At 47, the opportunities for spending time with 20-something women are dwindling. I walk, talk, and exude "professional", but I know that as each year passes, so do the opportunities to establish relationships with younger women. This is especially true considering the fact that I want nothing to do with the friendly neighborhood "gold-diggers" that seem to appear out of the woodwork when I visit bars or clubs.
I have met some extremely beautiful women over the years and never had the courage to pursue relationships because I've always been somewhat intimidated by them. However, one such woman, Dani, was assigned to a project with me and a few other people. Dani is a beautiful woman, 29 and married for about a year. In fact, our personal relationship seemed to bloom after her marriage because I no longer looked at her as a potential "relationship" (sounds like I avoid those, huh?).
Except where women are concerned, I am a very laid back individual. Although I am very aggressive in my career and sporting activities, I have learned not to be rattled by circumstances, preferring to let things happen and then create strategies to overcome them. Dani, on the other hand, is prone to "stress". She is often stressed-out about happenings at work and home. Apparently, her husband is kind of an idiot who does not realize two things. (1) he is the luckiest man in the world; and (2) with some tweaks in his strategy, he could make Dani the happiest woman in the world.
Over the past year, Dani and I have provided "mental relief" for each other. When she is stressed about something, anything, she knows that she can talk to me and that I'll listen and provide feedback only when she asks for it. She calls me her sanctuary. She also trusts in me and in our relationship to the point that she knows we will both maintain the secrecy of our discussions.
Recently, we had to travel to Cleveland to provide support for a project implementation. Considering four of us went on the trip, there was no pressure or awkwardness about handling "evening" activities. For the most part, our evenings consisted of dinner, discussion of the project, laughing about all four of our personal lives, and retirement to our respective rooms for TV and in-room movies. On the third night of our five night journey, the relationship between Dani and I changed significantly.
At about 10:00 on Tuesday evening, I had finished surfing the internet and caught up on a pot-load of emails. I had just put my computer away and was preparing for bed (well, watching TV for an hour or so while I fell asleep). The lights were off when I heard a soft knock on the door. When I checked the peephole, there was Dani. After fumbling with the locks, latches, and "do not disturb" card, I finally opened the door.
"What's up Dani?" I barely managed to squeak out from my dry throat.
"I need to talk to you," she replied, "no advice tonight, I just want to vent about my life."
Oh, yippee, I thought How long is this going to take? I couldn't believe that I was thinking these thoughts...here was this beautiful woman...focus on the possibilities!
"Come on in" I told her and watched her walk slowly into the dark room. I flipped the switch by the door so that there was at least a minimal amount of light in the room. She smelled good, like Dani, as she walked into the room. She was wearing a pair of low-rider jeans with the cute pink pullover that she had worn to dinner. The only exception was that she had bare feet. Her heels were gone and I couldn't help to notice how tiny she looked as she walked into the room. I was dressed for bed, wearing a pair of gym shorts and a "college" t-shirt. I was also beginning to think that this was going to be a very frustrating night. That thought passed quickly as I remembered that as soon as she left, I could always rub one out and sleep in peace, once again the "master of my domain".
