‘Maybe he smelt me too.’ I said. ‘You?’ ‘You’re not the only one that got a bit worked-up.’ ‘You did too, from watching us?’ ‘Uhuh... Well, more from watching you than Champ.’ I added, letting my eyes drift back down to the tempting display. Under normal circumstances I would never have done what I did next, and would certainly have never got away with it even if I had. I have no idea what got into me, but somehow I just couldn’t resist the sight of her provocative breasts any longer, I found. We began a tentative conversation which began strained but soon the nervousness was gone and we were laughing and telling bad jokes to each other. I learned a lot about Mary that night and found she was very intelligent, knew a lot of people and, more importantly, why she was such a tight-ass when it cameto company rules.“It’s simple really,” she started. “Rules are there for a reason and if you bend one for one, they talk and you end up having to bend them for everyone. Then it’s another rule. It’s more complex. The flirtation is friendly, smiling, touching, but can pretty easily be misinterpreted as just normal conversation. Or, if you get yourself a crush on a straight girl; watch out. Anyway, I digress. This girl in front of me is pretty perfect. I can’t think of a time I saw more perfect lips. The mouth has always been what I notice first on anyone’s face. Hers was ... kind. Full lips that made a subtle upturn at the side. When she smiled at the busboy, one side of her mouth. There’s still the ghost of a blush on her face, though. On one who just routed brigands without breaking a sweat it’s as charming as it is unexpected. She lifts her eyes from where she’s been looking at the crescent silver clasp in her hand. You jerk your eyes away, worried that she’ll catch you staring at her again and look around the grove. The guy who escaped on your horse knew what he was doing: there are barely any of your possessions left. He must have shovelled them into the saddlebags.