Newfound Love Ch 01

She stood shifting her weight from foot to foot. Octavia knew that it was a mistake coming to the conference alone, but somehow she had convinced herself that this conference would be different from the last one. Octavia had spent a good portion of the last conference in her room, alone, and it looked like this one was shaping up to be the same way. It wasn't that she was unfriendly, she just found it hard to put herself out there at first. It took a lot of warming up for her to come around and a 3 day conference really didn't provide much time for a warm up period.

Octavia had always been shy as a girl growing up in a predominantly black neighborhood while attending predominantly white private schools. It set her apart from many of her peers, feeling as if she weren't black enough for some and too black for others. The constant attempts to balance her life led her inward, finding comfort in herself and her love for music. She played the saxophone, finding nothing more soothing than feeling her fingers move haphazardly over the keys while producing sultry, sweet tones that made her shiver. She found ways to express herself and vent, writing nightly in a journal. She continued to write in her journal to this day, but back then, it was a necessity for survival rather than just being a fun thing to do. She wrote about her worries, her cares, her fears and her loves. It was what kept her going through middle school.

When she got to junior high, she began to find ways to relate to others, joining as many sports as she could. Octavia could no longer stand the secluded lifestyle she was living because of the schools that she went to. It took a lot of cajoling, but in the end, Octavia was able to convince her mom to let her go to the local public high school. There, Octavia joined clubs, played volleyball, and marched with the band. It was a time for her to experiment with what she wanted in life. In college, she had the epiphany that she wanted to help children who were having trouble coping with their lives. It seemed that as a psychologist she could fulfill her new found purpose in life. After graduating from a great institution, Octavia spent the next five years of her life in graduate school, becoming a developmental psychologist.

That was how she found herself in Boston, which was the farthest she had ever been away from her home in Minnesota. She was attending the national conference for psychologists. She had tried to get a few of her colleagues to come with her, but they all had other plans it seemed. Octavia was ready to branch out and learn about new ways to deal with her patients. Now, she found herself regretting her choice to come. She thought about returning to her room and ordering room service, instead of walking around the confusing streets of Boston to find something to eat. While she was trying to make up her mind, she saw him...and her breath caught in her throat.

Whoever he was, he was gorgeous. He stood about 6'2" and seemed to exude a sort of quiet strength that made her stomach flip. His sandy brown hair, which was graying on the sides, was pulled back into a ponytail. His eyes were a soft blue and if she had to guess, she would place him at about 45 years old. He was definitely older than her 28 years. She had to wonder if he would even give her a second look if she walked by him. Amazing. It was the only word that she could think of to describe him. He was dressed in a very sharp looking suit that had to have cost him a pretty penny.

Octavia stood, staring at the older man, thinking to herself that it should be a crime for a man to be able to age so well. He was definitely in shape and it wouldn't surprise her if he worked out a lot during the week. Octavia let out a heartfelt sigh. She hadn't had a boyfriend since her junior year in college, choosing to focus on her career instead, and now she was contemplating the jump to middle-aged men? She just shook her head. She probably didn't have a chance with the guy anyway. Octavia took him in one last time, starting the journey up his body from his expensive shoes. When she reached his eyes, to her surprise he was looking back at her.

Octavia immediately felt her cheeks heat and turned away from the object of her lusting. She turned and walked away swiftly. Hotel room it was. Maybe, if she was lucky, she wouldn't see her mysterious stranger again for the remainder of the conference. There was a good chance that she wouldn't, seeing that he didn't have the obligatory nametag that labeled the psychologists and allowed them access to the talks that weekend. She relaxed a bit as she made it to the elevators. Pushing the up button, she willed the elevator to arrive faster so that she could escape the awkwardness that she was feeling right then. With the 'ding' of the elevator, Octavia breathed a sigh of relief. She shuffled into the elevator car, only to turn and see her eye candy quickly approaching. 'Oh crap!' was the thought that ran through her head over and over again. What to do? What to do?

Marcus strode purposefully into the elevator and pushed the button for his floor. He really didn't need to go to his room, but he wanted to get a better look at the exquisite creature that he had seen checking him out across the lobby. She was a scrumptious caramel color, with expressive brown eyes. At the moment, they were conveying her nervousness about the situation very clearly. She stood about 5'7" to his 6'2" and she was mostly all legs, which was great since he was a leg man. And what a pair of legs she had. They were long and slender, with just a hint of muscle underneath. She had a smooth, sleek stride that reminded Marcus of a jungle cat. He bet that there was some real power in her legs. While she was checking him out before, he had been admiring her boobs as well as her legs. She seemed to be somewhere between a B and C cup, either way, it would make a nice handful.

She had yet to push the button for a floor, so Marcus took the opportunity to talk to her, if only briefly. It wasn't like Marcus to get so worked up about a girl, but it had also been two years since his divorce and the closure that he needed before he could move on had been a long time coming.

"Are you going to the 12th floor too?" At the sound of his voice, her head shot up and her eyes were wide, like a deer in the headlights.

Octavia barely managed to stammer out a reply. "Y-y-yes. That's...my floor."

Marcus stuck out his hand. "Marcus Ross."

Octavia took his hand and delivered a firm handshake. If her voice was going to be weak, at the very least she could be strong in her handshake. "Octavia Davis. It's a pleasure to meet you."

"The pleasure is all mine. So, what brings you to Boston?"

"I'm attending a...a psychology conference."

Marcus's brows shot up in surprise. He was here for the same conference, but he decided not to let on about it just yet. "Oh really? You're into psychology? That's interesting. How's that going for you?"

"Just fine. Thank you. What about you?" Octavia felt her insides turning to jelly. This man was absolutely breath-taking and he was actually talking to her. It was like a dream come true. Unfortunately, dreams always come to an end. As if to emphasize the thought, the elevator 'dinged' and the doors opened.

"I'm in town for...business as well. It was a pleasure meeting you Octavia. Perhaps we will see each other again soon." He turned and walked down the hall toward his room, leaving Octavia to stare after him outside the elevators. Her room was in the same direction, but she couldn't seem to move. She waited until he was out of sight, turning the corner that would take him to the wing that his room was in, before she slowly made her way to her room. She was overwhelmed, but she was also glad that she could find her voice to talk to the man so she wouldn't look like a complete idiot.

Octavia shook her head and walked to her bed after entering Room 1207. She knew that he was just making small talk, but the way he looked at her when he spoke made Octavia's legs feel weak. She laid back with a sigh, a guy like that would never be interested in her. He was tall, handsome and mature. He probably thought of her as a kid or something. She wondered if she would get a chance to talk to him again. Octavia hoped that she would. His voice was so smooth and sensual, it made her want to melt. She had never really been into dating white guys, but this man, Marcus, made her want to change that real quick. Heck, he made her want to get naked and throw herself at him. That wouldn't happen though, she was too shy to come on strong. She would just have to settle for fantasizing about him.

Marcus sat in his room looking down at his key card. He slipped it back into the small card holder that had his room number on it, Room 1203. It was a nice room, having a queen sized bed instead of the usual two full beds. He got up and flipped on the television. If he was in his room, he might as well do something. He knew that if left to his own devices, he would just masturbate about the sensuous black woman that he just chased. After talking to her, he realized that she didn't realize how fantastic she was, how beautiful, and she definitely didn't realize just how much he wanted to rip off her clothes and take her against the wall of the elevator. That was why he parted company with her so quickly. If he spent another minute in her presence, she would have ended up underneath him in front of the elevators. He had to get himself in check. He wanted her, but he wanted her to come to him willingly. He only had a couple of days to convince her that he was worthy of her, but that was okay. Marcus knew that he always got what he wanted and what he wanted right then was a hot night of great sex with his newfound black princess.