“The key is to be extremely warm and pleasant, but don’t fawn all over him. Make it seem like you’re nice to everyone. Then when you leave, don’t ask for his number or anything like that. Just say, ‘It was really nice to meet you.’ Then walk away. Chances are they’ll come after you.”

Do they ever not come after you? I ask, tentatively.

She smiles. Not if you’re doing it right, she answers.

Are there any other tricks up P’s mini skirt? She tells me: What I’m about to tell you is the most effective flirting technique of all.

I wait eagerly—wondering what great secret is about to be revealed to me.

“Eye contact,” she says.

That’s it? I groan. I gently remind her that the five-second stare and look away has been a staple in romantic comedies since the early 80s.

She quickly corrects me. “No, you don’t look away. You continue to stare. Gaze deep into their eyes. It doesn’t even matter if you’re paying attention to what they’re saying.”

“But I hate when people look directly into my eyes for long periods of time. It makes me feel so nervous and self conscious,” I protest.

“It’s uncomfortable in the beginning. But I swear, it feels like someone is looking into your soul—it’s cliché, I know-but…”

“Completely cliché,” I interrupt.
“But, it makes the other person feel like you’re really listening and being attentive. It’s a very intimate thing.”

I’m skeptical, but I suspect she is right. When I think of the times people have really looked into my eyes, I have felt a certain closeness with them. I feel nervous. I feel… butterflies. Wow—she is right.