Dear Kitty Winn,

A bit of a sticky situation is plaguing me. I was in the locker room at the gym the other day and feeling a bit fresh and spring-like. As I reclined in the sauna, I allowed my towel to peek open a bit. When I opened my eyes again, I noticed that a co-worker had entered the sauna. He seemed to be employing the same MO as me. I fled hastily without saying anything. He hasn’t mentioned it either. Then, whaddya know, I run into him at the video store! So I guess my generic question is if I’m sort of half-heartedly cruising in a local adult video store or sauna, and I run into a co-worker, what’s the appropriate way to behave? Especially if I’m not sure if he’s actually cruising as well?

-Simple in the Sauna

Dear Simple,

Kitty is so glad she does not have this problem. The men come swarming to Kitty! Also, you have left out a lot of pertinent details. 1) Is the co-worker hot? 2) Would you roger him roundly? 3) Are you a bit slow? Wake up and smell the coffee! 4) Kitty has always wanted to say that.

If the co-worker is hot and you would be open to cavorting, you could approach him casually the next time you meet in a non-work setting. Here we must tread carefully, because we must recall the magic phrase “don’t dip your pen in company ink.” Dating co-workers, while not uncommon, should be approached with caution. You never know when someone will go psycho and bring personal issues into a public forum. Are you prepared to be the next office drama? If you out-rank him at work, you may be legally obligated by the policies of your company to look but not touch.

You also didn’t say if you are out at the office or not. Is this a factor in your skittishness? Chances are good that if you keep running into this fellow at the places you mention (the gay section at the local porn shop), he’s playing for your team. If you weren’t sure he was cruising or not, he must be a discreet individual.

Finally, we have the possibility that the co-worker is not attractive, and there’s a snowball’s chance in hell that you’d ever hook up. In that case, proceed as if nothing had ever happened. No need to get his poor short, spotty hopes up! Also, if you are unattractive, you should stop fretting right now, as this guy will no doubt leave a wide berth. Saved by the ugly stick!

good luck,

-Kitty