Into the Blue

Justin was devouring his steak and chasing it with beer and ginger ale. An unusual pair but his philosophy was that the ginger ale would counteract the sleepy effects of the beer and help keep him alert. He was enjoying his solitude when he sensed the presence of someone standing in front of his booth. He recognized the perfume and there was little doubt even without looking that it was Ms. Fanelli. Justin kept chewing, as he looked her up and down. He had to admit she looked good and that fashion sense of hers was paying off. She wore a short black dress with a plunging neckline that left little to the imagination. There were plenty of stares as she walked in and a couple of whistles. “Can I sit down?” She asked with one hand on her hip and the other holding a purse on her shoulder.

“I think you better for the sake of propriety,” Justin eked out after swallowing. “What are you doing here?” He asked.

“Looking for you obviously,” Belinda said as she brushed the black hair off her face, placed both hands on the table and leaned forward smiling.

“You know if I had wanted company I would have asked you to join me,” remarked Justin as he downed a large swig of the dark beer that he liked.

“Am I that repulsive?” asked Belinda with the smirk that Justin had learned to recognize.

“You are beautiful as always but I’m not much of a conversationalist tonight. You could have had a better time with someone else,” Justin said.

“Why don’t you let me decide that and besides I’m not looking for conversation tonight,” she said flirtatiously. Justin stared at her and shook his head in bewilderment. Belinda liked to party at the drop of a hat and she liked to party with him. He knew what the progress of the evening would be but was either unable or unwilling to stop it, and more than likely the latter.

“Are you hungry?” Justin asked politely.

“In a way I guess I am,” she said with a grin.

“Here’s a menu then,” Justin said as he handed it to her.

“I didn’t say I wanted to order,” as she passed the menu back.

“Interesting,” Justin said as he leaned back in the booth.

“It could be, I guess it is up to you sport,” she said as she ran her fingers down the neckline of her dress and tapped her rather ample cleavage that was showing.

“I will probably regret this in the morning but I suppose life is full of regrets.” Justin threw a twenty-dollar bill on the table, finished his beer and got up to leave. Belinda followed closely behind and took his arm as they walked down the street. Driving back to his apartment he saw that she was in fact a stunning beauty as he had remembered from previous dates when she dressed to the hilt and his sexual desire for her was as great as it had ever been. So, what was holding him back? Why shouldn’t he fall in love with her, get married and live happily ever after. Why, because, that was the stuff of fairy tales and real life could be quite different. Besides his career aims could easily trample a marriage and lead to divorce, an ex, alimony and all of the rest, which was not something with which he wanted to complicate his life. Belinda was a fine girl and any man would be thrilled to have her as a steady mate and Justin never doubted that. She was beautiful, incredibly well-built and enticing in all of the physical ways that arouse a man and start the fires of passion burning, about that there was no doubt. He saw how other men ogled her when they were together and he knew that they saw the same things that he did. In addition, and somewhat to his surprise, she was fiercely loyal to him and no other, at least that is what she told him repeatedly and he believed her. He often wondered what she saw in him, as he knew that he was a long ways from the cover of GQ but as a wise man once said, if something good comes your way don’t poke it with a stick. It wasn’t really a wise man but Justin overheard that once in a conversation between two people in a café and he thought it was a good piece of advice for anyone. Whatever the reason, Belinda had set her sights on him and he wasn’t exactly complaining.

Inside his apartment Justin poured two glasses of cherry wine. White wine for fish, red wine for beef and cherry wine for sex was Belinda’s motto. He and the sexy fashion editor had tangled in the web of love before and wine was frequently the catalyst. After a couple of glasses Belinda moved in for the kill. It was she that always seemed to make the first move. Justin never had to worry about being too aggressive or about taking advantage of the situation. It was always the raven-haired hellcat who got things started. Sometimes she would grab him from behind and remove his pants or begin by teasing his nether regions. Whatever her tactic it always resulted in the same thing. On this particular evening she used the tried and true method of full frontal assault, grabbing him and kissing passionately. She was Italian and never tired of reminding him of it. Only Italians know how to make love she would say and Justin’s past experience with her convinced him that she was probably right. He held her close to his body pushing himself between her legs and she smiled as always when he did that. They both stopped and looked at one another before looking to the bedroom door at the same time. Well, the career would be on hold for tonight and whatever happened tomorrow with Eddy’s big story or the latest Paris trends, nothing would keep the two of them from enjoying each other tonight.