would like to be licking…he said “Don’t worry about getting home – my SUV is 4-wheel-drive, and if it’s too bad out, you can stay overnight at my place, and I’ll take you home tomorrow – if that’s ok.”

I immediately said “Sure thing, Tony – thanks for your help. Let me call downstairs to the Pharmacy to see if they’re still open so I can pick up some emergency supplies.” Our office building had a pharmacy at street level, and they were just closing up, but the cashier knew me and said she would let me in. I rushed down there and she already had her coat on. I grabbed a toothbrush, a small bottle of mouthwash, a bar of soap, some deodorant, and a comb, and a small vinyl travel bag to put them in, and she rang them up. I went back upstairs and went right to Tony’s office. He said, “I’m going to move over to the cubicle across from you – we can work better that way, and keep each other company.” A sort of shy smile, this time, and another look from those devastating dark eyes with their foot-long dark eyelashes. He just exudes sex, without even trying, of which I’m sure he is aware. That’s what makes him so dangerous – his sex-o-meter is always off the charts, and it defeats my gaydar. I know he is single, and that he lives in a huge house in an older, wealthy section of town that he inherited from his parents, but I don’t know if he dates or who he dates, nor does anyone else on our team. He does not socialize with the rest of us, and once at an office party I overheard him say to someone else who asked him, “I am rather strict about keeping my work and my social life separate. I love my work, and I enjoy working with all of you and being part of the team, but after work I have my own life – I need to keep that balance to work as effectively as possible.”

What I did know was that I desperately wanted to get closer to him, and this disaster seemed like a golden opportunity to do so – I had even wangled an invitation to his house, and to stay the night, no less! Now if all the other things could just fall into place…

We got to work and finished the necessary data input – starting at about 3:00pm, it was still after 6:00 before we were done. Everything downtown was closed by then, so no chance of dinner. The anticipated heavy snow beat on the windows of our 12th-floor office suite, and we could hear strong winds moaning all around. There was no time for small talk – just very intense work, which we both knew was make-or-break for both of our future careers. Sitting in my cube less than 10 feet from where he was working, I could feel his intensity, his concentration, his focus, like a powerful force of energy that caught up everything in its path, and either made it part of itself or blasted it to bits. I played into it, and our questions or comments to each other were brief, quick, and to the point. Finally, about 8:00 we decided to run a pre-test program. It would take about 20 minutes, so I stretched out in my chair and closed my eyes. I heard him get up, and after a few minutes I opened my eyes and saw