Part IV: One Night Lonely

Chris entered Oniel's at quarter after eight. It had been a while, since he last visited this place. He used to come here almost every weekend with his friends, but lately he was too occupied. There was no time for a private life.

Oniel's was a club with a special flair. Wooden venetian blinds, a carved wood ceiling as ornate as an Arabian door and music originally heard on gramophones created an atmosphere of the time when gin was the liquor of the day. They played live jazz from Tuesday through Friday. Chris had forgotten how much he loved this place. He headed towards the bar to see if he could find David.

"Christopher. Over here" David was sitting in the corner on one of the couches. All their friends had come and the old clique was finally reunited. Chris greeted everyone and crabbed one of the chairs.

"Gosh, it's so good to see you guys again. I'm very glad you talked me into this Dave."

"I'm happy you made it. For a moment I thought you wouldn't come." David was sitting next to his boyfriend, William.

"I'm also very happy to see you again, Christopher. It's been such a long time. David told me that you work so much, you even sleep at the museum." William was flamingly gay. He and David had been a couple for almost 1 year. "You know that this isn't good at all. You have to take better care of yourself. It's very important to get eight hours of sleep every night. When you hit the thirties you will have so many wrinkles - and that would be a shame."

"How's your exhibition coming along, Chris?" Michael was one of Chris' best friends. They grew up together and used to hang out all the time in high-school and later in college. They used to be famous for their great parties and almost every girl on campus had a crush on them. Until Michael decided to leave college and become a singer and songwriter. He was pretty successful and had gigs throughout the country, but the wild days were over. He was happily married and his wife always accompanied him on his tour. Sarah was sitting next to him chatting with another girl.

"Pretty good. A lot of work, like always. I'm in the middle of translating an old letter, which is very interesting."

"Alright. Enough", David said. "Lets not talk about work this evening. You are here to enjoy yourself and to take a break, remember?"

"Ok, you're right." A waitress came up to the table and took Chris' order.

"So where is this gorgeous woman you want me to meet?"

"She'll be here around nine. I'm sure you'll like her."

"We'll see."

As time went by Chris felt more and more relaxed and at ease. He hadn't realized how much he needed this time off work until now. Suddenly David jumped up and ran to the door. Chris turned around to check out what he was doing, but couldn't see anything.

David came back accompanied by a very pretty young woman. She had long blond hair, was wearing black pants and a short blue sweater that showed her belly button as she moved. She had an awesome figure and piercing blue eyes.

"Christopher. This is Gillian. Gillian this is Christopher."

Chris stood up and extended his hand out to her. David hadn't exaggerated – this woman was gorgeous.

As they touched, he felt tickles going down his spine. David introduced her to everyone at the table. She smiled at Chris and sat down next to him.

They started with the usual small-talk. Gillian never had a hard time meeting new people and she hit it off with them right from the start. Once in a while she threw a glance at Chris. What a good-looking man….

They talked the whole evening. She told him that she was an actress and a singer and that she was going to audition for a Broadway show next week. Chris just couldn't take his eyes of her. Was it his imagination or did this girl look like the statue of Amneris? He dismissed the thought at once because he didn't want to get into work again. 'Enjoy and relax. It must be a coincidence,' he thought, yet he felt as if they had been good friends for a long time.

When Chris looked at the watch for the first time it was already after three o'clock in the morning. The place was almost empty. David was also gone but not without winkling at him and giving him two thumbs up behind Gillian's back.

"Wow. It's after three already. I think they are going to close pretty soon. Shall we go before they kick us out?"

"Sure. That's fine." Chris took Gillian's coat she had left at the wardrobe and helped her in. When they stepped outside, it was a beautiful clear night but very chilly.

"Are you cold?"

"A little but I really don't want to go home, yet. Lets go somewhere else."

"Sure, but I don't know what is still open."

"Well, …. maybe we could go to your place?" Gillian was surprised at herself. She never did this. It was her golden rule not to go home with a guy she had just met. But Chris was different, she felt so incredibly comfortable with him. They had a lot in common and she felt a connection between them. Like she had known him forever. This was a man she could fall in love with…

Chris was caught unprepared by this offer, yet he didn't want this night to end either.

"I'm …. well…. sure. Why not. I don't live very far away from here. Let me hail a cap for us."

Ten minutes later they were in Chris' apartment. It was a 4 bedrooms apartment, right across from Central Park on the upper west side. It was decorated with some artefacts from the museum and the furniture reflected Chris' good taste. It was very cosy and warm, definitely a place to be comfortable and at home. Although Chris made very good money, he wasn't extravagant. Of course he lived in this apartment but that was the only luxury in his life. He was a simple man and didn't need much to live.

He took off Gillian's coat and turned on some music.

"Wow. This is a cool place. What a fantastic view." She stepped outside on the balcony, "Is that the museum over there?"

"Yes. At least the rooftop." Chris was in the living room and gathered up some things. He wasn't prepared for a visitor and he didn't want this place to look like a total mess.

"When David told me that you two are archaeologists I pictured you as Indiana Jones with a hat and whip." The moment she said that, she regretted it. How silly was that? Chris was a well educated man, to compare him to Indiana Jones was very stupid.

"Well, I own a couple of hats, but no whips. Sorry..." He also stepped out on the balcony. "It's very cold out here, why don't you come inside? Would you like something to drink?"

"Wine, please." Gillian was thankful that she could change the topic.

Chris left and went to the kitchen. He opened a bottle of red wine and poured it into two glasses. When he stepped back into the living room, Gillian was sitting on the couch. He sat next to her and offered her the wine.

Gillian took a sip. "This is good."

"Yes." Chris started to caress her hair. He didn't know why he did this. Maybe because he felt so lonely. Although he was enjoying Gillian's company, he had to think about Rachel again. Why didn't she sit on the couch with him? Why did he still had think about her? There was this beautiful, very attractive woman and he thought about a girl he would never see again. Why wouldn't she let him go? He could still remember her so closely - her eyes, so dark and deep - but Rachel was out of his reach and Gillian was right here next to him.

"May I kiss you?" The words just came out of his mouth. He couldn't bare this feeling anymore. He needed to forget about Rachel and start to focus of what was in front of him.

She looked at him and smiled. That was enough as an answer. The next moment they were in each other's arms, kissing passionately.

'This woman is real,' Chris thought 'and she feels so good.' He didn't want to think about Rachel anymore. It hurt too much. Gillian wasn't just a phantom in his mind, he could smell her and he could taste her and that was all he needed right now. It wasn't necessary to ask her if she would stay for the night. Chris took her hand and led her to the bedroom.

To be continued.