25-12-2018, 05:09 PM
It was dark outside when the QC meeting finally ended. Maria approached Mike, a big grin on her face. "Hey Mike you were awesome today," she gushed, smiling into his eyes.
"Just some ideas I had," Mike said with a modest shrug. He was tired. He was done with people. He wanted to go to this room and veg.
"Hey a bunch of us are going out for a drink," Maria said. She touched his arm. "You ought to come with us."
Mike didn't want to go out. Being around people exhausted him. He was okay with kids. But adult interactions exhausted him. It took so much energy. He just wanted to go to his room and chill.
"I'd really like to pick your brain," Maria said. "Colonel Banks said you developed software to track people."
"Oh yeah," Mike said. She was talking about the software he wrote to locate Willy.
"You know that's my area," Maria said. "Search and rescue. If you've got new tech I'd love to see it."
"Yeah, sure, I'll email you the code," Mike said.
"Email?" Maria said with a laugh. "How about talking over a drink to start? You know, an offline? With fellow humans?"
Mike couldn't help laughing. "Okay, yeah, sure," he said. Then he glanced over at Brent. He was glaring at him with jealous hatred in his eyes. "Uh oh," Mike thought to himself.
Later at the bar Maria walked passed Brent and sidled up to Mike. "So how's Jen?" she asked.
"She's great," Mike gushed, his eyes sparkling. He always got that way when he talked about his wife. "You won't believe it. She got a part on Spring Awakening. She's playing Wendla on Broadway."
"I believe it," Maria said, admiration on her pretty face instead of any envy or jealousy. "I took a dance class with her in college. She's awesome. Always getting in trouble though. Her friend – what's her name, Allie? They were wild."
"Allie's calmed down," Mike said. "She's getting a divorce."
"Oh sorry," Maria said feeling stupid. "I mean, Allie was always nice to me. Jen too. But they always hung out with the bad boy types."
"You're not into bad boys?" Mike said with a grin.
"I'm an engineer," Maria said. She smiled into Mike's eyes and tapped his arm. "I'm into socially awkward computer geeks."
Mike, being clueless, said "Like Brent." Or was he clueless?
"I guess," Maria said with a laugh. "You know what's wrong with socially awkward computer geeks? They're socially awkward." She laughed again but it wasn't a ha-ha laugh. It was more like a "this is my life, feel sorry for me" laugh.
"Anyway ... I'm happy Jen ended up with you," Maria said after an awkward silence. "That football player, Colin? God he's such a creep. You remember that stupid calendar the frats put out? Colin hit on me. He said I was the last one. I told him to get lost."
"Wait," Mike said processing Maria's words. The "last one." So Colin fucked every girl on the calendar except Maria? But Allie was on the calendar too.
Mike said "You're saying Colin slept with Allie?"
"Oh, ah, no, I didn't say that," Maria sputtered, realizing her mistake; Allie was tight with Jen. "Oh god," Maria said. "Are they still friends?"
"Jen and Allie are best friends," Mike told her.
"Oh fuck," Maria said under her breath. She looked desperately at Mike. "Please don't tell Jen. I mean, she's with you now, it was so long ago, it probably doesn't matter, but ... god I've got to learn to keep my mouth shut. I need a drink. I'll see you later Mike."
Mike mingled a little. He was about to head back to the CATF dorms when he glanced over at Brent. Brent was still glaring at him.
Mike sighed. He hated confrontation. But he knew they needed to clear the air. If nothing else, Mike didn't want to get stabbed in the back sometime late at night.
"Hey Brent," Mike said as he approached the (slightly) older man.
"What do you want?" Brent spat out.
Mike sighed again. He decided to get right to the point. "I'm not interested in Maria and she's not interested in me," Mike told him. "We went to college together. She's friends with my wife. So you don't have to worry about me. I'm not competition."
"So why does Maria spend so much time with you?" Brent said only slightly mollified.
"If I had to guess I think she's trying to make you jealous," Mike said. He wasn't completely clueless.
Brent looked shocked. "That makes no sense," he scoffed. "We're dating. Maria knows I'm crazy about her."
"Does she know, or do you think she knows?" Mike asked, remembering Maria's "computer geeks are socially awkward" remark.
"I know what I know," Brent said stubbornly.
"Look, I know you don't like me," Mike said. "But I think we might be similar. Like, you have a hard time expressing what you're feeling?"
"I use words Mike, just like the rest of humanity," Brent said derisively.
"This is not going well, why am I trying?" Mike said to himself. But then he thought about the knife in his back again. So he said "Can I make a suggestion? I've seen it work."
"What?" Brent said warily.
Mike told him.
"Are you crazy?" Brent said incredulously. "Here? In front of everyone?"
"It's better if people see you do it," Mike said. "You want to sweep Maria off her feet? Well, it's not all about numbers and logic. Sometimes you have to take a chance. Do something outrageous."
"There's no way I'm doing it," Brent said stubbornly.
"Brent – do you want Maria or not?" Mike said. "And listen. Don't ask her. Just do it."
Brent gave Mike a long look. Or maybe it was a glare. Then, shaking his head, he went over to the bartender. A few moments later he approached Maria. All the CATF people were there. Mike edged closer to get a better view.
"Hey, ah, Maria?" Brent said nervously.
"Yes?" Maria said turning to look at Brent.
Everyone stopped talking and looked at Brent and Maria. Brent glanced over at Mike. Mike gave him an encouraging nod.
Remembering Mike's advice – just do it – Brent said "This is called a vampire shot." Without waiting for Maria to respond, he sprinkled sugar on Maria's shoulder next to her neck.
"What?" Maria said not understanding.
In a single motion, Brent swallowed the shot and then sucked the sugar from Maria's neck.
"Brent!" Maria squealed. "What's gotten into you?!" But there was a big delighted smile on her face and her eyes were beaming at him.
Following Mike's advice, Brent used his finger to spread sugar on Maria's lipstick covered lips. Maria knew what was about to happen but she didn't stop him. In fact she had a big smile on her pretty face. The CATF crowd around them smiled too; they also knew what was about to happen.
Emboldened by Maria's positive response, Brent gulped down the second shot. Then he pulled Maria into his arms and kissed her. Kissed her hard.
Everyone clapped and cheered. There were a lot of "get a room!" and "finally!" shouts. After months of flirting and casual dating, Brent and Maria were finally a couple. Finally! Everyone was elated for their friends.
In the coming days, there would be a lot of talking about how Brent and Maria finally got together. Within CATF, Brent's move would come to be known as the "Vampire Shot gambit." And a big part of the happy story would be how Mike Andrews got Brent off his ass to make a bold move on Maria.
The QC team's admiration and respect for Mike grew. There was also affection and trust, which was odd since people barely knew Mike personally. But, people love a happy ending and Mike helped bring their friends together.
Mike still kept mostly to himself and the CATF QC team was okay with that. They understood Mike now. He was the Phantom and he lived up to his codename. It was more than just being smart. He was part of their team now.
******************
"Just some ideas I had," Mike said with a modest shrug. He was tired. He was done with people. He wanted to go to this room and veg.
"Hey a bunch of us are going out for a drink," Maria said. She touched his arm. "You ought to come with us."
Mike didn't want to go out. Being around people exhausted him. He was okay with kids. But adult interactions exhausted him. It took so much energy. He just wanted to go to his room and chill.
"I'd really like to pick your brain," Maria said. "Colonel Banks said you developed software to track people."
"Oh yeah," Mike said. She was talking about the software he wrote to locate Willy.
"You know that's my area," Maria said. "Search and rescue. If you've got new tech I'd love to see it."
"Yeah, sure, I'll email you the code," Mike said.
"Email?" Maria said with a laugh. "How about talking over a drink to start? You know, an offline? With fellow humans?"
Mike couldn't help laughing. "Okay, yeah, sure," he said. Then he glanced over at Brent. He was glaring at him with jealous hatred in his eyes. "Uh oh," Mike thought to himself.
Later at the bar Maria walked passed Brent and sidled up to Mike. "So how's Jen?" she asked.
"She's great," Mike gushed, his eyes sparkling. He always got that way when he talked about his wife. "You won't believe it. She got a part on Spring Awakening. She's playing Wendla on Broadway."
"I believe it," Maria said, admiration on her pretty face instead of any envy or jealousy. "I took a dance class with her in college. She's awesome. Always getting in trouble though. Her friend – what's her name, Allie? They were wild."
"Allie's calmed down," Mike said. "She's getting a divorce."
"Oh sorry," Maria said feeling stupid. "I mean, Allie was always nice to me. Jen too. But they always hung out with the bad boy types."
"You're not into bad boys?" Mike said with a grin.
"I'm an engineer," Maria said. She smiled into Mike's eyes and tapped his arm. "I'm into socially awkward computer geeks."
Mike, being clueless, said "Like Brent." Or was he clueless?
"I guess," Maria said with a laugh. "You know what's wrong with socially awkward computer geeks? They're socially awkward." She laughed again but it wasn't a ha-ha laugh. It was more like a "this is my life, feel sorry for me" laugh.
"Anyway ... I'm happy Jen ended up with you," Maria said after an awkward silence. "That football player, Colin? God he's such a creep. You remember that stupid calendar the frats put out? Colin hit on me. He said I was the last one. I told him to get lost."
"Wait," Mike said processing Maria's words. The "last one." So Colin fucked every girl on the calendar except Maria? But Allie was on the calendar too.
Mike said "You're saying Colin slept with Allie?"
"Oh, ah, no, I didn't say that," Maria sputtered, realizing her mistake; Allie was tight with Jen. "Oh god," Maria said. "Are they still friends?"
"Jen and Allie are best friends," Mike told her.
"Oh fuck," Maria said under her breath. She looked desperately at Mike. "Please don't tell Jen. I mean, she's with you now, it was so long ago, it probably doesn't matter, but ... god I've got to learn to keep my mouth shut. I need a drink. I'll see you later Mike."
Mike mingled a little. He was about to head back to the CATF dorms when he glanced over at Brent. Brent was still glaring at him.
Mike sighed. He hated confrontation. But he knew they needed to clear the air. If nothing else, Mike didn't want to get stabbed in the back sometime late at night.
"Hey Brent," Mike said as he approached the (slightly) older man.
"What do you want?" Brent spat out.
Mike sighed again. He decided to get right to the point. "I'm not interested in Maria and she's not interested in me," Mike told him. "We went to college together. She's friends with my wife. So you don't have to worry about me. I'm not competition."
"So why does Maria spend so much time with you?" Brent said only slightly mollified.
"If I had to guess I think she's trying to make you jealous," Mike said. He wasn't completely clueless.
Brent looked shocked. "That makes no sense," he scoffed. "We're dating. Maria knows I'm crazy about her."
"Does she know, or do you think she knows?" Mike asked, remembering Maria's "computer geeks are socially awkward" remark.
"I know what I know," Brent said stubbornly.
"Look, I know you don't like me," Mike said. "But I think we might be similar. Like, you have a hard time expressing what you're feeling?"
"I use words Mike, just like the rest of humanity," Brent said derisively.
"This is not going well, why am I trying?" Mike said to himself. But then he thought about the knife in his back again. So he said "Can I make a suggestion? I've seen it work."
"What?" Brent said warily.
Mike told him.
"Are you crazy?" Brent said incredulously. "Here? In front of everyone?"
"It's better if people see you do it," Mike said. "You want to sweep Maria off her feet? Well, it's not all about numbers and logic. Sometimes you have to take a chance. Do something outrageous."
"There's no way I'm doing it," Brent said stubbornly.
"Brent – do you want Maria or not?" Mike said. "And listen. Don't ask her. Just do it."
Brent gave Mike a long look. Or maybe it was a glare. Then, shaking his head, he went over to the bartender. A few moments later he approached Maria. All the CATF people were there. Mike edged closer to get a better view.
"Hey, ah, Maria?" Brent said nervously.
"Yes?" Maria said turning to look at Brent.
Everyone stopped talking and looked at Brent and Maria. Brent glanced over at Mike. Mike gave him an encouraging nod.
Remembering Mike's advice – just do it – Brent said "This is called a vampire shot." Without waiting for Maria to respond, he sprinkled sugar on Maria's shoulder next to her neck.
"What?" Maria said not understanding.
In a single motion, Brent swallowed the shot and then sucked the sugar from Maria's neck.
"Brent!" Maria squealed. "What's gotten into you?!" But there was a big delighted smile on her face and her eyes were beaming at him.
Following Mike's advice, Brent used his finger to spread sugar on Maria's lipstick covered lips. Maria knew what was about to happen but she didn't stop him. In fact she had a big smile on her pretty face. The CATF crowd around them smiled too; they also knew what was about to happen.
Emboldened by Maria's positive response, Brent gulped down the second shot. Then he pulled Maria into his arms and kissed her. Kissed her hard.
Everyone clapped and cheered. There were a lot of "get a room!" and "finally!" shouts. After months of flirting and casual dating, Brent and Maria were finally a couple. Finally! Everyone was elated for their friends.
In the coming days, there would be a lot of talking about how Brent and Maria finally got together. Within CATF, Brent's move would come to be known as the "Vampire Shot gambit." And a big part of the happy story would be how Mike Andrews got Brent off his ass to make a bold move on Maria.
The QC team's admiration and respect for Mike grew. There was also affection and trust, which was odd since people barely knew Mike personally. But, people love a happy ending and Mike helped bring their friends together.
Mike still kept mostly to himself and the CATF QC team was okay with that. They understood Mike now. He was the Phantom and he lived up to his codename. It was more than just being smart. He was part of their team now.
******************
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