lips.
“Ah, it sure is.” The words fell from the back of my mouth, composed of the air that was shooting out of my lungs. “Alright, so you're twenty-three. What do you do for work?”
I was rambling off nonsensical questions that seemed better fit for that dating show on T.V. What was it? The Bachelor? When inside, my body was screaming for me to take her home.
“I'm a support staff.”
“A what?” I asked, lip curling up.
“I work with adults with disabilities in a group home.”
“And that means what exactly? Like alcoholics in a half-way house?”
“No, nothing like that. I work with people who were born with Autism, Down syndrome, brain injuries.” Rolling her wrist, Avni said, “That type of group home.”
“Wow, that's got to be tough.”
“It can be at times, but I love it. It hits home, so the job came easy to me.”
“That's amazing, really. I don't think I could ever do that,” I said, looking up as the waiter placed our beers on the table.
Rolling her napkin out, she fiddled with the fork. “Tell me something about you.”
“Well—”
Cutting me off, Avni held her hand up. “That doesn't involve your job. Okay?” Her brows shot up her forehead, raising to her hairline.
“I told you, you're having dinner with Levi.” Nodding, she sipped her drink. “Well, what do you want to know?”
“Where did you grow up?” she asked, cupping her hands in her lap, leaning into the table.
She looked so interested, curiosity crawling over her expression. Her eyes were open wide, barely blinking. Slender fingers raised from her lap to scratch the side of her cheek.
And again I was captivated, losing myself in every small detail of her; every inch of her body was a place I wanted to explore.
But my brain was still trying desperately to place her face, her laugh; it all felt like dejavu. The time, the place, it's all an empty memory that I couldn't pull to the front.
“Nebraska.” Avni's face twisted, lip curling down. “Yup, land of barren fields and cows.”
“Huh, I wouldn't have thought that.”
“No? You can't picture me in overalls, picking up cow patties and bailing hay?”
Laughing, she started to cough, choking down her beer. “Nope, not at all.”
“Good, because I never wore overalls. But if I did...” Pausing, I brought the bottle to my lips. “I'd wear the fuck out of those things.”
“Ha! I bet you would. You'd look like an alternate member of a nineties boy band. Then you'd really have to worry about those underage girls.” Winking, she sipped on her drink.
The liquid sloshed over her lips, small bubbles bursting against her flesh before disappearing into her mouth. Shaking my head slightly, I laughed. “No, I don't think so. I'd never be the alternate, I'd be the lead member. Look at me...” Rolling my hands down my chest, I jerked my shoulders forward, flexing my muscles. “No one would push me to the back.”
Slapping the table, Avni's face lit up; and I swear I could see small sparks shoot across her pupils, the tiny fireworks exploded off in the distance of her deep brown eyes. “This is nice,” she said, brushing her hair behind her ear. “I'm sorry about all that before.”
“Don't worry about it, it's fine.” Folding my hands together, my elbows bowed out.
“No, it's not. I just...” Taking a deep breath, she said, “I just have a lot of shit I'm still working out. And sometimes I overreact, but this is nice. I don't go out much, so thank you.”
I wanted to reach out, stroke her ear, and let her head fall into my hand. We all have shit from our past we needed to deal with, I was no exception.
The amount of times my heart stopped briefly after my first tour from the sound of a car backfiring, or on the fourth of July... Fuck that was the worst!
But over time, and with my meetings, life had started to fall back into place. I was able to find some normalcy, separate the soldier from the man.
Honestly, that was all that kept me
“Ah, it sure is.” The words fell from the back of my mouth, composed of the air that was shooting out of my lungs. “Alright, so you're twenty-three. What do you do for work?”
I was rambling off nonsensical questions that seemed better fit for that dating show on T.V. What was it? The Bachelor? When inside, my body was screaming for me to take her home.
“I'm a support staff.”
“A what?” I asked, lip curling up.
“I work with adults with disabilities in a group home.”
“And that means what exactly? Like alcoholics in a half-way house?”
“No, nothing like that. I work with people who were born with Autism, Down syndrome, brain injuries.” Rolling her wrist, Avni said, “That type of group home.”
“Wow, that's got to be tough.”
“It can be at times, but I love it. It hits home, so the job came easy to me.”
“That's amazing, really. I don't think I could ever do that,” I said, looking up as the waiter placed our beers on the table.
Rolling her napkin out, she fiddled with the fork. “Tell me something about you.”
“Well—”
Cutting me off, Avni held her hand up. “That doesn't involve your job. Okay?” Her brows shot up her forehead, raising to her hairline.
“I told you, you're having dinner with Levi.” Nodding, she sipped her drink. “Well, what do you want to know?”
“Where did you grow up?” she asked, cupping her hands in her lap, leaning into the table.
She looked so interested, curiosity crawling over her expression. Her eyes were open wide, barely blinking. Slender fingers raised from her lap to scratch the side of her cheek.
And again I was captivated, losing myself in every small detail of her; every inch of her body was a place I wanted to explore.
But my brain was still trying desperately to place her face, her laugh; it all felt like dejavu. The time, the place, it's all an empty memory that I couldn't pull to the front.
“Nebraska.” Avni's face twisted, lip curling down. “Yup, land of barren fields and cows.”
“Huh, I wouldn't have thought that.”
“No? You can't picture me in overalls, picking up cow patties and bailing hay?”
Laughing, she started to cough, choking down her beer. “Nope, not at all.”
“Good, because I never wore overalls. But if I did...” Pausing, I brought the bottle to my lips. “I'd wear the fuck out of those things.”
“Ha! I bet you would. You'd look like an alternate member of a nineties boy band. Then you'd really have to worry about those underage girls.” Winking, she sipped on her drink.
The liquid sloshed over her lips, small bubbles bursting against her flesh before disappearing into her mouth. Shaking my head slightly, I laughed. “No, I don't think so. I'd never be the alternate, I'd be the lead member. Look at me...” Rolling my hands down my chest, I jerked my shoulders forward, flexing my muscles. “No one would push me to the back.”
Slapping the table, Avni's face lit up; and I swear I could see small sparks shoot across her pupils, the tiny fireworks exploded off in the distance of her deep brown eyes. “This is nice,” she said, brushing her hair behind her ear. “I'm sorry about all that before.”
“Don't worry about it, it's fine.” Folding my hands together, my elbows bowed out.
“No, it's not. I just...” Taking a deep breath, she said, “I just have a lot of shit I'm still working out. And sometimes I overreact, but this is nice. I don't go out much, so thank you.”
I wanted to reach out, stroke her ear, and let her head fall into my hand. We all have shit from our past we needed to deal with, I was no exception.
The amount of times my heart stopped briefly after my first tour from the sound of a car backfiring, or on the fourth of July... Fuck that was the worst!
But over time, and with my meetings, life had started to fall back into place. I was able to find some normalcy, separate the soldier from the man.
Honestly, that was all that kept me
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