He found her on the porch, chatting with the men from creative, smoking a cigar. There she was with a tuxedo jacket wrapped around her shoulders, laughing along with the men as she delivered the punch line of an off color joke. The collective roar of laughter made him lean against the jamb of the french door so that he could study her more closely. The men were so entranced by her humor and personality, no one saw him there watching as the queen held court.
She looked beautiful tonight in a black dress that walked the line between casual and dressy. It was perfectly fit to the curves of her body; tasteful in it's cut, but a little sexy. The exact dress had inspired naughty thoughts in him and most of the men in the room tonight. When she'd met him in the lobby, his heart had begun to race. He didn't know how she had done it, but in the four days he had known her, he hadn't wanted to be away from her. He had even made up the lame excuse about wanting to borrow her book so that he could finish it. He had been mildly interested in finding out the ending of the book, but he had wanted to talk to her more, and the thought of her getting off that plane and him not being able to find her again scared him more than a little. He had been happy when she clamored up the tiny aisle of the plane and stopped right in front of him.
"I'm right here," she pointed to the seat next to him and he had to remember to play it cool when he stepped out of her way. When he reached up to take the luggage out of her hand she protested a little, but let him put the small royal purple suitcase in the over head compartment. When she brushed past him, the faint but spicy smell of her peaked his interest. She didn't wear a floral or fruity scent like most women he knew did. This was better. Kind of a peppery smell that he got lost in. He was so lost, in fact, that he forgot he was standing in the aisle until a little old Dutch woman cleared her throat. Blushing, he sat down, and was hyper-aware of the cute cinnamon colored woman next to him. He had felt a spark of attraction when her hand brushed his when she reached for the seatbelt, he heard every clearing of her throat, and blessed her when she sneezed daintily. Her dark brown almond shaped eyes gave her a look that he could only describe as exotic. When they had gotten off the plane, he had followed her to Customs and then they sought out the right train together. It had been nice to have her to talk to in the dark of the early morning. It was foggy and a bit chilly when they had finally stepped out of the train station an into the streets, and he had been amused when she said that Amsterdam felt like vampires should live there. He had often thought the same thing when he had come with work, but had never had anyone to voice it to.
It had been a coincidence when he found out they were at the hotel, but he would have walked to the ends of the earth with her.
She had been there when he had found the place to live, she had been there when they had been to the Rijkesmuseum and she had been there when they went to Bijenkorpf and had laughed together about the giant Swart Pieters that climbed the ropes. He couldn't imagine a life without her, and the thought of letting her go back was causing heart palpations.
The only thing she hadn't been there for was when he had bought her ring. A giant cushion cut diamond that he had hoped she would like. He had never asked what she might want, but he was hoping that the ring would be enough to get her to stay.
Simon hadn't meant to tell her he loved her in so off hand a way, but he had meant it when the words escaped his mouth. Paul had looked at him with a kind of knowing, he let a rare grin pass his lips, and Simon smiled back.
"Will she be here with you?" Paul Westerink was a lot of things, but first and foremost he was a romantic.
"She's supposed to leave soon." Simon frowned and he felt his face fall.
"Might I suggest that you do something drastic? Something that might make her realize the depth of feeling for her?"
"Like a ring?" Simon felt stupid, but it wasn't everyday that you fell in love with someone at first sight.
"Like a ring." Paul confirmed. It only took a minute for the thought to lodge it's self in Simon's mind, and he liked it. He wondered what kind of ring she might want, and he wondered how he was going to propose to her. Then he thought of how absurd it might seem to her. They had only known one another for four days, and it might scare her. He planted his face in his palm, and then rubbed his hand up and through his hair in frustration.
"If I may," Paul reached into one of the drawers on his side of the desk, and pulled out a business card. He handed it to Simon, who accepted it with a puzzled look on his face. "This is a friend, Willem. He is a jeweler who will be more than happy to help you. Might I suggest a nice cushion cut solitaire?" Paul was a bit more verbose than usual, and Simon was grateful for it. He had only ever asked asked a woman to marry him once before and it have ended in disaster just days before they were to say their I Do's. Simon had spent the majority of the rest of the vacation that was supposed to be a destination wedding and honeymoon holed up in his room drinking until he passed out. Just the thought of asking Sam was daunting, but he was nervous not because he wasn't sure of how he felt, but because he wasn't sure she would say yes. His liver and his heart couldn't take that kind of rejection again.
"A cushion cut? I don't even know what that means," Simon rubbed at his temples. Paul's kind blue eyes twinkled.
"When we finish this paper work for the apartment, you can go there. I will phone Willem and inform him that you are on your way. You will be in good hands, Mr. Fischer. I can promise you that."
***
"Do you have to leave?" Cooper, one of the men was staring up at Samantha with more than a little lust in his gaze. Simon watched as she grabbed his chin giving it a playful squeeze. It amused him that he felt a pang of jealousy. He didn't want her touching anyone but him.
"I do, but never fear, I'll be back. Amsterdam is my new favorite city," Sam finished her sentence with an air kiss in Cooper's direction and passing the cigar to the man he was pretty sure was named Matthew, then she stood, stretched, and slid the jacket from her body all in one fluid motion. There was a soft collective sigh from the men as her curvy body came into view. Simon marveled at this woman in front of him. She was sexy and confident, flirty and she was his date. He moved toward her, his fingertips itching to touch the hair she had straightened in the time between her leaving Paul's office to go shopping and him meeting her in the lobby. It looked shiny and soft and it played around her shoulders. He would never have guessed it was so long based on her the afro she had worn most of the time he had known her. He wondered how else she could surprise him.
Sam's head swung in his direction, and he got a fluttery feeling in his belly. "Excuse me gentlemen, I see that my date is here, and I should give him a little attention. I don't want him to get jealous." She gave them all a wink and they laughed again. He wrapped his arm around her waist when she reached him and he pulled her against him. She gave him a smile that slid across her face like honey on a plate. Her body was relaxed from the 3 whiskey sours she had drunk and she snuggled into his chest. He kissed her forehead.
"Hey there," He said softly. Simon tickled his fingers along Sam's neck which made her purr.
"Hey! I was wondering where you were. You disappeared for quite a while. But I made a new friend, who introduced me to a few more friends who introduced me to Cuban cigars." Her fingers played on his stomach, and he closed his eyes trying to keep his cock from rising. They couldn't leave just yet because he had to wait until his boss got there, but he planned on making love to her tonight. They made love every change they got. When they woke up, when they went to bed, in the shower, and there had been a heavy makeout session in a deserted back stairwell of the hotel that had ended with her hand in his hair and his mouth on her pussy. He turned his thoughts away from the image he had in his mind of her naked and rolling her hips and wondered when Hans would get there. He didn't want to miss a moment with her.
"How about a drink?"
"I probably shouldn't, but I will." He tugged her along back inside the club and they found their way to the bar. The small space, was jam packed with people jostling one another to the pop music that was pumping from the speakers. They waited just a few minutes before the bartender was able to give them their drinks, and as they took their fist sip, a look of irritation crossed Simon's face. He reached into his pocket and pulled out his phone.
"Damn," He breathed when he saw who was on the caller ID. "I'm sorry, Love, but I have to take this. Can you give me just a few minutes?" Before she could answer, he was holding a finger to the ear that wasn't covered by the phone, and high tailing it out the door and into the street.
Samantha leaned her back against the cool wood of the bar, and watched the people gyrating to some Euro-Pop song. she was swaying to the music, and sipping her drink when she felt someone brush her arm. It was one of the guys who had been in the group. She tried to remember his name, and she came up blank. No more Whiskey sours for her!
"Hi!" She said brightly. He was a transplant from California who was working in the Promotions part of the the bank that Simon worked for. It sounded a lot more interesting to her than Simon's job, but this man was no where near as interesting as Simon. He was cute though. With blond hair, blue eyes, and a dimpled chin, he was the epitome of All American Good Looks.
