Running In Circles || Nicholas Ruffilo

two

Nicholas

I didn't know how to feel about her.

I knew what it was like to start out and feel so certain about what you're doing and the fact that you landed the position at all and how that can blind you. It was absolutely going to happen to her. I had to fall flat on my face a couple of times for me to learn how to get better.

I ran by my apartment and grabbed my Deftones hoodie on the way to going to meet the guys for dinner. We already planned this ahead of time and Cassidy declined our invitation to join, which was fine. I gave my cat, Dexter, a couple of pats before rushing out the door to start my five minute walk over. I purposefully got an apartment next to the shop because I like the option to walk wherever I want and we live pretty close to some good restaurants and grocery stores.

"Nick!" Davis called from the middle of the bar, waving me over with a massive smile. He handed me a Modelo, leading the pack outside to the tables for us to hang out.

"So how did she really do today?" Davis asked Tyler pointedly.

"I think she's gonna be good. I'd love to see her break out of her shell some eventually but it's part of it," Tyler said.

"I can see that. She might have a touch of that newbie cockiness, but didn't we all?" I posed.

"For sure," Tyler resounded, taking a hit off of his vape after. "She seems to have drive and an inability to want to stay still, which is a good thing."

"Hey!" Davis suddenly called, looking through us to someone walking past.

Vincent ducked his head down and headed over to us, taking a pull off of his cigarette before tossing it on the ground. "Hey, how was today?" He asked sheepishly.

"Good, but you couldn't even swing by to say hello to the new girl?" Davis called out.

"She was probably kept plenty company," Vincent shot back with a shit eating grin. "Did y'all just get here?"

"Yeah we just settled in," I answered invitingly.

"Cool, let me grab a drink and I'll be back," he mused. He was an interesting character. A bit of a hard ass, but he really loves who he loves.

Davis shook his head with a small smile and took a sip of his beer. "But you think she'll do okay?" he reiterates to Tyler.

"For sure," Tyler mused with a small smile.

"I'm always nervous to bring in new people, and it's the first woman we've brought in. I don't want it to get messy," Davis elaborates.

"I think it's a good idea to bring someone that isn't like us into it. It helps that she's hot," Tyler said daringly before finishing his drink.

"Don't even start that," Davis said warningly while chuckling a little bit. He looked over at me quizzically, but I just pulled out a cigarette and lit it in response. "Not you too!"

"I'm not blind, but I'm also not trying anything," I said, throwing my hands up in surrender. "What kind of style does she actually want to do?" I asked Tyler.

"American traditional, but she wants to be able to do anything. I told her to shadow you guys, too," he mused, meeting Vincent's eyes as he joined the table.

"Ugh, I didn't want to be a babysitter, too," Vincent grumbled.

"It's not babysitting," Davis started sharply. "It's giving you the opportunity to brag on your skill set and teach someone else how to find what they like to do best."