Life is Too Short

Title & Chapter Number: Life is Too Short, Chapter One
Author(s): Sinda
Type: Het
Pairing: Haldir/OFC
Rating: NC17
Disclaimer: This fan fiction was not written with the intent of financial gain, but solely for my own enjoyment and hopefully to entertain others. I have no claim on Tolkien's work or characters but
am merely borrowing them. All original concepts and characters are my property and may not be used without my permission.

Warnings: AU Warning! THIS STORY STARTS OUT AS PWP BUT DEVELOPS A PLOT ALONG THE WAY. IT IS FAIRLY LIGHTHEARTED UNTIL THE END, BUT THE LAST CHAPTER HAS SOME SERIOUS ANGST. IF THIS BOTHERS YOU, PLEASE DON'T READ IT.

Betas:
Timeline: Yesterday
Spoilers: None
Summary: Sinda gets stuck in a bar with some losers. Haldir saves the day.
Feedback: sinda_lorien@iwon.com I would appreciate any feedback I can get. Thanks.

Life is Too Short

Chapter One -The Bad Date

My eyes were glazing over as I listened to Margie drone on and on about nothing. Nodding my head every time I thought that it might be appropriate, I worked on a plan to get the hell out of there without hurting anybody's feelings. The restaurant was loud and bright, but it offered a spectacular view of the Pacific Ocean. Unfortunately, even though our table had a full view, I couldn't see it without looking around Rick and that was no easy task. Though not a whole lot taller than my 5'1” height, he was a bodybuilder and he took up a lot of space. He was not even close to being my type. I preferred tall men and particularly disliked short, macho guys that had something to prove to the world. Face it, Sinda, I told myself, you want an elf but they don't exist.

We had been at the Oregon conference all week and Rick had introduced himself and started talking to me on the first day. I hadn't known anybody there, so it had been nice to have someone to talk to when things got slow. It would have been fine if it had ended there, but Rick had asked me to join him for dinner and I had declined. The next day he wondered if I'd have a drink with him and once again, I had turned him down. By Friday, it had started to get awkward. When he had told me that a group was getting together and going to dinner, I had agreed to go, under the condition that I would pay for my own meal. He hadn't bothered to mention that the group consisted of two others and they were married…though not to each other. So that was how this had turned into a double date. I tried to ignore the couple across from me as they played with each other under the table, not so discreetly. How Margie could keep a non-stop conversation going while running her hands down Dan's leg was quite interesting, but other than watching them in fascination, I hadn't been this bored in a long time.

"And my youngest daughter wears blue socks; only blue. She wears different shade of blue, but they have to be blue," Margie was saying as Dan and Rick spoke together about sports.

I nodded and began to daydream about elves, specifically Haldir.

"…azure blue, midnight blue, baby blue…"

I wanted to start banging my head on the table, but I just nodded instead. Yes, I thought, you've named every damn color of blue there is. Won't you please explain the color blue to me in even more detail?

"…and what's that blue that that's almost like aqua but not quite?" she asked, suddenly speaking in a little girl voice, which immediately got both men's attention.

"You know," she said, trying to look cute, still doing the baby talk, "that color of blue? What's it called?"

Rick was smiling at the bouncy blonde, as was Dan. Margie leaned forward to expose her cleavage even more than it already was. I had to make a conscious effort not to gag or roll my eyes. The guys were eating up Margie's "cute little girl" act and I was glad. It made me remember why I was single. Most of the men I'd dated were morons.

"Light blue?" Rick asked.

Good one, Rick, I thought. Why don't you try dark blue next?

"Dark blue?" Dan said.

That was it. I grabbed my purse, needing to leave. There was nothing in the world that was going to keep me in the booth for one for minute. I would simply tell them that I had forgotten about a seafood allergy or something. The thought had barely left my head when the waitress seated a man in the next booth that caused me to do a double take. I couldn't help but stare. He looked just like Haldir, without the braids and ears. Granted, he was wearing jeans and a Hawaiian looking shirt, but it easily could have been my favorite elf. My heart was pounding and I could not pull my eyes away from him until he finished sitting down and looked straight at me. Embarrassed, I quickly looked away, hating the fact that I'd gotten caught staring.

Rick might have noticed it too, because suddenly his beefy arm was across the back of the booth and touching my neck. Oh, no. No way, I thought. Standing suddenly, I excused myself to use the restroom. I couldn't help but glance at the blonde man as I walked past him and I was disconcerted to see him smile as I went by. Oh, why couldn't I be here with him instead, I asked myself? I realized that I had smiled back and I hoped that he didn't think I was some kind of loose woman, here with one man and hitting on another. Of course, that's almost exactly what I was doing, although I wasn't really with Rick. I took as long as I dared in the restroom before returning, only to find that Margie was now regaling the men with men with more interesting and witty stories. Since they were both laughing hard, I was sucked into thinking that maybe the conversation had grown more stimulating than the previous talk about socks.

"And he went, `honey, if you lean over any further those things are gonna' fall right outta' there' and I went, `yeah, you'd like that, wouldn't you?'"

Both men laughed as though it was the funniest joke they'd ever heard. I couldn't even force a smile – it would have hurt too much. Maybe I could claim that I was sick and just leave. I would be going home in two days after playing tourist for the weekend and, hopefully, I would never have to see these people again. I began to formulate my excuse for leaving early when I happened to catch a glimpse of the Haldir look-alike and found my eyes pulled towards his. I could not have stopped gazing at those blue eyes if I'd wanted to. He smiled again and I smiled back, just briefly. My heart was pounding but the urge to leave had suddenly vanished.

Our food was served, quickly ending Margie's long-winded explanation of how they had done her boob job and how she really hadn't wanted to be quite SO big. Her discussion had given both men an excuse to observe her chest and feel that they had been justified in doing so.

I cut a piece of my seared Ahi Tuna and checked it to make sure that it was rare. It was. It looked perfect.

"Oh my God! You're not going to eat that fish raw are you?" Margie squealed loudly in disgust.

"No," I replied. "I was hoping that I could borrow your lighter so that I could cook it at the table."

Margie started to fumble for her purse and I had to shake my head, awed that anybody could possibly be so stupid.

"I was kidding Margie," I admitted. "I fully intend to eat this raw."

"Aren't you worried about getting sick?" the blonde asked, her bright red lips pursed in distaste.

Not until you started talking about how they did your boob-job, I thought. Tell me again how they shoved the implants under the incision in the muscle?

"It's Sashimi quality tuna. I'm sure it's safe," I replied, taking a piece into my mouth and chewing it to prove that I wasn’t afraid. Between bites I glanced up to see Haldir, as I had begun to think of him, and once again, my heartbeat increased when I found him watching me. I wanted him. A slow smile crossed his face, almost as though he had heard the thought. Once more, I looked away, embarrassed.

The rest of the meal passed with Margie only commenting on my raw fish twice more. It was actually pleasantly quiet as the blonde stuffed bits of steak into her mouth and tried to make it look sexy. It must have worked because both men were watching her eat with obvious enjoyment. Good, I thought, maybe she'd go home with both of them tonight and leave me alone with Haldir. This time when I glanced at him, he raised an eyebrow. I swear that it felt like he was reading my mind, rather than just reacting to my glances.

When we finished our meal, the others wanted to move to the bar and I began to make my excuse to leave when I looked over to see Haldir swirling his glass of red wine. He turned and casually glanced over at the bar, then back at me, raising an eyebrow again. I was probably reading way too much into his actions, but I couldn't help but feel that it had been an invitation. Changing my mind, I agreed to move over to the lounge with the others and when we walked past Haldir, his eyes caressed me. I was glad that I had worn the short, black dress.

The bar was even louder than the restaurant, but it was not so bright. We had barely sat down when both Margie and Dan lit up cigarettes. Dan knew that neither Rick nor I smoked and like most of my smoking friends, he courteously blew his smoke away from us. Margie blew it directly into my face. I would have a headache in the morning; there was no doubt about it. Smoke did it to me every time. Once again, I thought about leaving, but soon Haldir came into the lounge and took a seat at the bar. He turned and looked at me, pointedly, before sitting and I couldn't help but smile. I hadn't misinterpreted his earlier signal after all.

"…and this guy?" Margie was saying, while she sipped her Daiquiri, "well, he told me that if they had a wet t-shirt contest, that I'd win, hands down." Loud laughter erupted once more, most of it from Margie, and I had to grab my glass of wine. Maybe after a couple more glasses, I'd be able to handle the woman better. Or maybe I'd just get tired of her and say something that I might regret. On second thought, it probably would be best if I didn't drink too much. Besides, God forbid, what if…I had to stop and think of what his name was for a minute…Rick, what if Rick started looking good. Nope, I'd keep it to two glasses of wine.

The band started to play a slow song and Dan immediately led Margie out to the dance floor, his hand possessively on her rear end as they moved away from the table. Rick turned to me, "Well?"

"Uh, no thanks, I need to stay and watch the purses," I told him. He looked irritated and I noticed that his eyes began to rove around the room, checking out the other women.

"Rick, listen," I told him. "Please feel free to ask somebody else to dance, O.K? We're just here as friends and it won’t bother me a bit."

"No chance of me getting you in the sack, huh?" he asked, only half joking.

"No chance," I said, dead serious.

He nodded and after two second's hesitation, he went and found somebody else to take out onto the dance floor. The woman seemed happy about it, too. Haldir noticed the couple walk by and turned to look at me. He finished his glass of wine and got up to leave, much to my dismay, but as he passed by the table, he paused and said, "It would be a nice night for a walk on the beach, would it not?"

"Yes, I think that it would," I told him, surprised that I was able to get the words out.

I watched as he continued out of the room and as soon as Margie and Dan returned, I excused myself.

"I need to go get some air," I told them, grabbing my purse. "I'll be back in a while."

"Where's Rick?" Margie asked.

"Looking for a sure thing," I told her. "Hey, you know what? I'll take a cab back to the hotel. You just go ahead without me."

"Are you sure?" Margie asked as Dan fondled her and chewed on her neck.

"Oh, yeah," I said. Throwing down a ten-dollar bill, I walked out of the room, wondering if they even had cab service here. It didn't matter. I'd walk the five miles back to the hotel in my
heels if I had to, but I didn't ever want to see these people again.

Stepping outside, the sea air hit me and I inhaled deeply. It was a beautiful night for a walk, but that didn't mean that the Haldir-look alike would be here. He hadn't actually invited me to join him, though I had thought that it was what he had meant. Hoping he wouldn't turn out to be a serial killer or, worse yet, an insurance salesman, I made my way down the path to the moonlit beach. There was no sign of Haldir. Sighing, I took off my shoes and began to walk anyway, knowing that I could make it all the way to my hotel via the beach. It was a beautiful night for it, with an almost full moon lighting my way. I hadn't gotten ten feet when I sensed somebody behind me and quickly turned, moving into a defensive stance.

"So, your boyfriend did not mind you leaving?" Haldir asked, approaching me. I relaxed and began walking with him.

"He is not my boyfriend, just a guy who is looking for somebody to share his bed tonight," I informed him.

"And it will not be you?" he asked, his lip turned up in a smile.

"No," I said, shuddering at the thought. "My name is Sinda, by the way."

"And mine is Haldir, but you already knew that," he said.

I stopped dead in my tracks. Of course he was kidding. He must have been told a million times that he looked like Haldir and that was what he had meant.

"Well, you certainly look like him," I said.

"Do you mind?" he asked, taking my hand.

"Not at all," I told him, surprising myself. I had just met this guy and already I was allowing him to hold my hand.

We walked along the beach for almost an hour and during that time, I felt closer to him than to anybody I'd ever dated. It was as though we had some sort of deeper connection, something that I couldn't quite put my finger on.

We were on a secluded section of the beach when he turned and kissed me, gently at first but soon forcing my teeth open and plundering my mouth. It felt like a dream. I had never, ever had anybody kiss me quite like this before. When he pulled my body close to his, I didn't resist.

"Let me tell you what is going to happen next," he said in a smooth, velvety voice as his fingers caressed my face. "I am going to make love to you right here on the beach and then I am going to take you back to your room and make love to you there for the rest of the night."

"Oh, really?" I laughed, a bit uncertain. "My, you are certainly presuming a lot. I do not have sex with a man on the first date, ever. I'm afraid that you're going to have to settle for the walk on
the beach, instead."

"Is that right?" he asked, capturing my mouth again and deepening the kiss. He whispered into my ear, "We are not even going to take our clothes off because I want you right now."

I heard a cry escape my mouth when he began to kiss my neck. I was barely aware of his hands sliding my dress up past my hips until I felt the cool ocean breeze on the exposed parts of my body. Before I knew it, one hand had moved around to my back, pulling me closer. Lowering me to the sand, he reached his hand beneath my dress and I didn't protest. A small piece of material flew over his shoulder, yet I had never even noticed that he'd taken it off of me. I watched as he unzipped his jeans and freed his rather impressive erection, before positioning himself above me.

"Yes or no, Sinda?" he asked me, his eyes saying that they already knew the answer.

"Yes," I said, and it was my last coherent thought before he plunged into me.

There was nothing gentle about our coupling. He moved at a fast and furious pace and I met each of his thrusts until he brought me to an explosive climax unlike anything I'd ever experienced before. When I started to cry out, he captured the sounds with his mouth and
released himself into me, continuing to hold my mouth prisoner until we had both stilled and grown quiet.

He continued to kiss me as we lay on the beach, though he rolled me on top of him.

"Are you ready to finish our walk to your hotel?" he asked me.

"It's five miles," I pointed out.

"We have already walked three of it," he told me, biting my earlobe.

"You're kidding," I said, surprised. "And how do you know where my hotel is?"

"I read your mind," he told me, smiling.

"Right," I said, "I forgot. You're an elf and elves can do that."

"Sinda, I do not think that you believe me," he said, feigning hurt.

"Well, if you were a real elf, you would have…" I reached up and brushed his hair away from his ears…and stared.

"You have pointed ears. You really are Haldir?" I asked, not understanding how it
could be true.

"Yes, I am," he replied. He grabbed my hand and placed it on his already hard member.

"Oh, you must be an elf," she said, knowing that it hadn't been more than five minutes.

"On second thought, we may want to delay our trip back for a bit," he said, rolling me onto my stomach and entering me from behind. "I just got my second wind."

The second time was just as good as the first had been and this time I couldn't help but cry out when his hard thrusts brought me fulfillment once again. He smothered his own cries in my back as he found his release for the second time that night. This time, he pulled out and stood as soon as he was able to do so.

"I think we should start walking or it will be dawn by the time we finally get back to your room."

I went to retrieve my hastily discarded underwear, but he grabbed them first, stuffing them into his pocket.

"Leave them off," he whispered into my ear. "Then if we want to stop again, it will not take as long."

We did stop again, twice, before finally making it to the hotel and getting into my room.

He had been correct in his prediction that we would make love all night and I suspected that he had done something to take away my fatigue. Whatever it was, I liked it. Never had anybody made love to me this way before and I didn't want it to end. It was too bad that I only had another day here before I'd have to go home to my lonely apartment.

We finally got up and showered together before walking down to the hotel restaurant for breakfast. Haldir insisted on paying.

"You have real money?" I asked him, surprised.

"I have lived here for many years, Sinda. That would be hard to do without real money," he raised an eyebrow at me.

He explained to me how he and his brothers had chosen to stay behind when the last of the ships had sailed. They had wandered the planet for many years and now lived in a cottage overlooking the ocean. He told me that he would bring me there to visit, soon, but I didn't see how that would be possible.

The rest of the day was spent in bed, and in the bathtub, and on the table and the floor. When Sunday morning came, I had only slept a few hours, but it had been worth it. We showered together again before I started packing my things. I looked out the window and saw that my cab had arrived.

Haldir walked up behind me and kissed my neck. "I shall walk you down."

I nodded, hating the fact that I was going to have to say goodbye. I checked out and he walked me out to the cab and kissed me goodbye.

"You seem sad, Sinda," he stated.

"Yes, I am," I admitted. "Now I know why I don't do one-night-stands. It hurts too much."

"Is that what you thought this was?" he smiled.

"Well, yes," I told him. "I live in Southern Nevada and you live here on the Oregon coast. We'll never see each other again."

He smiled. "Oh, I promise you that we will."

"When?" I asked, not believing it.

"When you need me," he told me.

I need you now, I thought, but did not say it. I didn't need to say it because he heard it anyway.

"Sinda, if I was with you all the time you would never get any sleep and you would never go to work because I would keep you in bed," he smiled. "Trust me, we will meet again soon."

He kissed me one last time before I got into the cab. I watched him though the window as the cab pulled away and I sadly realized that he only had a vague idea where I lived. I would not see him again, but still, it had been a weekend I would never forget.

~~To be continued~~