She extended her hand, “I’m Mariah.”
“Marcus Klein,” I replied, taking her hand, which was warm and incredibly smooth. She held my hand firmly, but not overly so, and as we touched the first time, I felt an almost electric pulse. I almost pulled back, but she held my hand and moved in her left to cover it.
“I’ve seen you around a couple of times,” she observed. “From the beach, and the workout room.”
“Yes,” I replied. I wasn’t sure what else to say, but I was a bit transfixed by this woman.
“I had wanted to talk to you, and introduce myself. I’m glad I finally got the opportunity.”
“Me too.”
“I’m glad I’ll be seeing more of you this week. Are you based in the states?”
“Yes. Seattle. You?”
“No. I mean, I’m American, but I’m in London most of the time.”
“No kidding? We’re opening a satellite office there at the end of the year.”
“Excellent. Here, let me give you my card. If you’re in town, give me a contact.” We quickly swapped business cards, and she reached out and softly grabbed my hand again, then said “Nice to finally meet you, Marcus,” before walking away. I stood unintentionally staring as her incredible ass swayed down the hall, before pulling myself out of my reverie. As I looked toward the lobby, I caught Jim, no more than 20 feet away, giving me his best amused, raised eyebrow smile.
I walked up beside him, but as he went to open his mouth, I just spat out “Shut up.” He laughed uproariously, and we set out in search of food.
The next day was pretty boring. We had a long talk about funding in the morning, and then a mind-numbing talk about budgets in the afternoon. By the time dinner came around, I was ready to eat my own hand out of both hunger and boredom. Jim and I were heading back down to the burger spot I’d come to several nights ago, when Mariah walked up and matched my gait. “Where you guys heading?” she asked.
“Dinner. Burgers and beers. You want to join us?” Jim volunteered before I could voice an objection. Truth was, I didn’t entirely trust myself around her.
“Love to!” she shot back.
“Great,” I added, trying to keep the fluster and frustration with Jim out of my voice. As we exited the lobby, though, Jim added a thought.
“Yeah. Although this number is uneven. I need a date, since you’ve already got one Marcus.” A date? Was he kidding? Shit, I…
“Wait, I have someone I can hit up, she might be available,” I shot back, and quickly pulled my phone out to text Charlie.
‘Interested in Dinner with me and a couple of friends?’ I typed out. Not even a minute passed before she replied.
‘Yeah, sounds fun. Was going to do something else but gf just canceled on me. Where?’
‘Same place. We’re heading over now.’
‘Cool, see u there.’
“Got a girl coming for you.”
“Damn. Marcus, that’s why you’re my partner and bestie,” Jim shot back. “You get shit done.”
“It’s just a gal I met the other night. You’ll like her, she’s spunky.”
“Oooh, spunky. I like it when they know what they want. She ride you well?”
“Don’t be ridiculous, fucker. You know I wouldn’t go there. Especially now.”