Me thinks you are going through a mid life crisis.

I see it more with the 18 -21 crowd. When on alert they often do more than smile.
They are usually from an abusive childhood, with no father figure.
Not my cup of tea.
I prefer over 25.

My hunch is you probably had some food caught in your teeth...

"Do the lolitas sense that?"

They aren't "lolitas", they are teenagers. Stop thinking of teenage girls as some sort of separate species, and perhaps you won't be so tempted to leer at them so often. Are they flirting? No, but they certainly know a leer when they see one, and it can be amusing at times, hence the smile.

Being in my 40s, I thought the whole stuff about teen Lolitas was something I would never come across but in the movies. But recent encounters get me to question the trend.  I would never be involved with anyone under legal age, but I'm curious if anyone has encountered Lolita flirts.

Today, I was at a local Walmart center shopping with S.O.  Then my gaze went to this blonde 16-17 yr old pretty girl who was with 2 friends. I looked at her and she gazed back at me and she held my eyes and smiled back.  She kept on staring and smiling as I stared back.  It was a long eye-to-eye contact.  My S.O. came by my side and I looked away. As I was walking to another aisle, I almost bump into her again and 2 of her friends.  And she smiled and said something to her friends.  

A few days ago, I was also at another Walmart center and encounter a very hot pretty young latina lady who was with her grandma in the pharma center.  Same thing.  I looked at her and she gave me a very sweet smile and we had this eye contact for some time. Of course I smiled back.  I think she was no more than 17-18.

What's with these young ladies giving flirty looks and long gaze to a mid-40 yr old guy like me.   Do Hobbyist have a confidence aura around them broadcasting 'hey I've sleep with a lot of beautiful women?"   Do the Lolitas sense that ?  

"Research shows that men find it particularly difficult to interpret the more subtle cues in women's body-language, and tend to mistake friendliness for sexual interest."

Teens and young adult women flirt with older men for the same reason young lionesses toy with a wounded antelope... to sharpen their claws and test their skills for the real kill.  It takes a woman who's come into her own to appreciate the difference between Thunderbird and a 1945 Chateau Mouton-Rothschild Jeroboam and teeny-boppers don't even know what CMRJ is, let alone how to appreciate it.  

Likely the girls were either simply being friendly (as was previously stated), or were toying with you to gauge their skills - which, sadly enough, will likely get turned on the nearest skateboarding punk or gang banger (you were in Walmart afterall, chances are these girls aren't debutantes).   I hate to break it to you, but chances are when she turned and said something to her friends, it was about you and it was not flattering.

Enjoy the thrill it gave you but don't mistake that for actual interest.  Even Brad Pitt doesn't get laid as often as people would assume.

I have teenager daughters and anything above 20 is "old & creepy".

They tell me - all the time - that the "old" guys are always staring at them...and they simply HATE that.

So, don't think they were flirting with you...but, coming from 'the people from walmart' (they have a funny website about them), well, who knows!

you might break your arm while patting your back here

young women often celebrate their growing into sexuality by doing all sorts of flirty stuff. all you have to do to get Lolita flirt action is have a pulse and notice it as it happens. i'm substantially older than you, shaped like a prolate spheroid and it happens all the time.

one shop i frequent has a marvelous young blond whose charms are quite appreciable. she works behind a counter in a store front. as i approach she is quite decorous and proper. as soon as she sees me approach she starts contorting into back arching stretches so that her twin peaks rise to magnificent prominence.

i smile unabashed and watch her exercises with relish. that's all it takes, really, to guarantee continuing performances.

It's not the first time I've encountered this flirtation.
Last 2 years, I've had 4 hot lady acquittance (about 19-20 yrs old) hug me (they initiated the hug, not me). Each of this separate incident shocked me but it has happened and caught me by surprise.  It was more than just friendly. The hugs were tight and boobs pressed to my pecs.   One invited me to coffee, and the other encourage me to work with her on a common project.  I never encouraged it, since we all met at the workplace.  Yeah, I know about the 'creeper' lingo.  So I don't initiate this stuff with lady under 30.  

it is obvious you really, really want to believe underage girls want you.

Ooooo...two women you work with hugged you, it must be that they want to ride your dick like Secretariat.
Two underage girls looked at you in Walmart, obviously they  couldn't resist your sexual magnetism and just stood in a discount store panties wetting over your mere presence....

Here is the thing, attractive younger women know they are attractive, they know this because older men stare at them, give them attention, do things to get their attention, etc.
so they use it at every opportunity.  

The one at your job that hugged you and then wanted to work on a project with you...
how much of the workload did you carry and how much did / could have that project helped her in the workplace?  My guess she flirted enough to get you to make her look good at work, and you did so with gusto because she hugged you and you convinced yourself that meant she was really attracted to you...mission accomplished for a young, hot coworker all for the price of a smile and a hug.

The girls in Walmart were testing their ability to make you stand there and try not to get a hardon in front of your wife...they were perfecting the skills they will use in a few years to get an older guy at work to help them with projects, and to get ahead with men using their attractiveness as the only requirement to have men bend over backwards for them.

...but hey if you want to believe the jailbait crowd is powerless to your wiles go for it...
embrace your inner would be felon and let your ego be stroked by believing underage girls in discount stores want you.

Perhaps they have daddy issues! Perhaps they like the attention they're getting from you. Perhaps you left your fly open. Perhaps you were drooling all over yourself. The bottom line is that they are off limits, if you know what's good for you, so why indulge in such fantasies?

Now, if you want young women who like middle-aged guys with nose and ear hair, overweight and losing hair, go the Japan. For some reason, from news articles that I've read, it seems like a significant number of young women find such men a turn-on.

Any guy that's in his 40's and doesn't understand this is deluding himself and will eventually be played the fool.

Young women get their sexual powers early and like to experiment and push the boundaries as they explore the envelope of their sexuality.  Like Edrienne said, these are just practice for the real thing, but in a safe environment with their girlfriends around.

They quickly learn that a woman's body can get them just about anything they want.  But it's like giving the keys to a 500 horsepower Ferrari to a 16-year old- too much power, too soon.  That's one of the reasons we have laws as a society regarding minors, and also why adults are supposed to know better than think a smile from a teenager is an invitation to something more.  

And as for the girls in the office showing interest, well, I think WebTerrorist summed it up perfectly.

God, and you're fucking gorgeous as hell, too!

Been 20+ years since I've been to Denver. Think a trip up north 440 miles is in the agenda....

Or hikes her cheerleader skirt so you can plug her unit, I wouldn't ponder it too much.

Girls, ladies flirt. Makes them feel sexy, even if they have no intention of fucking you.

Me, on the otherhand, I have to go to Walmart to get more beer and a blade for my circular saw so I can cut down a branch the fucking snow broke off.

Hopefully I'll break one off in the lady's changing room with a nice, young hottie!

Walk around with cherry-flavored lip gloss and Justin Beiber CD's in your pocket, do you?

"adults are supposed to know better than think a smile from a teenager is an invitation to something more"

And, even if it is, you're still supposed to know better.

D-I-N-O-S-A-U-R
A dinosaur
D-I-N-O-S-A-U-R
A dinosaur
An O-L-D M-A-N
You're just an old man
Hitting on me what?
You need a cat scan

Oh man
Why are you starin' at me
Mack on me and my friends it's kinda creepy
You should be prowling around the Old folks home
Come on dude!
Leave us alone

Holy roller coaster,

You had me at Dinosaur doll!

Thanks for the u-tube with the lyrics.  I was dying laughing

XXX-Giselle

I'm 48 now and don't get any attention from the younger crowd, but up until 7 or 8 years ago it was fairly common to get signals of interest from girls as young as 13/14. Sometimes they were just toying with me or seeing what kind of reaction they could get. However, a pretty significant number of them came on to me pretty aggressively and made it clear what they wanted. I never acted on their advances but it was pretty clear that they were interested in more than smiles, glances and touches on the arm. It's really kind of shocking how brazen girls can be even at that age.