I like being a doctor, but it's taken a lot of time. Time other women might have used to date, get married and have babies. I sometimes think I should have used my time like that, too. Instead of long nights studying there would have been long nights with a lot better memories. I'd like to have wasted just one night studying, have just one crazy memory. I didn't succumb and now at 28 it seems like every relationship is about whether or not you are marriage material.
Not that I had a lot of relationships period. My family was small and distant. Working so hard to become a physician hadn't left much time for anything else. I'd moved around a lot for school, residency, and now to a new town for this job. I had a few friends, but they were hardly what I'd call close. Desperate was the word I'd use to describe how I felt about meeting someone.
When the perky drug rep, Katie, started in about how cute and smart her friend was, I listened to her. Blonde, tall, runs his own business, the image screamed dateable and it has been so long. I couldn't believe I was going on a blind date. As I pulled my pickup into the fancy steakhouse, Luna Ferus, I was relieved to at least be trying.
It was Sunday so I'd had time to prepare for this date. I'd taken my long blonde hair out of its usually boring ponytail and curled it cute. I tried to accentuate my green eyes and even had something that might pass for lipstick on.
I'm not bad to look at 5'8 with a size C chest and an ample ass. I spent enough time running the stairs at the hospital I trained at I had become proud of my legs. So to be honest, I was showing them off too. I was wearing the one skirt I owned, a hip hugging black number with a slit up the side of my thigh. I tried not to go overboard with the slutty and choose a tasteful red sleeveless number. In deference to the cold I also threw on a thin black sweater.
I had twirled a couple times in the mirror to make sure the colors didn't wash me out too much. I'm pale to start with and by the middle of winter I start to look a little too delicate. I was satisfied with my appearance though. Not too china doll, not too fuck me; just right to get a man's attention.
My date had arrived before I did and had already been seated. The restaurant was known for its service and style. It was a maze of several smaller dining rooms to give the illusion of a quaint eatery. As I followed the hostess to one of the back dining rooms I noticed most of them were empty, most be off season. I was surprised by the large party of men seated adjacent to our table. Only one other couple dotted the wall of the small dining room.
"Elizabeth," my date said, as I arrived, "so nice to meet you!" he had risen and was leaning forward to grab my hand.
His palm was cool against mine and a little damp. Katie had been right about him. Blonde and tall, but I got the impression he put more time into his hair than I had. He also had the strangest, most perfect tan. I assumed that came from the inside of a lighted box.
"Jeff, thank you so much for the invitation. I've always wondered about this place. Everyone speaks so highly of it." I used my hands to gesture to the surrounding walls. I really did not want to continue holding that hand when we sat down across from one another.
Sitting across from Jeff I had even more time to analyze him, mainly because he never stopped talking. The way his charcoal grey suit was tailored I assumed he was making money at, what was it he was talking about? Real estate, how could I forget.
After the first course I dropped my napkin and bent to pick it up. As my eyes wandered across the restaurant I caught the eyes of a man from the large group staring at me. Not looking, not glancing, staring with enough intensity to make my outfit feel see through.
I adjusted the slit in my skirt trying to cover a little more leg and glanced over again. The man had absolutely no manners at all. His eyes were roaming my body freely as he grinned at me and then winked. I looked at Jeff, who was continuing on about some Condo with a beachfront view. He was oblivious.
'Well, it wasn't like I wasn't looking for male attention when I picked out this outfit,' I thought to myself, 'I just thought I might have better aim.'
It became a game after that, for me at least. I looked over Jeff's shoulder at the man every couple of minutes, or whenever Jeffery got a little too engrossed in roofline architecture.
The man was tall, even sitting down I could tell. His hair was black and shiny, it hung in waves to just his ear. His skin was the most wonderful color, a golden olive, he just screamed healthy and outdoor active. 'He'd have to be active to get a build like that,' I thought examining his near perfect physique. Even his hands which were sitting on the table appeared large and muscular.
Despite wearing a simple polo shirt and casual slacks, he had an unmistakable air of authority. Evidently he was known at the restaurant, because the staff seemed to fawn all over him. Owner or rich client, I couldn't tell.
I was obsessed with watching Mr. Tall and Dark as I had dubbed him. He was smiling most of the time, but when Jeff reached out and took my hand; I saw his jaw tense. Feigning a cough I pulled my hand back and got a subtle nod in response. What a strange little dance we had going on.
I quickly fell to daydreaming about Mr. Tall and Dark. I imagined those strong arms wrapped around me, that powerful mouth over mine. I imagined wrapping my arms around his strong neck and pulling him close. I wondered if his male anatomy was would be just as satisfying as the rest of him was to look at.
Our little staring contest seemed to take on a life of its own. I only took breaks to make some sort of contact with my dinner date.
The man's dinner companions never seemed to notice his lack of attention to them. They talked and laughed amongst themselves. Mr. Tall and Dark just continued to stare right at me. Occasionally I noticed he said something to the group. All other conversation at the table stopped abruptly when his lips were moving. Definitely a man in a position of authority I decided.
"..did you live, Elizabeth?" came the question from my dinner partner. Having been staring back at Mr. Tall and Dark I missed the first half of the question. Jeff's baby blues were turned right on me and I had no idea what to answer. What came out was, "On the east side." That must have been an acceptable answer because Jeff smiled and started in about how the east side had seen quite the rise in property values.
I shook my head and stared at my half eaten dinner. The best steak joint in town and I can't eat the food because I have to spend all my time sneaking glances at the mystery man. I stabbed into my steak with a disgusted sigh. I'm not even paying attention to the date that was so anticipated. I looked up at Jeff and he continued on about the benefits of a 15 year mortgage. He looked happy, I must be nodding at all the right times.
What I really needed wasn't a man that knew about mortgages. What I needed was a man to slip between my legs and do something. At this point anything would have been acceptable. Even the pitiful fumbling of my high school boyfriends, the last time I dated, was looking like something I'd want to repeat.
'No, no, no,' I chastised myself. Dating is for marriage and that is what I am here for.
I glanced up and was sorely disappointed. Of course Jeff was still there, but Mr. Tall and Dark was gone. Well, at least now I could pay attention to Jeff, except for the irritating wetness down in my underwear. I squirmed in my seat trying to find a position where I didn't feel like I was sitting in a puddle.
"Um, excuse me Jeff I just need to use the women's facilities," I muttered smiling. Jeff returned my smile and stood up gesturing back the way we had come in. He rattled off a series of directions that went in one ear and out the other.
I moved through the restaurant inwardly cursing myself for wasting a perfect dating opportunity with Jeff. Instead, I flirt with some guy I'll never see again. I tried to relax as I walked, but Mr. Tall and Dark had me feeling out of sorts.
I quickly got turned around in the maze of rooms and realized I was lost. In a corner a gaggle of waitresses were clustered together talking excitedly and I stopped to ask for directions. They almost fell over themselves to show me where the bathrooms were. 'Well, this place was supposed to be known for it's service,' I thought to myself.
The bathroom really was an art deco affair complete with individual rooms for complete privacy and a large central mirror for primping. I stood in front of the ornate gold mirror cursing myself and fluffing my curls. Not that it was changing the look at all, I noted.
Suddenly, I was not alone. As he pushed me back into one of the private bathrooms Mr. Tall and Dark closed the door behind him. I was wrong, not tall, huge. His hands roughly gripped my upper arms and forced me against the wall. I squeaked when my back touched the tile and looked up at him. His face was unreadable as his fingers lightly grazed my cheekbone. "This is the ladies room," was all I could think to say to him. He smiled a little as his thumb lingered over my lower lip.
Close up the man smelled amazing, like leather and spice. He was so close I could feel the heat rising off his chest. That was bad, so bad. Suddenly it hit me, I was about to be raped in the women's restroom.
I put both hands on his chest and shoved, hard. He didn't even budge. I opened my mouth to scream and it was covered with his just as quickly. He tasted like wine, heady red wine. His tongue was in my mouth rubbing along my own. I had very little experience with kissing, but even I knew when it was being done right. Tentatively I brushed my tongue against his and was rewarded with a low groan. I savored the feel of his big warm hands cupping my face and cradling my head. I wasn't fighting him anymore, I realized.
He was tempting me with his seductive mouth as he used his body to hold me against the wall. The man was determined and brazenly ran his hands down my body over my waist to rest on the swell of my ass. He started to rub gently, taking handfuls then releasing. My skirt was slowly starting to bunch around my waist. I had curled my fingers over warm hard muscles of his chest. Pectoralis muscles, I reminded myself, as my eyes flew open.
'I am a doctor. I am in a nice restaurant looking for a man to marry. I'm not desperate enough to do it with some stranger in a bathroom,' I thought to myself.
Turning my head quickly away I pushed at him again. He laughed and nuzzled my neck nipping at the skin there. His 5 o clock shadow was rough and I shivered.
Finally, he had succeeded in totally moving my skirt out of the way so it was bundled at my waist. I felt his hands slipping under my underwear and pushing it away. The damp silk slipped down my legs to pool gracelessly at my feet. Mr. Tall and Dark used the opportunity to grab my ass in earnest. He groaned low in his throat as he caressed handfuls of my derriere. I continued to push futilely on his chest.
