As I was saying, when I met Brent, he wasn't interested in getting close to me or any woman, for that matter. His ex-wife had done a number on him and had pretty much ruined him for anyone else. Well, maybe not anyone...

I've always enjoyed flirting. You know, it's funny... (Funny - peculiar, not funny - haha) that I would adamantly deny accusations that I am a game player. I mean, when it comes to playing with another persons heart, I would never intentionally hurt someone. But... well, games are fun, aren't they? Supposed to be, anyway. And when I look back at these stories I've written, there are a fair number of games I've played and told you about in great detail. So perhaps I am a game player and I guess the object of this one was just to get him to flirt back.

I had already told him I wanted to have his baby. (Admittedly, that's not really flirting because I was serious about that!) So I started doing this 'thing' where I would walk up behind him while he played his game. No, not the flirting game! Backgammon, with Ron! (Pay attention!) 😏 Anyway, I would start massaging his shoulders while pretending to be interested in his game.

He would tolerate me for about a minute and then yell loudly,

"Katie, your friend's bugging me!"

to which Katy would reply,

"Jesse, stop bugging Ron's friend."

And I would say,

"I am not!"

When i did it again, a little bit later, he yelled again,

"Katie! your friend's bugging me again!"

Only this time he reached his hand back and caressed my thigh as he looked up at me from the corner of his eye. He was very subtle when he gave my thigh a squeeze and a barely visible but definite smile. Yes, he was playing back!

Later, when nobody was nearby, Brent pushed me around the corner into the kitchen so he could talk to me when no one was around. He said,

"Look, I like you but I just got totally fucked over by my ex-wife and I'm not looking to get involved with anyone right now. And, I get that you wanna have a kid. It's something I've always wanted too, but my wife got pregnant twice and each time, she had an abortion she even told me she was pregnant! I'm just not sure I can do that without taking part in its life."

While I was still trying to figure out all he was telling me he said,

"If you want to, we can get outta here for a while and go do something."

I nodded and he turned toward the door, talking as he was walking away.

"I'm gonna get my car. Meet me down on the corner. Wait a minute or two before you leave."

And the door shut behind him.