Age is Just a Number, Isn't It?

For his part, Matt noticed every detail of Kaleigh and not a single movement escaped his curious eyes. "Well, how about we split that chocolate cake?" he asked.

"That sounds perfect, I'll just have a taste, so you can have most of it to yourself, " she smiled politely as she answered. As the feeling of the empty bar sank in, Kaleigh realized that she had forgotten about her plans to go home. She picked up her phone for the first time since her and Matt started to talk and looked once more for flights and hotel rooms.

Matt did not interrupt her at first, as he could see a worried look form on her face. Her eyebrows pinched together and that formed small dimples on her forehead between her eyes. But as her concern seemed to grow, he asked, "still having trouble getting out of Miami?"

"Yes," her answer was long and distracted, as if she barely heard him. Her thumbs frantically tapping away on her phone. "Ugh," she grunted, "nothing is available until Monday. What the heck am I supposed to do until Monday?"

"Enjoy the sun," Matt tried a touch of humor to ease her obvious tension.

"Well, yes, great, but I have nowhere to stay, the closest hotel is about 20 miles away from the airport, and I need to be on an early flight Monday so I'm going to have to get up at some ungodly hour to make it to the airport on time." Kaleigh's voice cracked a bit as she spoke. It seemed the reality of her situation was hitting her all at once.

Matt watched patiently as the dessert came. He looked at the bartender and quietly ordered two Irish coffees. As the bartender walked away, Matt began to ponder the obvious solution he could offer Kaleigh. "She needs a place to stay, is it too creepy to offer her this? I can be a perfect gentleman, she is going to think this is a bad idea and run off at my creepiness isn't she?" As that final thought entered and then left his brain, Matt reached over and gently placed his hand on Kaleigh's forearm. The soft fabric of her blouse folded neatly under his hand, and he felt the toned form of her shapely arm. The touch sent a tiny jolt through Kaleigh as she looked up from her phone with a half smile that was obviously trying to hide some serious worry mounting within her.

"Kaleigh, look, I know how this is going to sound, but let me just offer you something. I have a two bedroom condo right upstairs. You can have your own room, just for tonight at least until you can figure out the next few days. I promise, I will go straight to my room and not leave without your permission, if you like. You can have the run of the place. Or you can stay in your room, I will totally leave you alone. I have free WiFI, you can use the gym." He started to hear himself and he knew that he was rambling. Worse, as he looked at Kaleigh she seemed to be staring back at him as though he had six heads. But she didn't pull her arm away and run away.

Kaleigh, meanwhile, looked up from her phone, and feeling Matt's warm hand on her arm watched him ramble. "He is really sweet, look at him trying to be a gentleman," she thought. A smile instinctively formed across her face.

"You're smiling," he said. "Why are you smiling, this is ridiculous right? What am I thinking, you on the other hand must think I'm some sort of creep, right?"

Kaleigh placed her other hand over Matt's. She immediately felt the warmth of his bare skin fill the palm of her hand. His skin was surprisingly taught and she noticed immediately. Her hypnotic eyes looked softly into his as she spoke. "Matt, I don't think you are a creep, that is an enormously kind offer." She paused, could she really accept to stay with him she thought to herself, as a knot in her throat complimented the butterflies forming in her belly. She knew it wasn't the salmon, because it felt like, like, she couldn't believe what she was thinking. It felt like high school. Her mind started to spin as she held her gaze, she needed to buy some time.

She looked at the bar and noticed a chocolate cake had arrived along with two forks, and the two Irish coffees. She reached for one of the forks and handed it to Matt. "So, tell me about this condo, is it some kind of southern bachelor pad, man cave or something?" she smiled playfully, taking a sip of the coffee while trying to act calm while her stomach was doing back flips inside her.

Matt froze at first. She is really doing a number on me, he thought. He reached for and also took a sip of his coffee. She is still here, so that's good, I suppose. Accepting the fork from Kaleigh, he cleared his throat to try and make the dry lump that settled there go away and then said, "well, no not either of those things, I actually got it as part of the divorce several years ago. I got it so our families could come visit us when we retired, but that obviously never happened." Matt then reached down and took the first bite of the chocolate cake. "You should try some of this, it's outstanding actually."

"I'd love to," Kaleigh responded, trying to hold back laughing right in Matt's face. "But it would be easier if I had my arm back."

Matt looked down and realized his hand was still on her arm. Mortified, he slowly removed it. "Yes, of course, sorry about that." he said.

Brushing the incident aside, Kaleigh tried to help Matt forget it, "don't worry about it," she said matter of factly, "now tell me more about this condo," she continued reaching for a piece of cake herself with her newly freed arm and hand.

"Well," Matt replied, "it has two bedrooms."

"You said that," Kaleigh smiled playfully. His concern wasn't lost on her. He's different, she told herself as those backflips in her stomach were intensifying.

"Right," Matt continued blushing a little, "and they each have their own bathroom. There is a kitchen, although I never cook, plenty of wine stored in the cabinet, I do drink a bit there, and it actually has a jacuzzi." Feeling he was rambling, he stopped talking to take another piece of cake.

"A jacuzzi," Kaleigh said smiling as she unfolded and refolded her legs in the other direction. She thought that this must be driving him nuts as she laughed to herself. She took another bite of cake, sipped more coffee, gently placed her fork down, and leaned back in the chair. She then flipped her hair back over her shoulder, her most flirtatious move of the night so far. She looked down and had noticed that the hem of her skirt had ridden up her leg a little more than usual but she didn't do anything to adjust it as she could feel Matt's eyes almost burn through her nylons. "Matt," she said, "it sounds like a nice place and I really appreciate the offer."

Matt looked on, waiting for the other shoe to drop. Here comes the inevitable "but" he thought as he took another sip of coffee.

"But," she said, "I'll only accept if you let me pay for dinner. I can expense it and that is the least I can do since you are being so helpful to me."

Stunned, Matt froze a minute and enjoyed Kaleigh's pretty smile, as the words left her lips. Should I ask her to repeat that, I'm not sure I heard her right, he thought to himself. I better not, let's go on the assumption it was a yes. The lump in his throat now twice the size it was before, made it hard for him to say the next words, but he managed.

"Ok, great, yeah, sure, I'm always happy to have firms like yours pay the bills once in a while," he replied laughing nervously, then took one last sip of the coffee.

Kaleigh then got the check, and paid. They left about a third of the cake uneaten, but finished both coffees, as they got their bags and retreated back to Matt's condo which was on the 10th floor. She saw that he had to swipe his card in the elevator before he could push the number on the elevator.

They quietly rode the elevator with a few other guests, and then got out at the 10th floor. Matt led the way to his condo, opened the door and showed Kaleigh to the spare room. "So, this is it, you have this whole area to yourself and the bathroom is right there, I'm going to get some towels for you out of the linen closet, I'll be right back."

As Matt stepped away, Kaleigh lifted her luggage onto a small ottoman in front of the queen sized bed and opened it. She was thinking it would be great to change into some sweats and started leafing through the bag. She found her small make up bag which was fasten with a clip, and placed on the side of the bed, and as she continued to look through the bag, she realized all she had packed for this trip was work clothes, running clothes, which were all now very smelly, and a flimsy pair of purple satin shorts and camisole set she brought to sleep in. She wasn't changing into that, she knew.

As she contemplated staying in her work suit, Matt stepped back into the room which startled her a bit and as a result, she accidentally swiped the small make up bag onto the ground as she turned toward him quickly. The fall forced the bag to open. Nothing that could stain the carpet spilled except for Kaleigh's pride as a small pink vibrator she packed slid out and rolled across the carpeting landing a few feet from Matt.

They were both stunned but Kaleigh was speechless as her face reddened to a deep rosy hue. If she had worn blush, this is what it would look like. Her hand rose to her forehead in disbelief. Matt noticed immediately and said, "business trips suck for all of us. We do what we can to pass the time alone, you know. If you only knew about what I, uh nevermind, you don't want to know. Here are your towels, you look like you can use some more wine, I'll pour two glasses, and if you want to join me you can, or you can take your wine in here and relax for a bit." Matt, then simply walked past the vibrator, as if nothing out of the ordinary had happened and put the towels on the edge of the bed. He made nothing more of the incident and walked back out of the bedroom.

Amazing, she thought to herself, he turned that whole thing around. The fact that her vibrator was on full display was forgotten about for a minute while Kaleigh appreciated Matt's recovery. God, he is really cute and could not be any nicer, she thought. Then, looking down in sheer horror at the vibrator, her mind went into attack mode. You freaking idiot, she said to herself as she collected the toy, the bag and a few other items from the floor and placed them back in the bag.

Kaleigh then stepped out of the bedroom in all her work clothes except her black pumps. "Is it still ok to share that wine with you," she asked.

"Of course," Matt replied. "But you're so formal, I thought you were a lock for some sweats," he added.

"Yeah, that Columbia education didn't really prepare me to pack for all occasions, let's just say that my only choice was work clothes or sweaty running clothes." She wasn't going to mention the satin sleepwear, especially not after Matt had already seen her vibrator.

"Well then, work clothes it is," Matt said as he handed Kaleigh her glass of wine and reached out to clink their glasses together. Kaleigh returned the gesture. "That's sweet but feel free to get comfortable, you don't have to stay in work clothes just because I don't want to wear lingerie."

"Excuse me," Matt smiled, raising his eyebrows, mildly shocked at what he thought he had heard.

"Never mind," Kaleigh said, her face flush again and trying to change the subject, she turned away from Matt, and thought to herself, "what is that matter with you?" From Matt's point of view however, she looked calm and nonchalant as she tried to peered through the partially open vertical blinds across the room and asked, "is that a veranda?"

Letting Kaleigh move on, Matt responded. "Um yes, with a small couch and coffee table, it's actually quite nice, it looks over a small marina." Matt led the way again, unzipping his sweater vest and leaving it in his wake on one of the chairs. He then opened the vertical blinds and then stepped through the sliding glass doors, he offered her seat first and then followed. The couch was just big enough to fit two people, but neither Matt or Kaleigh seemed to care anymore. Kaleigh could feel the cool floor of the veranda through her nylons and on the bottom of her feet. It was a contrast to the warm plush carpeting of the condo.

"It is really beautiful here, Matt," Kaleigh said as she admired the view of the marina, the bright stars and the full moon on the horizon. The humid air was filled with the scent of the sea adding to the ambiance of the night.

Matt, then said as looked directly at Kaleigh, and completely ignored the view, "yes it is."

Kaleigh felt his gaze again, still mortified over the vibrator and lingerie comment, she tried to stay calm. She moved her eyes down to her glass of wine that was resting on her lap. Her feet were planted squarely on the cool floor of the veranda, and her hands clasped the wine glass at the top of the stem. There wasn't a hair flip this time, or the subtle tucking of hair behind her ear. She just looked down timidly and said, "I can't imagine what you think of me right now."

Matt watched Kaleigh's embarrassment culminate on the veranda. His heart sank. Here was this smart, successful, beautiful young woman, with her whole life ahead of her, worried about what he might think of her.

He needed to reassure her, and help her not feel what she was feeling. He pulled his one hand away from his wine glass and brought it to her chin. He placed his thumb and forefinger on her soft skin and gently pulled her face toward him. "Kaleigh, we've only met a few hours ago, but from where I sit, you have nothing to be worried about. You know what I think of you?" he asked.

"What," she whispered nervously, still embarrassed, but holding her gaze into Matt's deep brown eyes. He is so sweet she thought as she anticipated what Matt was about to say.

"I think you are an incredibly intelligent young woman, with a bright future. You are beautiful, and kind, and you aren't interested in handouts, thank you again for dinner by the way. That stuff in there is just life, well life and sex, I suppose." He laughed quietly, which made her let out a small laugh too.

"Everybody's got stuff, well not vibrators and lingerie," he smiled.

"Stop," she said blushing but not able to hold back more laughter.

"Look, what I mean is, we all have stuff we do in the privacy of our own homes or hotel rooms. It's nothing you should ever be ashamed of. And if you're around people that make you feel that way, then you shouldn't be around them." His hand still on her chin, he continued to look right into her eyes, and then he said softly, "you can be whoever you want to be, and I promise you, whoever you chose to be will be spectacular."

Tilting his head in jest he then said, "except, you will need a travel agent, because you suck at making travel plans," he quipped as he rested his shoeless feet on the coffee table. His athletic socks now on full display as he leaned back on the couch and playfully bumped his shoulder into hers.

"Shut up you jerk," she replied as she playfully slapped his chest. When her hand met his chest, she realized the tone of Matt's body. It was unexpected, even though she remembered thinking earlier that he was in good shape, but damn his chest was hard, she thought. But then, as she herself rested back on the couch, her face fell back away from Matt's hand and her nylon covered feet made their way to the coffee table. "Thank you, Matt, that was really sweet," she said softly as she looked at him intently.

His hand had fallen to his lap but he held his gaze into her hypnotic eyes. The smallness of the couch meant that as the two were face to face, they were literally inches from each other. Still holding their wine glass on their laps, their lips slowly moved closer to the other's.

"Matt," Kaleigh whispered, "I've never been with an..."

"Kaleigh," Matt quietly interrupted, bringing his hand softly to her cheek and letting the tip of his thumb caress it gently, "you are simply the most beautiful woman I've ever been around."

Their lips met and Matt could immediately taste Kaleigh's freshly applied lipstick. His hand slid gently behind her head and his fingers weaved slowly into her thick wavy mane. Kaleigh's hands meanwhile rested on her wine glass. As her lips met his, she felt a tingle run through her body. Her mind raced, is it the wine, the Irish coffee, the ocean breeze? Stop, she told herself, Matt is amazing, relax you idiot, just be you. Let yourself go, she told herself.

Matt opened his mouth slightly and let his tongue slowly penetrate hers. She opened her mouth and greeted his wet tongue with her soft one. Quietly moaning her kiss, she let her tongue dance with his as shivers ran up the back of her neck.

They kissed for several minutes, Matt had eventually put his wine glass down and cupped her cheeks in his hands as he continued to kiss her lips softly, letting his tongue occasionally dance with hers. His hands moved down to her shoulders, feeling the taught toned arms under his hands as he moved to kiss her neck, on one side first, then then the other, gently nibbling on both ear lobes tasting her sweet skin and feeling the two pearl studs pierced into each ear. His mind was racing, and he could feel the blood flow down between his legs. His muscle there was reacting, swelling, and had begun to throb. Kaleigh let her head tilt back and opened her neck up to Matt's kisses.

Kaleigh the gently pulled back. "Matt, she said, "that was really nice." She added as she let her body lean back away from him. Her mind started racing as her stomach was in knots. She then brought her wine glass up to her lips and took a bigger than normal sip. Am I really going to do this? she asked herself while she drank. I've never been with anyone older than me. I don't know if I have enough experience, what if he wants more than I can give, the questions just kept racing through her brain as she took a few more sips.

Matt looked on intently. Thinking for certain that the night was over and that she was going to bed. He didn't want to force anything and so he just retreated and picked up his wine glass and sipped. He waited anxiously for Kaleigh's next words. But there weren't any for now. After another large gulp of wine, Kaleigh stood up. Ok, I'm not sure what on earth I'm doing, but here goes, I hope he likes it, she thought. She used her leg to push the coffee table a few more inches away from the couch and turned to face Matt.

After resting her now empty wine glass on the table her body stood back up and she slowly brought her hands to the top button of her blouse. Delicately, slowly, she unfastened each one.

Matt was stunned and in awe of what the young beautiful woman was doing to him. No she hadn't touched him physically, besides the kiss. But the way she was carrying herself, taking control, and letting her body's desires feed her actions, he couldn't help contain his arousal. He felt his erection grow inside his pants, the throbbing had intensified.

When Kaleigh had reached the last button before the top of her skirt, she pulled the rest of the blouse out from it so that it fell loose, and now almost entirely covered the black skirt. In that same motion, the top of the blouse fell slightly open revealing her white bra straps and part of her creamy white, freckled chest. Matt continued to be in awe, frozen in place, as he noticed the moonlight pierce through the dark sky and offer a muted glow behind Kaleigh's strawberry blond hair.

Kaleigh reached down and continued to unbutton her blouse until it was completely undone. She then slowly pulled it off her shoulders and let it fall on the couch revealing her white bra that beautifully complimented her creamy white skin and barely covered her perky 32 b breasts. Her hands then made their way to the zipper in the back of her skirt and pulled it down slowly. She could feel her hands shaking as it wasn't lost on her that they were outside overlooking the marina. Anyone looking up could see her as the lights from the condo served as a backdrop to her striptease. She felt more than just her hands react to what she was doing. Her nipples were becoming erect, pushing into the soft lace fabric of her bra, and her panties were starting to feel damp. The warm summer evening breeze caressed her newly exposed back and offered another reminder that she was outside.