Now, normally, I am anything BUT shy (Here in Cyberspace). But considering the recent events in my life AND the last few moments, I was a basketcase. At the same time, I found myself staring at the screen, anxiously awaiting the next time that her Nick would appear with words directed at ME... Everything else seemed to fade.---For the first time in--too long--I felt at peace. She asked me if I would like a picture of her, and I quickly said, "YES!". Not telling her that I had just been looking at her pic on the IRC. Besides, this one was for me, from her.

After a little time had passed, I whispered to her, asking if she minded my intrusion. She immediately replied,"Not at all!" With those three words, this Lady, put a smile on my face. And the first, of many bandages, on my then broken heart..... We talked like this for a time, alone, in a room full of people. I finally asked her if she would mind going to a quieter room to finish our conversation, And she said that she would like that. We spent the next couple of hours getting to know each other better... She has a soft, honest, direct way of speaking that had me captivated.
Finally, she had to leave. She had to get up early the next morning for work. She lives on the East coast, so there is a three hour time difference between us. We said our good-byes and I went immediately to my email and sent her a short letter with a thank you , an offer to help her "repair" her email page, And an HTML-generated "red" rose.....
...I was still smiling...

     It was about 8:30pm here, too early for bed. And my mind was reeling way to much for sleep. So I returned to Sapphires. Not the best move I could have made:

     There were a few of the "old regulars" there by then. But, before I could even say hi---I got a whisper. This guy,"k", started pouring his heart out to me, about how he and Hots had just started "seeing" each other. And how my leaving with her had upset him. I tell you, he was very convincing. And before I realized it, I had promised him I would "back-off", and give their relationship a chance.... I felt like I had been kicked in the stomach. I don't even remember saying good-bye to anyone-- I just turned my Web off.

     The next night, when I entered Sapph's, She was there chatting with "k" and a few other people. Conversation between us never got past a cursory polite exchange of hello's. I tried to focus on talking with others in the room, but just couldn't. So, I left the room shortly after, and just surfed aimlessly for about an hour. Before turning off that night, I emailed her -- reminding her of my offer to help repair her email page. She answered the next morning, saying she was "busy", but would get back to me when she had time.

     I stayed away from Sapph's for the next two nights. I guess I was trying to avoid her. I still couldn't explain my strong attraction to her. [It was NOT going away]. But I had given my word, and she didn't seem too interested anyway.
On the third day, however, I recieved an email from another friend (kay53) telling me I was missed, and should return to my friends in the room. So that night I went back. The room was pretty busy, and before I could even call up a "room list"--- My screen lit up yellow. With one sentence---"HOTPANTS26: Don't you want to talk to me?"-----I erased four different replies before I sent the ONLY one I could---"YES, Very Much!"     Her answer hit my screen almost before my reply had posted.---"OK, I'll meet you in our room", then she quickly said good-bye to everyone -- "k" called out to her "Not to go", but she was already gone. My heart was racing, and my fingers couldn't find the keys that I was looking for, but somehow, I sent a /msg to "k"---"I'm sorry, SHE asked ME!!! I'm going..."    And I left to join her.

           I didn't know what to say, and she was very slow to respond to any comments. After a few minutes of this akwardness, she excused herself. Pleading with me to wait for her return. I agreed, and in a flash---she was back. But using another nick. She quickly explained that "k" was incessant in his attempts to get her to meet with him. And wouldn't "leave her alone". I commented that, "Boyfriends are like that", and the gates of communication swung wide open. It seems that the day we had met in Sapph's was the first time she had ever been in the room. And NOT only wasn't there any "relationship", but she didn't even know "k". He had lied to me.

     With this knowledge at hand, I confessed why I had been "avoiding" her. This bit of information, didn't seem to sit well with her either. She explained that she was very attracted to me, and this had been my "Last Chance". If I hadn't shown any signs of interest---I was history!! At "hearing" this, I typed as many versions of YES!!! as my panic-stricken mind could come up with..This seemed to amuse her---And ease the tension between us, even more. We agreed to save dealing with "k" for later, and turned our attentions toward each other, and cemented a "REAL RELATIONSHIP" that has not only endured, but has grown in geometric proportions every day since. "k" mounted a campaigne of lies, rumours, and accusations that lasted over a month. But they fell on deaf ears, and the wilder his stories became, the closer Janet And I grew. Our bond is based on Love, Honor, Trust, and Respect.