WOMEN! Why couldn't I just be a breeder? Men are basic, women are complicated, but I guess that's the challenge and why I just love them.

Wanting to avoid the usual crowd at Mocha Daze, I ducked into Insomniac's Alley with a People magazine to check out the clothes. Demi Moore was on the cover so I wanted to see what was out of style.

Insomniac's Alley was tres straight and the patrons had not a clue of my natural preference towards women. I stood at the counter ordering a double capp when out of the corner of my eye I saw a guy check me out.

He approached me. "Did I see you at Jeffrey's party on Saturday?" He wasn't bad looking. Blue eyes, dark hair graying at the temples. Maybe even good for Greg-- if only Greg would straighten out, ha ha, and if this guy was gay, which he obviously wasn't.

"Jeffrey? I don't think so." I have a great flirtatious smile and he ate it up.

"What's your name?" He took the next step and I had a pang of guilt.

He repeated my name.

"Yeah, that's it, Fran." He said my name again. I didn't quite understand what he was getting at.

"Can I join you?"

Oh, shit, I thought. So forward. All I did was tell him my name. "Well, actually I have some reading I need to get through." And I held up my People.

"Reading? Yeah...all right. See ya around."

He stepped away and I felt terrible. Did I lead him on? I wasn't wearing a short skirt or anything and okay, I did smile at him but it wasn't like I was coming on to
him-- not for real anyway. Then it hit me. He was just being a guy and I was being a tease by playing with him.

Like the way Christine played with me.

The truth is, I loved running into Christine the other night. It made me feel that happenstance is real which gives me hope. It took my mind completely off of Thea, even though I knew I couldn't trust either of one of them.

I didn't mind distrusting Thea, but it was Christine that I wanted to envelop myself in. Indefensibly, she was the woman for me and I wondered if I had made a mistake. It's just that when my emotions are rampant, my mind shuts down and I can't remember the philosophy of rational or reasonable thought.

In the dark that night by the car, she was as beautiful to me as she was the day she left. And when I said no, she was genuinely disappointed.

"Fran," she took her hands off of me. "Understand, I don't want to hurt you again. In a way, I feel like I want to shield you from everything-- that's why I have this incredible desire to love you tonight. But you're right to say no because I can't make promises and I don't want to. I just want to show you, I guess, what I feel. I know that sounds clichÚ."

And we kissed. Two chicks right in the parking lot, refusing to make any apologies. We went home to her new apartment and she showed me.

She showed me the way like the moon shows his smile.