The first time I met Joan was the day she started work at the bank. I was young then, 22 years old, full of ambition. It was 1998, South Africa was learning to be a democracy, the apartheid era was confined to the history books along with racial segregation. I am a third generation Indian that was born and raised in Johannesburg. I grew up during the apartheid era where non-whites were treated as second class citizens.
When I turned 18, South Africa was liberated from apartheid and I had the opportunity to study at a university. I met my wife at university and we dated for about two years. Both of us being Indian and Muslim, our parents were not happy with the courtship and we were married by the time we were 20. I completed my studies in Information Technology, a field that at the time was new and revolutionary.
The new South Africa was just starting out and trying to correct the imbalances of apartheid. I started work at a bank as a systems administrator, my colleagues were all male, the managers were all white males, the junior staff like myself were a mix of Indian, coloured and black males. Whites fraternizing with people of colour was not yet socially acceptable.
When Joan arrived on the first day, I was drawn to her long shapely sexy legs as she walked up towards my desk behind our manager as he came to introduce her. She had on a short blue skirt that ended just above her knees with a white blouse that in the right light as she walked towards me, was transparent and exposed her white lace bra. Joan was introduced to me and I was told that I would be assisting her on a project that she was brought in for.
Joan was a typical Afrikaans lady, she wore her dark blonde hair short, like Princess Diana and had soft blue eyes. She was beautiful to look at and had a sexy body to go with her looks. We worked together for a few months and got to know each other well during that time. Racial barriers were breaking down in South Africa at the time and soon accompanying Joan to the bar during lunch time was acceptable.
Joan always wore her short skirts and a blouse with matching heels. Her hands were perfectly manicured and her makeup always immaculate. We got to know each other well, she was married with two kids and I was married with one kid at the time. She was in her mid thirties and she could not understand how at 22 I was already married with one child.
As we became closer, we started getting into each others' personal space. Joan would sit right next to me and I would make it a point to brush my leg against hers. She never moved away and it felt that she was brushing back up against my leg when I did that. She would hug me at the end of the day and always made it a point to touch me during conversations. I was still shy at the time and fearful of what others may think of an Indian guy being seen with a beautiful white Afrikaans lady.
It was November of 1998 and the work we were doing resulted in the two of us having to visit one of the bank's branches. Joan had traveled before with the boss of the department to other branches and seminars and everyone in the office including me assumed that the boss and Joan were fucking. I was surprised that she insisted that I go with her on this branch visit, but I was eager to go with to get valuable work experience.
The thought of anything happening between Joan and I beyond chatting and touching never crossed my mind. I did fantasize often about touching and feeling her sexy legs with my fingertips and slipping my hand under her skirt and fingering her, but it was just a fantasy and nothing that I would ever initiate or act on in reality as I was afraid of the consequences.