Don was at a party the first time he met James' new bride, Candi. Candi was from out of town and most of James' courting had been done elsewhere. Didn't want to stand the competition from close at hand was Don's opinion. The few times he had brought her home and introduced her around Don had been elsewhere, so this party was his first chance to assess Candi.
James had come strutting in like the arrogant little prick that Don considered him to be, showing off his prize. Don was intrigued to notice that she barely looked at him when introduced, and as soon as James had finished showing her off Candi had headed over to join a group of wives and girlfriends.
Chatting with James later, Don observed that Candi seemed a very nice young woman.
"And she's mine," pointed out James.
"True," said Don thoughtfully, "but how do you intend to beat off the young wolves that will come sniffing around? You know what they're like. Some of them would chase anything in a skirt. Even a nun wouldn't be safe."
"Couldn't care less about them," scoffed James. "Candi is madly in love with me and hasn't got eyes for anyone else. She won't go straying. Besides, you're supposed to be reasonably smart, so don't tell me you didn't notice that she's shy around men. She'll stick to wives and girlfriends for company, and they'll prevent their men from poaching on my preserves."
James paused there and contemplated Don.
"Except for you, perhaps. I've heard rumours about you and women. Not that I believe them, knowing you as I do, but I'll just warn Candi that you're dangerous. She'll be extra careful around you."
Amused, Don strolled away, idly contemplating Candi and wondering what if?
Later that evening Don happened to be standing inconspicuously against a wall when he heard James' voice drifting through the door.
"You'll have to be careful if you happen to run into Don anywhere. He's that tall blonde I introduced you to earlier. You'll find that he's not too good where women are concerned, and he might misinterpret things you say and do."
"True," mused Don. "I think I might happen to misinterpret what Candi says at the appropriate time. I'll have to see how this plays out."
- - -
A few days later Candi was pottering around in the front garden of her new home when someone spoke to her.
"Excuse me, but is James home?"
Candi glanced up, seeing a tall blond looking down at her. At the same time if dawned on her that she was braless and probably showing an impressive amount of cleavage. Blushing, she hastily pressed a hand against her t-shirt, cutting of the display. Before she could reply she noticed that her visitor was blushing and looking determinedly away from her attributes. She blinked. Men didn't often react that way to her cleavage.
"Ah, no, he's not here right now. Can I help you?"
"Er, no, thank you anyway," came the reply. "Um, I'm Don. I think we met at the Jenson's party the other day."
Don? Why did that name ring a bell? Oh yes. Now Candi remembered.
"Ah, yes," she said nervously. "James mentioned you to me. Um, he said you were bad with women and I should watch out for you."
Candi gave Don a tentative smile, hoping she hadn't offended him. It appeared that she had.
"I say, that's a bit harsh," said Don, blushing again. "I wouldn't say I'm bad with women, just a little, um, cautious. I never quite know what to say to them."
"I'm sorry," said Candi apologetically. "I didn't mean to offend you."
She blinked again as she realised that Don was blushing and looking away again.
"No, no," he muttered. "My fault. I guess I'm just a little touchy on the subject. I'd better be on my way."
Candi stared as Don walked away with what she considered undue haste. What had she said? He was almost running. Recalling the way Don had blushed and his comment on being cautious around women it dawned on Candi what the problem was. The poor man was shy around women. No wonder James had said he was bad with women. She'd got it completely wrong and embarrassed the poor man. And after James had warned her to be careful. She gave herself a mental kick.
The next time Candi met Don it was by accident. Literally. Somehow or other she found herself bumping into him in the mall, knocking some parcels out of his hand.
Apologising profusely, Candi helped him to pick them up.
"Um, look," she said, feeling very brave all of a sudden. "We're right next to Starbucks. Can I buy you a cup of coffee? If you feel the way I do, you probably need one."
"Ah, no," said Don, sounding slightly flustered, a hint of a blush on his cheeks. "I wouldn't want to presume on out slight acquaintance."
"Nonsense," said Candi firmly, while wondering where this new sense of determination had come from. "We could both use a cup and it will give us a chance to get better acquainted."
Bustling a reluctant Don into a seat, Candi ordered their coffee and sat down, determined to set Don at easy. To her surprise she found the techniques for doing so came easily to her. She'd had them used on her so often when beset by her own shyness that it just seemed natural letting the technique flow the other way.
It seemed no time at all before Don was telling her about his background while she also recounted hers. Don, it turned out, had two older, somewhat domineering, sisters, who used to rule the roost. Being a number of years older than him they had established a psychological domination over him that left him a little wary where women were concerned.
Candi found she could identify with that to a certain extent, having had a similar experience with older brothers, but she still felt a little puzzled as to his shyness. She'd have thought he'd have outgrown that as he was obviously attractive to women. Even she could see he was a hunk and could probably cut quite a swathe through the female ranks if he just had a little more confidence in himself.
Making her departure later, Candi decided to try to get to know Don a little better. She was curious. Something just didn't add up.
The next Saturday Candi was again out in the garden when she noticed Don strolling down the street. She glanced down at her blouse and, with an evil little smile, she undid another button, feeling extremely daring. Her cleavage was going to embarrass Don, but she didn't care.
"Hi, Don," she called, as he came nearer. "Busy?"
"Um, hi, Candi," Don replied, delighting Candi by flushing slightly and determinedly not looking at her cleavage. "No, just taking a walk and enjoying the fresh air."
"Then why don't you stop for a moment and have some coffee," suggested Candi, swinging open the gate. "We can continue our little chat from the other day."
Chatting briskly, Candi escorted Don into the house, not giving him a chance to back out. Quickly and efficiently she brewed some coffee and sat at the table opposite him.
