Going to an industry conference at a location away from my home city could quite often result in more than just opportunities to network. Of course, in some cities, there were local landmarks that had to be visited so sometimes an extra day or two on the front or back end was warranted. Some cities, though, or sometimes just the particular location hosting the conference within that city, left a bit to be desired as far as what could be accomplished during downtime from the events of the conference. While often resulting in more networking opportunities with attendees, being essentially stranded at the conference venue can be limiting with respect to entertainment options. If there's a bar on premises, however, the entertainment often provided itself as some attendees would indulge a bit too much. Depending on the size of the industry targeted by a particular conference, such entertainment could ripple throughout that industry.
I've discovered that it is often the experienced conference planners that schedule events for attendees after hours, which I'm sure is in large part to keep us spending money on-site rather than going elsewhere. This was also helpful for more remote venues so that their on-site bar, if one existed, was not inundated with so many attendees that it can't handle the higher traffic. I generally didn't mind this type of event as I found that they were still beneficial for networking but typically were more relaxed so it wasn't all business. Of course, I wouldn't be sharing this here if there wasn't a sex aspect as well and I had successfully hooked up on a few occasions at different conferences. With so many of us away from home, away from our home offices and away from our coworkers, it was almost like the motto of Las Vegas: what happens at the conference stays at the conference.
This particular conference was being held in a hotel that was much closer to the airport than to the city's business district. I'd been to that city a couple of times before so I wasn't concerned about missing out on any local attractions if I stuck around the hotel. Given that, though, I took a later flight in the night before the conference started rather than earlier in the day and basically just checked in, unpacked and went to bed. The conference generously provided breakfast, so I made sure that I was downstairs in time for that, but I didn't see anyone I recognized so I joined a table, made some new friends and did some networking. There would be two morning sessions and two afternoon sessions each day with several options for different presentations to attend during each session rather than everyone sitting through all of the same stuff. This also helped with networking, giving attendees opportunities to chat about different presentations.
I'd been to enough of these set-ups that I had a preferred area to sit when the room was on the smaller side. I wanted to be close enough to remain engaged the entire time but not so close that the presenter would likely notice if I ended up looking at my watch or if my mind wandered. As I entered the room where I'd be attending my first presentation of the day, I was at the back, behind multiple rows of chairs all facing a lectern and a couple of screens at the front of the room. My gaze swept the room and, in the location where I'd typically grab my seat, there was already someone sitting. I'm not so particular that I was put off by this; on the contrary, it made me want to strike up a conversation with this person to see if we were on the same page about anything else.
I headed that way and, without sitting so close as to make it awkward, I sat nearby and, when she glanced over, I smiled and made a comment about how I need to sit close to the front so I'm not tempted to misbehave. She laughed and leaned a little closer, so I leaned in her direction, too.
"I'm more concerned about zoning out or maybe dozing off," she confided, "You just never know with some of these presenters."
"Yeah, that's a good call, too," I replied, "but let's hope for engaging and informative."
We continued to chat as the room filled in and the presenter got set up then enjoyed a presentation that was actually both interesting and well-done. It was a good start to the day and the conference both in terms of that presentation and the conversation that preceded it. We walked out of the conference room together, picking up our conversation again, but then discovered we were heading for different presentations during the next session.
"I'm sure I'll see you around..." I said, leaving an opportunity for her to provide her name.
"Gwen," she supplied, "it was nice meeting you..."
I shared my name as well then we parted ways though I did steal another look at her as she was walking away. Her ass was fantastic but she looked pretty athletic in general. I tried not to imagine her naked as I wandered down the hallway but it was difficult. She was also very cute with gold-framed glasses and her hair braided tightly against her head. Her skin was chocolatey brown and her boobs, as best as I could tell without openly gawking, were not especially large, probably closer to average for her build. I'd felt like we had a good connection happening and was definitely going to be on the lookout for her for the rest of the day. Unfortunately, when it was time for lunch after the second session, I looked while trying not to look like I was looking, but didn't manage to spot her. Like with breakfast, I grabbed an available seat, met some people and made small talk with my new acquaintances while I ate.
Heading into the first session of the afternoon, I was once again keeping an eye out for Gwen but did not see her either before or after. When I settled into my favorite location for the final session of the day, I had to resist the temptation to repeatedly look over my shoulder to see if Gwen had come into the room. When I finally noticed someone in my peripheral vision coming down the row where I was sitting and raised my head, turning to see if it was Gwen, I wasn't even briefly disappointed that it wasn't her, because the cute brunette who I did see smiled at me.
"Hi, how's your day been going?" she asked as she got settled in a couple of seats away from me. We made small talk about the conference until it was time for the presentation to start then a bit more after. Her name was Elizabeth, she had fair skin and shoulder-length brown hair and, as best I could tell, a fit body. She even managed to put Gwen out of my mind for a bit.
"Are you going to go to the Icebreaker Happy Hour?" she asked as we were heading out of the conference room after the presentation had ended.