Exton

I smile. "Trust me, Patti, Alise is a real woman. I hope she and the big guy are happy together, I really do."

She raises an interrogative eyebrow. "I thought you - errrr - cared about Alise."

I sigh. How do I explain this? "I did. I do. I want her to be happy, Patti, and if I'm not the guy for her, she won't be. My lovers tend to come and go anyway…." She gives me a look. "Oh, I'm sorry. TMI?"

"No, just… you don't talk about yourself much."

"Yeah, well, there are lots of better subjects to talk about - the war, this frickin' economy, how much wood would a woodchuck chuck…." I chuckle at her look. "Well, is there something you'd like to know? I mean, you already know my story… what else is there?"

She doesn't answer for a long time. It's like she's having one of those internal discussions that women have sometimes, and I'm no longer there. After a while, her eyes seem to refocus and she does a long stretch that starts at her toes and ripples all the way up her torso. I enjoy the effect while it lasts.

She looks me square in the eye, and suddenly she's a whole new Patti. Even her voice has changed; it's dropped a notch, gone all smoky and sultry. Gee, I wonder who she learned that from? "Just one question for now, Jack… what does a girl have to do to get you to give her a tumble?"

I'm dumbstruck for a second; then Magnum Force comes to my rescue. In my best Clint Eastwood voice - which is really, really bad - I say "Knock on my door?"

She stands and stretches again and again I enjoy the show: long legs, fishnets, short skirt, bare tummy and a man's shirt, unbuttoned and tied just below her breasts, sweet face and multicolored hair. She notices me noticing and a smile quirks one corner of her mouth. "I get off at two, but Monty might take over if things are slow later." She makes a small fist and raps lightly on my forehead, twice. "Knock, knock."

She smiles and swivel-hips her way back to the bar, turning once to smile at me. I sit there a moment, my jaw sagging like I've been poleaxed. After a moment, I close it with a decisive snap. The thoughts racing through my mind are anything but serene….