Did You Notice?

"For a guy, you don't pick up on these things very fast. Have you been paying attention?"

"Of course I have."

"Did you notice I was looking right at you when I did that?"

"Yes. I thought you were... But I was a little bit drunk at that point."

"Well, I was looking right at you."

The phone line went silent for a moment.

He broke the pause: "I guess maybe I should drink less when I'm out. I might have missed some other things as well...."

She took the opportunity: "Yeah, I'll say. Do you remember that cheesy play I made for you in front of David and your girlfriend? What was her name? Kristen?"

"It was Karen, but that's okay."

"We were up at your cabin. I was talking about how sore my neck was after that long drive up there."

"That was a play?"

"I wanted you to rub my neck, for starters."

"If I remember right, David was still your fiancé at that point. He was sitting right in front us."

"He was asleep in that chair, and Kristen -- I mean Karen -- was already asleep on the couch. She could never stay up late."

"Ha. Neither could David, especially after a couple of drinks. They would have been perfect for each other."

"Do you remember what happened next?"

"Of course. You moved around and put my hands on your shoulders."

"Do you have to make it sound so bad?"

"Sorry. I thought you really did have a sore neck."

"Don't you remember how I started to make little sounds when you started to rub me? You were pushing your thumbs just that little extra bit into my shoulder blades. It felt so good."

"You remember that?"

"Absolutely."

"You were engaged."

"I was already wanting to end it."

"He was my friend. I wasn't going to start thinking about you like that."

The line went silent for a moment.

"Brian, the real question is, do YOU remember that time?'

"I remember you taking my hands and putting them on your shoulders. I remember rubbing your back and your neck and wondering what would happen if all of a sudden David woke up and saw me and you like that. I was looking at his face, trying to see if he was pretending to be asleep. That's something he would have done. He was manipulative like that."

"Did you know he saw me doing that thing at the party right in front of you?"

"I couldn't believe he showed up."

"Yeah, well he was there and he saw exactly what I was doing, even if you didn't."

"Don't be mad. There were a lot of people there. I was about ready to crash. The music was too loud..."

"So what did you think I was doing?"

"You mean when you had that beer bottle in you mouth."

"Yes."

"You were showing how far you could put it in your mouth."

"I was looking right at you. I was doing it for your benefit."

"Everyone saw it. I had no idea. I thought our eyes just accidentally met. All of the guys were after you. Especially after that. Craig was about ready to go crazy."

"So you did notice."

"Yeah. I guess I felt bad for David. Everyone knows that you two were together and that you ended it because he could be such an ass. And he was right there. He saw how all the guys were looking at you all night. You did look pretty amazing in that costume."

"Thank you."

"That front was pretty low cut."

"That's what Elvira wears."

"It was very nice."

"I wore that because I knew you would be there."

The line went silent. He adjusted the phone against his ear and took a breath.

"You didn't know I had such a big chest, did you?

"No. I really didn't."

"David wouldn't let me wear anything revealing when we all went out. I always had to cover up."

"I'm not surprised, actually. He was always like that with girls. Completely insecure."

"That's not all. Did you know he's a complete germ-a-phobe? He thinks he's going to get cancer from a taxi seat or something."

"I know. He's been like that since he was a kid. We couldn't even get him to go swimming in a public pool. He was always saying about how his dad told him about hot tubs and bacteria... and pools were just as bad."

"Can you imagine what it was like to live with that? I had to be around that all the time."

"So why'd you say 'Yes' when he asked you to marry him?"

"Let's not talk about that. I was stupid. What else can I say?"

"Okay. I didn't mean to pry."

"That's alright. I guess we've never really talked about it."

"I just figured he put on a different front when you two were together, alone."

"Hardly."

"You mean he was always like that?"

"Pretty much, yeah."

"I guess it's still too soon to talk about it. You seem mad."

"Not mad, just pissed off."

"Ha."

"Let me tell you something about his germ thing."

"Sure."

"He made me put a condom on him before he would let me... Before he would let me perform oral sex on him."

The line went silent for a moment.

"You're kidding?"

"No."

"And you guys were together how long?"

"Over two years."

"And he didn't even..."

"He thought he could get some disease from my mouth, or something. At least that's what he told me."

"That makes no sense. You don't have anything, that could possibly..."

"No. He was just so weird about it. Besides, we were supposed to be getting married. You'd think he could trust me enough."

"I can barely believe that he would be so weird. I had no idea he was that bad."

"Hey. You know what the good thing is?"

"I can't wait to hear this. What?"

"You don't need to worry about what he was thinking with my little beer bottle show."

"Ha. He was thinking about germs.'

The line went silent for a moment.

"I haven't been with another guy since him."

"Its not easy to meet someone."

"Tell me about it. You're not still with what's her name, are you?"

"No."

"So, what do you think about that?"

"About what?"

"About everything. About you and I being single. About what I did with my mouth?"

"You're pretty direct."

"I'm sorry. I'm nervous, too. I've been thinking about this for a long time. Do you remember how you touched my back with your hands?"

"Yes."

"That was when I went crazy for you."

The line went silent.

"I had no idea."

"I would have let you do anything to me."

"I didn't know."

"So, tell me about what you thought about my beer bottle trick."

"It was incredibly sexy."

"I love to do it, too. I was looking right at you for a reason. I wanted you to think of me like that."

That line went silent for moment.

"Do you still have that Elvira costume?"

"Yes."

"Do you remember how you had your hair?"

"Yeah, it was way up. Its shorter now. I had it cut."

"Do you want to do something a bit silly?"

"Yes. Just name it."

"Put on that costume. Put that makeup on, too. Do it right now."

"Okay."

"I'll be over in about ten minutes."

He hung up the phone and started rampaging through his house looking for his car keys.