Page 10 of A Miracle for the Reserved Flyboy

Well,this was not how he imagined his evening beginning...

Gary had never been so utterly shocked or bewildered at how things were going. Sure, he was quiet, rarely argued, and was a ‘worker bee’ keeping his head down. He always hated to stir the pot or ruffle feathers, but he was ready to start squawking like a chicken that had been stepped on when Krista practically vaulted him toward Susan – and ran.

He thought there had been an attraction there.

He was convinced that she was interested in him as well, that maybe she looked at him the same way, but obviously he was so wrong. Not only did Krista literally leave him to the wolves. The wolf before him, Susan, was sitting opposite the table, licking her chops like a canine about to devour him.

“You sure are handsome,” Susan practically purred. “Guess I’m a lucky girl that Krista ran into you first.”

“Let’s discuss that,” Gary interjected quickly, grabbing a menu and opening it almost like a first line of defense from thewoman in front of him. Were all women so forward like her? It had been a very long time since since he’d gotten up the nerve to ask a woman out, much less follow through. The last time he had been so nervous and scared, he’d texted and said he had a flat tire… and never contacted her again.

The self-loathing that followed was pretty terrible. He felt like a heel, a wimp, and a charlatan. It wasn’t that he didn’t like girls, they just made him feel completely nervous compared to some of the other smooth and more confident guys. He just felt like he brought less to the table than some of them.

As a kid growing up, he was the ‘big kid’ that others picked on and laughed at during the summer at the swimming pool. He had what his mother loved to call a ‘cute little roly-poly’ above the waist of his jeans for years until he entered the Academy. Acne, braces, a cowlick that wouldn’t stop, you name it, and he dealt with it. In fact, his prom date that he’d asked out stood him up… and it was his next-door neighbor. Do you know how humiliating that is to have your mother arrange a prom date for you – and they still bailed?

Was he nervous?

Oh yes… he was waaay out there, alone, and mentally seeding a field of freakouts, waving the glowing batons, bringing theultimatenervous breakdown in for a landing.

Did I mention the field was awfully fertile?he thought, panicking.

Susan was saying something to him, and his ears were roaring with his pulse, feeling that cloying, suffocating sensation of a panic attack coming on. Tugging on his sweater, he wished that he was wearing a T-shirt or there were fans in the diner to circulate the air.

I want to be where the people aren’t…

See them, see them passing?

Panic attacks?

I’ve got plenty!

No worries, I’ve got one moooore…

See them walk…

Watch me run!

All day, every day,

Even in Afghanistannnn…

He sang in his head, mocking The Little Mermaid song, and sighed heavily, his shoulders slumping in defeat.Mermaid? Ha! It’s actually ‘Man-Afraid’ and mispronounced by sooo many.

The one woman he felt drawn too, felt like he could actually hold a conversation with her, had arranged… this. To his horror, he felt something move on his lap and looked down to see a sock almost directly between his legs, precariously close.

Someday we’ll see, just maybe?

I’m gonna hurrrrl,he mentally finished his song as he cleared his throat, smiled politely at the woman, and pushed her foot away.

“No, thank you.”

“Oh honey, I wasn’t asking,” Susan smiled warmly. “I was offering.”

“Let’s talk about how you know Krista,” he deftly offered, side-stepping the whole conversation completely.

An hour later,Gary was scrubbing at the smudge of odd pecan-colored lipstick Susan had left on his cheek when she’d tried to kiss him, a kiss he had dodged just in time. The aftertaste alone was enough to make him gag as he spat into the grass by the town square, ignoring the disgusted looks of a few passersby.

“Thank God I’ll never see her again. Heaven help her; she doesn’t need a man… that woman needs an army and a full prescription for antibiotics just to be on the safe side. Sheesh,” he muttered, still horrified.

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