Chasing Rainbows Read online

  He felt her energy as their fingers met, electricity ran through his veins.

  As she turned to leave the bar Carol, chirped, “Right my loves, I'm off,” and she was gone.

  Doug kept smiling and was pleased that he made an effort with his appearance that morning.

  He always made an effort. For some reason today he was even more vigilant as to how he looked.

  At six foot, he stood out in a crowd with his thick black hair combed back from his temples.

  His brown eyes never left the face of the woman he was talking to at the time, listening to the rubbish that came from her lips, he found that being a good listener was on one way of captivating them.

  Look them straight in the eye, bend a little towards them and tilt the head, it worked every time.

  Standing before this girl, this woman, he knew he looked good. The camel coat covering his muscular body, giving him an air of authority and wealth.

  He never looked any different. He was a man that looked good in casuals, overalls, just as he did in a mohair suit of the finest quality.

  Doug smiled, so Carol did not see this little thing in front of him as a threat? If she had she would have stayed to the death.

  Today she left very quickly without a backward glance.

  Sometimes Carol made him feel like he was her handbag, exclusively hers.

  He made a mental to do something about it, soon. Carol did not own him. He was nobodies handbag.

  “Have you eaten?” a chirpy voice full of life, asked. They made their way to a table in the corner and each took a menu.

  Doug studied Olivia as those amazing brown eyes skated backwards and forwards across the card.

  They ordered. As they waited for their food, Olivia explained the event she was organizing and how Carol had intimated that she and Doug were very close and said taht Doug would do anything for her if she asked him.

  Doug scowled, blast the woman!

  Olivia said that Carol agreed the nominal fee and she hoped he did not expect more.

  As this was for charity he could take it or leave it as it was in a good cause and she had little money.

  During the meal Doug realised that he had never seen anyone who could talk as much and eat at the same time. This woman never stopped for breath.

  As he watched her, Doug pondered whether to leave this job, as the money was low and not really worth it.

  His time was money and he would rather do nothing than be insulted by the fee. He was good at choreography, no one could touch him and he was worth more than a hundred pounds for the amount of time and effort that would be needed with the models, who were not models at all, but Olivia's friends and volunteers.

  It was sign posted amateur and disaster, already.

  Olivia stopped talking and was watching Doug to see the reaction to her plans.

  She touched his compassion with her innocence and he knew that little money would be made, but he was up for the experience and the fun.

  The fun he felt he might have with this woman.

  She was like a little child, a thoughtful lady and total out of control teenager.

  A mixed bag of everything which made her a mystery to unravel.

  She was safe, he could not see himself getting involved with her, she wasn't for him.

  Not his type at all but still interesting.

  As the meal progressed, something happened that shook him to the core.

  It was a spontaneity that he became aware of far too late.

  Doug opened up and told this stranger all about himself, his life, his loves, his family.

  He laid himself bare and told the child in the woman's body what a mess his life was.

  He was being honest, open and sincere, no chat up lines, no leading body language.

  Olivia listened intently, her eyes never leaving his face.

  She never asked a question nor carried the conversation on, she just listened to him.

  As they were leaving Olivia looked up at him and their eyes met.

  “Life can be so sad, we do get ourselves into messes sometimes, don't we? We are always chasing rainbows. Life is a big school with many lessons to learn. I'll call you,” she said.

  Then she was gone, leaving him to stand alone on the pavement wondering what had just happened. How could someone just disappear leaving such a profound statement behind?

  Doug thought back over the lunchtime. Had he ever met anyone like that before? No! Surely he would have remembered.

  He felt strange, Olivia never said a word about herself, as she was so engrossed in the charity she was working for. She spoke of the cause with passion.

  Perhaps he should make a play for her, she would certainly be a challenge, a breath of springtime.

  He heard the voice in his head as it said, “ Be careful with this one, she might be the one and then what will you do?”

  Back in the office as soon as the phone rang Doug forgot lunchtime and returned to his high flying, executive job, adopting the persona of a true professional.

  At break time he caught himself staring across the road at the newspaper office where Olivia worked.

  He searched the windows for her hoping to catch a glimpse of a homemade pink sweater and blonde hair.

  He had not forgotten those eyes, nor her name.

  Two weeks later Doug answered his phone, he knew that voice, it was so distinct.

  “Hello is that Doug? Can we arrange a rehearsal then?” Olivia chirped.

  Doug was not listening to her. He was busy, preoccupied with his latest challenge, Kath.

  He'd been seeing Kath on and off for about six weeks. He now needed to get rid of her and was running through tonight's dialogue.

  He was surprised that he kept her on for so long, usually it was about a month.

  This woman was crass, screaming like a banshee when she had an orgasm. He liked his women to moan and speak his name, not scream as though they were giving birth.

  There was no dignity in the way Kath threw herself round the bed. It made her look common and cheap, there was no unison, no love making just sex.

  The way Kath made love was not to his liking and he was now becoming repulsed by her; finding it harder to become aroused.

  Everything about her irritated him, the way she stuck her disgusting tongue in his mouth, the way she scratched his back and wrapped her legs around him.

  He did not like returning home with marks on his skin, Mary might be daft but she was not stupid.

  Coming out of his daydream, Doug spoke rather harshly,

  “Who is this?”

  She sounded almost disappointed as she answered, “Olivia”.

  Of course! It was the chatterbox from the charity, how could he have forgotten 'pink sweater'?

  After spending a week looking for her across the road and never seeing her, she was dismissed from his mind that was already full.

  “OK, when?” he said.

  She began to speak quickly, not stopping for breath, “Well it was the only time I could get, Warren says it will be filthy, but we will have it to ourselves as the cleaners do not come in till Monday morning, Sunday morning was the only time available”.

  What an inconvenience! He liked his Sunday lie ins. However, the prospect of seeing her again might not be so bad and now he had the perfect excuse to end it with Kath.

  “Right, I will be there about eleven,” he replied, rudely putting the phone down before Olivia could reply.

  Doug had forgotten all about the fashion show and now he had two days in which to work out six sets.

  He rummaged through his briefcase looking for the brown envelope that appeared on his desk, the week after their meeting.

  He took out the red notebook.

  Very neatly written inside were details of clothes and models leaving spaces for him to fill in.

  He was impressed, she was very organised. Not what he imagined at all, he expected an envelope full of chaos.

  Olivia presented like a child
with enthusiasm, ideas and thoughts all over the place, with no discipline.

  This little book was full of information and discipline. How wrong he was.

  This was not a book from a stationers either, it was homemade, like her sweater.

  The following two days were spent in his shed after work.

  Doug was listening to his music, reliving old memories and looking forward to a job where once again he would be the star and shine; his professionalism working to his advantage and his gift being appreciated by all.

  Doug hoped, no expected, at least two assignments from this job, maybe some disc jockey jobs at a birthday or wedding.

  Perhaps there would be someone at the venue who could take Kath's place, after all he was used to running three women at a time.

  There would be lots of women at this fashion show needing his kind of loving.

  Doug prided himself on his lovemaking, after years of practice he knew exactly what to say to the woman, where to touch her and for how long.

  He felt a rush of blood down below as he thought of the warm mound between a woman's legs that would swell at his touch.

  On Sunday morning Doug rose early and went down to the club where he was met by Anne, one of Olivia's close friends.

  Today the Satin Club was bursting at the seams, as the lunchtime lounge lizards tucked into roast beef and Yorkshire pudding.

  Doug looked round at the ageing men with their little dollies, who were probably out to get as much out of a lonely man's wallet as possible.

  They were always on the make, he was no different, he believed that everyone had an agenda and was on some kind of make or other.

  A woman came up to him and spoke, "you must be Doug, come on we are all waiting upstairs for you."

  Anne looked expensive. He followed the perfume. He couldn't quite place it, which was annoying, as he was good on perfumes.

  If a man could identify the perfume a woman was wearing she would be impressed and he was one step closer to her cherry.

  Whatever it was he knew it was expensive.

  Anne's buttocks paraded in tight leather pants, straining to escape and succeeding in keeping Doug's attention.

  As his eyes travelled up her back they rested on an animal print top that left little to the imagination and much to be desired.

  Her breasts looking ever ready for some tantalizing and touching.

  Her thick hair was hanging loose, sleek and controlled. She looked in control.

  He began to wonder what she might be like in bed? Probably totally out of control and excitingly wild.

  It was obvious that she dressed to attract men.

  They made their way upstairs and Doug deduced that this must be someone close to Olivia as she too never stopped for breath.

  This one wasn't for him she appeared rather 'gobby'.

  Women like that could not keep secrets and secrets were something that he needed. Doug took pleasure in sleeping with friends who knew each other, conspiratorially keeping secrets from each other, believing that they were special and his one and only.

  It made him feel powerful and even when the relationship ended he prided himself on all the secrets.

  He kept his eye on the buttocks that were now having a strange effect on him and Anne was still talking.

  He had no clue as to what she saying as his mind had wandered to his expectations of the future.

  Doug peered through the half light into the club. What a mess, where was he going?

  The smell of stale yeast offended his sensitive nose, permeating from empty and half filled glasses of beer and spirits, that covered nearly every surface.

  Plates of half eaten food strewn across disgusting sticky tables that were awash with over spilling ashtrays and spent cigarette butts.

  It was a long time since he went to a club on a Saturday night and now here he was lost in the aftermath of dancing and pleasure. He picked his way through the confusion left by others

  In the distance, on the dance floor Doug saw a group of women. As Anne picked her way gingerly through the mess he watched her legs that were held high on stilettos.

  “Oh no, not stilettos”, he thought. He felt a stirring deep down inside, that rumbling of excitement just before an erection began.

  Thank goodness it was so dark no one would notice the bulge appearing in his jeans.

  He mused whether he should make a move on Anne after all?

  As they moved into the light of the dance floor Doug saw before him a bevy of women.

  Wow, it was just like Christmas. A lot of presents covered in different wrappings. There were all shapes and sizes, some young and some old.

  Doug spoke to himself, “You are going to like this job, forget the money, this looks like it's going to be lots of fun”.

  Doug did not notice Olivia as he turned his talents to the task in hand. He was too involved with the others, trying to mould them into flowing angels covered in chiffon, organza and sequins.

  Occasionally he would hear sounds of laughter. Olivia had a very distinct laugh, it was loud and clear with a small giggle wrapped inside. It could take a man to the heights of bliss just listening to it.

  Doug began to dream of spending a day with Olivia on his boat. She was so full of life and a total enigma. A day away from all of this and he could get to know her better.

  He wanted to get to know all about her, what she loved, what she hated and what made her happy. Right now he needed some of what Olivia had.

  Doug called the others to order, ran through one of the sets again before calling it a day, until the next time they would meet. As he turned to walk off the dance floor he caught sight of Olivia and wondered who she was talking to in the shadows.

  She was wearing an oversized denim jacket and peeping from under it was, the pink sweater; obviously her favourite.

  He smiled to himself wondering if she had any other sweaters. Her hair was scraped back, held in a big black bow, which served no purpose as most of her hair was escaping, and as though it had not seen a comb in ages.

  The weeks began to pass quickly and the rehearsals went well. He became aware of how much he was looking forward to the days he was at the club.

  Olivia would stop at times to speak with him and stand at the edge of the dance floor, moving in time to the music and clapping at her 'girls' when they completed a set.

  Doug had to admit some of the girls were very good. Unfortunately some of the older women had no rhythm and moved across the dance floor as though they had wet themselves. Not a pretty sight.

  Doug enjoyed women, he got a thrill from their bitchiness and some of these were class 'A' bitches. Office workers and housewives who believed that being a model in one fashion show would take them to the heights of fame.

  One of the girls, Susan, fell for him. She was rather pretty with legs that came up to her armpits. Susan was eighteen and Doug found her irresistible. She flirted outrageously with him.

  She fed his ego and why not, why not have her, if that was what she wanted. The experience of the older man and all he could teach her. A lesson with Susan might be what was needed.

  Doug met Susan one lunch time for a drink and as she began to talk the usual rubbish young women talked about, he tried to see behind the thick layer of foundation and make up, that hid who she really was.

  She had nice hair which made up for her stupidity. He soon found there was no decent conversation to be had with Susan.

  He ignored her and asked himself the question as to whether he should take her to bed or just parade her around for a few weeks in order to feed his ever hungry ego. He did have scruples, but at forty four an eighteen year old on ones arm was surely a bonus to a man heading for middle age?

  Doug knew young girls were harder to dump than older women.

  They were like unexploded bombs and could even wreak havoc in a man's life by telling the wife.

  This one was perhaps to be avoided.

  When it got back to Olivia that Doug h
ad taken Susan for a drink, she was very angry.

  There she was standing in front of him, tight lipped with one hand on her hip asking to have a private word with him.

  They went into the back office for privacy and she began stomping around the floor, calling him a pervert.

  Olivia began, “It is my duty to protect these girls from themselves and dirty old men like you”.

  What was she so angry about? Why had it upset her so?

  Doug began to feel rather guilty, not because of Susan and taking her for a drink, but more because he had upset Olivia so much.

  She looked beautiful when she was angry, he wanted to kiss her emotion filled eyes, he wanted to pull her to him and rest his face against her wild, wild hair which always smelled so sweet.

  Doug didn't dare as he knew she might hit him with the first moveable object she could find to hand. He smiled now as he remembered saying to her,

  “I'm sorry, do you know how beautiful you look when you are angry”.

  That silenced her and with a surprised look on her face she turned on her heel and left the room.

  During rehearsals, Carol would put in an appearance at a few choice moments.

  She would hang around like some vampire waiting to suck his life's blood when he least expected it.

  Carol was cramping his style, but being the gentleman he was, he put up with her and also the friend that was now in the show.

  Olivia was manipulated into taking the woman on, as Carol threatened to take all her dresses out of the show, if her friend did not get a major role in some of the sets. It was too late to turn back now. The woman joined the group.

  Doug tried to keep the woman out, but when Carol was around she insisted her friend did more dancing.

  Marge was not young, she was thin lipped and scraggy. A withered sun bed queen who thought she was at least twenty years younger than her age.

  She was thinning on top, a shinning brown scalp showing through strands of lank hair.

  She had skin that a handbag maker would die for.

  Marge did not fit in with the group, being haughty and lording over the rest of them. She soon got a nick name, 'leather lips'.

  It was rather sad that a woman of that age had no dignity and took great pleasure in parading around like a balding peacock.