I spotted her from across the smoking area, wearing a sun dress. I'm a sucker for a summer sun dress, the way it flows and reveals, the way it lets a womans' body speak for itself. I was abroad, and my grasp of the language was not at a fluent level. I am not a sharp dresser, and don't necessarily present myself well. Also, I was sporting a mustache, which many women find to be an either-or sort of feature. My confidence was not initially high.
There were mitigating factors, however. I was a foreigner, and as such could play to the exotic even though I'm normally an everyday sort of dude. I was hanging with friends, among whom were some beautiful girls, so my trustworthiness was upgraded from the get go. Also, I was drinking copiously. My shyness was, in the end, no barrier. I made my way through the crowd and we started talking over lagers.