The New Guy, Part 2 ~ A Tuesday Tale

He scoped out the room. "Man, this place is buzzin'. Mind if I join you?"

"What?" She straightened in her chair. "Um... Sure. I mean, no. Of course I don't mind."

"Cool. Thanks."

~ from Bing

He eased his lanky athletic build into the seat across from her and the volume in the room dipped. She felt all eyes on them, but hunky Randy didn't seem to notice. He took a long swig of his malt as his eyes searched hers.

Her gaze locked on his, she ignored the stares and whispers.

He pulled away from the straw, swiped his hand across his lips, and tipped his cup her way. "So, what'd you get?"

She swallowed, hoping her the words wouldn't stick in her throat. "Pineapple malt. You?"

"Double chocolate. My favorite. This place makes the best malts, don't they?"

"Mm... they do." She managed to bob her head. The volume swelled again and the tension in her shoulders eased. "So, where'd you move from?"

His eyes darted around the room. "I grew up around here."

She wrinkled her nose. "Really?"

"Yep."

She must have looked totally confused because he laughed and said, "Why am I the new guy?"

"Yes."

"I home-schooled up until this year."

~ at Bing

"Really? That's cool. There's a lot of home-schoolers in the  military. I always kind of envied them. Moving around. Changing schools all the time." She shrugged and took another drink of her malt. Was this really her rattling on as if talking to a hunky guy was an everyday occurrence? She couldn't seem to stop herself. Must be nerves. "This is one of the few things that never changes for me. I can always find a good pineapple malt."

He smiled. "That's good. So how many places have you lived?"

"This would be number ten."

"What? You've moved ten times?"

She shrugged. "That's military life for you. We've lived in some pretty cool places, though. The hardest part is finding a good church."

She cringed. Face-palm! Why'd she have to go and say that? Now he'll think I'm a dweeb the same as everybody else.