A biker and a gentleman

"When we last left Annie she was being caressed by a man in a leather vest....Let's see what happened"

Soooo, harley man starts chattin' me up!! He looks..well, he looks like a biker and he has one of the thickest Boston accents I have heard in a while. This is the type of man that I would normally smile at and then pick up my phone and pretend to be engaged in some serious conversation with my serious (imaginary) boyfriend. But for some reason I am immediately intrigued with this man. Was it those kind eyes I referred to in my last post? Was it his easy confidence? Was it the way he politely introduced himself and repeated my name twice when I told it to him? Yes, it was all of those things but I was most intrigued by his quiet intelligence. His laid back manner and complete lack of pretentiousness was pleasantly surprising. We fell quickly into an easy conversation about the beauty of Florida and the current disastrous state of politics which then segued into in a very deep and serious analysis about the mechanics and engineering of.........vibrators!

How we got onto that subject I'm not quite sure but the strange thing was that I did not feel the least bit embarrassed by the fact that I had just shared with some strange "harley man" my critique of a certain personal pleasure device. We shared a drink and he asked for my number - I actually said no. I told him that as much as I enjoyed talking to him I didn't know him well enough but if I saw him at the watering hole again I would gladly share another conversation with him. He thanked me, stood to leave and leaned close to my ear and said he would come back and look for me.

The next day (Saturday) I had another "coffee date". Let's call him "Dude". Dude was v-e-r-y mellow.

I don't have much to say about Dude simply because it was almost impossible to carry on a conversation with someone who could barely keep his eyes open. I "jokingly" asked him if he needed a nap, he yawned (twice) and said "yeah". I bought him a cup of herbal tea and walked out feeling like the most boring person in the world.

Where do I go when I am feeling down?? I go to the watering hole! I just wanted a cold beer and some spicy pulled pork sliders before I went home to spend my Saturday night with a crappy Lifetime movie.

The beer was extra cold and the sliders were perfection - Lots of spicy, drippy sauce!! As I am not so seductively licking the remnants of pulled pork from my fingers I feel a hand on my back and hear a think Boston accent saying "I know those wings". I try to grab a napkin to wipe the drippy sauce that I am sure is on my face (sooo very sexy) and knock over a glass of water. I am a walking advertisement for gracelessness and how NOT to be sexy! Luckily harley man is too much a gentleman to point and laugh....he simply smiles sweetly and asks if I enjoyed my dinner.

Once again, the conversation flows freely. Since it is a Saturday night there is the steady stream of regulars coming in and we both take little "breaks" from our talk to greet our friends. This turns out to be a good thing. I am one of those people who feel that you can sometimes learn a lot about someone by listening to them converse with other people. As I watched him chatting with friends I noticed how warmly they greeted him and how he seemed to hang on their every word. Even though we were interrupted quite a bit he always remembered where our conversation left off. Time was flying by and the next thing I knew it was time for me to pick up the blue haired boy from work. I said I had to go.....He asked for my number......I asked him to walk me to my car.....He offered to give me a ride on his Harley to my car......I told him my car was only about 100 feet away.....he said we could take the long way....So I gave him my number, hopped on the back and felt the rush of wind through my hair as we drove around the block to get to my car. I highly recommend this mode of transportation!!

He "helps" me off the bike and leans close....Now, you need to understand that I have not been properly kissed is a very long time. Let's just say that I was properly kissed in the most improper way - I think I actually swooned! He leaves me with a promise to call and the temptation of a long ride the following day.

I will be honest, I did not expect him to call and it really didn't matter if he did. After the conversation and sweet kiss I was feeling pretty good about myself. It finally hit me that although I may not be the youngest, prettiest or thinnest woman, I am starting to like myself again and starting to get back the confidence I had lost. It was a big moment for me and I knew that I had finally turned a corner. I still have a long way to go but I am less afraid of the journey I am taking.

I sleep better that night then I have in months. I wake up, make a cup of tea and take it out to the little deck off my back door. I close my eyes, turn my face to the warm sun and feel tears in my eyes. For once they are not tears of sadness....they are tears of relief that I am finally (although slowly) moving forward, tears of acceptance of the second chance I am getting (even though I didn’t want it) and tears of happiness that I was kissed so well!! I laugh out loud at myself and sit down to enjoy my cup of tea and the beauty of the day.

I hear my phone beep with a text.....it's the harley man. Do I want to go for a ride?

HELL YES!

Next post...."Knees to the breeze and wind in your hair" (thank you to Denise for this phrase)

~Annie