Darryl gets more forward with Abbie

"Of course she exists," said Abbie. "You just have to keep your eyes open."

"They're open right now," said Darryl. "I mean, I'll be realistic and admit that my brain is convinced that there's no way that this plays out in my favor." He gestured between himself and Abbie.

Abbie shrugged. "Just your brain?"

Darryl chuckled. "Well, my heart is racing. And there may or may not be other parts of me reacting to this whole scenario."

Abbie giggled. "Well that's a bit of a tease, now isn't it?"

"Only if nothing comes of it."

Abbie raised her eyebrows and nodded. They held eye contact with each other for a while, each of them grinning a bit and trying to read the other.

"I'm talking about my penis." Darryl said bluntly, breaking the tension of the silence. "In case you didn't know. I'm talking about the scientific reality that when a straight guy looks at a hot girl he sometimes experiences an involuntary rush of blood to his penis. It makes it hard. The penis. In case you didn't know."

Abbie spent half of Darryl's latest monologue stifling a laugh, which finally burst out.

Darryl's head bobbed, and his eyes darted around before refocusing on Abbie. "I take it you did know. You do know. About the science."

"I do. I know about the science."

"You know about the blood and the rushing and the erection and ... you know about the penis?"

Abbie laughed again. "Yes. I know about the penis."

"Okay, so you can envision what's going on in my pants right now?"

"Yes," Abbie said, looking down at Darryl's crotch. "I can."

Darryl took a breath as if to speak, then stopped. He looked away, thought about it for a moment, and turned back. "I feel like I'm a kid again, acting stupid around a cute girl."

"Was all of this, um, science talk -- is that how you hit on girls?"

Darryl chuckled. "To describe anything I've done as 'hitting on girls' is a wild misuse of language."

Abbie tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. "So you're not hitting on me right now?"

Darryl stared at her, his mouth agape. "I, um ... I don't know. I guess that ... if I'm not, then there's not a great explanation for any of this."

"Nope."

"But if I am, it's definitely some of the strangest verbal foreplay in the history of spoken English."

"Yup."

He chuckled again, shaking his head in disbelief. "I don't know. Sure. I guess I ... sure. Let's call it hitting on you. I mean, what the hell do I have to lose. Right?"

Abbie smiled. "Right."

"Okay, so you -- you specifically. Would you be into a guy like me?"

"Sure," said Abbie easily.

Darryl chuckled. "Son of a bitch," he muttered.

"Of course, you made it a hypothetical," Abbie added.

"What's that?"

"You said 'would I' instead of 'am I.'"

Darryl stared at her, his mouth agape. "You'll have to explain. I was math, not English."

Abbie laughed. "You didn't ask me directly if I was into you. You asked me if I 'would' be into you. And yeah, I would ... but it's just a hypothetical, just a 'for instance' kind of thing."

Darryl continued to stare.

"Unless you'd like to reword your question," Abbie concluded, her voice getting softer.

Darryl kept staring, but shook his head. "You're a piece of work, aren't you."

Abbie nodded. "I imagine I am."

"You know what I'm asking you, but you're dodging it."

"I'm not dodging anything, Darryl. I'd've left long ago if I was trying to avoid you."

"But you won't answer."

"I'll answer anything you ask me."

Darryl nodded, thinking it over. "Anything I ask you?"

"Yes, sir." Abbie stood in place, swiveling her hips around, her dress waving back and forth over her legs.

Darryl paced again. He didn't trust her. He couldn't put his finger on why he didn't trust her. Probably because he didn't know her. He certainly didn't have a sense that when Abbie said she'd answer any question that she meant it. And that she'd be honest. He didn't know that. So he had to test it.

"Do you like older guys?" he asked.

Abbie lifted her head slightly, breathing slowly, feeling her chest rise and fall. She saw Darryl's eyes glance downward at her body as she moved, and smiled, recognizing the effect she had on him.

"Yes," she said softly.

Darryl's eyes kept darting up and down. He wasn't making any effort to be secretive about looking at her body.

"Do you like younger women?" she asked him.

Darryl was stuck. He didn't want to make eye contact, but at the moment, his eyes were fixed on her chest. And she knew it. Her light dress caught some of the air, billowing the smallest amount as she breathed, as her chest expanded and contracted with each breath.

"Do you like when I look at you?" he asked her, still staring at her breasts, admiring the curve of the dress around her body.

"Mm, it's nice," said Abbie.