The Story

Part One

If she's lucky she'll get to talk to him again. When they first met, she wasn't sure. She was hesitant to allow him anywhere near her barriers, much less past them. Now, now she's opened to him. She thinks possibly that they'll be able to go further than she'd been with any man in years. He was tall. He took her breath away every time she looked his way. He seemed shy, intelligent, mature - everything she was looking for. Wonderful grey eyes. Sparkling wit, strong personality. He was great.

They'd met at a club she frequented. Every Saturday night without fail. She was there, sitting in the same place every week. The first time he came he sat right by her. He was busy talking to a friend of his. Excited conversation, speaking of other occasions when he'd been to this bar. He usually went to the club on different days than she. Must be why they'd never met before.

He turned and she was there. Speechless for a moment she stammered a bit and tried to think of something to say. She wondered if he was single. Smiling, she shook his hand, and said "I'm Gigi."


"Hi Gigi, I'm Cal. This is my friend..."
She interrupted "Jesse, yeah, I know. We work together. Hi Cal. Nice to meet you."

They'd gotten past the introductions. Amazed as she was, she wasn't going to let this one get past her. She wanted to find out more about him. Jesse picked just that moment to leave. He needed to make a phone call. Perfect, she thought, here's my chance. She leveled her gaze at Cal. Smoldering below her seemingly calm surface, she struggled to control her need to make a move. She wanted to play it calm. Gigi decided conversation was the best way to start.

"So, Cal, come here often?" Terrific. Her first real words uttered were one of the lamest lines in history. He just smiled at her benignly and turned to ask the bartender for a drink.

Drink in hand he answered her with another question, "Why do you ask?"

"I was looking for a card buddy. They have a mean game of poker once a week at that table over there." Save. Smooth transition into an actual subject. They now had something to talk about.

"Well, now that's something I could take you up on. I just happen to have a deck in my pocket." Searching his pockets he said "It's here somewhere, I just know it is." Stopping at his left coat pocket he digs deep and finds it. "Jesse told me that they play here sometimes. So, I thought it best to bring my own deck. For luck you know."

Gigi responded, "Why don't we play a short game together first? You know, to get a feel for eachothers' style."

They proceeded to play together this way for half the night. Talking and sipping their drinks. Jesse never came back. They saw him from time to time throughout the night, stopping at this table or that, talking to any attractive woman that looked single.

This is the end of part one. Part two should be soon, but I must sleep now..