Flirty Is As Friendly Does

I may be coming to the conclusion that I could be ..... a little flirty.

I once believed that I was incapable of flirting in person and although I admit to being quite talented in the 'flirting realm' online; I truly thought that I was not very versed in the ways of flirting when face to face. I think however, I may stand corrected. Maybe.

I have friends and foes who tell me that in fact I flirt all the time. One even said that just the way I communicate with men in general is flirtatious. I've never believed it. I think I am just being friendly. Truthfully, I think I am just nice.

Well, that is until today. I think I might have caught myself flirting a little. I think.

It started this morning. As I get ready for work everyday I look in the mirror to see how I'm doing. Make-up straight? Hair brushed? Clothes on? Then after I get in my truck, I look in the mirror on the visor to confirm I look okay in outside light as well as inside. Nearly everyday, that is my point of disappointment. I don't know what happens as I walk outside but all my cuteness that I thought I saw in the inside mirrors just seems to blow right off or melt away. Clothes become oddly fitted, the make-up fades away and the hair is flatter than Charlie Sheen's EKG reading every other week. Yet this morning....the truck mirror was even more flattering than my inside mirror! How could this be? Its the miracle of miracles! I looked in the mirror three more times just to be sure and sure enough... I was cute! I don't know how it happened but there it was. Who was I to argue?

As I begin to drive to work, I turn on the happy tunes and since I am so cute this day I also do a little car dancing. Women know what I mean. To explain it for you guys, it basically means we sit in the seat and bop around like we're dancing in a great club but its only from the waist up. Its like chair dancing but in a car. So that was my commute; just driving and dancing and looking at the other cars. Each red light I stopped for I would take a moment to check out the cars next to me. That's when I began to notice that I looked more at work trucks, police cars, fire engines, and ambulances. It occurred to me ever so briefly that I may be actually looking for men to flirt with. Could it be? I thought to myself, "Why am I so quick to turn away when its a female in these cars?" Had it been a man- any man- I would have smiled. Even if it was just a little, I know I would have smiled. I began to think about this a bit as I continue to car dance and check out cars and work trucks and police cars, and it hits me that perhaps I do this every day. Hmmm........ this isn't because the truck mirror says I'm cute today. I'm just more obvious about it because I am cute today. Could I really be a flirt? I get out of the truck, careful not to snag my fishnets and continue this line of thought as I walk in the door to work.

Bethany is not only a co-worker but one of my very best friends. When she asked me today to go to lunch of course I said yes. I didn't care where we went as long as we were able to girl chat for a bit. We decided to go to a deli I know. As soon as I walk in I immediately scoped the place out for firefighters and/or policemen because I happen to know they frequent this establishment. Nuts. Not a shiny badge or set of BDUs in the place. Well, at least there's lunch. We order from the counter and go to the register. It hasn't escaped me that there is a man in front of me that is easy on the eyes. He looks familiar....

Bethany is beside me as we inch our way closer to check out.

"This cake looks really good," she says to me in a whisper. "It's really dense."

"Like most of the men I date." I quipped back laughing.

I thought I said that quietly. I thought I said it just to Bethany. Until the hottie next to me starts laughing and glances at me. I start laughing too and add, "Oh my! Was that out loud?" as I put my hand to my mouth like I was actually embarrassed at being caught. He looks me in the face and I smile a big smile from behind my hand and bat my mascaraed eyelashes over my green eyes.

Oh geeze. Maybe I am a flirt.

He laughed again. The woman at the register laughed too and asked what she missed. I have known Kim for years. She knows I am single. She knows I am friendly. I'm pretty sure she knew what I was up to even if I was in denial. Everyone else seems to think they know this about me already.

Back to the lunch line.

So there I am just smiling, being (okay - maybe 'playing') coy, and realizing that I may be absolutely and shamelessly in the midst of a full blown flirt. Kim hands the hottie a bag for his food but his food is on a tray and he obviously isn't leaving so he looks at the bag and then at Kim and says mockingly, "I think I'm staying here to eat but then....I am after all a man so I could just be dense" and with that gives me a slow mischievous grin. I laugh out loud and say, "Did I date you?"

He laughs too and says, "No, but you do look really familiar."

By now I think I figured it out and said, "Ahhh.. we worked together."

"Bally Total Fitness, right?" he asked.

"Yup." I added with a smile. I do remember him. I remember he's married too. We chatted for about two more seconds and he heads for his table as I wish him a good weekend. He flashes that yummy smile again and walks away.

Later in the day, I think I counted one more borderline face to face flirt occurrence, maybe what could be construed as three flirts by text, possibly one by IM and I suppose what could by some be considered a few flirts by Facebook postings. Of course, its all in how you look at it. Totally subjective.

As I climb into bed tonight, I think of the one that once said to me that my every communication is a flirtation in the works. To that person I still say, "Oh, pshaw." However; I suppose I could go on the record as admitting that there could be a possibility that perhaps I have been known to maybe be a little friendlier to the male persuasion than those of the female tribes.

Perhaps.

Maybe.

Just perhaps.



But as I striaghten my black nightie under the blankets and send that last "Naughty dreams, honey!" text to my male friend......I am still not convinced.