Safeword: Storm Clouds(3)

Tonight she was wearing flowing charcoal pants and a tight and clingy lavender sweater. And her shoes, well, her shoes probably cost more than what many of the people in this room made in two or three weeks. So it was no wonder that when she walked through the room towards the bar that almost every man in the room noticed her. She walked behind the bar and asked the bartender a few things before pouring herself a drink, wanting to make it clear that she wasn't just a patron. She picked her drink up and walked back around to the front of the bar, easing herself onto a corner stool so she could observe most of the room.

Kendra noticed three men playing pool who seemed to have a good camaraderie going. One of the men was quite tall, he would probably be at least six or seven inches taller than her, yet he was well proportioned and very comfortable in his skin. She liked the way he moved, the way he observed the pool game and made his shots, the way he looked at this friends, the way he smiled, and the way he laughed. He noticed her looking at him and he raised his beer to her in a relaxed grin, held eye contact until she smiled and raised her drink in return, and then he turned his attention back to the pool table and his friends. She waited until it looked like his beer was getting low and got the attention of his waitress and told her to take the three of them another round and tell them it was on the house and to nod her head back towards that corner of the bar so that it would be clear that Kendra had sent the drinks.

He acknowledged the drink to her when the waitress put them out on their drinks table and relayed the message, but he finished the pool game with his friends before walking over to her.

As she watched him walk over to her she took in his good looks. Light brown hair with golden highlights, and Kendra had a feeling they weren't put there with a bottle but with time in the sun. He had beautiful blue eyes and a perfect nose. He was built like those Abercrombie models with abs that make you want to trace them with your tongue. The body of an Abercrombie model with the hair and grooming habits of a GQ model. Did it get any better than that?

"It seems a thank you is in order, so," he raised his beer a few inches, "thank you."

"You are most welcome. It looks like the three of you have some sort of celebration going on, it was the least I could do."

"Yeah, my buddy asked his girlfriend to marry him last night and she said yes. I'm the last single guy at this point, so my friends kind of insisted that I come talk to you. I was going to, even if you hadn't sent the drinks over."

"And are you single because you are against relationships, or just because you haven't found the right girl?"

He looked thoughtful, but answered casually, "Last year, maybe a little of both. This year, probably the latter. I'm a bit of an adrenaline junkie and I tend to scare most women off once they get to know me."

She didn’t think he was feeding her bullshit, she didn’t smell any deceit in his words. Interesting.

"And with a line like that, some of them will be scared off before they have a chance to get to know you. Tell me, why are you so scary?"

He wedged a foot up on the lower rung of a bar stool and casually propped his hip against the top. "My hobbies include rappelling, kayaking, skydiving, and hang gliding. Three years ago I made it to within a few football fields of the summit of Everest but the weather wouldn't cooperate to let us make an attempt for the summit."

Yep, full of life. Perfect. She wanted to get him alone. She wanted to spend time with that soothing voice, those beautiful eyes, and the scent of sunshine and self assurance and raw male that were mingling together. She wanted to touch him. She wanted him to touch her. What could she say to make that happen? She settled for, "Are you a good hang glider?"

He gave her an appraising look, as if that was an unexpected response and she had just become more interesting. "One of the best. I'm also certified to teach, if you want to learn."

"Do you have the thing so you can take someone on a tandem flight?"



He raised his eyebrows at her. "Yes, I do."



"Take me. Tonight. In the dark."



He took a drink of his beer, giving himself time to think, then responded with, "Too dangerous at night, but I'd be happy to take you tomorrow."

"No deal tomorrow Mister Adrenaline Junkie. I'll go with you tonight, not tomorrow."

Another appraising look and then, "You're serious?"

"Quite serious. The moon is almost full and it's plenty bright outside. I have excellent night vision and the night is calling to me. My name is Kendra, by the way."

"Eric. Nice to meet you. I think."

"You aren't sure?"

"I've been told I don't value life, that I have a death wish. But the opposite is true. I value life enough to fully live it. And now I find myself wondering which is the case with you. Something tells me you're the same as me, you value life enough to truly live it. But I just met you, and before I take you on a night flight I'd like to be sure of your reasoning."