All I really needed

I made the drive to Portland in good time. There was a bit of a wait at the border to get my US work visa, but that was expected, of course. Jeremiah Jeep drove superbly, and I'm happy with how smoothly Road Trip Day #1 went.

I found Blossom's place just fine, and we had a good visit over a welcome cocktail. Then onto dinner, followed by a whore tour of the local establishments. It's always so fun to hang with Blossom, who is one of the funnest and most talented bar cruisers I've ever had the opportunity to learn from. Still, I didn't want to just assume we'd hit the bars and cruise eye candy all night, so I tested the waters a l'il bit.

"Oh, I think I'll need to have an early night. I'm pretty tired from the drive," I muttered in a veiled attempt to feel him out. Sure. Fast forward to 3AM and a way-past-my-bedtime return to the Pleasure Dome (Blossom's nickname for his place, not mine).

We started the barhopping at a place called Crush, the latest martini bar that seems to be the place to go on Friday nights. Blossom's friend, RR, was working behind the bar, and wasn't he a stunning sight for laser surgeried sore eyes! I had met him once before during a party weekend in Seattle, but I most certainly don't remember his having arms like those! Mama. And he started making comments to me about how, as we all shared a hotel room during that Seattle weekend, he had been surreptitiously watching me in my underwear and doing some visualization of sorts. Obviously, my legs are still my best feature. Or was he lookin' at my butt? Or something else? Regardless, I was extremely flattered at hearing that.

I only vaguely remembered RR from that weekend, but he's sure hit the gym since then. Damn, when he raised those guns of his to get that martini shaker movin', I was doin' some visualization of my own. RR is one very potent bartender, who just happens to make a potent martini as well (I enjoyed a Lycretia Borgia and a Carried Away, dontcha know). For me to get compliments from him was very unexpected, let's just say. Despite my best efforts to have RR close his bar and come with us on the bar hop, he couldn't get away and we moved on without him. A missed opportunity? Perhaps. Still, the compliments alone were all I really needed.

Next up was CC Slaughters, where I got to catch up briefly with Band-Aid Boy, a sweet guy who I met at the same time as Blossom -- while playing in volleyball tournaments all over the Pacific Northwest. Blossom and I had one drink there before attempting something rather heroic: we headed to the usually-decrepid Silverado to watch the male strippers. This time, however, I must say that the quality of the entertainment has risen substantially. OK, to be honest, the strippers were damn hot! And the crowd was peppered with cuties as well.

Highlight of the evening? A cute 21-year-old-ish guy kept looking at me, and then finally came up in a semi-drunken, but extremely cute, way to introduce himself. He said he thought I was very attractive, and then did the shy-guy escape. About 10 minutes later, he got the courage to reappear in front of me, and we had a brief chat. I told him I was from out of town and only here for the night (although I sounds like a total pick-up line, it was the gods' honest truth!), etc. Turns out Andrew loves Vancouver, wants to move there, is trying to get a job in his field (architecture), and still thought I was extremely attractive after speaking to me for a few minutes (trust me, that isn't always the case!).

After a little bit more of look-and-then-look-away shy-guy stuff, Andrew bade me farewell and gave me a nice little kiss. "That's all I really needed," he told me as he bounced away contentedly. I thought about telling him that a kiss wasn't all that he really needed, but thought the better of it. Blossom lamented the missed opportunity, but I was content, like Andrew, just to have a brief flirtation and a hint of what might have been.

Sigh. To have the 21-year-olds give you compliments like that is a great way to spend an evening in Potent Portland. Damn, at my age, to have the 21-year-olds give you compliments like that is a great way to spend an evening anywhere!

So wasn't I just the belle of the ball tonight, drinking in compliments from both RR and Andrew. Even if each of those boys represented a missed opportunity, I'm all good with that. The compliments from RR were all I really needed from him. A little kiss was all Andrew really needed from me. As long as everyone's needs are being met, it's all good. Damn, how I love Potent Portland!

But now it's Road Trip Day #2. And it unfortunately began with my being awakened by the upstairs neighbours having sex in the room directly above the guest bedroom. I'm sure the day can only get better.

Destination: points south!