“That gives us a lot in common,” I said, grinning to offset the sarcasm.
“Oh, I wasn’t always a geologist. I spent six years in the army after university, but was head-hunted by one of the oil companies. Apparently my military experience was sought after when sending people into hostile situations.”
“Ah, then we might have something in common after all,” I said, smiling sweetly.
“What would that be?” he asked, frowning.
“Being in hostile situations, I’ve experienced a few of them in my time.”
He had the grace to laugh, as if he didn’t see how someone that looked like me could ever be in a hostile situation. I wasn’t about to illuminate him.
“So, what do you do for fun?” he asked. It was an innocent question, but it made me think.
What did I do for fun?
As a soldier, I’d played sport and done lots of adventurous things because I could and that I knew I was expected to do them, but as for things that I did because I actually enjoyed them, I hadn’t done anything like that for too long. I really had to work hard to find an answer that would satisfy him, or me, for that matter.
“I like seeing new places and eating nice food. I used to enjoy water sports, but haven’t had the opportunity to do anything fun for a while. I’ve been rather tied up by my work for far too long.”
“Work can get like that, even when travelling to exotic places, it becomes a bit of a drudge. So, where’s home?” he asked.
Home?
I had a flat in London that I couldn’t go back to. I no longer had a home. It made me feel very vulnerable and alone all of a sudden, and my expression must have reflected that.
“Are you okay?” he asked, concern in his voice.
“Yeah, I’m fine. A bit of a moment, that’s all. I’m between places at the moment. It’s all a bit raw.”
“Oh, I get it, the end of a relationship and now you’re searching for new roots. I’m sorry to pry, but am I right?”
“Sort of. I’m starting a new life and it’s not exactly going to plan.”
“I’ve done that a couple of times, and they never go to plan. Some silly bugger comes along and mucks things up, good and proper. The last time, my then girlfriend decided to dump me while I was abroad, so when I got back, my flat was empty and she’d pissed off, having taken everything. It took me weeks of calls and threats to call the police just to get back some of my possessions.”
“What had you done?” I asked.
He grinned sheepishly.
“What makes you think I’d done anything?”
“It sounds like she was angry, so it stands to reason that you were the one to cause it, rightly or wrongly.”
“I might have seen another girl while I was away,” he admitted.
“You were lucky, then, for if it had been me, I’d simply have castrated you and left your possessions.”
He stared at me for a moment, his smile slipping as he saw I was perfectly serious.
“I reckon you would have done at that. Remind me not to cross you, as I have a feeling you’re a lot tougher than you look.”
“You can count of that, you really don’t want to know how tough!” I said, draining my glass.
“Here, let me get you another,” he said, taking my glass and looking round for a waiter.
He reminded me of several men I’d met in the army. Confident and self-assured, he carried himself was an air of easy arrogance tempered with humour. I’d actually been quite rude to him, apart from threatening to castrate him, and yet he was still interested enough in me to hang around. It made me wonder why, and then it dawned on me. I was one of the few Caucasian females at this party, so as most of the oriental girls were already accounted for, it made sense that he make a play for me.
“White wine, right?”
I smiled my thanks and took the glass he held out to me.
“So, what happened to the last guy to make you so melancholy?” he asked.
That threw me slightly, so I parried as neatly as I could to give me time to think.
“Whoever said it was a guy?”
He looked at me quizzically, shaking his head.
“Nah, I’ve never been wrong before,” he said with a sudden grin.
“Wrong?”
“I can always tell; it’s the eyes.” he said.
“Oh, and what do my eyes tell you about me?” I asked, confused, as Kristi had talked about my eyes. I personally thought them unremarkable, so this was a new experience. Hell, this was all a new experience!
“Okay, they tell me that you’re intelligent, reserved and controlled, but there’s a hidden side to you that you protect well. Although you’re attractive and dressed nicely, I get the impression you’d be happier in jeans and good boots, as there’s a hard side to you that you keep well guarded. There’s a degree of sadness in you that I can’t quite fathom, but it’s as though you’re hurting badly over a deep wound. I can see that you admire beauty in a woman, but it doesn’t do anything for you, sexually, I mean,” he paused to take a sip from his drink as I stared at him, trying hard not to gape.
He smiled at my reaction, or lack of it.
“You see,” he continued, “I watched you with that amazing African girl, and although your eyes reflected a degree of admiration, there wasn’t the magic sparkle of attraction. It was funny, as I could see you almost weighing up whether you wanted to try the other side of the fence, but then you introduced her to that black guy and, well, here I am.”
I struggled, but managed to find my voice.
“Here you are, and that’s very deep for a geologist.”
“I’m a deep kind of geologist,” he replied, smiling at me. “How close was I?”
“Perhaps a little too close for comfort,” I admitted. “So, what do my eyes tell you about what I think about you?”
“You’re not certain. You think I may be simply trying to get you into bed.”
“Are you?”
“Of course, as you’re the most attractive girl here and a man would be mad not to try,” he replied, laughing at me.
Feeling the colour rising in my cheeks, I looked around the room.
“There are many stunning girls here, so don’t give me that shit.”
“Okay, so you’re also unaware of how attractive you are,” he said. “Interesting.”
“Interesting?” I asked, getting a little cross with him.
“You’re in conflict. Your body language shows me you’re confident about most things in life, but not men, or maybe it’s just interaction in general. Am I right?”
I grinned at him to cover my embarrassment. My mind was in a whirl, for I’d not expected this. All I thought I wanted to do was to escape from this place, meet up with Maryanne and go back to being me.
Me?
Who and what the hell was I?
My face must have reflected my confusion, for he suddenly looked serious.
“Hey, if I hit a nerve, I’m sorry, I never meant….”
“No, it’s me, not you. I suppose I’m unused to hearing things that make me vulnerable,” I said.
“Are you okay?”
“Fine.”
“So, I go back to my first question, altered accordingly, how come you’re so melancholy?”
There was a temptation to tell him the truth, but not a very strong one. I settled on a sanitised version.
“I suppose you could say that my old job overtook my life to the point of making me lose who I really was. That’s why I have a new job and am trying to start a new life.”
“And the guy?”
“There was no guy, or girl for that matter. That was part of the problem, as I never seemed to have time or opportunity to fit anyone else into my life. So, you see, I’m kinda inept at relationships, as I’ve never had one.”
“So, what kind of job does that to a girl?”
“I’d rather not talk about it, if you don’t mind, as I’m trying to forget that part of my life.” At least that wasn’t a lie.
We were both silent for a moment, watching the band in the corner.