I was sitting outside, in the front patio of a favorite restaurant, when the incident happened.
I had been casually regarding two men at a nearby table, thinking how attractive they were. My friend Carmen, seeing my look, had leaned towards me and murmured, “I think they’re straight.” I decided she was probably right, but still held out some hope.
“I can still look,” I replied, continuing my evaluation of their physical attributes. I decided that it was their air that made them most attractive—their confidence, strength and easy-going miens, their sense of goodwill, all of which were distinctly masculine. Further, these qualities were not out for display; they merely were there, quiescent—and that made them all the more alluring.
One of the men was more or less facing me, but looking al
