So the story begins when I attend a conference in California where I am to give a presentation on some of the research that I have been doing. My presentation is on the third day of the five day event so for the first two days I attended several of the meetings, went sightseeing a little bit and generally prepared for my presentation on the third day. I saw a few colleagues from other institutions and organizations and we have lunch and dinner.
My spouse did not attend because of his work obligations but he encouraged like always to use these conferences to network and to have dinners, etc., with colleagues and potential collaborators. He also encouraged me to get my hair and nails done and I took him up on it. My hair was my usual blonde and cut short and I guess to tease my husband a little bit, I had my nails done a nice shade of red. He loves red on my nails (I think I know why now) and I thought they looked pretty damn good.
On the day of my presentation I got up early, went over my presentation and got ready. I wore a nice skirt, not too short and heels with a silk blouse. Very professional outfit. On the way out the door of my hotel room, I checked myself in the mirror and gave myself an inner pep talk and headed out.
My presentation went well and it was pretty well attended for a conference of this size. After the presentation, I hung around and spoke to several attendees who stayed behind to ask questions and discuss the presentation.
I noticed out of the comer of my eye, a very tall, good looking African-American man, probably in his late 30's, waiting to talk to me. Once every one had left he made his way over and introduced himself.
"Hi, I am Tyler Logan, and I have been following your research since my post-doc days at Chapel Hill." He was now at another university in the northeast and was interested in maybe doing some work with you. I was impressed with his knowledge of my research and the papers that I had written and I could tell that he was an up and coming academic with a bright future. I also couldn't help notice that he seemed to be flirting with me a little bit and that he was extremely good looking.
Since it was about 4 pm now, he suggested that maybe he and I could get dinner if didn't have other plans and continue our conversation.
I stammered a little bit but agreed to meet at 6:30 p.m. in the hotel bar where we would have a drink and then get dinner at one of the many restaurants in the hotel. We exchanged phone numbers and bid each other goodbye until later. I felt a little tingle on my skin and my face felt liked it flushed a little as we shook hands and I noticed that his hands were big but smooth and that he did not wear a wedding ring.
I went back to my room to relax and get caught up on emails. When I got back, I could not stop thinking about this man I just met. Surely, he just wanted to have a professional dinner and discussion. I know that is what I was thinking, but what was he thinking? He was really quite charming and I felt instantly attracted to him. Of course my husband always teased me about having a fling at a conference and I never ever did such a thing at the many conferences that I attended but this was the first time I ever felt like if something like that was to happen it could be with Tyler.
My mind drifted to other things for a while and I didn't notice the clock. When I looked it up, it was 6: 15 p.m. so I started getting ready. I changed into jeans and a top and put on sandals to be more comfortable and after fixing my hair and makeup, headed out around 6:35 p.m., a little late but I am sure Tyler would be waiting.
When I got to the hotel bar I did not see Tyler so I sat at the bar and ordered a glass of wine. The bartender poured a large glass and I knew if I drank all of that without eating, I would be tipsy by dinner. In any event, the bartender put some pretzels and nuts in front of me and I snacked on them and drank my wine.
Tyler was late. I was beginning to think maybe he stood me up when at about 6:55 p.m. he came rushing in the bar, very apologetic. He had dozed off and had awoken about 10 minutes ago. He apologized profusely and I told him not to worry, I often ran late! I was also starting to get a little tipsy from the wine.
Tyler looked very good. Jeans, a nice fitting polo shirt and he smelled very good! He ordered wine and we drank and talked about our respective employers and our research interests. Very professional, nothing unusual. He told me that he had played basketball at a small college before pursuing his masters and doctoral degrees and that he had once been married for a few years to a college girlfriend while pursuing his advanced degrees. It during that time they realized they both wanted different things and ended up splitting.
He asked me how long I had been married and about kids etc. He said "well your husband is a lucky man to have such a smart and beautiful wife."
I blushed at the complement but thanked him of course and couldn't help noticing how he looked right into my eyes as we spoke and how he was so sweet and incredibly handsome. I told him that we probably should eat something before drinking anymore and that I was happy to eat at one of the hotels in the restaurant.
He asked the bartender for a recommendation and the bartender recommended the French bistro that had really good food, was a little livelier than some of the other restaurants and you did not need a reservation. So we paid the bill and went off to the bistro.
I felt a little intoxicated from the one glass of wine, but also turned on by this handsome, articulate man walking next to me. I thought to myself, well my husband always talked about me hooking up with a black guy, could this be it? I tried to put it out of my mind since that decision, if it was to be made, would be well down the road this evening.
The bistro was crowded and we had to wait for about 10 minutes for a table. When we finally got seated, it was at a small table where we had to sit relatively close to each other. The closeness of our seats only increased the physical tension in the air, at least for me and it seemed like for Tyler too.
Once we were seated and the waiter took our drink orders our conversation continued about work, research, politics, hobbies, etc. It was an incredibly stimulating conversation and I was so engrossed in the conversation, I did not notice my phone ringing.
Tyler pointed to it and I picked it up quickly. It was my husband. "Hi honey, yes, I am out to dinner with a colleague. Yes, the presentation went well and I'll tell you more about it tomorrow." I hung up the phone and Tyler was looking at me. I said "just my husband."
Tyler said "is he is ok with you having a dinner with another guy?" I said that is was fine.
"He is very cool about those things and he always tells me that I need to do more socializing at these conferences." As I said this, I could only help but think that my husband's fantasy might actually come true tonight.
Dinner was great. The food was very good and the conversation, which had become a little more playful was just as good. At one point, I laughed very hard at some joke Tyler had made and I put my hand on his forearm. A little jolt of electricity went through me into my loins as I touched his muscular arm.
