Candy's Man Read Free

and
resisted the urge to yawn.  
    He moved to his seat at
the table next to hers and smiled at the people around him.   What a smile!   Why couldn’t she have been put on thattable?  
    Helaughed then, a deep throaty laugh, and
stared directly at her,although his
gaze soon turned to the woman beside him.  
    Candy
bit down on her bottom lip.   There was
something exciting about him.   And
apparently all the women on his table thought so too because she could see them
clamouring for his attention.   This time
she did sigh audibly and realising her mistake, excused herself.
    She
made her way down the long corridor to the ladies’ room.   The room was filled with excited women
primping themselves in front of the full-length mirrors.   Candy managed to squeeze in beside them.
    “Candace!”
Susan said, looking at her in the mirror.   “How’s everything going?”
    Candy
shrugged.   “Okay.”
    “Isn’t
this exciting?” she gushed.   “So many men to choose from.”   Candy gave her a smile.   “You look nice.   I love your hair,” Susan told her.
    “Thanks,”
she said.   It was a pity that lying, cheating-rat,
husband of hers had tired of her attributes.  
    She
took a deep breath.   She wasn’t going to think
about her ex.   She applied her red
lipstick with precision.  
    “I’ll
see you later,” Susan said.   Candy
watched her leave and wished she could be so enthusiastic.  
    She
lifted her chin.   She was going to have a
good time tonight even if it killed her.   That’s if her shoes didn’t kill her first.   Maybe a few more drinks would help numb the
pain.
    When
she returned to the dining room, the waiters were bringing in trays of food and
the delicious aromas wafted through the air.   She hadn’t even ordered yet.
    She
settled back into her chair and picked up a menu.  
    After
dinner, the group talked her into going dancing.   The wine seemed to have relaxed her.
    “Would
you like to dance?” Andrew asked.   She
nodded.
    Andrew
led her to the impressive dance floor with its bright neon lights.   The music was a nice slow number and Andrew
pulled her gently close to him.  
    How
long had it been since she’d been in a man’s arms?   She was unsure because the days, weeks and
months had melded into one huge stretch of loneliness.
    The
smooth fabric of Andrew’s jacket reminded her of...too many things.   She felt a tightness in her chest and knew she had to stop thinking about her past or she would soon
be a blubbering mess.           
    After
several songs had played, Andrew escorted her back to where their dinner
companions had gathered.   She wasn’t
seated long before she was quickly ushered back to the dance floor by another
man.   And so it went on, song after song.
    “Sorry,
I need a rest,” she apologised to the man in front of her.   She had been dancing solidly for nearly two
hours and her feet were killing her.   She
took a long drink of water and let it cool her overheated body.   
    From
where she sat, she caught sight of ‘the gladiator’.   He was dancing cosily with an attractive
blonde woman, and Candy felt a little green with envy.   He hadn’t even asked her to dance.   She couldn’t understand why he kept staring at
her if he wasn’t interested.  
    She
shook her head in disappointment and stifled a yawn.   It was midnight .   Time for
this ‘Cinderella’ to go to bed.  
    She
had travelled so much in the past few days.   It was all catching up with her.   Besides, she wasn’t interested in any of the men here, well, there was him but he didn’t look remotely
interested in her anymore.  
    Her
feet seemed to groan as she stood.   She
couldn’t wait to get these shoes off her feet.
    “Leaving
already?” Andrew asked.   She heard the
regret in his voice.
    “Yes.   Time to call it a night.”   She picked up her bag.   “It was lovely to meet you all.”
    Everyone
wished her a good night and Candy sighed in