They'd been toying with one another all evening. Charles hadn't been able to keep his eyes off the woman. He didnât recall ever meeting such a woman like her around the art gallery or any of the other circles of friends who made up the party that night. She was of an average height, but carried herself with an easy blend of elegance and mischieviousness such that she stood out. Poise and playfulness, Charles thought. Curiosity won out, and Charles found himself asking different friends about her.
He found out her name was Helen, and she was an old friend of their hostess. Tracking Mary down, Charles tapped her lightly on the shoulder and asked, âWhat can you tell me about your friend Helen?â
Mary grinned at him and sipped her champagne. âWhich Helen would that be?â she asked in return. âI know several, after all.â
Charles narrowed his gaze. âI think you know. The black lady wearing the velour shirt-dress, and the high heels that make you just want to rub her ankles and calves for hours, ring a bell?â
"Would you like an introduction?" Mary asked.
"No, well, not yet...let me see if I need one first," Charles answered.
"Funny, that's what she said when she asked about you," Mary remarked with a laugh and another grin. She then disappeared back into the crowd of the party. Mary did parties well. The apartment complexâ clubhouse had been transformed into a miniature casino. Bars had been set up in most of the major rooms, and each area also sported two or three tables where gaming was taking place.
After Maryâs comment, Charles had turned to regard Helen and found her looking him over. He straightened his posture just a bit, and smoothed out his shirt and tie. He brushed a hand through the shadow of beard already forming on his chin, and wondered if he still looked okay. A little late to do anything about it, he thought.
The party was a nice mix of casualness and nightclub dress, more casual than he'd thought it would be, but at least he was in a sport jacket and not a tux. Tuxedos always made him feel out of place, no matter how well he knew the people around him. Charles shifted his position and took a fresh drink from a passing server. He used the mirrored surface of a nearby wall to check Helen out.
Helen appeared to be around five and a half feet tall, not quite a foot shorter than him, and had a nicely padded body. She wasn't the so-called pear shape, but she was more voluptuous than was the current style for her height. Charles liked how her breasts looked, but his eyes kept dropping to the curves of her hips and thighs where the fabric of her dress clung. He wished he had an excuse to walk around behind her.
Charles then realized there was an appetizer tray on the table just behind Helen and to the side. Perfect, he thought. Charles slipped over to fix himself a small paper plate of cheese-laden crackers, and turned to check Helen out from this new angle.
Naturally, she caught him looking.
Since that point, Charles and Helen had slowly been finding ways to pass close by or stand where they could watch one another mostly unimpeded by the other party guests. He would be chatting with this friend or that and letting his eyes lose their focus to see beyond his current company to where Helen was engaged in the same sort of activity across the room. He would stop at the bar for a new drink and turn around just as Helen was doing the same at the other end. They would meet eyes and laugh softly.
Mary, as might be expected, watched the whole thing over the course of a couple of hours. Finally, with a shake of her head, she took Helen by the hand and led her out into the middle of one of the main gaming areas. She stopped at Charles' side as he watched the craps game before him and occasionally placed a bet. Mary tapped his shoulder, gave him a little nudge, and leaned in to kiss his cheek. "It was cute for the first thirty minutes. Now it's just silly,â she said. âHelen, this is Charles. Charles...Helen. Now, say hello or something."
Helen flashed a pageant winner's smile at him. "Hello..."
"Or something," finished Charles with a wink. He took Helen's hand. "A pleasure...hi there." He then leaned in and gently kissed her cheek, then handed her the dice.
"Is it my turn, then?"
"It is if you want."
"Fine, but keep talking, I'd hate for Mary to have gone through that trouble for nothing." She shook the dice and tossed them to the table's end. The croupier gave them back and told her nine was the point.
"Yeah, me too. I'm not going to be distracting you, am I?"
Helen rattled the dice in her hand and turned her warm, brown eyes on Charles more directly. "Yes, I hope so," she said with a bit of a giggle, leaning close to throw the dice again and rubbing her hip against him.
Charles slid a hand over her hip and caressed his way along the small of Helen's back. "Good. I wouldn't want to disappoint you so soon." The sound of the dice being scooped and handed back to Helen was lost on him for a moment. Then the click of chips being stacked before them registered. "You won, throw again," he said.
The warm whisper in his ear made his awakening crotch much more alert. Helen threw the dice a third time as she softly told him, âYou keep playing with my ass like that, and I may not be the only winner.â
He chuckled and smoothed his hand through the soft surface of velour covering Helenâs behind. From the corner of his eye, he saw the tumbling dice strike the wall and settle on a pair of ones. âSnake eyes, your turnâs up.â
âIs it?â Helen smiled to the dealer as she turned away from the craps table. She slipped an arm around Charlesâ waist and brought him away with her. He left his hand resting somewhere between the top of one curvy cheek and the small of Helenâs back, just about at her hip, and let her lead him through the room and into one of the hallways between playing areas.
She turned to him once they were in the shadows and looked him in the eye. âLetâs be upfront. Itâs been fun flirting with you all night, but I want to know why you were drawn to me.â She let another impish grin escape and leaned in to kiss his neck. âOr are you always this easy?â
Charles laughed and gently shrugged his shoulders. âWell, at first it was just they way you held yourself. Then physical stuff like your eyes, your smile,â he paused to grin at her, âyour tits...kicked in, and I was interested enough to check you out more closely.â He kissed her cheek and pulled her closer to him. One leg eased itself between Helenâs thighs and slowly rubbed its kneecap against the thin bit of fabric covering her mound.
Helen purred at the touch and sank her weight onto Charlesâ knee. âThat feels good,â she purred.
âThatâs nothing. Just wait until I can sit you down somewhere. Let you feel my warm breath on your thigh as I slowly lick my way between your legsâŠâ Helen interrupted him to plant her mouth on his and suck his tongue into her own. As they broke for air, Charles chuckled. âI take it you like the idea?â
Helen looked around the hall and leaned back to peer down to where it entered the two rooms to either side of them. Then she stepped back from Charles and took his hand. âIn here,â she urged as she took him by one hand and opened a door across the hall from where they had been kissing.