Dallas, Texas
Keeping Pamela close as one song ended and the next started, changing the movement of the group from individual dancers into pairs again, Bobby was surprised when she signalled with her hands that she wanted to leave the dancefloor; to him, things seemed to be going so well for them so he hoped he wasn't misreading her signals. Listening as she leaned forward to speak into his ear so he could hear her over the music, he was relieved to hear that she was just in need of a drink as they had been dancing for a while, not that she was bored or uninterested in him. It was unlike him to be so insecure about what a woman felt for him, he was quite used to casual relations where mutual attraction was acted on fairly quickly and developing a personal rapport was not necessarily a priority. He was actually properly dating Pamela though, taking her out and showing her a wonderful time before even considering anything more personal, so the idea of her possibly not liking him as much as he did her bothered him. Luckily, that was unlikely to be an issue though considering she seemed to be very much interested in him, he had just assumed the worst a few moments ago out of surprise. Leading her off the dancefloor, he was surprised by her again when she asked only for orange juice, a non-alcoholic selection, but he didn't question it, instead just nodding and confirming before leaving her back at their group table with a few of her friends and heading off toward the bar himself.
Taking a seat next to Connie, Pam looked at her friend expectantly, "so, what do you think?" she knew what she felt herself, but she trusted her friend's judgement and wanted someone else to reaffirm her feelings. "Well, you were right about him being attractive, he seems friendly and nice too from what I can tell, and he clearly likes you, I can't make any real judgement other than that though; you probably don't realise, but he's not spent much time getting to know the group, so we don't really know him either. He is your date though, not ours, so what he does with you is what matters". Listening to her friend, Pam nodded and smiled, it was nice to have her thoughts and feelings confirmed, it was even nice to hear that her friends didn't really know Bobby very well because he'd spent all his time with her. She never wanted to be the type of woman who became distant from her friends as soon as she found a man, but she couldn't say she didn't like the way she felt when her time was monopolised by him; she felt like she was still maintaining a balance though, she was alone with her friends now, that was something.
"Thanks, I know you know that's what I wanted to hear, but I still appreciate it", acknowledging that sometimes she asked questions looking for validation rather than an honest answer, she laughed when Connie quickly responded to her comment with further validation. "I know that's what you wanted to hear, but I hope you also know I'd tell you if I thought there was something wrong. I certainly wouldn't encourage you to go to bed with him in that situation either, luckily that doesn't seem to be the case here. Speaking of going to bed with him, I know you and I know you'll be asking me that next, so I'll tell you what I think now; I'd say do whatever feels right to you. You told me last week you weren't heartbroken over Frank, so Bobby isn't some rebound, besides, even if he was it's not like you're marrying him, no more than you were Paul, Tim, or Greg. You know what you're doing, go and have fun if that's what you want to do and if not, a kiss goodnight will have to do, he can live with that".
Laughing aloud at her friend's honest comments, Pam grinned at her as she responded, "I should have known you were going to put it back on me". Amused, she knew Connie was only speaking the truth, she was no shy virgin, nor were any of her friends, she wasn't a loose woman either though, she liked to know the men she went to bed with before she did so, and running them by her friends was always a good vetting tool. She had already decided before their date that provided things went well, she wouldn't resist if things went further than their usual passionate moments, so really she was just asking for reassurance that she wasn't making a huge error in judgement. Connie had provided that reassurance now though, Bobby was approved as a good man, or at least a nice, attractive man, and she was right, they were hardly getting married, trusting her intuition and following what her body physically wanted her to do was not a bad thing.
"Just have fun and be safe", listening as Connie appeared to end their conversation, she turned and saw Bobby returning with their drinks, and as she squeezed Connie's hand as she stood to head back toward the dancefloor, giving her and Bobby some space, she was grateful to have a friend to look to for encouragement and support. "Your orange juice", placing the glass down in front of her, Bobby took a seat beside her, apparently noticing Connie leaving as he did, "I hope she's not going because of me", appearing to actually care, not just be making a comment, she smiled and shook her head, replying, "no, she's just giving us some space". Taking a sip of her drink, enjoying the refreshing taste and the benefits of stopping drinking before the alcohol really went to her head, she considered Connie's comment about having fun and doing what she wanted to do, it really was that simple, she didn't have to analyse it, she could enjoy Bobby's company without it being a big deal.
"I like space, I like being close too though", scooting closer to her, it was clear in Bobby's words that he had the same things on her mind that she did, and leaning forward to kiss her, that was confirmed to her. It wasn't uncommon to like kissing, she'd worked that out fairly early in life; there was something extremely enjoyable and exciting about kissing Bobby though, he was a good kisser and he knew it, he'd even joked about it so on their date at the skating rink. The first time they'd kissed hadn't been planned, it had happened naturally and spontaneously, though lakes, parks and drive-in theatres had always been popular spots to park up and get close so she couldn't say she was completely shocked when they'd taken that next step in whatever relationship they had that night. Tonight she had a feeling they would take further steps in their relationship, because if he even hinted toward leaving and not dropping her back at home, she wouldn't say no.
Smiling like a schoolgirl in love as they broke apart, she responded to his earlier comment, "close is good. What do you say we see how close we can get on the dancefloor again after these drinks?" Making sure not to sound too eager, like she was inviting him to get closer in other ways, even if she was interested in that, she found him hard to resist when he smiled back at her boyishly, seemingly excited to do just that. She was interested in him, but she was also just as interested in dating him; she wanted it all, she wanted the romance and fun, the holding hands and little touches, the dancing and kissing, not just what came after all of that, and she knew how to ensure whatever they had remained romantic as well as intimate. "Sounds good to me. I told you a while back, I'm an excellent dancer, among other things and I'll tell you now too, so are you; we're a perfect match", laughing as she listened to his comment, she reminded herself of her earlier thoughts, she could enjoy Bobby's company without planning ten steps ahead and that's exactly what she intended to do. She liked dancing and she liked him, so what better way to spend an evening than taking advantage of her situation; they were still on their date and she was loving it, there was no need to rush ahead before either of them was ready.
To be continued…