From my seat in the corner of the bar, I saw her make her entrance, after pausing almost imperceptibly at the door. She was elegantly dressed in a knee length, dark emerald cocktail dress, which set off her tumbling flame-red hair to great advantage. I noted the number of heads that turned, and watched as the eyes followed her confident walk across to the bar, after she had taken stock of the occupants of the stools. This was a lady who was very comfortable in herself.
Almost immediately I had this mental image of her coming across to me, and standing before me, then slowly unbuttoning the front fastening dress and letting it slip to the floor, while looking me directly in the eye and slowly moving her hips from side to side seductively. As the dress falls, she is standing there in a black basque and stockings, pouting those full lips at me. Just as suddenly, the vision is gone, we are back in the bar –
She selected an empty stool adjacent to a suited businessman in his late 30's or early 40's. There were quite a few of them in there, all probably on their way home, but all stopped off for a 'quick one'. They were in ones, twos and three's around the bar, some talking to each other, other's contemplating their beer or spirit – but all very similar in the business uniform of a suit, collar and tie, with the top button undone, and the tie pulled a bit loose to show it had been a hard day, but they were now 'off-duty'. Ages varied from early thirties to mid-fifties at a guess.
I looked at the guy she had picked – neatly turned out, dark haired and well shaven, probably about 5'10”, and not too heavily built. Asking him demurely if the stool beside him was free, she sat down with his agreement and ordered a beer from the bartender. Not that any red-blooded male would have refused her – with that hair, and the dress, set off by a single row of pearls round her beautiful neck, she could have talked anyone round tonight! There was just a hint of iridescence about the dress, which increased the appearance of understated elegance.
Over the first drink I watched her engage him in polite conversation, no doubt mutually exploring how they'd come to be there, what each did for a living, casually finding out if there were a partner and /or kids in the background, and what they enjoyed doing. Before long, he was ordering her another drink – and it was obvious that the conversation was getting friendlier. I noticed the 'accidental' brush of the elbow, the contact between their knees as she turned to look casually round the bar. I could hear the level of conversation increasing a little, and judging by the smiles and head movements, it was turning a little flirty. Soon her hand was resting on his thigh, and their shoulders were very close, heads inclined together. Short bursts of laughter came every now and then, and through a temporary clearing between the customers, I saw that his hand was resting well up her thigh as they chatted and flirted.
