My plane was the last in before they shut down the airport. It was one of those hairy, yaw filled landings and even the flight attendant looked uncomfortable. The pilot did a masterful job. Ten feet off the runway he slammed the rudder over and had us dead center on the runway and pointed straight as we touched down. The flight attendant made the sign of the cross.
There were about five inches of snow on the ground, not enough to stop me in my rental SUV, but the radio said that many businesses were closing early. I had four appointments set up for the day and hoped they didn't cancel on me. Two did but the most important two were still on. I had a good day and closed about a million in business after spending the previous three months laying the groundwork. I headed for the hotel at just before noon. The roads were getting nasty and even my favorite Sushi Bar had closed.
I went in the side entrance and walked by the ballroom. It was full of young women wearing white uniforms. I checked in and asked the clerk what the convention was. He informed me that the hotel was pretty full with a bunch of Navy nurses. He winked and told me that there were only about ten men in the building and a shade over two-hundred nurses and gave me a duplicate key card, "Just in case," he said with a wink. I took my key-cards, went to my room and unpacked for my two night stay. Next came writing my reports of the day's activities which, I guessed because of the storm, took forever to upload. I was ready for a drink and some dinner. A look out the window told me I really didn't want to drive anywhere so I decided to just hit the lobby bar.
I ordered a burger and fries (even a hotel kitchen can't screw that one up) and watched the spring training game that was on the TV. I had been in the place many times before, for a late nightcap, so I knew the bartender's name was Julie. She was tall, attractive, and appeared to be very fit. I tried to get into the game as I ate my burger but just couldn't seem to get involved with two two teams I didn't give a crap about. Julie, however was deeply engrossed in the game and her knowledge of strategy and stats was impressive.
I asked how she came to know so much about baseball. I was afraid she might have taken it as some sexist remark but she simply told me that her ex-boyfriend had been a coach for "The Bull's" and had taught her a lot.
"You said ex and was. Can I ask what happened or is that too personal?" I knew I was on thin ice.
"He's the third base coach for the team on the screen right now. Jim has two obsessions; baseball and sex. His job took care of one of them and I took care of the other."
"So he moved. How come you didn't go with him?"
With a shrug she answered, "His wife wouldn't have appreciated it." I was a little surprised by the direct way she said it. "Now about you. I see the ring, so why are you trying to chat up a barmaid?"
I didn't get a chance to answer before four women in Navy uniform came in and sat at a table. Julie told them that she could take care of them but that she didn't have a waitress on and suggested they just sit at the bar. They shrugged and sat to my right. The one next to me was clearly the leader. "You seemed to be involved in a conversation. We didn't want to interrupt."
I told her it was no problem and perhaps they could elevate the conversation above baseball. I asked what their meeting was about. They told me they were all trauma nurses and this was all about burns. I winced and said I couldn't think of a worse way to go. Julie was listening as she made their drinks. "Is there a good way to go?"
My answer was almost reflexive. "In the saddle is my dream." They all laughed and I was happy to have lightened the mood a bit. We enjoined in conversation, but the two nurses furthest away couldn't hear over the sound of the Muzak and the beer coolers. I invited them to move down and sit to my left. Julie just smiled at how smoothly I did that.
To my far left I had a skinny blond, small in stature. (I'm sure she would have preferred petite.) Next to her and to my immediate left was a busty redhead. She had the type of body that one just knew would eventually turn to flab but right now looked like fun to play with. If I was to compare the two I would say that the blond was built for speed and the redhead for comfort.
To my far right was a very black girl with a bit of Jamaican accent. I hadn't seen a lot of her but she appeared to have a moderate figure except for her butt, which could only described as full and round. To my immediate right was a Latina who was lithe and extremely sexy. Her whole demeanor said "fuck me."
I learned that the blond was stationed in San Diego. The redhead and black were ship-bound and couldn't say to where. The Latina was stationed at Bethesda. She was a little older and a Commander. The rest were Lieutenants. I told the Latina that I got to the Bethesda area often and we discussed some of the restaurants in the area. We both favored the same sushi bar and a few other places. I felt her knee touch mine and she looked at me and smiled. "Perhaps the next time you are there we could go for sushi at Matuba?" She wrote her name and phone # on a bar napkin and put it in my shirt pocket. As she stuffed it in her fingers actually pinched my left nipple. She knew exactly what she was doing and I could catch the pheromones oozing from her. She actually shifted on her stool.
Julie changed the subject back to death. "Is that really possible to die in the saddle?" The redhead said she was sure it was.
"Was it the saddle or the holster?" We all looked her blankly. "The saddle is regular sex. The holster is oral." That cracked us all up. Julie directed the next question to the redhead. "How do you know it's possible."
"I did a stint in the morgue when I was interning. It was my job to give the bodies a preliminary exam when they came in. If a guy came in with a condom on there was little doubt." That made us all howl. "Sometimes guys would come in with 'stiffies' and I had to check and see if there was any telltale residue. It happens more than you think.
