After he had unloaded the books onto the table, he dug around the inside of his bag while his eyes surveyed the coffee house.

Two of them had the signature white iPod buds trailing from their ears. Three of them were sitting in front of laptop computers, their faces glowing an unnatural white from the monitors. Two of them shared a table and appeared to be engrossed in serious conversation. Three of them were reading books and taking notes.

When his fingers stumbled upon the desired item, he smiled to himself and removed the eyeglass case from the inner pocket.

He ran his right hand through his hair before rubbing his jaw to assess the status of his five o’ clock shadow—it’s not that he forgot to shave; he knew he would be making an appearance at the coffee house this evening. His fingers slipped the glasses onto his face in one sleek motion before he purposely positioned the textbook on the table so anyone and everyone walking by would notice it: Principles and Practice of ___________.

The glasses made him look smart and sophisticated. This is the impression he wanted women to receive.

In the hospital hallway he unbuttoned his long, white coat and pulled his PDA from the left pocket of his grey slacks. He glanced at his watch as he waited for his PDA to awaken.

5:42pm, he thought. I’ll get to the restaurant around 6:30pm. Perfect.

“Hello, Dr. Pavo,” a sugary voice greeted. “How is my favorite doctor doing?”

“Hello,” Chris Pavo reflexively replied, still unsure who owned the lovely voice that was speaking to him. Upon turning around, he found himself looking at Allison, brunette, 25 years old, a physical therapist, likes dogs.

He hoped their conversation would be short.

“You look great, as usual,” Allison said.

“I try,” Chris coolly answered, granting her a small smile.

“Are you done for the day?” she persisted.

“Yes—in fact, I’ve got reservations at 6:30 and I’ve got to get going. Nice to see you, though,” he answered, allowing his smile to grow.

“Nice to see you, too,” Allison said. “Have fun.”

“I will,” Chris said, already walking away from her.

Allison. She was cute. They had gone out a few times last month and he thought she wouldn’t put up a fight. He gave her three tries, but since she didn’t put out by their third date, he moved on.

Chris Pavo lingered outside of the restaurant and again consulted his PDA.

“Thursday, October __, at 6:30pm” he muttered to himself as he scrolled through his calendar. “Who am I meeting again?”

His eyes quickly skimmed over his notes: Melanie. Brunette. 24 years old. Works at Macy’s. Likes movies. #2.

His stylus accidentally advanced the calendar by one day: Lisa. Brunette. Over 21 years old. College student, studying psychology. Likes dancing. #3.

“Well, Lisa will be off the list if she doesn’t have sex with me tomorrow,” he said to himself as he turned his PDA off. “That’s the rule.”

While looking at her from across the coffee shop, he willed her to look at him. You will look up. You will look at me. You will look at me.

She turned a page in her book.

Come on, you can feel me watching you. Look up.

She glanced in his direction. She returned to her book. She suddenly looked back up again and looked at him.

He smiled and winked at her.

She smiled back.

He coyly pointed a finger at himself, then pointed it at her. He repeated the motion several times.

She continued to smile and waited a beat—

—and then nodded.

An exaggerated expression of joy mixed with relief on his face, Chris ran his right hand through his hair before rubbing his jaw to assess the status of his five o’ clock shadow. His left hand casually picked up the textbook and he ambled to her table.

“Hi,” he said. “My name is Chris. Mind if I join you?”

“Sure,” she answered. “My name is Mae.”

He sat down and dropped the textbook on the table in a conspicuous fashion. She read the title: Principles and Practice of ___________.

“Whatcha reading there?” Mae asked. “Looks like hefty stuff.”

“Oh, you know, stuff for work,” Chris casually answered. “The learning never stops for a doctor.”

“A doctor, huh?” she echoed, leaning forward, the smile growing on her face. “I like guys who are smart.”

Yeah, I know.