The Subway
I was riding the subway downtown. I was going to Irving Plaza for a Stereolab concert. I got on the 4,5 at the 86th street station. I boarded one of the new trains with the bright lights, light blue seats, and cleverly colored dark floors so that no one can see how filthy they are. The old trains' floors look dirty.
As I boarded, I noticed a man looking at me. He was staring at me. I remembered walking by him on the platform while trying to find a less crowded spot to get on the train. He must have gotten on at the same spot. He had good taste.
He was older than I was, maybe 23. Latino, I think. I kept glancing towards him to see if he was done staring at me yet. He wasn't. He was wearing a tight navy blue long sleeve shirt. It looked like long underwear. His nipples could be seen from under his shirt. They were very apparent. They could've cut glass. I was hoping it was just from the cold. He was only wearing one layer even though it was an early winter night. Low forties. I was really hoping.
When someone is staring at you, it's hard to make sure not to look at him. I tried to look in different directions, but found it difficult to do so without looking like I was staring at somebody else. I was very uncomfortable. I just looked at my shoes. It wasn't the perfect solution though. It looked like I was staring at the ass of the lady standing in front of me. She was wearing tight jeans.
I began to prepare in my mind things to say in case he tried to come on to me further. I would have to make it obvious that I wasn't interested. I would have to make it apparent that I'm not gay. I would be direct, while trying not to embarrass him. That wouldn't have been nice. So, I'd say, "sorry, my girlfriend doesn't like it when I give out my number to strangers." That would work. I don't really have a girlfriend.
I was really hoping that an attractive guy would get on the train. It would have, possibly, taken some of the attention away from me. Perhaps he was only staring at me in comparison to everyone else on the train. There didn't seem to be any other guys on the train that were good looking. There were a lot of funny looking people on that train.
On 28th or 23rd, another man did board. He was probably better looking than me, but it was too late by then. I was getting off at 14th street. So did the staring guy. That made me nervous. He might have asked me something. He didn't. I went to my concert. He didn't.
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