Diana was tired. Not physically tired, her regular yoga sessions made sure that her body was toned and able to withstand the rigours of being a personal assistant in the city of Manchester. No she was tired of being alone and tired of being let down. She was giving up the rat race at the end of the month to pursue her dreams of making a living in make-up and beauty and having stayed in town to meet up with girlfriends, they had either cancelled or left early, leaving her on her own in a hotel bar, nursing an increasingly flat and warm glass of kir royale.
All the effort of getting glammed up for the night wasted. She was in what was at the upper end of her Friday night post work wardrobe. Myla lingerie that made her feel good, even if no one else was going to see it, complete with ultra-sheer stockings and suspenders. Small, but perfectly formed silver and diamond earrings, that matched her necklace and bracelet. A cream satin blouse, that hugged her bust and with the right number of drinks inside, could unbutton far enough to be interesting and a dark grey, pleated wrap around jersey skirt that gripped her hips like a second skin and stopped mid-calf. The slit of which, again for the right number of drinks, had a habit of exposing expanses of those calves and on occasion, her thighs above them.
She started to gather her thoughts and look for cash to settle her account and pay for a taxi when she was aware of the fresh musk smell of freshly showered man. Mmmmm, nice. That was one good thing about hotel bars, some of the guys that frequented them were staying upstairs and could take the time to be man-fresh before you encountered them.
"Hi", a voice insinuated itself through her thoughts. The accent wasn't local, reminding her of her times in London. She turned towards it and looked into deep hazel eyes
"Err, hi." then she turned back.
"My name's Steve and I haven't met my quota for rescuing damsels in distress this week. Can you help me out and let me freshen your glass?"
That was original. As chat up lines went, she'd not heard that one and it made her smile. "Sure, that would be very kind of you. My name's Diana. Nice to meet you Steve. And thank you for making me smile. And for the drink but a regular glass of something fizzy would be lovely."
And suddenly, he had a bartender's attention and was effortlessly picking a bottle of salmon Brut champagne, taking the bottle from the counter and easing out the cork.
"Me and this bottle are going over to that booth over there. You're going to have to join us if you're serious about being my rescued damsel." and he picked up two glasses and the ice bucket to stride across the bar out of the main lights.
Something about his confidence, that stopped short of arrogance, made her powerless to refuse. He stood at the booth until she stepped past him and slid along the leather to sit down Then he poured two glasses, the correct way, obviously not his first time, and slid along beside her.
"To rescuing damsels" and they clinked glasses.
The next few hours flew past as they got to know one another, slipping past being strangers to bar flies, to friends with shared experience, to ...? She wasn't quite sure. She didn't feel tired any more certainly and she definitely enjoyed his company. It was good to be the centre of attention after so long.
"Mumble, mumble, outrageous, mumble, mumble, sex?" Diana was suddenly aware that Steve was looking at her expecting an answer.
"I'm sorry. What did you say?"
Steve smiled, although the smile came more from his eyes than his mouth. "I said, what's the most outrageous thing that you've done with your boyfriend, past or present and did it involve sex?"
Diana knew that the champagne had given her classic pale English skin a touch of pink but his question deepened the blush deliciously. Steve's warm eyes signalled that he appreciated her reaction to the question. Diana was now buzzing and feeling flirtatious.
"First of all, there is no present boyfriend. Second there was an outrageous time with a past boyfriend, and girlfriend but finally, I am not telling you what it was!" and then she waited for him to try and prise it out of her. His next words surprised her.
"There is no current boyfriend. Interesting." Diana kicked herself for letting that out so she went on the offensive.
"Busted. But same question to you?"
Steve's smile crackled from his eyes again as he sat back into the booth. "First of all, it was neither a past or present boyfriend or girlfriend. It was someone that I met in a bar, just like you. Secondly, it was on a night like this, in a bar like this. In fact, now I think of it, it was this bar and it was this booth. Third, I don't think you can handle the truth." Something about the way he said it made her think of Jack Nicholson in A Few Good Men. Another flash of pink blushed through her contrasting with the starched white of her blouse neckline. She decided to kick the flirting up a notch and slid in beside him, planting her palm on the leather between his thighs.
"O. Really. I assure you that I can handle. It. I can handle anything you've got." Diana's arm relaxed back into the crook of his lap. However, she didn't expect his reaction, which was to slide further forward so that her hand cupped the swell of his crotch.