I have never been an overly spontaneous person, but here I was on a spur of the moment vacation at an east coast beach I had never visited. My parents owned a house in the area that they periodically rented to vacationers, but I had never used it as I lived and worked on the western side of the country. As a co-owner of a successful media company in Phoenix, I hadn't had the time or the urge to take a real vacation. But as my 36th birthday approached and then passed, I grew increasingly restless. I was fortunate that when I decided to make the trip, it happened to be a week before the start of the traditional summer rush in the area. It was very nearly a ghost town, for which I was actually thankful. The weather was one reason for the lack of vacationers, as there were often frequent storms leading up to summer. Little did I know that I would soon be hoping for just such a storm.
On Thursday, after several days of laying around on the beach and touring the local seafood restaurants, I decided to drop in to the local Hooters for some wings. At 2:30, I was pretty late for lunch and the place was completely deserted. Most of the waitresses were gathered around the bar chattering like hens while one hovered near the door and another was idly wiping down tables.
"Well hello there Mr. tall, dark, and handsome," said the girl at the door as I entered. As she did so, all the waitresses in the place turned to look at me. At six inches past six feet, I towered over all of them and every pair of eyes in the place looked me all the way up and down. Well, every pair except one I noted from the corner of my eye. The gathering at the bar quickly broke up and they all moved toward me. "My name is Amber. You have the entire place to yourself, so feel free to sit where you want and you can even pick your waitress," she said enthusiastically.
"A little slow I take it?"
"We'll get a few customers tonight, but few of the locals come here and the tourist season doesn't start until this weekend. So, who will it be," she asked and gestured toward the assembled waitresses. I noticed that the one cleaning tables had not joined the crowd and had instead continued her cleaning without even glancing my way. I stole a few glances her way with practiced ease and watched how she moved.
"Very well," I said as I let my eyes wander back over the assembled group and put on my best smile. They were all of the expected type for the establishment, which is to say variations on the typical busty and curvy shape. I hesitated a mere few seconds, and then pointed off to my right toward the waitress cleaning tables and said, "Her."
As the group in front of my turned as one to look at her, she looked up in surprise and said, "What? Me?"
"No one picks her," said one of the gathered waitresses with a snicker.
"He's one of the 'those types'," said the one next to her and smiled knowingly.
"What do you mean," replied the first as the group turned back toward the bar and I stopped listening.
I turned and sought out a table as far from the bar as possible and managed to find one in a somewhat dark corner that was out of sight.
"Hi, I'm Kelly," said the waitress after she followed me to the table. She plopped a menu down in front of me and pulled out a pad prepared to take my order. She glanced toward the corner and then whispered, "why me, by the way?"
"Well, it's true, you don't seem to fit the Hooters profile," I said with a smirk. Kelly was obviously the youngest girl in the restaurant, and while she was curvy, it was due to a sleek, athletic body, very unlike her co-workers. Her boobs were perhaps a small B cup at best. Blonde hair, green eyes and a smile that tended toward a smirk. I had glimpsed her fantastic ass earlier as she bent over one of the tables she was cleaning and I looked at it rather pointedly now. Her face turned red as I looked her over, but I couldn't tell if it was from anger or embarrassment. "But you are more my type," I said as I moved my eyes back to her face.
"So... your type is... what, exactly? Barely Legal? Small Boobs?"
"I was thinking more along the lines of athletic, hard-working, and great eyes."
She blushed further, but also smiled. "Hard-working," she queried.
"You were the only one doing anything when I came in."
"And athletic?"
"Well, you aren't a swimmer. They tend to be clumsier on land. Not a gymnast either, not with that... asset," I said as my eyes drifted south again. "Young, 18... 19 maybe... so perhaps a cheerleader, but you move with more grace than that, so also perhaps a dancer."
Kelly smiled broadly. "You have a good eye, when it's not on my... asset," she teased.
"Sorry," I said with a sigh as I moved my eyes back up to her face again. "It's... distracting."
"Well, you are right on both counts, cheerleading and dancing, but dancing is my real love. No more cheerleading anyway, now that school is over."
"Not planning to cheer at college then?"
"Not sure yet," Kelly answered with a thoughtful look. "It will depend on what school I choose and whether they have any sort of dance program."
"Not majoring in the arts then?"
"Oh, I love dancing, but I'm not that good, not enough to do anything serious with it career-wise. Business management, perhaps with a Masters eventually, and if I can keep up the dancing, maybe a studio of my own one day."
"A gal with a plan. A bit surprising for someone so young. Definitely rules out ditzy blonde then," I said smiling.
"Hey," Kelly exclaimed and swatted me on the shoulder with her order pad. "Anyway, I have plenty of time to change my mind or screw it up I guess."
"Well, the first is a woman's prerogative, but I seriously doubt you will screw it up. You seem to have your head on straight, despite your current work situation."
"Thanks, I guess. I'd gladly be elsewhere for the summer, but the tips are just too good here during the tourist season. Just need to make up my mind on a school and get on with the rest of my life as they say."
"What are your choices," I asked as I perused the menu.
"My top three are William and Mary, my Dad's alma mater, Georgia Tech, where my mother went, and ASU, which reflects my desire to get as far from home as possible," she said with a sigh.
"ASU is a good school," I said evenly, "though technically I think U of A has a better dance program." Kelley looked at me quizzically after my remark but said nothing, so I continued. "My company is based in Chandler, and we have an office in Tucson. I am familiar with both areas, both schools, and have caught the occasional event at both schools."
"Well, maybe you can provide me with some useful information to help me escape my parental clutches," she said with a villainous smile. "But let me get your order started first."
I rattled off an order of wings and chose a beer at random and off she went toward the kitchen and bar. She was back within a couple of minutes and said the order probably wouldn't take long, given that I was the only customer in the place, but the food would definitely be freshly prepared.
"Why did you choose to vacation here this week anyway," she asked curiously and sat down opposite me in the booth.
"I don't like crowds much, but the scheduling was purely happenstance. My parents have a beach condo here that they rent or lend out, and I'd never seen it, so here I am. I'll probably leave as all the tourists descend on the area. How about you, big plans for the holiday weekend coming up or will it be all hands on deck come Saturday?"
"Oh, it'll be crowded this weekend, no doubt. But I managed to block off the whole three-day weekend for a trip. I'll return to the madness on Tuesday. It will be a constant rush right up until Labor Day, but I'll probably be gone before that."
"I suspect a graduation celebration trip of some sort?"
