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Pretty  

She was pretty. Very, very pretty. She was also smart, and funny, and playful. She was great at her job and she loved it. She played video games like a champ and pool like a shark. She could do amazing impressions and had a great sense of humor about herself. She was confident and sexy and assertive.

And she wanted him.

He wasn’t sure when she went from tolerating him to encouraging his presence, but one day he looked around at her and saw an expression he recognized. It was hard-wired into his DNA to recognize that look – unmasked sexual desire. He was startled to see it on her lovely features. It was a compelling, magnetic gaze, and he leaned toward her completely unconsciously. His movement stopped the moment, though, and her glossy lips quirked up into a shy smile as she dropped her gaze back to her computer screen.

This was an unexpected development. He didn’t really fit in here, and she had not done much to welcome him at first. Still, it was nice to be wanted (even if it was slightly alarming to be the object of lust). He had come here to make a fresh start, so he decided to make an effort. He tried a few smiles, then some mild flirtation. If it was forced and mechanical, she didn’t seem to notice. In fact, she seemed thrilled at every gesture, ever bit of contact he initiated. She was very, very pretty.

He accepted her casual suggestion for an after-work drink, and he had a nice time but left early. He sat by her at lunch sometimes, laughing with her and chatting carelessly. Eventually, he recognized that she was waiting for something- for him to make the next move. He ignored the feeling of falling as he asked her to dinner, and watched her smile light up her eyes as she accepted. He let her pick the place, since he was new to the area, and was really pleasantly surprised at the low-key, casual place she selected. He’d expected something fancier, to match her clothes and her hair and her perfect eye makeup.

At the end of the date, he walked her to her apartment door. Her body leaned toward his and her eyes fell to his mouth as he talked about having a nice time and seeing her tomorrow. She was confident and sexy and assertive.

And she wanted him.

Her lips were soft. Her hair smelled like someplace exotic and warm. Her hands on his neck and chest were inviting but not insistent. He pulled away and looked into her eyes, which held a challenge and a promise. He pretended not to see the flash of anger or disappointment as he walked back to his car, leaving her standing at the door.

She was really very pretty. But for him, someone else would always define “beautiful.”