church flirt

by jennifer

i arrived at church just minutes before 9:30AM mass was to begin. didn't have time to look for beto. i just needed to find a pew where i could sit and say a quick prayer before the procession. once seated, i looked just beyond my peripheral vision and did not see him, so i decided to focus on the mass.

at my church, during the sign of the peace, everyone stands up and walks around, saying hello to the primos, the comadres, whoever. it's a little bit rowdy. i turned to give the sign of the peace to the woman on my right and saw beto approaching. he was handsome in his white button down shirt, khakis pants, and wire-rimmed glasses.

"hey!" he said, "peace be with you."

i was going to shake his hand, but he leaned in for a hug. we hugged and i told him, "you look really nice."

"thanks," he said and WALKED AWAY.

?????

clearly he didn't know that the appropriate response was, "you look nice too!"

indignant, i scooted back into my pew for the next prayer. my mind was racing. i am so not going to wait around to talk to him after church. i'm not going to have breakfast at the hall. thanks? thanks?! ugh.

at the end of mass, i realized that i would have to go to the hall, where they would be serving breakfast, to fill out some forms. not a problem, i thought. i'll go in, do what i have to do, and leave.

i did just that. and on my way out the door, beto walked in.

"hey," he said, with a big smile on his face. "did you save me a seat?"

"uh, no. i was just. here to. fill out these forms."

"oh! i've gotta do that, too. so..." and he roped me into small talk.

and before i knew it, we were small talking in the breakfast line.
while in line, i met his sister-in-law and nephew. moments later, we were joined by a woman with whom he works in the church high school ministry. a beautiful and sweet mexican american woman, maybe a little bit older than i am. i was pleased when he told me that she was "like a little sister," and she told me, "yeah, and i'm his date whenever he can't get a real one."

we sat with his "little sister" and one of her friends during breakfast. they tallked about the housewarming party that beto was planning for the next weekend.

"you should come!" his little sister said.

"i'm not invited!" i teased beto.

"send me an email, and i'll send you the information."

"i don't know if i have plans or not for that day, but maybe i'll go."

"well. maybe we'll let you in!"

after a while, they left us by ourselves. i don't remember what we chatted about, just that it was fun and flirtatious.

finally, at around noon, i told him that i'd better get going.

"dinner plans?" he said, making reference to the reason i'd used friday at the bar to excuse myself.

"no... i've got work to do today. to get ready for tomorrow."

"ok," he relented, and walked me out the door. we rambled through the parking lot and arrived at my car.

all of a sudden i felt like we were on a date. i felt myself shifting my weight back and forth on my feet.

"well, thanks for having breakfast with me," i said.

"yeah. it was nice. to. socialize."

"yes," i tell him. "i was socializing you."

he laughs. "i guess i need a little bit of that. i have some rough ends."

almost involuntarily, i peeked around and looked as his rear end, and said, "it looks pretty good to me."

he laughed and i noticed color flooding into his cheeks.

"this is me blushing," he said.

i laughed. "i'll email you this week for the party information."

"ok."

awkward silence.

then he punches me on the arm and says, "alright. see you later!"

i don't know why, but i thought that these moments, these pre-relationship uncertainties, would go a lot more smoothly with a 40-year old. i guess i thought that his life experience would lead him to be better at this. better than me anyway. but i was starting to realize, not so much.