The Sweetest Girl in the Room

I was sitting in a cozy little pub, slowly enjoying a cold beer while pretending to watch the people around me.

The truth was, I kept stealing glances at the attractive woman sitting just a few tables away.

Every now and then our eyes met.

She smiled.

I smiled back.

Then we both looked away... only to look again a few moments later.



She was exactly my type.

Warm eyes, a friendly smile, and something about her that made my heart beat a little faster every time I looked in her direction.

"Come on," I kept telling myself. "Just walk over there and say hello. What's the worst that could happen?"

Easy advice.

Impossible mission.



So I ordered a second beer.

Surely that would make me braver.

It didn't.

Instead, my heartbeat grew louder while my courage quietly disappeared.

I wanted nothing more than to start a conversation, but somehow every sentence I invented sounded ridiculous before it ever reached my lips.



Then she raised her hand and called the waiter.

That's it, I thought.

She's leaving.

Game over.

Feeling rather sorry for myself, I ordered a third beer.



A few minutes later, I noticed someone standing beside my table.

I looked up.

It was her.

She smiled kindly, looked straight into my eyes, and gently placed a business card on the table in front of me.

I stared at her...

...and still couldn't produce a single word.

She laughed softly.

"I can see you're never going to say anything to me in here," she said. "Maybe you'll be a little braver on the phone."



She gave me one last warm smile.

"Bye... I'm pretty sure I'll be hearing from you in the next few days."

With that, she turned around and walked toward the door.

I watched her leave, still speechless.

Then I looked down at the little card lying on my table.

Suddenly, my third beer didn't seem nearly as important anymore.

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