It had been a long day and I was happy to see the line growing short. I love book signings, but I'm usually pretty happy when they wind down to the last few stalwarts and I know I can finally stop being "on". I surveyed the line and only saw five more people and knew the end was in sight. The third to last person handed me the book and said, "Hi Mister M. Will you sign my book?"
I looked up sharply and saw my young neighbor from home, Lena.
"Lena? What are you doing here?"
I knew the answer to the question before I'd finished asking it. She was going to school at McGill. But I certainly had not expected to see her and my mind spun as I made the connections.
"I go to school here. I'm a junior. Remember? Anyway, I came to your talk this afternoon and now you can sign my book," she said cheerily.
The book, my third, was doing quite well and I had decided to take September, the first month of my sabbatical, to tour the east coast, giving talks at colleges and bookstores and attending these book signings. My publisher was happy to have me out on the road pushing the book and I was pleased it seemed to have legs and was apparently selling pretty well.
I teach sociology at a college in Providence and write as both a requisite for my tenure, but also, quite honestly, for the income. It was fortunate that my topic, how the new generation of video games is affecting our youth, had a great crossover appeal. My travels had taken me up and down the eastern seaboard and I was stopping in Montreal for my last stop before heading back to Rhode Island. My talk that afternoon had been very well-attended, but I must say I had not noticed my pretty young neighbor in the audience.
"Lena. Let me finish up with the few people left in line and then we can talk."
I signed her book, she nodded eagerly, and stood off to the side while I finished up with the last person in line. I could feel her eyes upon me as I signed the last book. I pushed back from the table, stood up and walked over to greet her.
"Lena. What a pleasure to see you."
I gave her a gentle hug and leaned back, holding her elbows to look at her closely. She was a lovely young lady and had matured considerably since leaving for college.
Lena and her family had moved next door to us about seven years earlier. She'd been in the eighth grade at the time and she and her younger brother brought some much–needed life to our end of the street. From what I'd been able to garner from conversations with her parents her father was of European descent, but her mother, Tina, was from Cali, Colombia. She was a looker in her own right. I had ventured down to Colombia in my late twenties and a two-day stay in Cali had proved a legend I had heard over the years: that the women in Cali were some of the most beautiful in the world. Tina, now in her mid-forties, was a testament to that truth, and her daughter was living proof of the superior genetics from that small area of the world.
I had watched Lena grow up and she had occasionally done odd jobs for us or cared for our pets when we were away. The boys had flocked to her house during the high school years, which was certainly no surprise given her looks and personality. She'd done very well in school and had chosen to study foreign languages in Montreal. Her sophomore year was spent abroad, so I had not seen her since the summer after her freshman year. She was now a twenty year-old co-ed and drop-dead gorgeous.
"Mr. M., it was so much fun to listen to you speak today. You had such an amazing presence in front of all those people. I mean, I know you're a professor and all, but it was really cool to see you lecture. I hope you don't mind my coming?" she asked quizzically.
"Lena, don't be silly. It's wonderful to see you. You look like life is treating you well. How do you like McGill and Montreal?"
As Lena spoke I took in this magnificent young creature. She had always been very pretty in an exotic sort of way. But even though she was only twenty, she had a sultry sophistication about her that was intoxicating. I'd be lieing if I said I hadn't fantasized about her in the past.
She stood about 5'-5" and had a dark bronze complexion. Her hair was black, thick, and wavy and had always been kind of wild. It was longer now then when I'd last seen her and pulled up and over her head, accentuating the fine line of her delicate neck. She had a very beautiful face with big expressive dark brown eyes, lovely arching eyebrows and perfect full lips. She could look serious and sultry or flash her incredible smile and totally transform her appearance. To say she was an extremely attractive young lady was an understatement.
She spoke in a somewhat husky voice that I found quite evocative. She had a quiet intelligence and an underlying sexuality to her personality. I'd often envied the young men that came to her door during her high school years, wondering if they were fortunate enough to kiss her or touch her or, perhaps, do even more with her.
She was wearing a pair of tight tan jeans, riding a bit low on her flaring hips, barely exposing her well-toned stomach. Her sleek black top had several buttons open at the neck. I could see her upper chest and a lovely gold necklace that lay on her dark skin. Her open-toed high heel sandals made her a few inches taller and accentuated her regal stature. Her body was exquisite – slender, but curvy. She had an extremely cute ass and beautifully proportioned legs. I used to love to watch her walk, especially the rear view where I could admire the tight twitch and sway of her butt. Her stride absolutely oozed sex.
I'd always pegged her breasts as large B cups, but they were the kind of breasts that looked rather big in some clothes and small in others. Tonight they looked perfect. Her top was just slightly transparent and I could just make out the black straps of her bra. I felt my pulse racing as I admired her presence.
"Are you heading back home tonight?" she inquired.
It may have been my imagination, or wishful thinking, but the way she posed the question gave me the impression that she hoped I wasn't departing just yet.
"Actually, no. I'm staying the night and heading out in the morning. Usually these shindigs require me to go out to dinner with some bookstore owner or department chair, but tonight I'm on my own. And I'm famished and was going to head down to Old Montreal for dinner. If you're free, I'd love for you to join me?"
Her face brightened with a broad smile. "I'd love to, Mr. M. Thank you."
"My pleasure, I assure you, Lena. Give me a minute to clean up and we'll be on our way."
My mind raced as I cleaned up the table and packed my briefcase. I was going out to dinner in an exciting city with a gorgeous young woman and I tried to comprehend the circumstances and read the clues that Lena seemed to be dropping. Dinner would be the perfect place to feel her out. I felt the guilt of knowing that I was a good ten to fifteen years older than her own father, but it seemed, incredibly, like one of my long term fantasies was rapidly unfolding. We headed out of the bookstore and strolled down Sherbrooke toward Old Montreal.
All the way she talked animatedly about school, the city and her family. I admired her slender profile as we walked. We found a quiet little bistro in an old stone building on Rue St. Antoine and were led to a cozy table in a relatively dark corner of the restaurant. A single candle lit the table. I selected a bottle of French burgundy from the wine list as we ordered dinner, knowing that in Canada Lena was of legal age to imbibe. We toasted our good fortune and waited for dinner. By the time our appetizers arrived, we'd almost polished off the bottle. Our conversation, greased by the comfortable setting and alcohol, turned more personal. I tried to ask casually as to whether she was dating anyone. She quickly deflected the question.
"Not really. A few guys here and there. Nothing special."
Then she got an evil little grin on her cute face. God, she looked incredibly beautiful in the candlelight. She moved her face closer as if she was about to tell me a secret.
"My friend, Sarah, has been having an affair with her English professor. She is so into this guy, it's scary."
