Just Try It

Chapter 49- Thump, Thump, Thump

Thursday, February 16th 8:30pm

Seymour Dojo and Fitness Center

Moe wasn't sure how he had gone from dreaming about kissing her to having her in his arms and pulling her close, but it had happened. Not only had he had just ruined his whole plan of taking it slow and proving himself, but he had managed to hurt her on top of it all. He couldn't stand to see her look at him without the trust he had come to expect, and had run from the room.

He didn't get far. Even as the door swung shut behind him, a strong hand gripped his shoulder and stopped him in his tracks. Moe swung around prepared to fight, only to see Sean standing behind him.

The strength in his grip and the glint in his eyes stopped Moe in his tracks. Even with his extraordinary height, Sean had always seemed like the least volatile of Jamie's uncles. Maybe it was his pale features, wiry muscles, and shaggy hair style, but Moe had always thought it was respect of his intelligence that caused the others to follow his lead. Now that he was held firmly in place by a single hand and an icy glare, Moe was sure that Sean was at least as dangerous as Jamie's other uncles.

While Moe was still in shock at the transformation, Sean barked out, "Where are you going? You need to walk Sondra home."

Moe shook his head as he insisted, "She won't want to be around me now. I messed everything up."

To Moe's surprise, Sean gave him an understanding look as he laughed. When Sean changed his grip to a pat on the shoulder and pronounced, "Ridiculous," Sean suddenly seemed harmless again, but Moe was no longer fooled.

Reluctantly, Moe confessed, "Her arm, I didn't think and I hurt her."

Instead of anger, Sean nodded in understanding, but when Moe would have started for the door, Sean's nod turned to a shake of the head. "Wait," he insisted. "I'll talk to her. I doubt things are as bad as they seem right now. Even if things are a little stressful you can't just run off. Just go clean up in the kitchen while I find out how she feels."

When Moe would have protested, Sean cut him off and slyly added, "You still want to help protect her, don't you?"

Without a word, Moe changed direction and headed up the stair. He was grumbling so much that he didn't even notice Sean's calculating smile.

When Sean slipped quietly into the office, he was greeted by the sight of Sondra kicking his desk. After that, she limped to her chair and sank down. "Perfect," she mumbled, "now I have a gimp foot to match my injured shoulder."

When Sean quietly asked, Want some company? she jumped and swiveled around so fast she almost fell from the chair. Only a quick grab on her uninjured arm prevented a spill to the floor. When she was safely settled in the chair again, Sean casually picked up the ice pack and ACE bandage and set them on the table as Sondra answered morosely, "I guess."

He watched for a moment before saying, "Moe ran into me a moment ago, literally. He wasn't thinking too clear. I stopped him before he could leave without walking you home. He seemed to think that he had hurt you, and you wouldnt want him around anymore.  It didn't seem to make sense, so I sent him up to do dishes while I checked on you. I promised that I would make sure you got home okay if he was right, but I don't think his is."

Sondra groaned and thumped her head on the desktop a couple of times.

Sean grinned and guessed, "That means I shouldn't send him away?"

Sondra stopped thumping her head on the table, but turned it sideways and glared at him through the hair covering her face. "No, I'll talk to him. I can't let him think it was his fault. I'll just have to tell him what really happened."

Sean asked, "What did happen?"

Sondra sat up and told the story of her embarrassing attempt to kiss Moe. She ended on a wail with, "Why am I SO bad at this stuff?"

Sean couldnt help it. He started to chuckle. The chuckle turned to a loud laugh, and soon tears were sliding down his face.

Sondra watched him for a moment before saying dryly, "Not helping."

Sean glanced at her sad face, and toned his laughter down to a chuckle. He then said, "I have no idea why you are asking ME. Havent you figured it out? I'm the nerd of our group. I might even be worse at this stuff than you. The woman I like is probably doing a background check on me as we speak."

In the process of shoving her hair out of her face, Sondra froze. Her attention caught, she asked, "You like Ms. Mac Inness?"

Sean nodded and admitted, "The best I can hope for is for her to finish her investigation quickly. I have absolutely no chance until she proves the rumors aren't true."

Sondra tilted her head to the side and considered him thoughtfully before she gave her opinion, "She helped me a lot. She is pretty and seems dedicated. I think you are right about her needing to finish her investigation."

Sean nodded, and they both spent a few minutes quietly considering their messed up love lives.

Finally, Sondra rolled her eyes and glanced at the clock. It was almost time to leave. She couldn't put it off any longer. As she stood up, she asked, "I know that you said you weren't the one to ask, but any words of wisdom?"

Sean grinned back and suggested, "If you don't feel the time is right to tell him that you were going to kiss him, you could try saying that you were just going to give him a hug for helping you."

Slowly. Sondra nodded before answering, "That might work. Got anything else?"

Sean shrugged and said, "Nope. You used up all of my advice. Go find Moe. He is probably almost done with dishes by now."

After Sondra left, Sean absently stacked her books as he thought about how hopeless they were. In fact, he thought with a grin, they were so hopeless that it was funny. He went over and sat down in Sondra's spot. Impulsively, he leaned down and thumped his own head on the desktop. After a couple of thumps, he stopped with a chuckle. No point in continuing. He already knew it would make sense to focus on someone else. Too bad his heart was in charge instead of his head this time.