Halfdan pulled the door of the bar with a groan. The day has been long. Too long for his liking as a matter of fact. First day in this country and he already felt irritated and alone. He should not have let his brother persuade him to go to Germany to expand their empire.
"We have to beat those damn Ragnarssons." It was a mantra for Harald. An obsession. He wanted to be the greatest in the industry...well, greater than Ragnar and his sons. His new idea ? Making his brother travel through Europe because Ragnar had only stayed focused on Scandinavia. The idea was good but the problem was that Harald wished to stay in Norway now that he finally got a loving wife and these long desired children. He knew he was the only one Harald could trust. Halfdan did not really want to do it but he was always willing to please his brother. So, he went: Paris, London, Madrid, Rome...and now Berlin.
He was exhausted and he needed a good drink. When he spotted the facade of the "Monkey Bar", he smiled and came in. A warm and cozy atmosphere greeted him. The place was not too much crowded, which was perfect. The last thing he wanted was some awfully noisy place after the day he had to endure. He made his way to the counter where a smiling barmaid was waiting for him.
"Good evening"
He saw her acknowledging the fact that a foreigner was standing in front of her.
"Good evening, Sir". She answered with a strong German accent. "Would you like a drink ?"
"Yes, please. I'm sure you can give me a strong nice beer." He offered her his most dazzling smile.
"Right away, Sir." She turned around to fix his drink and gave it back to him a few seconds later.
He took his drink and winked at her. Her cheeks slightly reddened. Not really his type...too young, too bubbly but he could use a nice fuck to relax.
Another patron called for her attention and she left him alone with his thoughts.
Scanning the room, he observed the different groups of people in the bar. There were mostly students or young couples enjoying a Thursday night...except for the lady on his left, brooding over a glass of red wine.
She looked lonely and upset. His eyes roamed over her body: dark blonde hair caught in a messy bun, some body hidden under a casual outfit ….which was a pity if you asked him since she appeared to possess attractive curves. Her presence here was definitely not planned. Bad breakup maybe ?
He walked towards her softly and cleared his throat to make his presence known. She turned her head and squinted her eyes at him - soft brown eyes mirroring his. He could tell she was a little bit older than him. He didn't mind at all. He always had a tendency to be more into experienced women. And this one had no cause to be envious of the young ladies around her, quite the contrary.
"Speak English ?" He asked tentatively and she nodded. "Can I buy you another drink ?"
"I'm not going to sleep with you if that's what you want."
Halfdan laughed. "Straight to the point, I like that." Her eyes were telling him otherwise though.
Having always been the one to read people easily, he knew she was attracted to him as he was attracted to her.
"I thought about it to be honest but here's what I'm suggesting. Nothing will happen unless you ask me to."
The ghost of a smile appeared on her face. "That's a little bit cocky, don't you think ?"
"Maybe." He shrugged. "What do you say ?"
He saw her internal battle but the way her eyes were boring into his let him know he had won. She nodded and he waved his hand to ask the barmaid for another glass. The latter gave it to him with a disappointed frown on her face.
"Shall we ?" He pointed a secluded area with comfortable armchairs.
She took the glass from his hands and lead him to it. "I'm Gaby, by the way." She added, sitting down.
"Halfdan."
She tilted her head to the side. "That sounds very Nordish."
"It is ! I'm from Norway."
Her eyes widened. He sensed he had awakened her curiosity. "You're interested ?"
She cleared her throat, blushing in the sweetest way possible. "I am. Scandinavia is actually one of my dream destinations."
"It would certainly give you a good excuse to visit me." She rolled her eyes at him. "I'm in Oslo most of the time but I have a beach house in Bergen. I think you would like that."
"Maybe...I like walking on the beach, putting my toes in the warm sand. I find it comforting..." She blushed again, realizing she had confessed some intimate things about her to a complete stranger.
He simply winked at her. "The sand won't be the only comforting one in there, believe me."
If she was shocked, she did not show it. Looks like she was getting used to his blunt comments. Most women would have run away or slapped him...or maybe offered themselves.
But this Gaby looked special. He liked that. A lot.
"So..." He took a sip of his refreshing beer. "Not to be rude or anything but you're not dressed to go on a date. How did you end up here ?"
She smiled at his bluntness. So she was not touchy either. Good."I was supposed to meet a friend for my birthday."
"Oh...happy birthday, then." He raised his glass. "Don't worry, I won't ask how old you are turning..."
"And I won't answer." She raised her glass in response; "Anyways, she had a family emergency so she canceled. I would have liked her to tell me before I drove six hours from home to get there." She finished her drink in one gulp and Halfdan ordered another. "My weekend is ruined and I just have to go back home."
"Depends...you could spend the night with me at the hotel. I have a nice room at the Mariott. Then, tomorrow, you could be my guide through Berlin."
She smiled. "That's very nice of you but I have my own place in Berlin. Besides, I'm sure someone as important as you doesn't have time for tourism."
"How do you know I'm important ?"
"The suit. The Mariott...always wondered how nice and classy it could be."
"You could." He smirked as she chose to ignore it. "You are quite right though. I'm the CEO of the company I own with my brother." But he did not want to talk about that right now, he was curious about something else. "What were you supposed to do with your friend ?"
She seemed to hesitate. "I'm sure you can't do worse than me disguised as a giant dinosaur for my nephew's birthday party."
"That, I would pay to see." She giggled, a nice little sound he would pay to hear again. "All right... I was supposed to go to a Renaissance Fair. My friend and I used to do that a lot in the past. We miss it. My birthday was the perfect occasion to go again."
"And you thought I would laugh at you ? Trust me, I've taken part in historical guilds as well. I still do, actually. My brother and I love dressing up as our Viking ancestors."
A nice sparkle appeared in Gaby's eyes, the same Halfdan had seen when he had mentioned he was from Norway. So she liked Vikings...
A chill ran down his spine, picturing the two of them all dressed up and ready for a wild night. He as a Viking and she, in a beautiful outfit that would leave enough cleavage for him to fall into. Maybe he could be the ruthless and bloody Viking abducting a sweet princess, rebellious but so willing to get perverted.
"You and your brother seem pretty close ?"
He shook his head and frowned, trying to focus on her words. Down, boy. You won't get any tonight.
"Yeah, we are. We lost our parents when we were young. We rely on each other even though he is a pain in the ass." He smiled at that. "Got any siblings ?"
"No, never got the chance...it is just me and my mother, now." Her eyes reflected sadness and resignation as she drank her second glass. Halfdan chose not to push her and tried to lighten the mood, ordering again for both of them.
"Even though my brother is a pain, my nephews aren't !"
"I'm sure of that." She smirked. "I mean, you wouldn't play dinosaur for a little brat."
He laughed out loud at her comment. Halfdan was really appreciating her more and more. "I guess not...you have children, yourself ?"
She shook her head. "You ?"
"Nah... I don't really think it's for me to be honest. Don't get me wrong, I love my nephews and I'm already in love with my little niece on the way but I don't feel the desire of having children of my own. My brother does and I'm so happy he finally found the one after so many heartbreaks but... I guess, we just have different expectations from life. I want someone I feel close to, have fun with her, share some things, travel. It might be crazy but..."
"It's not..." His eyes rose up to hers. He felt a connection. Right there. She felt it as well and he knew it. Was it love at first sight ? Maybe not... but still, he wanted to know her better, to do things with her (and not only the naughty ones).
One drink after another, he learned a lot of things about her. She was living in a town called Leverkusen (Bless you !), she was an assistant tax consultant, pasta was one of her favorite meals – along with cheese and chocolate, she loved some pretty good medieval music and she used to have cats.
All through the night, he sensed she was trying to keep her hands to herself – and he had some trouble doing it as well) but with the alcohol in her system, he felt her relax and she leaned closer, her hot breath tickling his facial hair, her fingers lightly touching his shoulder or stroking his arm when she laughed. By the Gods, he loved that laugh. He could not resist, then. He tucked one of her hair that had fallen from her messy bun behind her ear and let his finger slide along her cheek.
She shivered and she bit her lip, straightening herself in her seat and getting away from his touch.
"It's getting quite late. I'd better go..." She took her purse and her eyes scanned the room to spot the waiter.
"Drinks are on me." She opened her mouth to protest but he would have none of that. "It's your birthday after all." He added, winking.
Her lips stretched in a tiny smile. "Thank you." She stood up and he made his way to the counter to pay. From the corner of his eye, he saw the barmaid from earlier brooding in a corner and he couldn't help smiling. Too bad for her but he had found his gem. He paid and joined her outside.
She was looking at the sky and enjoying the fresh air of a March night here. Gaby turned her head towards him as she heard the noise from the bar when he opened the door.
She smiled wickedly at him. "Thought I left ?"
He chuckled. "Did not cross my mind." He walked towards her lazily until he could almost touch her. He heard her sharp intake of breath as he leaned over her. He remembered his promise though and waited with belated breath for her to make the first move.
She finally closed the distance between them, her delicate hands against his chest. She grazed her lips over his tentatively. Once, twice...and really kissed him. He groaned against her mouth and did his best no to touch her. She deepened the kiss, her tongue crossing the barrier of his teeth. She put his arms on her hips and he was too glad to be able to embrace her at last.
They exchanged a few more kisses before somebody whistled at them. Their lips broke apart and he smiled at her. Her cheeks were rosy, her breath had quickened. She was the most beautiful woman he had ever seen.
"You sure you don't wanna come with me to the hotel ?"
She slapped his chest and laughed lightly. "Don't dream, mister. Not on the first date."
He arched an eyebrow. "You count this as a date?"
She shrugged her shoulders. "We talked, we drank, we kissed...what else do you want to call it?"
"Fair enough." He let got of her to search something in the pockets of his pants and retrieved a card and a pen from it. "This is my professional card but I'm giving you my personal number.. just in case."
He held it out to her and Gaby took it, to put it in her purse.
"I might call you tomorrow morning...if you're still up for a little tour of Berlin."
Of course, he was ! "I would love that."
"Perfect." She pecked his lips and stepped backwards before he could initiate another steamy kiss in the middle of the streets.
"You're sure you don't want me to walk you home ?"
"No, thanks. It's not that far away from here. I'm a big tough girl, don't worry". She smiled. "Goodnight, Halfdan".
"Goodnight Gaby." He answered softly. "Happy birthday once again."
She smiled again and turned around. He watched her until she had disappeared into the darkness of the night. He could not wait for tomorrow. Germany was not so bad after all...