My head bumped the scope and the window shifted out of view and all I could see were early evening stars. I hadn't yet tightened the locking screws on the slewing ring. Seconds were wasted as I went back to the finder scope to re-acquire my target. I was just in time to get a full-frontal view for about a second in low magnification before she moved away. Let me tell you my scope was the best calibrated it has ever been over the next hour but she never came back to the window, and eventually the light went off. I packed my scope away carefully and drove out to my favourite viewing spot in the hills and spent most of the night watching stars and planets in the cold along with a few like-minded friends. My heart wasn't in it though and I packed up early. I heard a couple of friends share a joke that I had a hot woman in my bed waiting. I never pack up early you see. I wished they were right. All I had was widow palm and her five daughters. On the drive back I calculated probabilities in my head of ever seeing her at that window again. Very low. Of her being naked. Extremely low. Of her seeing me watching and being interested in me. Zero. Without a high-powered scope, she would see nothing unless she too was an astronomer or an Olympic 1500m rifle shooter who needed reset a zero point. The chances of that needed Imaginary numbers to calculate the probability. I was deeply in lust and I felt I had to do something. She was the only real-life woman I had seen without clothes. (Yes. I am a really a sad geek). I hatched a plan. It probably (almost certainly more like) would fail but I had to try. Using google maps I worked out her approximate address, and after a few hours' sleep set off to wait for her. I sat in a cafe drinking coffee all morning looking at what I guessed was the door to her apartment block. Nothing. I was tired and at lunchtime the proprietor got fed up with me because he wanted to set the table for lunch, so I left. I wandered over to the door to maybe look at the names on the bell pushes. I am not sure why I hadn't done that already. I knew she was on the third floor. The names were all men. Probably a girlfriend then. My heart sunk further. This was perhaps the second most stupid thing I have ever done. (Please don't ask me about the first.) Just then I saw her leaving by another door further that had been hitherto hidden from view. It was her. My legs turned to jelly. I found I just couldn't go up and casually speak to her, knowing what I had seen. I longed for her to drop something so I could chase after her, but this wasn't a movie so that didn't happen. I just watched her go. Shyness and inexperience win over lust. I sat down and thought about it. Really, unless she was even just a bit geeky like me, I had no chance. She was carrying a lap top bag so that gave me some small hope. An idea struck me. A letter giving a location to meet. A public location of course. I would set it as a bit of a puzzle that might grab her interest. Better than doing nothing anyway. When she was out of sight I went to the door. Luck at last. There were only two flats on the third floor. Dr. Julia Grace and the other was vacant. Now I was excited. An academic girl.... unless she was so new here, she hadn't filled out her name plate. I consulted my phone and wrote. "I have admired you from afar, but I am too shy to walk up to you and talk to you unless I know there is at least a shred of interest. I am male and 25 and am told, not bad looking. I would love to see you at noon tomorrow, Sunday at The North eastern steps on Enoch square. Enough of a puzzle without being too cryptic. Certainly, a busy place. I had considered just putting the last 3 words but that doesn't always come up high in a search. She might get bored. On impulse I wrote it out again and shoved one in the other letter box...just in case. It would probably save a trip the day after tomorrow.
There I was, looking across at my chosen location from a safe vantage point not too far away. Why was I not at my chosen location, I hear you ask? Firstly, because I was an hour early and secondly because I was worried. There was a woman standing there waiting for someone, or so I believed. It was not the girl I had seen in the flat. This woman had short blonde hair, not long dark hair like the one I had seen at the window. I think she was older too. I was worried that it was the woman from the other flat, the one with no name...or maybe the one with the name. It could be either really. Part of me wanted to go up to her and introduce myself. I mean, what were the chances of them both coming. I may as well try my luck, but something stopped me.
After about 15 minutes a dark-haired woman came up to the first one. I think older too - but I wasn't sure. Could it be her? They hugged and started chatting then went off together. I didn't know what to think now.
I waited; part of me thinking I had blown it. They had both come, met unexpectedly and were now chatting about the notes over coffee, wondering if they had missed a chance of a threesome. It made sense that they would know each other. They were neighbours. Another part of me said I should wait. Just like I wait for clouds to clear at night. It wasn't time yet. If she was even a bit geeky, she would be punctual...and her being at least just a bit geeky was my only chance I reckoned anyway.
It was time at last. I decided to wait a couple more minutes before going over. If she was like me then she might be watching. If there was nobody there waiting, she might just leave. Two minutes was all I dared wait. Two minutes can seem a very long time. At one minute and forty-five seconds, I forced my legs to move. Never have I felt so exposed walking across an open space. I stood right on the very spot I had designated, watched and waited. There were quite a lot of people about. I felt sure (or at least fervently hoped) she was watching, assessing, judging if I was safe enough and interesting enough to approach.
I told myself I wouldn't wait long, wouldn't subject myself to that torture, but secretly knew I would stand there all afternoon if I needed to. Just in case her car or the bus had broken down, or there had been a gas leak or a volcanic eruption or something to delay her.
I stood for what seemed like an eternity - but probably less than thirty minutes in clock time. She didn't come. I wasn't surprised really. I told myself that I had known all along so I shouldn't be disappointed now. Stupid idea anyway. I decided I would go, and not waste more time. The little optimist in my head told me to wait but I managed to overrule him, and go and get a coffee - or a beer. Maybe six. I started to walk away. I tried to force myself not to look back, but that was useless. Hope springs eternal after all. Of Course, there was nobody there. It was a stupid idea.
I wandered along morosely for about ten minutes until I found a quiet cafe. I went in, resisted the temptation for beer and ordered coffee. There were two armchairs over by the window and one of them was vacant. I asked the man in the other chair if it was ok to sit there and he said it was.
Soon I was enjoying some very good coffee and watching the world go by. Not a total waste of the day then. People came and went in the café and after about ten minutes the man got up and left. Almost straight away a woman asked if she could sit there. I said it was okay, hardly looking up at her. She sat and drank her coffee while I stared out of the window. Feeling disappointed but not really in the least surprised at the outcome of my plan.
"Excuse me." said the woman, after a couple of minutes. I was jolted out of my day dream. I looked at her properly for the first time. I decided I didn't know her.
"Yes. How can I help you?" I replied a little more sternly than I meant it to sound. I was taken by surprise being disturbed from my daydreams.
"Can you spare me some of your sugar please. They forgot do give me any."
"Of course, please help yourself." I replied much more warmly. She was a very good-looking young woman. I wanted to say more, to strike up a conversation but I couldn't think of anything to say. That was usually my trouble with meeting new people - especially women.
"You were deep in thought there." she said "Sorry if I disturbed you. What were you thinking about?"
"Oh, nothing much really. Just this and that." I couldn't tell her I had been thinking of watching a naked woman at a window, and wondering if I would ever get that chance again...or whether to never look at that window again to avoid future disappointment. That wouldn't be a great conversation opener, but it would get more of a reaction than what I had just said.
"I see. You just looked sad. I wondered if I could help cheer you up."
I looked at her. I wondered what to say. These words just came out, surprising me a bit.
"Not sad. Just a bit disappointed really. I was hoping to meet a friend today, but she never turned up."
"Oh. That's a shame." she said "Sorry. You will think me really nosey but I just love to know these sorts of things. How well do you know your friend? Is she a ‘significant other' or is she just a casual acquaintance?"
I could so easily have made something up. Said we knew each other through an astronomy club and we have a shared interest in the rings of Saturn, or something. That would have stopped her questioning. That sort of answer always does. However, for some reason I was feeling brave or mischievous and I said.
"I watched her exhibiting herself naked at her bedroom window, and was so impressed that I went and asked her for a date."
I was proud of my answer and looked forward to her reply. I just bet she felt really awkward and wouldn't know what to say. Serves her right for being so nosey.
"Oh. I see. What have you done together since then?"
That floored me a bit. I decided to be cryptic.
"Not much. Well not much I can tell you about at least." I winked at her knowingly. That ought to stop her asking questions. I was starting to enjoy this.
"Sounds exciting for you both. I like to stand in front of my window too...it excites me." she giggled "However where my window is located nobody can see me. It is too far across the valley to the next houses where anyone could possibly see from. I feel quite safe doing it, but I like to think of someone watching."
I laughed with her at this but a little thought popped up in my head. Could it be her? Really? Could it be her? Surely not. Oh, I how I will regret what I just said if it is. But it can't be. To buy myself some time to think I asked her a question.
"What brings you here on a Sunday afternoon, then? Do you have an interesting story to tell - or did you just fancy a coffee?"
"I have a secret admirer." She said. "I was to meet him today but I got nervous, and just couldn't."
My blood ran cold.
She reached into her pocket and pulled out my crumpled note, and she continued.
"So, I followed him here, to watch him and find out a little more about him."
I didn't know what to say. I just knew I had blown it. Should have used the Saturn story.
"Look. I'm really sorry...." I began.
"No need to be sorry. I like a bit of intrigue and excitement. Unless you mean you are sorry about that silly story about watching a girl through her bedroom window. Clearly designed to shock me Haha."
There was an opening for me. I could just laugh it off with her. So I did.
We chatted for almost two hours in that coffee shop. The time went so fast. I found out about her work in the forensics lab and I chatted about my work at the Institute of Astronomy as a data analyst.
Towards the end of our time she asked about telescopes. Everyone does in the end.
"How much of your work is at night? Does it get cold in the observatory?"
I laughed as I usually did at those sorts of questions.
"I have never looked through a telescope at work. Hardly anyone ever does. It is all done remotely and most telescopes are in far flung parts of the world. However, I do use a telescope as my hobby. I look through that a lot at night."
She went very silent. I couldn't at first work out why. Then I saw a possible reason for it. I waited to see if she had made a connection.
"So." she said at last "Was that really a silly made up story you told at the beginning of our meeting?"
I decided honesty was the best policy.
"No. It wasn't...apart from meeting and doing things I couldn't tell you about."
"That bit was in your imagination then?" she said firmly.
"Yes." I replied. Surely that was the end of our meeting, but I felt I had to explain that I didn't spend my time searching random windows in the city. I explained briefly about calibration.
The silence hung between us. I had no idea what to say to make things better. So, I said nothing. Finally, she spoke.
"I like you. You are nice to talk to, but you have given me an idea too."
"What is that then?" I asked. No idea what she meant.
"It is a very naughty idea. Imagine that Your telescope needed calibrating tonight at say ten o'clock. Imagine also that I was getting ready for a bath at about the same time. Do you see where this is going?"
"I would like to think so." I said, scared that I didn't know at all.
"Imagine that we had exchanged numbers and you sent a text to me, telling me you were watching." She let the thought hang.
"Okay." I said. I was getting out of my depth here.
"Can you take digital photos of what you see through your telescope?"
My mouth was suddenly very dry.
"Yes, it has an auxiliary camera docking port. I can take high resolution images." Much safer ground for me there.
"Good. So, you could send them to my phone."
"I can reduce the resolution to a suitable level and re-format them so they can be uploaded to my phone for sending via email or some other image sharing software."
"Excellent. We have a date tonight then." She scribbled on the back of my note. "Here is my number and email address."
With that she got up, walked out the café and gave me a wicked smile through the window as she walked past in the street.
Oh, my word! I didn't know whether to be excited or terrified. I looked at my watch. Seven hours to get home and ensure all my gear was in perfect working order.
By the time it got to 9pm, I was a wreck. I was enormously excited but also terrified. I was terrified mainly because I had never done anything remotely like this. I was scared she would ask me to call her and talk dirty to her. I could do that in my head but in reality, I just wouldn't know where to start.
I was scared she was going to sting me. She might get me take photos and then forward them to the police. Then the police would be banging on my door and I would be caught red handed with a 12-inch telescope and a smaller erection pointing at her flat,
I was simply scared I would mess it all up and she would think me pointless and boring.
At the same time, I was incredibly excited. There was nothing that would stop me at least trying to do what she wanted.
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