Marianne sat at the bar, enjoying her Manhattan in solitude, when a young man with green eyes and a crooked smile leaned against the bar next to her.
"Hi, there," he said to her.
She looked at him and smiled. "Hello."
He looked her up and down with an undisguised look of lust. "I'm Dean. What's your name?"
Amused, she tilted her head. "Marianne."
"Marianne," he repeated with a smile. "Pretty name for a pretty woman."
She turned to face him more directly and looked him up and down with her blue eyes narrowed under arched eyebrows. "How old are you?"
He frowned. "Thirty."
She chuckled. "Try again."
"Okay," he grinned, looking down at his hands. "Twenty-five."
She leaned toward him with eyebrows raised. "How old?"
Dean's eyes dipped to his drink and then back to her. "Okay, I'm twenty-one," his eyes returned to her, in earnest. "Really."
"And do you have any idea how old I am?"
"Twenty-five?"
She laughed out loud, sitting back in her chair again. "Sweet. But you're off by a decade, my dear!"
He shrugged. "Age is only a number."
"Well, Dean, is it? There are a lot of numbers between twenty-one and thirty-five!"
He pulled up a chair next to her and finally sat. "So would you say that there's a big difference between 86 and 100?"
Her eyebrows rose. "What?"
He shrugged. "That could be us in 65 years."
She smiled and sipped her drink. "Smooth."
His smile was wide with straight white teeth. "Thanks. How about you let me buy you another drink and we get to know each other?"
She looked him up and down again, thoughtfully, and nodded. "Fine. One drink."
"What if it takes longer?" He smiled and waved down the bartender.
"One."
He nodded with a shrug and a grin. "I'll take what I can get."
They began to talk and, as much as she meant one when she said it, she bought the next round. He had the classic bad boy look and attitude, but she sensed he had a kind heart and good spirit. Marianne had to admit that he was very good looking and quite charming as well.
During the third round, he reached out and covered her hand with his, and she didn't move her hand away. During the next round, she turned her hand palm up and used her middle finger to stroke his palm while they talked, smiling when she noticed him getting distracted by the movement.
"Something wrong?"
He shook his head. "No, it's just…" He smiled. "An interesting sensation."
Marianne's smile was almost secretive as she leaned forward. She moved her hand away and grasped his to turn it palm-side up. Then she looked at his palm, as if to read the lines. "Did you know that the skin is considered the largest organ of the human body?" She began tracing patterns on his palm with a whisper touch.
Dean's eyebrows rose. "Really? Never thought about it."
"The Chinese have been practicing reflexology for centuries, connecting nerves in the hands to different parts of the human body." Marianne looked from his hand back to his eyes, then back down.
"Yeah?"
She smiled. "I don't know the science or superstition behind it, but I know, from experience, that there seems to be a connection between the hand and other...parts...of the body."
Dean looked down at his hand and leaned closer. "I'm not gonna lie, Marianne," he growled into her ear. "What you're doing is definitely having an effect on other parts...of...my body…"
She smiled and licked her bottom lip. "Would you mind if I conducted a little experiment?" She looked at him with her eyebrows raised, tilting her head.
He looked hesitant. "What kind of experiment?"
"I promise I'm not going to hurt you. It only involves your hand and a little trust."
His green eyes met her blue eyes and he smiled. "Go ahead."
She licked her lips and lifted his hand to her lips. She positioned his thumb closest to her face and lightly ran her tongue along the edge of the pad of his thumb.
His eyes widened as his eyebrows climbed, pulling his hand away.
She smiled at him. "Well?"
"Well, I definitely felt that somewhere else!"
"Yeah?" She took his hand in hers again and pointed at that part of his hand. "This is called the Mount of Venus. In palmistry, it tells a palm reader the subject's capacity for love." She grinned. "But Venus wasn't just the goddess of love. I have always found that sensitivity in this area is proportional to sensitivity in other areas ruled by Venus."
He moved closer in his chair. "Really?" His smile told her he was definitely interested in this topic.
She released his hand and returned to her drink as if no longer interested in the subject. "It's just a theory."
He took her hand then turned it palm up, bringing it up to his mouth. When he ran his tongue along the Mount of Venus, he was pleased by that she inhaled sharply. Then he smiled at her.
She smiled back. "You learn quickly."
"What else can you teach me?"
Her eyebrows rose. "Really? Men your age tend to think they know everything. They don't need to be taught."
He slid off the chair, moving very close to her, using his left hand to cup her cheek. "You just taught me something I didn't know. I admit there might be more 'somethings' I don't know. And I'm a willing student."
She chuckled. "Why do I feel like you weren't a 'willing student' when you were in school?"
He shrugged his eyebrows. "Maybe they just never offered the right subjects." He moved closer until his lips were a breath away from hers.
She tilted her head slightly. "I'd believe that."
He pressed his lips softly to hers.
She grasped his flannel shirt as she returned his kiss. When they separated, she touched his cheek as she met his eyes. "You know that my mind is screaming at me to stop this right now and walk away."
He grinned. "And the rest of you?"
She smiled as her eyes moved to his lips. "And the rest of me is telling my mind to shut up and enjoy the ride."
His hands moved to her waist, moving to stand between her legs. His voice deepened. "I say, 'majority rules'."
She reached under his flannel shirt to grasp his belt loops and pull him closer. She looked up at him. "You're not going to turn into some stalker, are you?"
He shook his head. "Nah. Truth be told, I'm not in town too much longer."
She took a deep breath - he enjoyed the way her chest moved when she did - and pressed her lips together. Shaking her head, she whispered. "I hope I don't regret this in the morning."
Dean grinned at her. "Me, too."
She reached for her purse, pulled out a credit card and pressed it into his hand. "Get the check. I'll be right back."
He stepped back as she slid out of her chair and moved toward the bathrooms. He watched her go, then turned back to the bartender.
By the time she returned, he had the tab in front of him with her card. She put her card away and signed the receipt. Then she turned and took his hand. Without a word, she led him out of the bar.
Morning was almost over when Marianne pulled into a cut-rate motel parking lot with Dean in the passenger seat. He leaned over and kissed her.
"Thanks for everything," he said.
She chuckled. "No, thank you."
His green eyes were intent as they met her blue eyes. "I wish I had more time."
She shook her head and touched his cheek. "As much as I would love that, it's just not meant to be." She smiled at him. "You need someone closer to your age. Though I can see that you're going to have a hard time getting women to leave your bed in the future."
He chuckled. "Thanks to you."
Marianne tilted her head. "Don't sell yourself short…"
He leaned over and kissed her again.
"Dean?" A deep rumble from outside the car interrupted them.
Dean dropped his chin to his chest and sighed.
Marianne looked past him and grinned, her eyes going back to him. "Is that your father?"
"John Winchester," the man looked at them through the passenger window. "Get out of the car, Dean."
He looked at her and mouthed 'sorry.'
She reached over and put her hand behind Dean's head, pulling him to her. When she captured his lips, it was with unrestrained desire. He returned the kiss until he heard his father clear his throat.
She pulled away from him and smiled. "Good-bye, Dean," she whispered.
His eyes dipped from her chest back to her face. "Good-bye, Marianne." He turned and opened the door as his father pulled away.
John looked at Dean. "Go wait for me in the room."
"Dad..."
"Dean! Do what I tell you!"
Dean frowned at him, then turned to the hotel.
John leaned back to look into the car. The woman before him was smiling at him. "Do you have any idea how old that boy is?"
She tilted her head. "John, is it? That 'boy' told me he's twenty-one."
"A little young for you, isn't he?"
Her eyebrows rose and her smile widened. "Okay," she chuckled, then turned to look at him again. "He's old enough to join the military, old enough to vote, old enough to drink in every one of these United States and US Territories."
He nodded. "That may be, but I don't like the idea of anyone taking advantage of my boy."
Marianne chuckled, glancing over her steering wheel, then back to him. "Maybe I was the one taken advantage of."
John's eyebrows rose.
Marianne laughed. "Listen. I told him I was too old for him, but you've got a very persuasive son there, John. Very attractive and very willing to listen and learn. But it was one night. I know you're leaving soon, so don't worry. I'm a big girl."
John nodded, his expression softening. He smiled at her. "Afraid I've raised a bit of a rebel there."
"With a big heart," she added.
John considered her for a moment, then nodded, again. "Thanks for bringing him home."
Marianne nodded, putting the car in drive. "Take care of yourself, John. And of him."
John turned away from Marianne's car as it drove away and turned back to Dean, who stood with a brooding look on his face. He smiled at Dean. "So, she was something, huh?"
Dean's eyebrows rose. "What?"
"I can't fault your tastes, Dean. She was a fine-looking woman."
Dean grinned. "Not just fine-looking, Dad. She was a lady. Fine all around."
John clapped his son on the shoulder. "Well, congrats on the choice, son. Just don't get into the habit of dating women that much older than you. Find someone your own age."
Dean shrugged. "I hate to tell you, Dad. But I don't think I have a type. A pretty woman is a pretty woman, no matter size, shape or age."
John looked at his son and chuckled. "So, a true ladies man, huh? Just make sure to use protection."
"Dad!" Dean looked horrified.
John laughed. "Let's get Sam, get some lunch and hit the road."
Dean nodded, taking a moment to look down the road in the direction Marianne had gone and smiled.
"Comin' Dean?"
"Yeah."
