Her Rich Mature Lover

Chapter 2

Trina had spent most of the evening in her bedroom taking her precious time to get ready and still ended up having to wait on Alexis. It was sheer torture as she hated waiting on people and the television did nothing to alleviate her upset at having to wait on Alexis to finish getting ready. She couldn’t help but feel that Alexis was going to be late for even her own funeral.

The first thing she did when she arrived at the gala after checking in was to help herself at the buffet table. Then she went to the nearest alcove to sit on her bench and have her dinner.

Alexis had been in a tizzy from the moment they arrived, greeting acquaintances from her art classes from the nearby university. She wielded her flute of champagne like the social butterfly she was as she worked her way up and flittered through the crowd. The ballroom was crowded and Trina watched the people trying to categorize them into curiosity seekers, dealers, consultants, museum curators and private collector’s but was having little success as they all looked the same to her. Trying to do exactly what Alexis had taught her in order to help her try and catch the big fish but was having little success.

 People had paused here and there to examine carefully arranged groupings of art and antiques and to make inquiries about origin and value. The auction house representatives walked around getting new persons to sign up for the auction and handed out individual numbers to those wanting to bid.

Now that the feeling of fullness after eating such a hearty meal had passed. Trina felt it was time to view the different exhibits for herself. So that when Alexis brought up the gala for discussion later she would have some clue what she was talking about. She passed a row of statues that seemed to be leading her towards a painting. The place was massive and even though the crowd was large she still found herself alone in a corner staring at a paining that echoed her mood.

 She had been concentrating so hard on the painting that she hadn’t noticed his presence until now. Her first impression of him was that he was impeccably dressed, everything about him screamed wealth and affluence. He too stood before the painting, just staring and not saying anything. She swallowed a large gulp of wine in a bid to calm her nerves, something about this man had thrown her emotions out of whack. Was it possible he had caught her staring at him earlier? She couldn’t exactly place his age, he was by no means a pretty face but how he filled out his tailored suit showed that he exercised and had some interest in maintaining a healthy lifestyle.

His body looked lean and hard, maybe he did some form of martial arts, he had that kind of build. No doubt his legs were as powerful as his shoulders were broad. She couldn’t tell his age he could be twenty or thirty years older than her now. So what? Maturity was a good quality in a man. The guy was probably in his mid-forties more than likely but definitely not in any danger of going soft. She loved that there was a lean, hard quality to his body. His masculinity was defined by his aura none of that weak sappy outlook on life. He looked like a man that when he saw something he wanted he wouldn’t stop going out of his way to get it and right now she was on his radar. His hair had started to gray at the edges but he was still by far the most interesting man she had seen all night. The gray hair just added to his allure and gave him a more distinguished look of maturity and wisdom. Something she felt men nowadays lacked which is why she went out of her way to avoid the opposite sex. He oozed raw sensuality, she practically stopped breathing when they made eye contact and he saw that she had been watching him instead of the painting.

This growing attraction needed to be nipped at the bud, feeling this way for a stranger should have felt alien and absurd not so shockingly intense that she felt herself happy that he was just as aware of her as she was of him. She was here to support Alexis, she reminded herself not to pick up men. She made a quick glance at his left hand to see if there was any indication of a ring, not that it was any telltale sign as to whether a man was married or not since men lately have opted to not wear their rings, it was hard for a single girl nowadays. Trina waited breathlessly wondering when he was going to break the ice by saying something first because if it was up to her it wasn’t going to happen anytime soon.

“So what do you think about the painting?”

“It’s interesting. It reminds me of ice cream.”

He laughed. “Ice cream, it’s the first I’ve heard that take.”

“Maybe it’s because I haven’t had any in a while, seeing that the painting is mostly white with the odd brown and red. A vanilla ice cream sundae came to mind with chocolate, some grated peanuts and topped with a delicious red cherry.”

“You are making my mouth water. I too haven’t had any ice cream in ages. How about when this function is over you let me treat you to some, my treat.”

“Sounds like a plan.”

“Here I am asking you out on a date and I don’t even know your name?”

“It’s Trina Sayers, what’s yours?”

“Nice to meet you Trina, I am Damon Arlington. I take it this is your first time at this kind of event?”

“Is it that obvious?”

“Not to the untrained eye.” He winked. She loved his quirky off beat sense of humor.

“Speaking of eyes, I’m supposed to be keeping an eye on a friend and I have no clue where she is.”

“What is her name?”

“It is Alexis.”