Skye smiled. She wasn’t sure how to react. Now that he mentioned it, he did have sort of a hooked nose and high eyebrows like a Muppets character. Giggling definitely wasn’t a good idea.
“I’m up.” Hollywood slammed his beer on the table. “Ever heard of the show The Dad?” He searched her eyes.
“Of course. I loved that show. It was hilarious.”
“Well, I was Little Ricky.”
“What?” She studied his face trying to make out the features from the five-year-old boy that she and her family laughed over every Thursday night.
Ben and Eagle started to laugh. “He’s a genuine movie star.” Ben winked at her and she felt that sensation deep in her stomach, the one that she hadn’t stopped thinking about since last night.
Hollywood nodded. “That’s right. I was Little Ricky for three years.”
“But, what happened? After the show ended I don’t remember seeing you on anything else.” She leaned forward in her seat. This was like a Where Are They Now show.
“My parents decided to
move out of California. They didn’t like the lifestyle, so we headed back to the east coast. I was too young to know the difference. I went to college, flight school, and now I’m here having a beer with my buddies and you.”
Skye recognized a flirt when she saw one. This guy had more moves than a chess board. “And Hollywood I’m guessing is to make fun of your illustrious career?”
“Exactly. That and they’re all just jealous. I like to think it’s more of a compliment.” He grinned from ear to ear.
“Oh, I’m sure it’s a compliment.” He had the good looks to back up the name. “So that leaves you.” She tipped her beer toward Ben. This was the story she had been waiting to hear. The one she had tried to figure out since she heard his alternate name. She asked the question but was praying the explanation had nothing to with his possible tendency to bolt on women. “How did you get the name Bolt?”
He rested on his elbows and rotated so his eyes were locked on hers. “Lightning strike.”
“Lightning?”
“It was my first tour after flight school and I was heading out for a night flight. There was a storm rolling in, but we thought we could take off before it was over top of us. It was past the five-mile safety mark, or at least we thought it was.” He paused and she knew there was no hiding that she was absorbed in his every word. “But, as I was rolling down the runway and about to lift off, we had a strike on our tail. It must have been a pop-up cloud or something. We were airborne for about a second then, smack!” He hit the table. “We were right back on the runway.”
“Oh my God. Were you hurt?”
Ben laughed. “Naw. We destroyed a forty million dollar aircraft, but we were fine.”
Skye realized she had been holding her breath. “I bet you were terrified.”
He shook his head. “Not until much later. We were just glad we didn’t fry. It took awhile for it to sink in what had actually happened. It was one of those surreal experiences. You know?” He smiled at her, and for a second she thought he might be talking about more than just his lightning accident. As he stared into her eyes the heat from last night came back to her. “Who’s ready for another round? Want another?”
She looked at Hollywood and Eagle. Suddenly she felt like she had crashed guys’ night. Maybe it was best to head back to the spreadsheets. “I think I should probably go.” She pushed back from the table. “Let you guys have the next round.”
“No, no stay.” Hollywood reached for her wrist. “It’s nice to see Bolt with a girl. You can’t leave yet. This is a special treat.”
What did that mean? She looked at her date. For the first time since she’d met him, something had wiped the confident look right off his face. She settled back onto the stool.
“Ok. You talked me into it, Hollywood. I’ll have another.”
“Whew. For a second there I thought Bolt lost his touch.” Eagle whistled before Ben popped him on the back of the head. “What was that for?” He rubbed the spot.
“Because sometimes you’re an asshole.” Ben snarled.
“But you love me.” Eagle smiled sweetly.
“Sometimes.” Ben rolled his eyes.
She could tell they had a camaraderie that was layered with more than just beer nights. She wondered what it was like to work with people who depended on you for their lives. The kind of people who weren’t trying to steal projects from you or claw out your eyes to get the next promotion.
She didn’t know what to call him anymore. Was he Ben or Bolt? Since he introduced himself as Ben she decided to go with that.