a little red jacket I'm rather fond of and a short black pleated skirt. It was a nice cool outfit for a warm day.
The first vehicles came into sight and we all cheered. Our little bench was holding rather more people than it should, and the combination of that and the champagne caused us to sway a little bit in the crowd. I almost fell off at one point, and I was glad when a firm hand caught my hip and steadied me from behind.
The hand didn't let go immediately, but slid down the side of my bottom and over the top of my thigh a bit before it was removed, and I thought someone was being a bit cheeky. I glanced behind me but there were so many people there it was hard to tell who had caught me - none of them was looking at me - so I smiled and turned back.
The parade was nearly with us now and my attention turned to the front again. There was the crowd pressure all around and I had been laughing with my friends for quite some time before I realised that a hand was gently pressed against my calf. It could have been an accident, but when the hand started stroking me gently I knew it wasn't. In the crowd I couldn't even look down and see the fingers which were brushing against my skin, let alone who was doing it, but the sensation was not unpleasant and I didn't want to cause a fuss.
There was now a gentle stroking on the outside of both of my legs, perfectly in time, and I knew whoever it was must be right behind me. I accepted a top-up of my glass from Wendy, and as I cheered the first of the cars bearing Team New Zealand I waited to see what would happen next. 'I wonder how far he'll dare to go?' I asked myself.