So there I was, at the back of the coffee shop, getting my PowerPoint presentation together for the next day's meeting, when he walked in. I'd been seeing him around the office for a couple of weeks now, and although we'd been making lots of flirtatious contact in the elevator, hallways, dining room and such, we'd barely spoken more than five full sentences to one another, with the exception of the 3 times he'd asked me out. Admittedly, a large part of that was my doing; Steven was so dynamic and attractive, I knew I'd be hooked if I spent too much time around him. And after my catastrophic involvement with the infamous Matthewβas if the juvenile headgames weren't bad enough, he gave new meaning to the term "one minute man" ...so much for the theory that mature men actually behave maturely, or even have a modicum of sexual self-control for that matter βI was hesitant to even begin fantasizing about anyone else, muchless to take it a step further. But there he stood, in all his raven-haired, hazel-eyed glory, skimming the magazine rack while waiting for the teenager to jot down his order.
Trying to stay focused, I buried my head in my report once again, but try as I might to feign an intense look of concentration, I think anyone within half a mile could've seen that it was all for show. I wanted nothing more than to turn off my pc, make room for him at the seat across the table from mine, and spend the afternoon laughing and flirting carelessly the way I did P.E. (that's Pre-Egomaniac to those in the know... not Premature Ejaculator, as I'm sure many of you thought. But actually, both fit, so feel free to apply them interchangeably as it suits you). I've become a lot less hesitant about flirting now than I used to be, but more hesitant about letting it lead anywhere beyond that, and because of this, I've feared coming across like a tease for some time now. As I sat there, staring at one spot on the screen, mulling all of this over, I heard the light dragging of the chair across from me being pulled out, and before I could get my thoughts straight, Steven's smiling eyes were dancing at me from across the table.