I saw him at the ball for the army folks where I came with my younger sister, whose boyfriend (who was part of the army) had invited her to the overnight ball but mom would not send her alone. So here I was, sitting alone at the bar, sipping my wine, lost in my thoughts far away while couples, including my sister and her boyfriend, waltzed around in front of me. I hardly cared, as I liked to be alone most of the time, revelling in the mazes of my mind while everything else in front of me would just be a hazy world.
But that's when I noticed him, among the non-couple group of older officers, at the back, relaxing with scotch in one hand and a cigar in the other. While his peers were enjoying laughing at what seemed liked bawdy jokes, he was just occasionally smiling. His smile was what caught my eye. A charming lop-sided smile with the powerful gaze under the brim of his hat, I immediately came out of my reverie as my interest was piqued. I saw him smile widely at what his friends were saying. If his one smile was enough to pull me back to this world, imagine what happened when I saw him smile more! It seemed now, like the rest of the world was blurred and only he was visible. Oh that smile! He seemed like a man in his forties, but when he smiled, his dark eyes crinkled handsomely and took ten years off his age.
I just sat there, drinking in on the handsomeness of the older man in my gaze, my wine precariously held by the tips of my fingers, so intently was I fixated on him. Needless to say, he noticed me looking at him, and gave me a small curious smile. I felt butterflies in my stomach, blushed deep red, and looked away, sipping my wine, trying not to look for him from underneath my lashes. I just sat there, berating myself for being stupid and crushing on someone I just saw, as I never ogled at any guy like I did now, much less an older man. A couple of minutes passed while I sat there mentally hitting my head on the wall when suddenly, I felt a strong, calm presence behind me, that made me self-conscious, and I knew without looking, that it was him!
I slowly spun on my barstool, lowering my drink, my tummy tightened in jitters, and faced him. What I saw, truly took my breath away. I held my breath and silently took in the sight of a tall well-built man, so well poised that control, strength and charm just radiated from him in waves. He had dark hair that had streaks of white, big rough hands and beautiful black eyes that were now crinkled in the smile I was so mesmerized by. Comparing him with Norse gods would put them to shame! I was caught in his gaze now and could not look away & like an idiot, I just sat and blushed.
He seemed to be waiting for me to say something, and I wanted to say something too, something witty or charming to garner the interest of this seemingly mature older man, but my wits had abandoned me and my mind was filled only with admiration for this man. He finally took matters into his own hands and holding his drink and his cigar in one hand, held out the other.
"Major General Archer Johnson"
I was more than impressed now! That was a rank so high up and he looked too young to be a major general! I was so awed that I could not form a coherent sentence and just managed to mumble my name-Anna, as my fingers disappeared into his big rough hand in a strong warm handshake.
I did not want to let go of his hand and could feel the tingling sensation spreading from my palms and making my entire body warm, while I was still blushing. He finally let go, all the while looking curiously at me, with a small little smile etched on his face, that made me difficult to clear my thoughts. All I could think was if only I could touch those lips and feel those lips and have his strong gaze on me all the time so that I could keep feeling this wonderful butterflies in my stomach.
He sat on the barstool next to me and said,
"So, Anna, why has your boyfriend left a pretty little thing like you at the bar instead of taking you to the dance floor?"
It took me a second to take my eyes of his enticing mouth and clear my thoughts to answer him.
"Oh, I just came to chaperone my sister there, she is still a little young." I said, pointing at Belle and her Boyfriend dancing. He looked over at them and said, "You are not too old yourself!"
I flushed, embarrassed and felt sad, that he thought I was very young. And suddenly I realized, he was a man in his forties and here I was, crushing on him. How pathetic I would look to him. I was suddenly angry. I turned away towards the bar, not looking at him, and said defiantly, "I'm 23, for your kind attention." The anger disappointment must have been clear in my tone and he burst out laughing and said, "Oh, I Offended you there, dint I?" I couldn't help but look at him. His rumbling laugh was reminded me of a dark night and crushed pines, and my anger faded away. He looked breathtaking when he laughed. I said nothing, as I was in the danger of making myself look stupid and just smiled.
He added, "But you look quite mature and intelligent. Your deep eyes give away a lot."
The butterflies in my stomach just would not stop and I blushed again. Somewhere inside me, a silly part of me was dancing with joy, at the thought that this striking man thought I was mature and intelligent and that he talked about my eyes.
I just kept quiet and looked down at my drinking, trying to come up with something impressive to say when I felt his hand lightly on mine. He was trying to look at my expression and as it was dark and I was quiet, he had assumed I was still angry and said in a puzzled voice, "Please don't take it so seriously, I thought women love to be told they look young!"
I was feeling hot and cold all at once, loving the feel of his hand on mine, imagining what it would feel like if he were to just caress my arm and trace my back with his hand. I was suddenly aware of the dress I was wearing, a strapless dress that left my small shoulders and long legs bare. I realized he was still waiting for my answer and said, "No, I wasn't offended, just lost in thoughts." hoping he wouldn't hear the desire in my voice.
But he seem to have noticed, because I saw a hint of a sly smile on his face but he chose to ignore it. It made sense. I must have looked foolish to him, a young girl crushing on a man old enough to be her father's friend. He smoked his cigar and sipped his drink while I just drank in his presence and tried to memorize every feature of him, the way he lounged, careless yet poised, the way he looked at me from underneath the brim of his hat, the way he held his drink so elegantly. While I was busy admiring his every contour, he looked at me quite a number of times, and finally he said, "It is a shame that you are not on the dance floor tonight, would you like me to ask you for a dance?" Oh! He was such a gentleman, and so sweet! I was thrilled! Here I was thinking how I could just be a little more closer to him, maybe by striking up a good conversation, and I was already given an opportunity to dance with him. I just sucked a deep breath and held for a second to calm myself and said, "Yes, I'd love that!" But for a fleeting moment that I held my breath, it seemed like he was tempted to forget his gentlemanly manner and looked at my breasts. Only then did I realize how my double D breasts in a low cut tight strapless dress must have looked. I felt wickedly good. It was satisfying to know he liked the way I looked.
I stood up to go and he was still sitting on his low barstool and his head came in full view of my neck and below. I saw him look away at once and he immediately stood up and held out a hand for me. I took his hand we went onto the dance floor, while I enjoyed the feel of his hand, the warmth, every second on the way. Just then the song changed from jazz to Adele's 'Make you feel my Love'. I blushed deep red. I was embarrassed and excited at the same time. This was a song about feeling love and needed partners to be closer to dance to it. He stopped and he just waited for a moment before pulling me closer. I went willingly. I was totally drawn to him. I wanted to be closer, as close as I could, and before I could continue my train of thought, I felt his hand on my lower back, and it felt amazing and I was tingling all over.
Why did this man make me feel like this? I never liked men or relationships much and though my exes and I had good long foreplay sessions, I never felt like having sex with any of them and we broke up. I just wanted my first time to be with someone who would make me swoon. And now, I was swooning alright. I was in the arms of this man, whose smile just swept me off my feet. At the back of my mind, I could see how ridiculous this was, I dint even know him, and he was so much older than me, but tonight, I just wanted the goody two shoes in me to shut up. I just focused on the wonderful feel of his arms, the warmth he exuded in the cold night, the way he looked at me, half wonder, half apprehension, and the way we seemed to fit into each other's arms so well, as we slowly swayed to the music. I was trying not to look at him, but couldn't help myself.
I was looking at his beautiful short hair and wanted to run my hands through it. I noticed a scar, on his cheek, quite deep and I thought of the pain he might have been in when he got that and wanted to kiss it away, caress it. I looked at his lips and blushed deeply, imagining how it would feel to trace my tongue over his lips, how it would feel if his lips were to trace my back. I saw his mouth twitch in smile, as I blushed, and he cleared his throat and said, "Distracted, are we?" It was then that I looked into his eyes, and I could see it. The desire in his eyes coupled with his husky voice just made me shiver in excitement. I suddenly felt very aware of every inch of my body and desire pooling in my belly. I just smiled at him coyly and said, "Maybe a little." he laughed his deep throated laugh and I felt aroused by every rumble of it.
