When Nancy Meets Ted
“Hi.” A word tossed over broad shoulders, casually as though it meant nothing. Nancy watched, dry mouthed, while Ted Sherbourne settled his long legs around the seat in front of them.
“Ah,” was all she could manage, well after the fact. Ted talked to her. Her.
Unless, her gaze slid to her neighbor, he had been addressing Stanley. No, she decided, life couldn’t be that cruel.
“Ah?” her pink haired friend, victim of a botched dye job, repeated, “you’ve been waiting months to talk to him and that’s that the best you can do, Nance No Chance? Say something to your hunky hunk.”
Something, that sounded so easy. “But what?” she whispered, at a loss.
Stanley rolled his eyes, picking up her pen, twirling it. Then before Nancy realized what he was planning, he threw it forward. “I have a brilliant idea. Why don’t you ask for your pen back?”
“I have a brilliant idea…” she was about to tell him off when Ted turned. Oh, lord, he was going to talk to her again. Nancy slumped down in her seat.
“Is this yours?” Yep, he was talking to her.
She opened her mouth and “ah” came out again. Stanley, that rat, snickered. “Yes.” She forced. Better.
“It’s a nice pen.” Ted stroked the plastic shell, sliding it back and forth in his hand. “Red, like your hair.”
A pause. This was where she was supposed to talk. Nothing. She had nothing.
His blue eyes twinkled. “Would you like it back?”
“Yes.” She breathed. Though if he wanted to keep it…
“A girl who only says yes,” his voice was deeper than she expected from his lanky frame, “a dream of mine.”
Nancy blushed. She wouldn’t be discussing any dreams of hers.
“Let me test this.” He leaned forward until she could smell him, turf and grease. “This is my last class of the day, Nancy.” He knew her name. Ted Sherbourne knew her name. “Would you like to go to a movie after?”
Nancy smiled, so lightheaded she would have passed out, if not for Stanley viscously pinching her outer thigh. “Yes.”
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