Ft. Lauderdale

He must have noted my expression change because he smiled. I had to admit his offer held an enormous appeal. I love boats and I loved the Ft. Lauderdale environment, especially the inter-coastal waterway even though I did not know much about it up close.

"Thank you David, that sounds fantastic. Let me think about it a little."

"Sure, no problem."

We finished up the wine and the waiter came by to ask if we wanted coffee or dessert. I was full and David also declined anything else.

"I know a great place where we could have a last nightcap and then I can get you back to your hotel, or we can go back now if you want to get back."

I looked at the time and said, "A nightcap sounds great."

I really was appreciative for the fine dinner, wine and company. I leaned over and gave him a kiss on the cheek.

"Thank you David, this was really fantastic. What a super place you picked out."

He took my hand in his, "Believe me, this was my pleasure. By the way, did I tell you how great you look tonight?"

"Yes, thank you."

I went to use the ladies room and the restaurant was mainly empty by then. By the time I had returned, he had settled the check and asked if I was ready to move on.

"Sure, let's go."

We walked out to the car, this time David got my door, still the gentleman. The breeze felt great again, but this time I let the wind blow my hair a little wild. I closed my eyes as we cruised down the road.

"Do you want the top up Beth?"

I brushed my hair back with my hand. I looked down and saw my dress had blown around enough that from where he was sitting, he could get a pretty good look at my breasts, at least what was not covered by my bra. Also my hemline was up a little higher than earlier.

"No, this is great and I am afraid the damage is done already."

I did smooth out my dress a little, but it is simply difficult to sit in a car with a dress on and not show some leg. Probably the only aspect of the wind blowing me around that did not change much was the front of my dress would puff out allowing a good look from time to time. On the other hand, he seemed to be mostly paying attention to the road. Mostly.

"Well, I don't know about damage. You look great to me."

"Ah, still the charmer. Thank you."

It was probably about midnight by then.

"Beth, have you thought about coming out on the boat."

I had been thinking about that, "David, I would actually love to go out on your boat. Would it be alright if I touch base with you in the morning to confirm after I see how my day is going?"

"Absolutely. You will have a great time."

"I love going out on boats and I have never been out on one like what you have, so I think it would be a real treat. Just let me see if it will work out."

There were two things going through my mind. The first was actually work related – if I had to conduct any more business meetings or if anything was going on back at the office which required my attention. The second was more or less gone by now, whether I was going to feel safe in his company. Out to dinner was one thing, out on a boat is another matter altogether. This concern had been essentially alleviated by him being a perfect gentleman.

We arrived at a trendy looking nightclub right on Las Olas. I could here jazz music from the indoor/outdoor place as David valet parked the car. The valet at least knew him as the 'good evening Mr. Miller' came out upon our arrival.

The place looked to be a combination restaurant and bar but there was no one still having dinner at this time. I guess there were 60 or 70 people total in the place as we walked through. I quickly came to the realization he was a regular here as there were many greetings, waves and acknowledgements as we came up to the bar.

I also quickly realized he was showing me off – the trophy concept again. I mean, what the hell. In a way it was a nice compliment. And again, he was very charming; introducing me to the various people we met. Much too many for me to remember everyone. The place was classy, and the people were dressed appropriately. Even those who were casual looked dressed expensively and trendy. It was also interesting how the widely ages were dispersed, perhaps for the music which was very good. I am not a jazz expert, but the sound was clean and smooth, and not so loud to be obnoxious. Sometimes with a female singer with a nice voice, other times purely instrumental.

David looked at me, "Your usual Beth?"

I let out a big smile. Champagne sounded great, so I nodded.

"A glass or should we get a bottle?"

I laughed, "A glass please, otherwise you will have to wheel me out of here."

That was not entirely true, I was feeling fine and I have noticed my alcohol capacity is surprisingly high to most people. More than one guy has bit the dust trying to get me drunk. On the other hand, I had the impression David could handle his drinking quite well too.

I have to say this part of the evening was really quite nice. It seemed like David knew everyone and people were interesting and interested in 'my story', all of that.

David was with me most of the time. On occasion he would put his arm around my shoulder – I realized it was the 'showing me off' function. It is a very strange thing. I know most of the time something like this would not go well with me. I cannot put my finger on it, but I know the reason it did not bother me here was how charming he had been over the couple of days, he was not aggressive about it, I had the confidence it would stop if I gave him some gesture or whatever. I got the feeling he was perceptive to my attitude about it as well.

So I played along with it. I would cozy up closer to him. I was not returning the gestures and such, for example I was not putting my arm around him in return, but I would look up and smile at him and those we were conversing with so that it was obvious to anyone I was comfortable with the situation.

He gradually became more comfortable as well. At first his hand would be at the top of my shoulder and then he would change from time to time. He started putting his hand down to my upper arm, which moved us to one threshold since the dress was sleeveless. After some more time, I could feel his fingers moving lightly over my skin.

I could not help wondering how much of this was strictly for his own pleasure, or how much was for showing off to the others present. Maybe even for the other women in the bar as much as the men. Maybe the point was to show that even though I was just down here for a short time, "look what I can attract", to give the others some higher degree of desirability. Really I don't know. How can you know accurately what is going through someone else's head?

I violated my own earlier comment as we had another glass of champagne. We had already been there for 30 minutes or so, but we were having a good time and I was in no real hurry to leave. I can go on a short amount of sleep easily as long as I had not drank too much, but we were in no danger of that.

The various people in the place were interesting; some retired successful businessmen and wives, some with the younger girlfriends (how I appeared), some younger people of differing professions as real estate, the whole potpourri.

David could sense I did not object to the little caresses and at some point he put his arm around my waist. I think again he was looking for any adverse reaction from me. I was sympathetic to him wanting to go slow, so at one point I moved in closer and returned the gesture as I put my arm around him. I looked up at him and he gave me a smile. It was almost as if he understood I was a good sport and he appreciated it.

It is possible I have the psychology of the moment off somewhat, but I had the sense that this was his main hangout and he was taking a little chance bringing me there. On the upside, I think he enjoyed my company and there was a chance to show off the hot young blond to his friends and acquaintances. Maybe a little of 'my trophy is nicer than yours' sort of one-upmanship. The downside was that he could have been embarrassed if I was a cold fish. So maybe he deserved a break.

The bottom line was he was a nice man. He carried himself well, was intelligent and had good manners. It would not have been my first choice being brutally honest to hook up with someone that much older than me and I did not need the money or a 'sugar daddy'. He had been a gentleman the entire time I had been with him and he had treated me very well – both respectfully and with his generous attitude on drinks, dinner, etc.

So there can really be no surprise when once in a while David's hand would roam around a little. I cannot say he ever squeezed my ass, but I could definitely sense a movement south or a caress on occasion. I did not want to lead him on, but I also did not mind. He was not being stupid or provocative about it, no groping, so I did not make any attempts to sway his testing.

At one point, he looked over at me, "Are you doing alright?"

"I am doing great, how about you?"

He smiled at that, "Me too."

He leaned his head downward to kiss me and we gave each other a short, light peck on the lips. It seemed perfectly appropriate action and probably further improved his stature with his buddies.

We were probably around 1:30 by then and I had to get up maybe by 8:30 am. He asked if we wanted one more drink and I looked at the time, "that is too much."

He said, "How about if we get one more and we split it?"

The King Solomon solution, but not a bad idea. I could tell he was enjoying the whole thing and did not want it to end yet.

"OK, but then I have got to go."

I excused myself to find the ladies room. Even this late, virtually no one had left the bar yet. David handed me my glass when I returned and then brought his up to mine.

He leaned down and said, "I want to thank you. You are big hit with my friends. Everyone wants to know how I met you, etc."

I got the idea, and I said "I have had a great time, I want to thank you. This has been a wonderful evening."

David replied, "I would like to ask a favor, but you have to agree to say no if you are uncomfortable in any way?"

I did not know what was coming at all, "OK?"

"Would you mind if my friend takes a picture of us together?"

He had asked in such an unassuming way and I realized he had not even needed to ask. What would a person do if someone takes a photo? It is not like we are celebrities or something.

"Of course, no problem."

David said, "Thank you."

"Hey Mark, could you get a picture of us?"

It really was not a big deal. He took three of them, one where we were arm in arm, another where we were in a close up and then another where we leaned in close to each other.

By this time, the place was getting ready to close up, or at least last call was already over. We finished up our drinks and it was time to get going. We said goodbye to some of the people we had talked to quite a bit and we headed out to the car. I think David was beaming.

The valet got my door this time, "Drive carefully Mr. Miller."

We had been standing for much of the last hour, so it really felt good to sit down. It had cooled off quite a bit but it was still warm by my standards.

David asked if I wanted the roof up now.

I smiled back at him, "No, let's try it down unless it gets too chilly."

We headed out and by now it really was a little cool, especially that this dress was light and thin. I really have to say this was a great cap to an enjoyable evening. I had a nice meal, some great drinks and I was not close to drunk, but absolutely feeling no pain. The breeze was blowing my hair around but I did not care. My dress had rode up quite high on my crossed legs, not indecent but I mean a lot of skin was showing. It is sometimes good to be a runner; my toned legs looked pretty good this way. And like before, as the wind fluttered through the car, my dress was billowy enough on top to give a pretty good show if he had happened to look over at the right time. Fortunately when he would have a chance to look over at a stop, the wind would cease and my dress would lay flat.

Sometimes silence is the best conversation and he must have felt that way too as we drove back. At one stop, he held out his hand and I placed mine in it as he gave it a squeeze.

"Thank you David, this was a great evening."

He said, "Yeah, I agree. I really appreciate you coming out to the bar. I could tell all the guys were jealous."

I took it as a compliment, "Well, I had a nice time. I like your friends."

We got back to my hotel. The valet let me out of the car and he must have had a good look at my legs as I exited. Any woman knows it is difficult to get out of a car lady-like unless you are really careful and I was not.

David apparently had no illusions about anything else because he told the valet, "I'll just be a minute."

However, he did walk around the car and took both of my hands in his, "I really hope you can come out on the boat tomorrow, but if you run out of time, I know some other really good restaurants I am sure you would enjoy."

"Let me call you after lunch, but I am sure we can get together for at least something. I would like to anyway."

He smiled at me. It looked clear he was trying to decide whether to kiss me or not. I could see the hesitation, as if he worried by going too far he would jinx anything else.

I did not think it was necessary, but I was sympathetic to his situation and it was not such a big deal, so I said, "Don't worry, it's OK."

He laughed at that, "Thank you."

With that he leaned down and our lips met. Our kiss was not very long and we did not open our lips, but as he took me in his arms, I felt very comfortable.

We had a short hug and then he said, "Sleep well; I hope to hear from you."

"You will. Good night."

I walked back to my room feeling great. A great evening in every way and I was not originally certain I even wanted to go out to dinner with David. That though floated through my head as I thought about whether to go out on the boat with him.

As with the night before, I can not even remember slipping into bed, but I fell asleep fast and slept very soundly.

This was going to be the last day of the conference for me. Most of my business was done. I was going to listen to a couple of talks, call into the office to take care of whatever, and network a little more. The conference went through the afternoon, but I had no intention to stay past noon at latest.

I was still thinking about David's offer to go out on his boat or whether to go out to the beach or see whether anyone at the conference wanted to go out and play golf. I really wanted to go out on the boat, but I was fighting a little bit of nervousness.

The noon lunch break came; the day had been nicely uneventful. I made up my mind and gave David a call.

"Hi David, I told you I would get back with you. But first, I wanted to thank you again for last night, it was really a nice time."

He said, "Why don't you tell me in person? Have you thought about the boat offer?"

"I have. I would like to take you up on it – it sounds like fun."

"Fantastic. When can you come out?" Did you eat yet?"

I said, "I am finishing up at the convention center pretty soon, but I would want to go back to the hotel and change first. It is a little warm for my professional stuff."

David offered to pick me up at my hotel whenever I was ready.

"Would it be easier if I just drove out to your place, can I find it?"

"It's easy Beth. Come out whenever you like."

"That sounds good David. I tell you what, I am going to grab a light lunch here and maybe I can be out to see you by around 1:30."

"Excellent. By the way, it will get hot out there. Wear whatever so you will be comfortable."

I took down his address and directions. I finished up with the conference people and had a sandwich from the buffet table. I made my calls back to the office and everything was going well there. No more excuses.

I went back to my hotel and picked out what to wear and what to take. I selected one of my golf outfits, shorts and a sleeveless pullover. I thought about what he had said about it getting hot today, so I packed up a swim suit and some other small things in a little duffel bag. I pulled my hair up off my shoulders and made my way over.

I could see as I was getting close his neighborhood was upscale. I had not known what to expect, but the homes I passed were probably all over a million dollars in this location.

David greeted me at the door with a kiss on the cheek. "Welcome."

He was dressed more or less as I was. He had on shorts with a loose print shirt. I entered a foyer which led into a high ceiling great room with large windows which looked out on his back yard and boat.

I am remiss in not describing the place. His house was right on the inter-coastal waterway and his boat was parked right behind the house. I knew he had some money but I did not appreciate the scale. His house was incredible – large but really nicely decorated in furniture and artwork. It was truly amazing.

I had returned his small embrace as he greeted me. I looked around and said, "What is it you do again David, mob boss?"

He laughed again, "I already told you I sold my business, but I guess I might have left out it was a rather successful business. Let me show you around."

He gave me a little tour. It was not so impressive that it was huge, rather that the layout was very open so you could see from one end to the other. But the whole style of the building, the attention to detail on things like the kitchen, as well as the expensive looking furniture, etc was really impressive.

I complimented him on his taste in decorating.

"Thanks, I am proud of the place, but I have also had some help with the decorating."

It did not look like a bachelor pad, but it was certainly not feminine. The bedroom had a high ceiling with the ceiling fan; the bathroom was huge with a massive sunken bathtub.

The back yard was not large enough for a pool, but he did have a Jacuzzi that was private from the neighboring houses. Certainly you would notice the houses were close together. After all, the property was really expensive there, so a large yard was not part of the deal.

As we toured the backyard, I got my first close look at the boat. I heard it was 45 feet, but I also noticed was how nice it was. There looked to be a main cabin and there was also a very high up deck for piloting the boat. I guessed you could also do it from inside.

David asked if I wanted something to drink before we headed out.

"That would be great; do you have water or a soft drink?"

He laughed, "I thought you only drank champagne."

I smiled, "It is too early for me."

"Well, I have some for later then."

I asked, "How long are we going to be out?"

He said, "However long you like. Do you have to be back at any specific time?"

"No, no. I am flexible, just curious."

"We can come back anytime you like, but I though to give you a little tour and that would take a few hours."

"Sounds good. I am in your hands."

We finished up our drinks and David said, "There is plenty to eat and drink on board."

He went to the front door to get my bag, "You don't want to forget your stuff."

"Thank you."

We walked out to the boat and he showed me around. It was deceptively big. The very highest level for piloting the boat was open to the air. The main deck had a large sunning area up front, and inside was a wide living area and a main piloting area. There was a large seating area and then an outside back area with more seating. What I had not anticipated was the lower deck which had a bedroom and bathroom with a toilet and shower, as well as a kitchen area with a good sized refrigerator.