<div align="center"><strong>-= Steve McPherson, Eavesdown Docks, Persephone =-<br/>At the bottom of the ramp of the Gamble</strong></div><br/><br/>Once Steve satisfied himself that he hadn't offended Lex too badly by his offhand remark about Mae's attire and general desirability (at least not that he could see) he gave the Captain a little respectful nod as he and the cat lady passed, then went on to peruse the rest of the crowd.  Among the women were, of course, the frisky older lady, whom he was glad had found Lex to be the more attractive and squeezable of the two --  the one in the quasi-dominatrix outfit (he approved of that one, too, but kept his mouth shut) -- and the one who had the look of the skittish puppy whose previous owner beat it and kept it locked away in a dark closet.  Steve had been around enough shell-shocked soldiers to know not to invade their personal space or make any sudden moves.<br/><br/>Then there were the men.  They were a little harder to read, particularly with all the conversation going on around him. He figured Si for a military man, probably a relative or romantic interest of the skittish woman.  As for Vincent, it was clear to see the sexy girl in the short skirt had him wrapped around her little finger, and her natural outgoing personality would be used to its best advantage to "flirt without flirting" with every man within sight to keep him in his place.  As if on cue, Mae came through:<br/><br/><br/><div class="quoteheader"><div class="topslice_quote"><a href="https://elliquiy.com/forums/index.php?topic=110474.msg4908758#msg4908758">Quote from: LovesReading2 on 10-07-2011, 22:00:49</a></div></div><blockquote class="bbc_standard_quote">"Wei, what about you?” she called over to who she would soon find out was Steve McPherson "can you appreciate truly cheesy and lame ass jokes? More importantly, can you add to them?”  Her smile grew as she moved toward the newest crew member, her hips swaying softly in a way that came naturally to the young seductress. "The name's Little...Mae Little, the boats official Bao bei and pilot" she teased as she tossed him an impish grin, fluttering her eyelashes comically and extending her hand in form of greeting.<br/></blockquote><div class="quotefooter"><div class="botslice_quote"></div></div><br/>Steve smiled inwardly at the thought of "being used" in this way, though he certainly wasn't going to give the girl the satisfaction of accomplishing this little goal.  He had a couple of girlfriends in his youth who gave him the same treatment Mae was giving Vincent.<br/><br/>He didn't return her smile, but remained relatively stoic as he gave her a quick little handshake. After all, he thought, we guys need to stick together, and being way past his teenage years gave him a certain resistance to her charms he would have lacked 20 years earlier.  "Sorry to disappoint, Little Mae Little.. best I can manage is the occasional limerick, and that's only when I've been drinking, and rarely in mixed company."<br/><br/>Then he looked back up the ramp to show his appreciation for Sasha and her choice of outfits ... not because he thought he had a shot, but just to give Little Mae Little a little taste of her own medicine.