You can mix business with pleasure sometimes. Like right now for instance, the wall absolutely must be cleared of the sticky tape in ten minutes, but it was being done as they talked. In fact, the little pieces of tape were peeled bit by bit off the wall and playfully pressed onto her shirt. What the hell? It was dumbfounding, yes, but as she looked down she decided she was much too amused to question it happening.

Stranger things have happened. Such as, deflecting the unusual amount of come-ons today (must be her favourite shirt). But of course none were from the one guy she actually was interested in. Of course he didn’t give her even two seconds of eye time. She felt brutally unused to the unwanted attention, & dirty, like she needed a shower to celebrate her dismissal of the disappointing male species.

Now she was having a conversation punctuated with sticky tape. What next?
“Sorry about the fuss earlier, I was a little glad to get that guy off my back. Thank you.”
“It’s okay.” (peel) “Besides,” (press) “you can’t blame the guy, you’re so cute.”
Cue nervous laugh. She shyly avoided eye contact. “Haha.”
“No, really. (peel) Why don’t you date him anyway? (press) I’m sure he’s decent.”
“I’m sure he is. He’s just… something’s missing. I have my 3Cs. He doesn’t qualify.”
A chuckle. “They sound like grades. (peel) So, what are these (press) 3Cs of yours?”
“Conversation. Chemistry. Commitment. In that order.”
“Well, what about gender?”
“(that isn’t a C, but…) Huh. I’ve never had a reason to think about gender, actually.”
“What if I gave you one?”

Her lashes flew up, their eyes met. The girl grinned cheekily & walked off.
“Well, you have my number.”

Did that just happen? She touched the makeshift sticky-tape corsage on her shirt, briefly stunned, but not enough to prevent a retort, “Yeah, but you have mine too.”

Denouncing the male species, then immediately getting hit on by a girl? What next?
Stranger things have happened.

She still needed a shower.
But maybe she should wear the shirt more often.

(ari: okay I don’t think this is a shirt but it’ll do)