Have you ever had an experience that changed the direction of your life in an instant? About a year ago I did. It wasn't an instant. It was more like five hours but it made a change in my life like nothing I'd ever experienced before, or since.
Let me explain.
Last fall I attended an intense four-day conference in New Orleans. My employer was instrumental in organizing and running the conference so I had a significant role in the on-site management of the various venues and attendees.
New Orleans is a unique environment with incredible architecture and a vibrant nightlife. You might be envious of me having to spend four days in that invigorating city. You'd be disappointed to hear that I saw none of it. I spent the entire four days in the conference center and saw little else except for a quick five or six hours of sleep in my hotel room each night.
By eight o'clock Thursday evening the attendees had all embarked for the airport, the vendors had packed their wares and were headed home and I, finally, was headed for the lounge in my hotel to consume a few adult beverages, breathe the stale air, let my hair down and relax before I had to pack for my early flight home the next day.
I was sitting at the bar, sipping a lime cosmopolitan, minding my own business, relishing going home in the morning. A non-descript gentleman was sitting three stools away from me with his own glass of amber liquid. I glanced in his direction, a normal action under the circumstances, curious about the only other patron of the lounge.
He had a mysterious air about him. He didn't seem very tall, maybe five foot six or seven. He appeared to be European but his nationality wasn't easily determined. His hair was combed straight back in the Italian style but without the usual pomade and his features were more middle European than Italian. He was dressed immaculately in a wool suit of British design, possibly Seville Row with a white shirt and ascot, not a tie. His shoes appeared to be Moroccan leather loafers with dark socks. His hands had long fingers with manicured nails.
He was sitting quietly manipulating three coins in his left hand. I couldn't make out the nature of the currency but it wasn't American. They were worn copper coins larger than a quarter but smaller than a half dollar, maybe pre-decimal British coppers. He was holding them vertically with three fingers and using his thumb to roll one of the coins over the other two and ending with all three vertically between his fingers again. I watched as he rolled the two coins on the outside up between his thumb and forefinger and used his middle finger to rotate the remaining coin one hundred eighty degrees before rolling the other two coins down beside it again.
Overall, an exotic figure that intrigued me. Don't misunderstand my interest. It was just that, an interest. I'd been married for twenty-one years. I'd never strayed. I'd never even considered straying and I wasn't looking to stray that night. I was just curious about the gentleman sharing the bar with me. I looked away before he would notice me staring at him.
Curiosity is a powerful emotion. I couldn't help myself. I looked at him again. This time he caught me. He was looking in my direction. Trapped, I responded politely. I smiled. He smiled back, tipped his glass in my direction, looked away and continued rolling the coins.
The next time I looked, he was looking directly at me. He was turned in his seat so he was facing me as well. I smiled. He smiled then he leaned forward and patted the seat of the stool next to him with his right hand. His left had continued to roll the coins. It was clearly an invitation to join him.
I was hesitant but that curiosity thing emerged again. "What the hell," I thought. "How could it hurt to join him for a few minutes? I could use some light conversation and I might even learn something about him."
I nodded, picked up my glass, slid off my stool and moved in his direction. He leaned forward again and rotated the stool so that it was facing him when I got there. I climbed up on the stool next to him and he turned away, focusing on his whiskey and rolling the coins.
"What the fuck?" I thought. "He invites me to sit next to him and then ignores me. Not even a word of 'Hello' or any indication that I was there." I might have been insulted at his indifference but my curiosity was now raging and I was fascinated watching him manipulate the coins.
He finished his drink, put the empty glass on the bar and turned to me. Without a word, he indicated my drink and I realized he wanted me to finish it. I swallowed the last half ounce and put the empty glass on the bar next to his. His broad smile conveyed his pleasure with my compliance with his silent request. The only sounds were the clink of the coins he continued to roll in his left hand.
He signaled the bartender to refill both glasses. When the drinks were placed in front of us, he took my second lime cosmopolitan and moved it toward me. When I reached for the glass, his fingers lingered until they touched my fingertips. What I can only describe as an electric current moved from my fingers, up my forearm, past my elbow and shoulder and terminated in my primitive brain.
This man was holding my attention three ways. I was confused by my reaction to his touch, I was focused on the way he was rolling the coins and my curiosity was on fire. All without a single spoken word between us.
He sipped his drink and put his hand on the bar. I sipped my drink and put my hand on the bar as well. He moved his hand until it covered mine. The electricity of his previous touch became a vibration from my hand, up the left side of my body and ricocheted down my core to my crotch. I'd never experienced anything like it before. My mind was preoccupied processing the erotic feeling of the vibration and the coins constantly changing position in his fingers.
I didn't notice him place the coins in a neat stack on the bar until he placed his left hand on my right knee. The shock embraced the rest of my body, my entire right side and everything below my waist. The feeling wasn't unpleasant. It was surprisingly agreeable. More than agreeable. Erotic. I felt my panties getting wet.
He picked up his glass and drank the contents in one swallow while moving his left hand further up my thigh until it was under the hem of my skirt. My panties weren't getting wet, they were soaked.
He put the empty glass on the bar, reached into his jacket pocket and placed three twenties on the bar. He reached into his pocket again and produced a card key envelope that he put on the bar next to the twenties. He squeezed my thigh slightly, nodded at me, stood up and walked slowly out of the lounge.
I looked at the bills and room key while trying to control my hormones. The twenties were for the bartender. The room key for me. I couldn't help myself. I swallowed my drink, picked up the three coins he'd left in a neat stack and the room key. I rationalized that I had to return the coins to him as a courtesy.
I took the elevator to the tenth floor and walked to room 1031. I knocked gently and when there was no response, I used the magnetic card to unlock and open the door. The room was gently lit with a glow from the bathroom around the partially closed door. The mysterious gentleman was sitting on the side of an enormous bed waiting for me as the door closed behind me. I held out my hand holding the coins. He took the coins from me and looked at the dresser against the wall. I placed the room key and my purse on the dresser.
He looked behind me. I looked around and saw only the door. Something told me to lock the door so I turned, engaged the bolt door lock and flipped the intrusion bar into place before turning back to face him.
He seemed pleased as he rolled the coins in his left hand. I stood in front of him waiting, almost hoping, for what came next.
He stared into my eyes and then down to the top of my blouse. When he did it a second time, I thought I knew what he wanted. Powerless to stop my hands and fingers, I unbuttoned the top button of my blouse. He conveyed his approval by holding his hands together in his lap and smiling.
Slowly, unconsciously, I unbuttoned the seven buttons of my blouse until I reached the bottom where it was tucked into the waist of my skirt. To this day I can't explain why I unbuttoned my blouse. My only defense was I wanted to know everything about him and I was willing to do anything to learn it. And then there were those damned coins.
Once the blouse was unbuttoned, the rest was inevitable. I pulled the blouse from my skirt, unbuttoned the cuffs and removed it. I folded it neatly and placed it on a nearby chair. I could see the delight in his smile as I turned back to face him. He was again rolling the coins in his left hand.
I was wearing a camisole under my blouse. I pulled it from my skirt and added it to the blouse on the chair. I stood in front of him in my beige bra. His broad smile encouraged me further and I couldn't get the effects of his touch in the bar out of my mind.
I unbuttoned my skirt, unzipped it and let it fall around my feet. My half-slip fell on top of it. I stepped out of the pile of my clothing and kicked it aside. I lifted my right leg to remove my two inch heeled shoe. He held out a hand in support and I held it for balance while I removed both shoes and tossed them aside as well.
His touch was still electric and my already wet panties became even wetter.
I stood in front of him in only my bra and panties. Was I embarrassed? No, however, in a single stray thought, I wondered if he found the little red bows at the sides of my panties immature. The question would never be answered since he motioned me to turn around.