Little Wolf

Ch 11 Long Legs and a Sandy Circle

We took Derrick's car into town the following night after work. The two of us seemed to be working out well. It didn't take long before the new microwave was in the back seat; we stowed the mower in the trunk.

Derrick pulled in at a coffee shop that had some tables outside. "One of my favorite haunts," he grinned. When I ordered a cup of tea, Derrick shook his head. "Aww, come on, Rick. Tea? Honestly? Real men drink coffee," he teased.

The way he ogled the barista gave me an idea of why he liked the place. We sat down and got a bit of background on each other.

"The one thing I can't find around here is stuffed flounder," Derrick complained. "I could always find a decent seafood dinner in Maryland."

"I'll have to catch you some mountain trout. Otherwise, it's elk for me," I told him.

"Elk? Don't tell me- mighty hunters, right?"

We both laughed as I nodded.

"You got siblings?" Derrick asked. "I have two younger brothers and a sister. My brothers were happy when I moved out; it meant they each got their own room."

"Nope, I'm an only child. It's just my dad and me now, though. My mom passed away about a year ago. Big extended family, though, lots of cousins. My one aunt goes through husbands faster than some people go through cars, and each husband seems to come with two or three kids from the previous marriage. What made you come two-thirds across the country to end up out here?"

"I did a quick tour with the army right out of high school, " Derrick informed me, "working as a computer tech. I wasn't sure what to do when I got out, besides not running back home. One of the sergeants said he knew someone who had an opening in his security company, so here I am. It's only part-time hours, so I can do that and work at the park. I'm usually up early to run a few miles. I like to keep myself in shape now that I'm in it. There's a group I work out with at night."

"I run too. Never bothered counting miles." I didn't tell him I usually ran on four legs, but I couldn't help thinking it. It was hard not to laugh out loud. "I wrestled in high school and got a partial scholarship for it at the local college. I've only seriously worked out with my dad. My dad's a high school language teacher."

"How unfortunate, Rick; I feel sorry for you, man. Can't be much of a workout with your dad."

I almost choked on my tea. If he only knew how Dad and I fought, both on two legs and four.

Derrick saw my derision at his assumption and took it as a challenge. "Why don't we swing by the gym, see what you have?"

Derrick's body language became intense, as he leaned forward and stretched his arms across the table.

"As long as our friendship doesn't suffer if I beat you," I said, laughing and tapping his outstretched arm. "You're so serious-looking right now."

Derrick's body language and scent were easy to read. I found it easy to counter his attitude by lounging back and staying relaxed. It was something I'd always been able to do and one of the things that made me everyone's friend.

I broke off from his intense stare to check out a pair of long legs walking behind him. Her perfume was enticing. My eyes followed her as she went into the coffee shop.

"This just might become my favorite place to hang out, too," I told Derrick as I looked around at the beautiful assortment of ladies that were around us. I gave him a wink, a slight smile playing at the edges of my lips.

He relaxed, shook his head at me, but did his own recon of the area. "You ain't gonna pick up anyone sipping that wussy tea," Derrick asserted.

I laughed again, noticing long legs had come out with her drink. She was on her phone, seated just behind my right shoulder. I wanted to get a look at her face. Derrick was relaxed again, so now I could talk about fighting without him getting more worked up.