I was looking forward to a night out, meet up with a few friends, plenty of fun, most likely too much to drink, and maybe a bit of harmless flirting. Most of the guys I was meeting up with were, like myself, married and therefore classed ourselves as off limits to anything more than flirting and as we were going out in our local town, the phrase "don't shit on your own doorstep" was being taken quite seriously.
I had decided to go for a couple of drinks in a pub on my own before I continued on and met the rest of the guys. My plan was to have a beer, followed by a soft drink, in a naive idea that by swapping between alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks, I would be able to last the night when up against the seasoned drinkers I was to spend the night with. I paid for my bottle of beer, and stood at the bar just taking a look around. The pub was filled with people of all ages, and as it also had a restaurant, lots of large groups out celebrating relative's birthdays or friends getting together. It was because there were so many groups of people, that she stood out by being on her own, as much as a lone person believes by retreating into a corner on their own, will hide them from everyone's eyes and disguise the fact they are on their own, it actually highlights it. She was sat at a corner table, trying not to look uncomfortable, she looked around my age (mid 30's), short brunette hair, she wasn't dressed provocatively, wearing a long loose skirt, a blue/green top that was cut down to show just the merest glimpse of the beginning of what could be a fantastic cleavage. Her breasts didn't look huge, but they certainly looked full and rounded and unlikely that any man would be disappointed by their size.
I continued to look around the pub, my eyes straying over the TV on the wall showing that afternoons football results, but no matter how much I tried to act nonchalant and cool, my eyes kept returning to the woman in the corner. There was just something about her that had grabbed my attention, and whilst watching her looking at the menu, her tongue ran softly over her lips, wetting them and making all kinds of thoughts race in my mind. It was at this moment, whilst my mind had drifted, that I realised she was actually looking at me, her eyes focused straight at me over the rim of her glasses. I quickly looked away feeling very self conscious, but my gaze soon returned to find a wry smile on her face and what looked like a wicked twinkle in her eye.
My legs then seemed to act of their own accord and before I knew it, I was walking over to her table. I introduced myself, and she told me her name was Antonia, she had such a soft voice and her mouth made such wonderful movements as she spoke that I almost missed her asking me to sit down and join her.
We made small talk, she told me she was staying in the hotel attached to the pub, as she was supposed to be meeting an old school friend this weekend and had been looking forward to a nights gossip, drinking and catching up on 10 years worth of news, but unfortunately one of her friends children had fallen ill, leaving her to a night on her own. Antonia explained she was going to drive home but her husband had told her to enjoy a night away so she could fully relax, and she had decided to take his advice.
At this point I was at a crossroads. Do I continue with my original plans and meet up with my friends, or do I keep this attractive woman company and help her to enjoy a relaxing night? I was certain my intentions were honourable, and all I wanted was to see this lady have fun and not let her waste a Saturday night.
"Have you eaten" I asked, hoping she would say no as I was beginning to feel hungry, having expected to end up in an Indian restaurant, half drunk later that night as would have happened with my friends.
"No, I had been looking at the menu and wondering if I should" she replied, "I actually have a table booked" she continued "it should have been for my friend and I, but I felt embarrassed to go in and sit on my own" she confessed.
"How about I join you and I will pay?" I suggested
"That would be nice" she answered, and I felt she was genuinely pleased and possibly a bit relieved.
We took our table, chose some wine, ordered some food and began to get to know each other a little better. Talking about our lives, jobs, partners, hobbies, the general subjects that are discussed as you start to find out about a person. The more we talked the more she started to relax, and laugh and generally look more at ease, which I was very pleased about.
As our main course arrived I asked "Is this the first meal you have had with a man other than your husband since you married?"
"First meal with another man other than him, ever" she replied, "He is the only man I've ever been with" she shyly continued. She said it so coyly and quickly that I found it very cute, she should be so embarrassed telling me this.
"I feel very honoured then" I told her, which was met by a big smile that spread across her face.
From that point on our conversation took on a different focus. We started discussing how we met our partners, how marriage changes relationships, and subtle references to our relative sex lives, started appearing in our exchanges. As usually happens after discussions of this nature, we had occasional silences, but these were not the uncomfortable pauses normally found in conversations, these were filled with unsaid words, reflections of secrets just imparted, thoughts of desire and longing.
Just as I was telling Antonia of my wife's recent experience attending an Ann Summers party and the resulting purchases she made, I felt a foot slowly sliding up my calf and a wicked smile emerging on the lips of the now mischievous lady sitting opposite me. I reached down to find a pair of boots covering her leg and finishing just below her knee.
Antonia quickly pulled her leg away, and asked a passing waitress for the bill. "You didn't want any dessert did you?" she asked.
"No thank you, but you could of had something if you had wanted to" I replied.
"What I want isn't on their menu" she quickly answered, then rose and sexily sauntered to the ladies.
The waitress returned with the bill, which I paid all the while wondering what the rest of the night would have in store.