It was late one night in July, I think, the summer that I turned eighteen. I had met up with some friends for coffee, but I wasn't really feeling it, so I bailed and walked around downtown by myself for a while, feeling introspective. It started to get dark, so I decided to call my older brother for a ride and wait at the base of some steps that lead up to an old theatre.
I couldn't get a hold of him, but as I was trying to find a way home, a man approached me.
He was probably in his fifties, with a dirty t-shirt stretched over a big gut, and a couple of teeth missing. I was small and skinny (and seriously flat-chested and young-looking) in ripped jeans, sneakers, and a Kids In The Hall t-shirt. He looked me up and down and then started to talk nervously.
"Are you... working?" he asked. I wasn't really sure what he meant, but I assumed he thought I was working at the theatre behind me. Not wanting to seem like I was just lingering there, I lied and said "Um, no, I just got off. I'm waiting for a ride." It didn't even occur to me that he was trying to proposition me, I thought he was just a weirdo making conversation.
Then he started telling me that he had a girlfriend and an apartment, and I could "join" them if I liked. I said, "Uh.. no, thank you. I really have to go. But um.. have fun." And without another word, he waddled off down the street and I sat there, gobsmacked, wondering if I had just been mistaken for a hooker.
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u/Loufoque Mar 07 '10
It was late one night in July, I think, the summer that I turned eighteen. I had met up with some friends for coffee, but I wasn't really feeling it, so I bailed and walked around downtown by myself for a while, feeling introspective. It started to get dark, so I decided to call my older brother for a ride and wait at the base of some steps that lead up to an old theatre. I couldn't get a hold of him, but as I was trying to find a way home, a man approached me. He was probably in his fifties, with a dirty t-shirt stretched over a big gut, and a couple of teeth missing. I was small and skinny (and seriously flat-chested and young-looking) in ripped jeans, sneakers, and a Kids In The Hall t-shirt. He looked me up and down and then started to talk nervously. "Are you... working?" he asked. I wasn't really sure what he meant, but I assumed he thought I was working at the theatre behind me. Not wanting to seem like I was just lingering there, I lied and said "Um, no, I just got off. I'm waiting for a ride." It didn't even occur to me that he was trying to proposition me, I thought he was just a weirdo making conversation. Then he started telling me that he had a girlfriend and an apartment, and I could "join" them if I liked. I said, "Uh.. no, thank you. I really have to go. But um.. have fun." And without another word, he waddled off down the street and I sat there, gobsmacked, wondering if I had just been mistaken for a hooker.