Love, Lust 'n Geology (1ST DRAFT)

Chapter 2: On the dance floor

Chapter 2: On the dance floor

"Do you mind if I sit down?" Wolverine asked. She was struck by how deep and resonant his voice was.

She glanced nervously at him. "No. Go ahead."

He pulled out the chair he'd been leaning on and sat down.

"Hi. My name's Tom," he said, extending his hand across the table.

"Samina," she murmured, taking it.

She noted how large his hand was compared to hers. It felt warm and slightly rough as it closed around hers in a firm grip. But a quick glance at it revealed that there were no openings for retractable adamantium claws. That was good! But then, didn't the claws actually slice their way through Wolverine's skin each time they emerged? Not quite as good!

"Samina? Hmm, that's a nice name. Are you from the reserve?"

"What?"

"I haven't seen you around here. Are you from the reserve?"

"You think I'm native?" she asked, with a nervous giggle. "No. I was actually born in India."

"India? Oh."

"But I live in Toronto."

"Toronto?" There it was, the same disparaging tone with which just about every local uttered that name.

"What are you doing here?"

"I'm studying your rocks," she replied, taking a sip of beer to moisten her dry mouth, another symptom of the state of her nerves.

His smile disappeared, and his eyes widened. He glanced about, and then he leaned towards her and whispered conspiratorially, "You know I think that's the most forward thing a woman's ever said to me!" "But I like it!" he declared, sitting back, with a huge Cheshire cat-like grin overspreading his face.

She took one look at him and burst out laughing. She hadn't fully swallowed the sip of beer she'd taken, and some of it sprayed out.

"No, no," she choked out between fits of giggling, "I mean ... real rocks ... as in geology!"

"Oh!" He joined in laughing, looking somewhat sheepish. "Sorry!"

"So you're a geologist?" he remarked, regaining his composure, as she still struggled to suppress some remnant giggles.

"Yes. I'm doing my Ph.D. in geology."

"Your Ph.D.? Wow. What exactly are you studying?"

She scrutinized him for a moment, trying to decide if she should give him the short version, or the long version. Better stick to the short version: Wolverine wasn't exactly known for his braininess.

"A melting event that occurred about 2.7 billion years ago, the biggest one that we know about. There's evidence that the middle of the crust extended, or stretched, during the event. I'm trying to figure out by how much."

"Billion?" he exclaimed.

"Yes! You have some very old rocks here, though not the oldest."

"That sounds really interesting."

"Does it?" she muttered sceptically.

"Yeah. ... So how are you planning to figure that out?"

She looked at him closely. Had he just asked a question? A pertinent question? Was it possible that a brain, a good one, was paired with that stunning face?

She went on to explain that she would be measuring dykes, which were sheets of molten rock which invaded existing rock, and trying to come up with a way to estimate the amount of extension that would be needed to accommodate the dykes.