Linda's head snapped up from her newspaper as the hand touched her. No, it grabbed her. Right here on the train, someone was grabbing her ass. Linda stared straight ahead in complete disbelief. Right here, on a packed commuter train in the Nation's capital, someone was feeling her butt. And this wasn't a tentative brush, this was a full palm grip as if her bottom was a basketball. Linda wondered what she should do. She was holding on to a bar for stability with the same hand that held her briefcase, and the other hand held both the Post and her coffee. She stood frozen in uncertainty. She shook her butt sharply to let her assailant know his touch was unwelcome, but the train's lurching may have obscured her intent. Had he interpreted it as a welcoming wiggle?
Linda almost laughed at her decisive indecision. Had this been a club where her hands were free, she would have aggressively spun and confronted him, but here with her hands occupied she didn't really have that option. Besides, her lack of immediate action made taking action now seem out of place. All around her were other people occupied in their own little world, businessmen and bureaucrats, a family of tourists, men and women. Linda turned her head to the right to try and identify the culprit. The nearest man seemed engrossed in his newspaper. There was someone behind her that she couldn't see. The hand moved confidently to her other cheek, and why not? She had done nothing to discourage its assault.
"Interesting story about the bridge, don't you think?"
Linda swung her head to the left to come face to face with her assailant. His groping continued unabated.
"Excuse me?"
"The bridge story," the man repeated, motioning with his chin to her paper.
"Um, yeah," she stuttered with an instinctive smile, stunned at his brashness. Not only was he feeling up a stranger in a crowded subway car, he was also talking to her. She wondered how many other social conventions he was going to violate. At least he smelled nice.
"I was particularly amused at the Undersecretaries' comment on the investigation," he continued.
"I hadn't gotten to that part."
Linda wondered why she was politely smiling at him when she should be telling him off. Instead she just nodded.
"Seems to be a common response from Department people, 'Oh, we are going to investigate.'"
Linda noted his left hand was gripping the overhead bar. Was she being felt up by a left hand or a right hand? She focused on her butt and tried to make out the thumb. Definitely a right hand. She did the mental gymnastics in her head and determined that the man behind her could also be the one groping her. Glancing further to the left she could see another man with his right shoulder angled to her. Could he be the one? She really did not want to make a scene, and certainly did not want to accuse an innocent man of harassing her. The train pulled into the next station, and even more people boarded the train as the hand continued to make a home for itself on her derriere. She tried a sharp shake again, but this one coincided with the train beginning to move and everyone shifting.
"So are you here for the APWA conference?" he asked.
"Yeah, just flew in last night," she replied, trying to look casual as she took a sip from her coffee. "How did you guess?"
"Reading the bridge article on page 18, you're either really bored or in Public Works."
"Kansas Department of Transportation," Linda nodded with a grin, quietly amused that she had decided to resign herself to allow him, or whoever her attacker was, to casually caress her bottom for two more stops.
"Really," he smiled. "Are you here alone?"
Linda seized the opportunity. "No, I'm here with my boss," she replied, motioning behind her. Maybe if he thought her boss was with her he would stop. Unfortunately, he did not take the bait.
"I'm Pete, by the way,"
"Linda, Linda Upton."
"Well Ms. Upton, I'd shake your hand, but yours seem occupied."
"Yeah," she nodded. "And your hand seems occupied with my ass,"
she thought.
"I also flew in Sunday, I'm with Catebury Mechanics."
"Sales?"
"Everything Catebury does is sales," he grinned. "But I'm primarily here to listen, to see what changes we should make to our equipment to meet the needs of the industry."
He was actually decent looking, Linda thought, probably a decade or so older than her. He also appeared quite trim.
"Is this your first conference?"
"Yes, I've only been with DOT for a year and a half."
"Fresh out of school?"
Linda forced a grin on her face. She hated it when people said it like that, demeaning her with her inexperience. "Yes."
"Wildcat?"
"No, Jayhawk."
"Whew, if you were a Wildcat, I'd have to talk some smack."
"Rock chalk Jayhawk," she replied, eyes catching the public service poster encouraging women to report gropers as they pulled into Gallery Place.
Dozens left the train, and suddenly the hand was gone. Linda swallowed, tentatively flexing her gluteus maximus to verify. She glanced back at Peter, who was now standing a little further away, still holding on to the upper rail with his left hand. Peter continued to make light conversation for the next few minutes as they continued to their stop at the convention center.
"Would you like to introduce me to your boss?" he asked, motioning behind her.
"Sure, um," Linda started before remembering her implying her boss was with her. In fact, her boss could afford the Hyatt at the Convention Center. "If I see you on the floor..."
"Oh, I thought," Peter replied, glancing behind her again.
"No, he's staying much closer, didn't need to take the train."
"It's good be the boss," Peter replied with a knowing grin as the doors opened at their stop. "I have to wait for my buddy, he's coming from the other direction. Maybe I'll see you later, Ms. Upton. Good luck."
Linda concurred and nodded with a smile as she left him, joining hundreds of others as they flowed up the escalators and into the convention center. As she walked, she discovered something that surprised her: she was a little turned on. Her mind reeled at the thought that being groped by a stranger on a train had aroused her. Try as she might, she could not deny it, she was aroused. She could feel a dampness in her womanhood and she could tell her nipples were hard. She forced herself to focus on getting back to business, stopping at the first restroom to freshen up.
Linda struggled to pull herself together. There was no point in getting worked up about the past, and there was nothing she could do about it now anyway. Even if Peter was her assailant, it would be pointless to try and accuse him. She took a deep breath and told herself she had allowed it to happen. It was all for fun, another adventure on her first business trip. Like going to Las Vegas, she just played along for the fun of it.
Before she left, she studied herself in the mirror. She thought she looked very professional in her gray pinstripe skirt suit. Her sandy blonde hair was pulled back into a tight bun. The jacket served to minimize her chest, which was still presentable. She checked her rear to verify there were no marks and nodded in approval. She knew she was attractive, especially among Civil Engineers, but still she was shocked to the core that some man would risk groping her. She was even more shocked that she had chosen to do nothing about it. She fixed a smile on her face and headed out.
Linda met up with her boss and joined him on the day's activities. Throughout the day, she was consciously aware of the crowds around her. At any moment, someone could grab her again. In the lines and on the convention floor there was ample opportunity for someone to accost her. Would she react? As a woman, she was in the minority, but there were a fair number of women in attendance. Still, being young and attractive meant she received more than her fair share of attention from the attendees.
Arriving late to one of the talks, Linda found the room already reduced to standing room. There were seats available on the interior of the rows, but sets of people were blocking easy access. The room continued to fill and the moderator asked for the people standing to please take some of the open seats. Linda moved to a row and shuffled across, acutely aware that her ass was wiggling in front of every guy she squeezed past. She wondered if she should have chosen to face them instead. In her mind's eye her posterior had a "grab me" sign on it, and she wondered if anyone would. She managed to get to her seat without incident.
The day finished and Linda left her boss to return to her hotel, arriving without any further events. She changed and went down to the workout room, putting in 45 minutes on the elliptical. Earphones in, the private time in her own little world allowed her to reflect on the morning's events. Linda looked at herself as she ran, her ponytail bouncing. She blew herself a kiss.
"I'm so hot, guys can't control themselves around me," she snickered to herself.
Linda took a shower and changed into casual clothes, a knee length skirt and a nice blouse. After meeting her boss for dinner, Linda returned to the hotel. The conference was holding mixers in several hotels, and one was being held in hers. Although she did not particularly want to go, her boss had pressed the point that they were here to make contacts, and contacts were made at mixers. After delaying as long as possible, she went down to the meeting room that was holding the event. Roughly a hundred people were still there. Her badge entitled her to get a drink, and soon she was pulled into a small group. As she moved around nursing her drink, she noticed Peter was also in the room, sans tie but still in his suit, engaged in conversation with another man. The crowd thinned and Peter noticed her and walked over to say hello. She was glad to see someone she already knew, even if it was under unusual circumstances. As with most guys, he seemed quite interested in her. Linda joined him at the bar and after a brief conversation she finally summoned up her courage.
"Were you groping me on the train today?" she asked, eyes narrowing.
"Excuse me?"
Linda paused and changed her mind. "Forget it, it was nothing."
"No really, what did you say?"
Linda sighed, blushing at admitting to him that she had been groped during their conversation. "Were you groping me on the train this morning?"
"Why yes, Ms. Upton," he grinned evenly, "Yes I was."
Linda's jaw dropped. "Why would you do that?" she sputtered.
Peter sipped his drink with a small grin, his eyes twinkling as he appraised her. "Have you seen your ass? It looks quite squeezable."