Observations of a Sidewalk Café Girl Watcher
This story is an elegy to a beautiful young girl, who lives and works in the coffeehouse neighborhood of the City. If I were a poet, I would write a proper elegy, but I am not so this humble little story will have to suffice.
I have seen her often around the neighborhood. She wore tight-fitting blue jean shorts, with a short sleeve boat-neck blouse. Her blouse is white with blue horizontal stripes. She wore a light cream-colored open-knit sweater loosely hanging off one shoulder. That is how she looked the first time I saw her at the cafe. Who am I? Well, I'm just your average thirty-something sidewalk café girl watcher. I love the outdoor cafes that are so plentiful in this neighborhood. The coffee is good, and so is the people-watching. People reveal quite a lot about themselves when they don't now they are being watched.
Her shorts fit tight ... damn tight! The hem was folded neatly ... twice, so that the bottom of the folds were right at her sit spot ... you know ... the point where her thighs turns softly into her sweet ass-cheeks. When she bends even slightly, you get just a hint of her little ass. But, that was all fine with me since she has a nearly perfect shape in all respects. As my eyes traveled from her jean shorts upward, I noticed that she was young ... very young. She had long brown hair, and brown eyes. She had the cutest face I had seen in a long time. A friend who knew her a little told me she was nineteen. I had trouble believing that, because she looked much younger. Not that I am drawn to that mind you, but I was prepared to make exceptions in her case. The first time I saw her she was standing tiptoe in her red high-top sneakers, bent slightly over the counter showing her shapely ass to best advantage, as she accepted her drink from the barista. I uttered one word semi-audibly without thinking, "Damn!" I guess that says it all.
I made note of the time of day as she was leaving. She walked by my little café table, I removed my sunglasses, and she smiled at me. I watched as she propelled her perfect little ass on long shapely legs until it was out of sight. I had to know who she was. My friend didn't know too much about her, just that she worked and lived in the neighborhood, and she was in his daughter's graduating class a year ago. I really do have a life, and do not have the time to become a stalker ... but I was curious about her. If I were ever going to get to know her, it would be at this little café.
I saw her again on another Saturday, at the café. She was wearing the little jean shorts to which I had become so attracted. I saw her walk in to order. I got up, and standing beside her asked, "May I buy your coffee for you? I have a nice table over here in the shade." A bold move and I had absolutely no idea what her response might be. She looked me up and down, smiled and replied, "Sure! Thank you that would be lovely." Her voice was music, soft and sweet. I paid for her coffee and another one for me, and we sat at the table. Her name is Holly, and she works in a shop about two blocks from here. She is a sweet girl, and from her conversation, seems to be intelligent. I complemented her on her jean shorts, and her pretty blouse. She blushed and said, "Thank you Michael, I love wearing them. They are comfortable and cut off from a pair of jeans I loved."
"Well, you certainly have the figure for them, my dear." I continued with the complements. She then offered a reply that made me twitch a little, "They are so comfortable that I don't wear panties with them." She smiled and blushed again, realizing the over-share. We talked about her job, my job, this neighborhood and what other things we liked about the City. I asked her to dinner, but she said, "Michael, you are sweet, but I hardly know you. M-Maybe we can sometime later, but thank you."
I just had to have this girl! There was just something in her manner and poise that made her seem older than her teenaged years. Since I am nearly fifteen years older than she is, I expected to have rather limited conversation, but she was a delight to talk with. I can't say that I was falling in love with her ... maybe falling in lust! She likely accepted me as more of a peer, because I have kept in shape so I look younger than my years. I love to ride my little green racing bike from my hilly neighborhood, past the park, to the highway along the beach. It is easy to get from there, around the lake and onto the coast road. From there it is as long a ride as you want along the ocean ...
my
ocean!
At last count, I think there are about a billion and six things to do in and around the City, and I wanted to do some of them with my "girl in the blue jean shorts" for as long as we might still be interested in each other. I could tell that she was interested, but cautious ... smart. I had time; I was busy and could wait. I did not see her every Saturday, but when I did, she started plopping down in a chair at my sidewalk table, and greeted me with a warm smile. Sometimes I would buy, and sometimes Holly would buy.
The conversation was always lively and I spent much of my time with her, starring into her soft brown eyes. They have a fire in them ... a love of life that shows. I was getting as hooked on Holly, as I was my weekly fix of rich espresso coffee. The times she was not there, I spent at sharpening my people-watching skills. People are amazing! They are funny, troubled, hurried, and occasionally you can detect a spark of the divine ... a show of kindness or goodness here and there. It is quite common, sitting at my little table, to hear six different languages spoken on the street, and none of them English. Much of it seems to be Russian and other Slavic languages, Italian, some French, a little German and even some Portuguese.
On the fifth Saturday of our acquaintance at the café, I renewed my offer to Holly of dinner. She smiled and replied, "Yes Michael that would be lovely. Where would you like to go?" I offered her a choice of Italian in this neighborhood, or a very good Thai restaurant I knew of, a couple of miles south from here. She was quick with her decision, and said, "Oh! Italian please, Michael! I love this neighborhood and I love Italian. But you will have to order some Chianti, and sneak me a couple of sips." I laughed and replied, "I think that can be arranged, just dress twenty-one." She giggled and said she would. My heart was pounding in my chest at the prospect of getting closer to being with this lovely creature.
I was five minutes late in picking her up, since I figured that girls always need a little extra time, and it is actually more polite to be just a little late. I dressed in a white shirt sans tie, black sports coat, dark blue jeans with a slight boot flair, and black Italian dress boots. She wore a navy blue dress with a flared skirt that went to her knees, and her hair up. She wore sheer stockings, and three-inch heels. I got a lump in my throat when she answered the door. She was a vision! The nice thing about this neighborhood is that everything is within walking distance, so we walked to the restaurant from her place. This saved us from having to deal with valet parking, which is always necessary in this neighborhood. The City is only seven miles wide, and seven miles long with a population at night of about seven hundred thousand, so parking is always at a premium.
It was a nice night with the scent of eucalyptus in the air. Holly had a pretty blush on her cheeks from the short walk. I had called ahead for a table and the maître d ushered us right in to a table by the window. I love having a table by the window in neighborhood restaurants, because of the people-watching it allows ... "dinner and a show" as I like to say. In fact, I did say that to Holly, and she giggled and agreed, immediately getting the joke. Holly looked twenty-one, and the waiter gave us each a wine glass. I ordered what I consider a good, but not pretentious Chianti, and poured Holly two-fingers to start. I poured a little more for me. My lovely date noticed this, and teasingly complained, until I leaned close and gave her a whispered a reminder of her age. I would be there to make sure Holly did not over-do, so ... no problem.
She picked up her glass, I picked up mine, and Holly made a toast, "Michael, to you and to me for a long and lovely life, and to a promising evening." We clinked our glasses. I was hoping that what she meant by a "promising evening," was the same as the thought going through my mind. The conversation was as lively as always, and we giggled and laughed easily at each of our amusing anecdotes about life in the City. She was born here, but she told me that she never tires of the city. It has so much to offer. I moved here from the Midwest, and it did not take me long to realize that I was privileged to live in one of the queen cities of the world. Our dinner date went well, and I had no idea what to expect when we reached her flat. She had a little too much wine, and wrapped her arms around one of mine as we walked. At the corner, waiting for the light, she turned to me, rose up, and kissed me sweetly on the lips. Then of course, she blushed, smiled, and lowered her eyes.
When we reached her building, she did not reach for her keys, but stood facing me. This is a signal that she is open to a good night kiss. I moved in about eighty percent of the way, she moved in the rest of the way. I put my hands on her hips, and she put her arms around my neck, and we kissed passionately, right there on the doorstep. She then asked, with her arms still around my neck, if I wanted to come up for a while. I said, "Sure, but don't you have a roommate?"