Edward woke up alone. That was normal. Ever since his wife left him he always woke up alone. At least it was Saturday and he didn't have to go into the office. He was also naked. That was not normal. What happened last night, he wondered not yet fully awake. He sat up suddenly as he remembered. Last night he went to The Harbor, one of the newer clubs in town, with the project team from the office to celebrate the completion of their latest game. He swung his legs out of bed and shook his head. Did last night really happen, he thought.
The hard driving techno beat of the DJ's mix filled the club. The dance floor was packed and it was not even ten o'clock. Even for a Friday night this place is really jumping, Edward Faulk thought as he surveyed the room from his table. There were people at all of the tables and a crowd at the bar. He had a good vantage point equidistant from both and able to see just about everything.
He sighed and took a sip of his greyhound, wondering why he accepted the invitation tonight. He had been flattered when the other members of the project team invited him to celebrate the completion of the new mobile app. He realized that his companion had said something and turned to his boss, "Excuse me Michael I missed that."
"I said under budget and ahead of schedule, Edward. I know Dancing Diner is just a silly little time wasting game but the company should make a nice profit from it. But the rumors you've heard are true we are going to keep the team together. The announcement will be Monday. We should have a new project in a couple of weeks."
"That's great news Michael," he said. It really was good news. Andrew put together a good team to create Dancing Diner, perhaps the best Edward had ever worked with. The only way things could have been better is if it were his team. He shrugged, knowing that ship had sailed long ago. A missed deadline here, a blown budget there, and a general disinterest with work during his divorce five years ago and Edward Faulk was off the fast track. He knew he was good at his job, always in demand when someone was putting a design team together. He also knew that he would never get another chance to manage a project.
"I know what you want, Edward," Michael said sympathetically. "You've done good work here at Dinax and I've always given you good reviews. But honestly I don't know if you will ever be a project manager here." He shook his head.
"I know, Michael" he said. "You have a good team here and I'm happy to be part of it." He looked over his boss's shoulder at an approaching woman. "And now Denise is back." He smiled at Michael's wife. Denise was a tall woman in her late thirties like Michael. Like Michael she was also a little heavy set, something they both attributed to her cooking. The red dress she wore tonight showed her ample figure to her advantage.
"Thank you for keeping an eye on Michael while I was gone. I didn't want to leave him alone with all these pretty young girls. Now he is going to take me dancing. You should grab someone yourself and have some fun." Denise pulled Michael to his feet.
"Right Denise, I'm sure all these kids are just waiting for a chance to dance with the oldest man in the room."
"Don't hold their age against them," she called over her shoulder as she led her husband to the dance floor.
Edward shook his head and laughed. At forty-nine he may not have been the oldest man in the room but was pretty sure he was in the top three or four. He was easily fifteen to twenty years older than the other members of the team, but knew they considered him a friend. So even though he did not socialize with them much, he decided to accept tonight's invitation. If he hadn't been with them, he never would have come to a club like The Harbor. If he was going to be completely honest with himself, he would have to admit that he probably wouldn't have gotten in if he hadn't been with the others.
"Of course the scenery here is a lot nicer than Carl's," he said quietly thinking of the sports bar where he usually spent his infrequent nights out. Edward smiled and took another sip of his drink. There was Beth, Dr. Eason, from the office. He could see her on the dance floor with Jason; no one in human resources would approve of how closely they were dancing. He always thought the redhead was attractive, but the short grey dress she wore tonight showed of her curves a lot better than her normal office attire.
There were certainly others as well. He had expected as much when he walked in the door; however, he had been surprised by the number of beautiful women in the club. The tall brunette with the truly impressive chest for example, every man in the club turned to look when she stepped onto the dance floor. Or the two blondes sitting at the next table, coolly surveying the room while they searched for their future dance partners. Edward had smiled at one of them when they happened to make eye contact and received a politely distant smile in return.
He thought about approaching one of the women at the club. It would certainly be different. Edward did not date much these days. On the rare occasions he went out anymore, it seemed like the women he met were more interested in talking about their ex-husbands then they were talking to him. Frankly he didn't care; he almost never brought up Helen in conversation and could not understand why they thought he would be interested in hearing about Max or Dave or whoever.
Edward shook his head. He just could not see himself chasing after one of these twenty somethings. Besides, he thought, he could do without the ribbing he would take at the office on Monday. He sat back in his chair and took another sip of his drink. Michael and Denise were driving tonight, so he planned to quietly drink and enjoy the view. It was a good evening and Edward began to enjoy himself a little bit. Although he never left the table, his coworkers did come back from the dance floor from time to time to talk or have a drink. It was probably the most social interaction he had had outside of the office in the last six months.
It was about a quarter to twelve and Edward's drink was empty. Since none of the waitresses seemed to be in a hurry to stop at his table, he decided to walk over to the bar to get a refill. As he crossed the room he noticed a couple women looking him over. I guess all the exercise has paid off, he thought. His doctor had suggested he start about a year after his divorce, to help combat the stress and depression he had been feeling. It did nothing to help with the loss; however physically, he felt better than he had in a long time. He did not have a weightlifter's physique, but was as fit as most of the younger men in the room.
The bar was still fairly crowded, although a few spots had opened. The closest was near a rowdy group of very well dressed young men, stockbrokers, based on what he could hear of their conversation. As Edward approached, he saw the stunning brunette from the dance floor storm away from them, their mocking laughter trailing in her wake. He continued along the bar looking for if not friendlier than at least more polite company. There was a space between a couple locked in an embrace and a slender brunette in a loose fitting neon pink dress.
"Do you mind?" Edward asked as he slipped into the narrow space.
"Not at all, but you may want to ask them," she replied with a gesture towards the couple behind him.
Edward ventured a slight grin, "I don't think they'd notice."
The young woman smiled. It was the first genuine smile he had seen all night. "You'd better sit down the bartenders are busy tonight."
Edward took the seat next to her. He had noticed her when she arrived at the club with a couple of her friends. The bright pink dress against her olive complexion drew his eye. They had arrived too late to get a table, so went to the bar. He friends had quickly moved to the dance floor, but she remained sipping her drink and talking to people as they passed.
Before he could speak she introduced herself, "I'm Amanda Fontana."
"Edward Faulk, it's nice to meet you Amanda."
"Edward, not Ed or Eddie?"
"Ed is okay, but please not Eddie."
"Alright, Edward it is."
While he was waiting for the bartender, they began to chat. Edward knew that small talk was not his strong suit so he listened attentively and asked the occasional question. She was a senior at Stanford about to finish her degree in English Literature. When she mentioned Shakespeare, he asked what her favorite play was. She immediately launched into a discussion of King Lear, and began to explain how the author used comedic techniques to drive home the powerful tragedy of the story. Ordinarily Edward's eyes would begin to glaze over at this point, but Amanda was so passionate about the subject that he really wished he has seen the play.
