Element, Part 1 Read Online Free PDF Page B

purposefully.
    Ryan and Sal shook Sharon’s hand and both said, “Nice to
meet you.”
    “I gotta go, Chad’s waiting on me. You kids have a good time
now.” She winked at the guys.
    “See you and thanks for the drink.” Lise held up her glass.
    “Oh, don’t forget you can use my place tonight.” Sharon
whispered to Natalie but said it loud enough for the guys to hear.
    Natalie wanted to bury her face in her hands. She couldn’t
believe Sharon said that. She didn’t know what to say so she blurted the first
thing that came to mind. “She’s recently divorced.”
    “Oh.” Ryan raised his eyebrows.
    “Let me guess, she’s a cougar?” Sal asked with a grin.
    Natalie busted out laughing and everyone else started
laughing too. “Yeah, I guess you can say that.”
    “God bless her.” Ryan shook his head then took a drink. He
lowered his glass. “I’m sorry. Would you like something to drink?”
    Natalie picked up her glass from the bar. “I have one,
thanks.”
    “How about we grab a seat? That booth’s empty over there.”
Sal pointed to an area behind the bar.
    “Sure.” Lise lead the way, practically running over to the
quaint seating area. Along the back wall were several booth style chairs with
overstuffed pillows and curtains draped in front of them. Dim lighting hung
above a low table in front of the curved chair, giving it a romantic feel.
Natalie knew this wasn’t a good idea, but took a seat next to Lise in the
middle of the ‘u’ shaped seat. This allowed Ryan and Sal to sit next to them.
    “So, I take it you’re feeling better?” Ryan set his drink
down on the table. 
    “Yes. It was a dizzy spell, that’s all.” Natalie sat perched
on the edge of the chair, struggling to keep calm and relaxed.  Her tongue
stuck to the roof of her mouth. She took a sip of her drink and noticed her
hand shaking. She put her drink down, hoping she wouldn’t knock it over. She
glanced over at Lise and Sal. They chatted back and forth like they had known
each other for years. During times like this, she wished she had a little of
Lise in her.
    “Did you finish your freshman year?” Ryan tried to strike up
a conversation with her.
    “Yeah.” She nodded. She wanted to get to know him, but she
was afraid.  She couldn’t get hurt again. For some reason he made her feel
nervous, which only made her more introverted. Not to mention, wearing the
short dress didn’t help either. His leg practically touched her bare thigh.
    Then she remembered something she learned in speech class.
She took another sip of her drink and held onto the straw with her teeth.
Inconspicuously, she took the straw from her mouth and held it in her hand. She
fiddled and twisted the red plastic tube between her fingers, directing all her
nervous energy to it. It brought a sense of relief to her, allowing her to
relax.
    She looked over at him. “What about you?”
    “I just finished my second year. I took a year off and then
decided to transfer to UT.” He twiddled his thumbs for a moment and then took
another drink.
    “I should have been a junior by now.” His voice was heavy.
    “Oh… well at least you’re still in school.” Natalie wondered
what happened. She could tell he wanted to talk more about it but held back.
Her nervousness slowly dwindled away and she began to remember things about him
from high school.
    “I heard you got a scholarship to TCU to play football. I’m
guessing that didn’t go well.” She also wanted to ask him about his high school
girlfriend, Jennifer, but refrained.
    Ryan looked up at her. His eyes drooped down and his bottom
lip stuck out over his top lip.
    “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have —” She wanted to kick
herself for asking him that question.
    “It’s okay.” He let out a slight smile.
    Natalie whispered low under her breath, “I didn’t mean
to...”
    Ryan leaned forward. “I’m sorry, I can’t hear you. The
music’s too loud.”
    The straw fell from her hand.  He was