Sitting on one side of the river banks, observing the mini-carnival taking place on the other, occasionally throwing pebbles at the ugly janitor fish gnawing its sharp teeth on the flotsam and jetsam and those things floating belly up making their way downstream (think piranha but with armor scales), I stood up from my favorite spot holding a book, made my way down the bridge towards the other side of the river, climbed a flight of concrete stairs leading up to a row of coffee and thrift shops and entered a coffee shop slash beer house.
A quick side glance reveals the true state of affairs: somebody has been following me, making furtive glances, trying to catch my attention with subtle signals. I saw him taking a table not far from mine, tapping his fingers on the table, obviously trying to prod me into some sort of a reply to his gestures.
He looks fortyish, mestizo-looking, in the mold of Jaza and taller than I am, I told myself I'd smash his head on the pavement if he ever mistakes me for those guys cruising for a quick fix.
He moved closer, table by table, until sitting close next to me, he picked up a newspaper, pretended to read, and casually bumped my arm against his, making it appear that he didn't mean it. Duh. Señor, I'm not into this sort of thing, sorry. Can you please be more direct and introduce yourself properly if you really want to make my acquaintance?
I knew what he was looking for, so I simply stood up, left the place and went home.
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