Signals

“Ah, I’m so sorry, Miss!” Tom exclaimed as he took a seat at the bar. He had eyed the woman from afar and had decided that she knew how to look good, particularly the way her pixie cut exaggerated her beautifully slender neck. Louise glanced across at the man and raised her eyebrows, eyes darting around to try to figure out what the problem was. Nothing appeared out of the ordinary.

“Excuse me?” she laughed nervously, noticing that the stranger had his cell phone out.

“I had your number, but I accidentally deleted it,” he answered while sliding his phone across the bar. Louise saw that it was awaiting a new contact and she laughed.

“Wow, that was very smooth.”

“Thank you,” Tom grinned. He then extended his arm with a polite smile. “Tom.”

“Louise,” she replied while shaking his hand. “And just for the awesome pick-up line, I’ll actually give you my number.” He was charming, a quality she liked in men, and she willingly typed her name and cell number.

“Great,” Tom said as he took back his phone. “I’ll give you a call.” He left the bar to return to his friends and Louise’s eyes followed the well-dressed man, surprised at what had just happened.