e.e., while her back was turned. Despite my intention to not take Mary too seriously, I couldn't help but wonder if perhaps she was trying to get my sexual attention. For a moment, my mind drifted off into a fantasy of her slowly stripping for me as I watched from my vantage point on the couch. But then I sobered up and reminded myself that she probably had dozens of boyfriends and there was no way she'd ever consider a 37-year-old, slightly flabby, balding guy like me. I thought back to what life was like when I was her age, and I had to admit to myself that I'm too shy and nervous around women to ever have stood a chance with someone like her even back then. A woman as attractive as her could easily afford to be as picky as she wanted, and I'm sure she'd have no time for my insecurities and shyness. I sighed and forced myself to stop thinking those grim thoughts and to just enjoy her flirting and her sexy body while I had the chance. And I was getting ample opportunity for that right then. I guess she didn't have to man the phones after hours, and instead of sitting at the recetionist's desk she was working at one of the headhunters' desks typing on the word processor. From my seat in the reception area I had a really nice view of her profile as she sat there and worked. I took advantage of the view whenever I thought she wasn't looking. Although she was quite a sight, I didn't want to appear too lecherous by just staring, so I looked around among the magazines nearby and tried to find something worth reading. The pickings were rather disappointing, and I was trying to figure out which of "Business Week" and "Forbes" would be less boring, when suddenly Mary piped in with, "If you want something more interesting you can read my 'Cosmopolitan'". I laughed and said, "I'm not sure if that would be an improvement over this shit." She gave me another of her flirty looks and replied, "Oh, c'mon now, Al. Do you mean to say that you'd rather read about the stock market than to look at the sexy women in Cosmo?" Her comment caught me off guard -- she sure was being flirty. |