The race for #35 is on!

Which lucky lady will become the 35th person to do the "hunka chunka" with the Steverino? Only time will tell, but if I were a betting man, I would say it might just be Julie the hot lawyer!

Thought she was going to stand me up tonight, but she finally did show up, around 9...she walked right over and sat down next to me, and everyone was checking us out to see what was going on. Ross said our body language was "very flirty." He said, "Steve, if you bag her, my respect for you will rise to a whole new level. She is EXQUISITE!" Yeah, he said "exquisite".

Julie and I talked for 2 hours straight. Coworkers kept coming over and teasing us:

"Hey, there's a hotel upstairs, if you two need to get a room"
"Somebody get me a crowbar to separate Julie and Steve"
"Don't you two come up for air?"

And, most ominously:
"I think we have a new romance brewing here!"

Like I said, jokes tell us a lot about what is on people's minds. Confuscious said, "Many a true word is spoken in jest". So I fully expect the rumor mill to be working full-tilt starting tomorrow. She might as well screw me, because by Friday, that is what the rumor will be anyway.

Lila is going to get wind of the rumor tomorrow. Hope she doesn't snap. Maybe I will talk to her and tell her nothing is going on. Even if something is. Let's face it: I treated Lila like shit, and she does NOT deserve to be tortured.

Julie did not say one word about this so-called boyfriend of hers. Not ONE. And I didn't ask either. The worst thing you can do is ask a girl if she is dating anyone. Let HER tell you if she is involved with someone. If she is on the fence, and is not sure about you, and you give her an easy way out, she might take it.

Ross was right about the body language. There was plenty of "incidental touching": She'd be making a point, and she'd touch my elbow or my knee, and she played with her hair a lot too, putting it behind her ear, twirling it in her fingers, etc.

At the end of the night, I walk her to her car. We stare at each other for a long moment, not saying a word. Finally, she says, "You are a dangerous man, you know that?" , straightening my collar.

"How so?"

"A girl might not be able to trust herself around you."

"You mean I am a bad influence on you?"

"DEFINITELY."

"I haven't even gotten started yet." I go to kiss her; she gives me a little peck and pulls back.

"Uh-uh," she says.

OUCH!! I figured I was getting somewhere tonight!

"Not on the first date," she says.

"So this is a date?!"

She blushes. "I guess".

"When we go on our second date, can we have a few less coworkers around?"

She laughs. "You just don't quit, do you? You really want to go out with me?"

"Yes, of course I do! It's great to talk to you!"

She looks down at the ground. Uh-oh.

"We should probably talk a little first."

"OK."

So my "date" with Julie ended badly. But I know for certain she is interested, and hopefully she is just playing major hard-to-get early.