The First Meeting 41

She met him at a party when she was home from university for the summer. He was wearing a band t- shirt, baggy jeans with a chain and a pair of battered Converse shoes. He wore leather and nylon bracelets on both wrists, a silver ring on his thumb and a black nylon necklace.

She knew everyone at the party except him, yet no one introduced him to her and he spoke to her like they were familiar. She stopped him mid-sentence "Have we met before? I'm sorry but i don't know who you are." He looked surprised but explained he was a friend of Steve's who had briefly chatted on MSN Messenger with her a couple of times while waiting for Steve to get ready for their lads nights out.

She remembered. "Ah so you're Shane? Nice to meet you in person. I'm Scarlett." She smiled at him apologetically and held out her hand to him to shake.

"Hi Scarlett" he smiled. His deep, soft Scottish accent rolling the 'r' in the middle of her name gave her a little thrill.

He took her hand and leaned in to kiss her on the cheek. His hand was warm and soft and enveloped hers, she felt his body heat as he got closer to her and the bristle of his beard brushing against her cheek made her shudder slightly. She inhaled sharply to compose herself, the smell of his cologne surrounded her and she noticed his dark chest hair peeking out from the neck of his t-shirt.

She spent the rest of the evening studying him. His thick dark hair was neatly gelled in place, his facial hair had been carefully curated and appeared to be the envy of other men at the party who jokingly discussed how it increased their feelings of inferiority. His green eyes sparkled through his square, dark- framed glasses and his tongue danced when he laughed.

They chatted, laughed, ate and drank with the group and she noticed he was very attentive towards her, he gave up his seat for her, stood near to her and sat beside her as she moved round the party. Scarlett was worried she was reading into it too much and didn't want anyone else at the party to notice her beside him all the time so she went into the kitchen to talk to some other friends. She didn't want to get her hopes up.

He squeezed past behind her to get another beer, briefly placing his hands on her hips. "Sorry, can I just... would you like another drink, Scarlett?". She felt the warmth of his hands through her trousers and turned to watch him at the fridge. His back and shoulders were broad and strong and despite his baggy jeans she could see his ass was squeezable.

Her mouth watered. She felt a sudden longing, she longed to be surrounded by his arms, to feel his beard against her skin, to grab his ass while his tongue danced in her mouth. She wanted him.

"Scarlett? Are you OK?" Shane's voice startled her. She shook her head to disperse the images she'd been thinking about which accidentally answered Shane's question. "Yeah, you're a bit flushed. C'mon let's sit outside for a bit." said Shane, guiding her out into the garden with his hand on her elbow.

They sat on the bench by the fire pit and she lit a cigarette, offering him one. "No, thanks. I don't like smoking." Shane said, taking a swig from his beer bottle and leaning on his knees. Scarlett's heart sank and she started to ramble, making excuses for why she was smoking.

Without saying anything, Shane got up and went back into the house. Scarlett sighed and thought she'd blown another chance for someone she liked to actually like her back. The chatter, music and laughter from the party spilled out into the night air as she shivered, lit one cigarette off the last and thought about going home.

She heard Shane's voice, talking to someone near the door behind her and then felt a blanket being wrapped round her shoulders. "Here" Shane said. He handed her a glass of water as he sat down beside her, his warm, muscular thigh touching hers and making her realise how cold it was outside. "Are you sure you're ok?" Shane's tone was kind and concerned.

Scarlett tried to understand what had happened and how to rationalise the feelings of comfort and lust she had for this stranger when she'd only been in his company for a few hours. Worse still, she was wondering what to do with it all. She mustered an "Uh huh" and looked up to see him wink at her.

Embarrassed, she decided it was best to call it a night. Shane's "Oh. Ok. If you're sure", made her hope he was disappointed she was leaving the party. He half heartedly put his arm around her, squeezing her shoulder and called her a taxi. She gave him a shy wave while the rest of the party shouted their goodbyes to her as she closed the taxi door.

Scarlett thought she'd ruined her chances until 3 weeks later when she logged on to MSN Messenger to be greeted with "Shane has added you to his contacts". Moments later, a chat box popped up "Hello you. Long time, no see ;-)". It was Shane.