Well She's No Help

I'm not exactly sure what reaction I expected, but laughter was not it. Moodily I sat there and waited for her to finish. When that didn't happen quickly enough, I grumped. “I don't see why that's funny.”

Sarah Jean did her best to stop laughing but her smile showed signs of returning to laughter at any moment. “I don't understand why you're so concerned. If you're not overestimating her looks in your mental image, she is very attractive and she came onto you. Are you sure that you weren't drinking and imagined it?”

“I'm sure.”

“Maybe she was drinking and gravitated to you because she felt you were safe?” Sarah Jean suggested. “Did you consider that?”

I hadn't. Pondering that made me feel better and worse. “Now I'm worried I abandoned her to mischief.”

For a moment, she just looked at me and smiled. Just before I was about to ask what was up now, she spoke. “You're actually concerned. That's so sweet.” The smile disappeared. “Too sweet sometimes. People take advantage of you sometimes.” Unbidden, a personally embarrassing moment starring the young lady across the table from me sprang into my mind. “Hey! That's not fair.”

“I seem to recall you finding my being uncomfortable in that store rather amusing,” I pointed out.

“That was different,” she protested.

“I suppose it was,” I stated coolly, “it's not often one can say that they helped save humanity by buying some ladies underwear.”

When I grinned, she laughed. “You kept the joke from me; how did you do that?”

There she had me. “Instinct maybe. I'm not sure.”

“Well, don't start keeping secrets from me now,” she played. Suddenly thoughtful, almost apologetically, she added “Not that you really have any reason to tell me anything.”

“Right.”

“Because it's not like we have any hold on each other.”

“Exactly.”

“But, um, if you did get frisky with this lady, you'd say something, right?”

The chuckle that escaped me was pure instinct. “Oh, magically I'd be able to keep something like that a secret. Right. I mean the guilt alone would give it away.”

“The guilt,” Sarah Jean repeated, fiddling with her tea cup. “From... meddling with a married lady.”

“That too.”

She didn't look up at me but I saw a grin pull at the corners of her mouth. By the time she looked up, all this was gone. “I'm sure you'll be fine. I mean, I'm already out of your league, so she's REALLY out of your league.”

“Clearly.”

“She's probably so high maintenance.”

“No doubt.”

“Just use you up and throw you away like it was nothing.” Thoughts zipped through my mind. She reacted. “I did not need to see any of that!”

“You started it!” I protested.

“I did not!”

“I was behaving until you said something.” I grinned. “Besides, you're just jealous it wasn't you in those thoughts.”

That didn't get the 'ha ha' reaction I expected or even a bashful admittance that I was right to some degree. She just gave me a weird look. By weird I mean that I wasn't sure how to interpret it, as opposed to the weird of the Teddy Bears Picnic that surrounded us. She just looked at me like that for a minute and then the expression was just gone. “Tour's Monday?” I confirmed that she was correct. “Have fun with that,” she said encouragingly.

“You never know. Hope that business with the Khentites works out okay.”

“It had better.” She smiled. “Take care Patrick.”

“See you soon Sarah Jean.”