This is the second story.
This is the story of Margaret.
Margaret was the bartender at an Italian restaurant in Santa Monica that I'd frequently pick up deliveries from. The first time I saw her behind the bar wasn't the first time I'd been at the restaurant, but she was so beautiful that I acted as if it was. I could never forgo an opportunity to chat up a pretty lady, and Margaret immediately drew my eye.
She was maybe 5'6" or 5'7", in her early twenties, and possessed a striking Irish beauty. Her hair was dark brown, her skin pale. She looked like a slightly older version of the actress Thomasin Mckenzie, with sharper features and dark eyebrows, but the same eyes, light blue and doe-like. She was wearing a white shirt under a gray vest, the shirt unbuttoned to a few inches below her neck. As I approached and she turned toward me, I spotted a smattering of freckles across her chest. I was tempted by what I would see if could undo a few more of those buttons.
She smiled at me and I immediately sensed mutual interest.
"How can I help you?" she asked.
"I'm here to pick up a delivery," I said. "Is this where?"
"No, around the corner there," she said, pointing.
I nodded and smiled, but kept looking at her, taking a slight pause to put her on her heels.
"Anything else?" she said.
"Where would I pick up a girl?"
Her face broke into a goofy smile and she blushed scarlet, red running up her freckled chest past her neck and into her cheeks. She looked around guiltily, as if a superior, a manager, God, might admonish her for something. Then she looked down at her feet before looking back to me, unable to meet my eyes.
"That would happen here," she said.
"But?" I said, feeling it coming.
"But," she said, then looking into my eyes, "I would need to see you in here a few more times first."
"Fair," I said. "My name's Jack. What's yours?"
"Margaret."
I extended a hand, and she took it. I held her hand for a second. Her fingers were slender and delicate.
"Well, Margaret, then I hope I get more deliveries here. See you around."
And I turned and went to get the food.
On my way out of the restaurant, I passed back by the bar, deliberately keeping my eyes forward at first, playing with her. Then when I sensed her watching me, I looked over. I caught her eye for a split second before she looked away, trying to stop herself from grinning.
I knew I had her.
A few weeks later, I got another delivery from that restaurant, but she wasn't working.
A couple days after that, the same thing.
Then, after two more weeks, the fateful order came through.
I walked through the door and there she was. She had her back to me, her hair pulled back into a loose ponytail. She was bent forward over something and her slacks were tight across her butt, giving me a wonderful view of it. It was perfectly shaped, full and round, not too big nor too small for her figure. She looked over her shoulder, we made eye contact, and she smiled in recognition. She quickly turned and came over to the end of the bar.
"Hey," she said, her hands brushing some loose strands of hair back behind her ears.
"Hey yourself," I said.
She was shifting back and forth, and bouncing a little on her toes.
"Picking up a delivery?" she asked.
I nodded. She looked around, then leaned in toward me.
"If you'd like to pick up something else, I think you'd have a good chance," she said. Her big blue eyes were especially big right now. Achingly vulnerable.
I leaned slightly toward her.
"I would like to pick up something else," I said softly. "Would she want to grab a drink when she gets off work tonight?"
"She would. She's off at 10:30."
"I'll see her then," I said.
She smiled and nodded quickly, then turned and returned to the other side of the bar. I went to get my order and left.
Finishing up deliveries that evening was torture. I watched the time tick onward, wanting it to move faster but my constant attention dragging it even slower, as I imagined what Margaret would look like naked, as I planned what I would do to her in bed.
At 10:30 I was standing outside the restaurant. She came out the front door, still in her shirt and slacks, but the vest was gone, and one more button had come undone on her shirt. I could now see the pale freckled skin just above and between her breasts, which were more prominent without the vest tamping them down. Her hair was out of its ponytail, spilling down in dark waves over the front of her shoulders. We hugged gently as a greeting, and I felt her boobs push up against me, their size a pleasant surprise.
There were a lot of bars close to her restaurant and we started walking among them. It was a warm summer night but we kept close to one other, not talking much but feeling a casual intimacy between us. We entered an Irish pub. It was a busy weekend night and packed to the gills.
"I'll get us drinks," I said. "Will you find us a table?"
She looked around at the flood of people.
"I don't know if that's likely," she said. "How about a place to stand?"
I laughed.
"That works. What do you want?"
"Guinness?" she said.
I couldn't believe it and my face showed it.
"What?" she said, turning pink with embarrassment.
"A girl ordering Guinness," I said. "It's just...very hot."
She smiled, that goofy side smile again. She put her hands on my bicep, said "I'll find a spot for us," and turned away.
I pushed through to the bar, got us two Guinnesses, and then searched for Margaret. I found her sitting at a small table in a back corner, and she raised her arms like "can you believe it?"
"Amazing!" I said, sitting down across from her.
We then drank our Guinnesses slowly and chatted, speaking loudly to be heard over the din of the pub. We continued getting along smoothly, but the inability to have a quieter conversation was interfering with our chemistry. Once we'd finished our beers, I asked if she wanted to find someplace quieter and she nodded eagerly.
We perused the other bars but everything was noisy and overflowing with people. When it was obvious there were no quiet options around, I stopped and turned to her.
"I don't want to be presumptuous," I said, "and feel free to say no, but do you want to come back to mine?"
"Oh!" she said, her eyebrows rising. "Um-"
"I live alone, so it'll be quieter. I've got Guinness, or wine, or water, whatever you'd prefer."
She looked away, thinking. I had no desire to pressure her, but I was still worried she'd walk through the exit door I'd provided. Then she looked at me, confidently or trying to appear confident, and said:
"That sounds great."
We drove separately, her following me in her car. I was disappointed she wasn't sitting next to me, for us to do what I had once done with Selena, but I don't think that was in the cards anyway. This was going to be a different kind of game.