So there I. was, in the mid morning up on a platform along the side of the house prepping and painting the upper reaches. A couple stroll by on the pathway adjacent to the property and begin a conversation. They are both in their mid-forties, aging well.
As it had been for the past week, temperatures were soaring into the mid to upper 30's as this part of Canada was in another heat wave. Most of the activity began early in the morning and ended early in the afternoon and today was no different.
After brief discussions about the weather and a potential building development nearby, the wife makes eye contact and says "I could watch you paint all day". The husband and I both kind of chuckle and I reply that my wife often says something similar, about liking to watch me work around the yard. So we keep chatting but somewhere in the back of my mind I realize she had moved closer to the platform, more directly underneath. And when I looked again at her (and not the wall I was painting) I saw she was not trying to make eye contact at all, but looking a bit lower.
Finally it clicked, I'm wearing loose fitting mid-thigh length shorts and a t-shirt (my old painting clothes) and nothing else -- commando. I did say it was hot out and we have a pool in our private back yard so I like to work a bit, strip down, jump in the pool to cool off, then put the shorts and shirt back on and continue working. Commando just makes it easier.
A bit about me, I regularly hike, mountain bike, play team sports, etc. So I guess all that activity shows in my physique, but in this current situation it seems a bit more was being revealed as she was looking upshort.
So then it was decision time, do I begin to apologize for being a closet exhibitionist and explain the whole pool thing or do I make a few subtle revealing movements ask her what specifically she likes about watching me paint? I was leaning towards the latter which then of course began to stimulate something else. Well, I didn't get that far as she pulled out her phone and asked if she could take a picture of me painting the wall. The husband, oblivious to what she is seeing gives her a funny look -- and thinking maybe it's the color of the paint she likes starts telling her that no matter how much she likes the paint color, he is not about to start painting their house.
I give her a smile, suggesting I know what she is up to and tell her that would be ok and offer to her that she might want to come by again to see a bit more. Oh she might just do that she exclaimed as she took the pictures.