Start Me Up (Man of the Month 4)

Hannah leaned back. "Do we need to try that one again?"

Before Shelby could answer, Nolan's voice filled the room again, its low timbre seeming to rumble through all the sweet spots in her body. "Oh, yeah, baby. I should get shut out more often, because the phone lines are lighting up. Forget solar. We can power this town through my humiliation alone. Okay, caller one. What do you say? Should I just put my tail between my legs and walk away?"

"Yes," the very female voice said. "She's obviously a psycho-bitch not to want you."

Shelby's jaw dropped open.

"Just call me. I'll make it totally worth your while. Five-one-two, five--"

"Aaaannnnd thank you for that kind invitation, caller. We'll hear another opinion right after this musical look by the Chairmen of the Board into my broken psyche."

As his voice faded out, the classic Gimme Just a Little More Time filled the room.

"Not a bad idea," Hannah said. "Give the guy a chance."

"Hannah--"

"Look, I know you have a plan, and I know the idea of that" -she pointed toward the speakers with her eyes wide- "can be a little scary. I mean, the man's a bundle of slightly vulgar imagery, right?"

"He's a perfectly nice guy," Shelby said, then groaned when Hannah raised her brows. "I didn't mean--"

"Yes, you did. That's my point. He is a perfectly nice guy. Just because he's a little outside your box doesn't mean he's going to end up like your cousin or your uncle."

"Those are only the ones you know about," S

helby said. "Don't you get it? Nobody in my family until my parents even went to college. Real estate ownership is not a thing with them. And they wouldn't know a college fund if it bit them in the butt."

She drew in a breath. "They're all nice enough, I guess. But we spent some time when I was growing up with my cousins, and we had nothing to talk about. All they did was watch television. And not even dramas or comedies. Nothing that we could actually talk about. No discussing themes or characters or even amusing commercials. They just watched shopping networks and ordered things then complained about having no money. Or they watched game shows and complained that they never won anything. And none of them seemed to care. They didn't want to get a better job or read a classic or, well, anything."

She sat back, exhausted from the passion of her words, and a little surprised that all of that had spilled out of her.

Hannah was leaning forward, her elbows on her thighs and her chin resting on her fists. "I totally get that," she said seriously. "My mom and I had a horrible time after my dad was killed, and her sister told her to just get on welfare. But she didn't. She scraped and clawed and ended up back in school. She worked as a teacher and learned how to pinch pennies so that she could put me through college."

"You do get it," Shelby said, relieved. She'd known that Hannah's policeman father was killed in the line of duty when she was a toddler, but she hadn't realized how hard her mother had scrambled.

"Yeah. And so do you. You know about college funds. And you understand mortgages. And you're ambitious. But what does this have to do with Nolan?"

Shelby stood, trying to put her thoughts into words. "See, this is why one-night stands are a bad idea. They never just go away after one night."

"That doesn't make them a bad idea," Hannah retorted. "It just means they're poorly named."

Despite herself, Shelby laughed. "It's just that Nolan doesn't fit, you know? I mean, he's all bawdy jokes and crazy pranks. But Alan's working for tenure and already thinking about a family."

"Hmm," Hannah said, and in the silence that followed, Shelby realized the song had ended and another one was coming to a close. Before Hannah continued, Nolan's voice filled the room again. "It's nine-fifty-eight, and that gives me just enough time to toss in a mention of my favorite bar, The Fix on Sixth. Trust me, peeps, you want to check this place out. Amazing food, fabulous drinks, and starting this Wednesday, a bi-weekly calendar contest for all you guys out there. And I don't mean for you to gawk at, I mean for you to get up on that stage, strut your stuff, and try to get yourself set up as Mr. January, because The Fix is filling up a calendar with a whole year full of men. Visit the website or drop by for details on how to enter."

"Ohhhh," the female voice crooned. "Twelve hunky men. I'll definitely have to ... come ... watch the contest."

"You do that, baby," Nolan said, as Shelby rolled her eyes and pointed at Hannah with an I told you so expression.

"We're at the top of the hour. And you know what that means--time for me to stop being Wayne. But if you haven't had your fill, tune in every weekday morning from six to ten for Mornings with Wood. I'm Nolan Wood, and you're listening to Sunny-side Saturdays."

"Enough of that," Hannah said, going to her phone and turning it off. "And before you say anything, it's his job. His schtick."

"I'm not so sure of that," Shelby said, smiling at the memory of some of Nolan's quips. But the truth was, if it wasn't for the fact that she wanted to win an argument, she wouldn't even be arguing the point. It was fun to talk to Nolan, no doubt about it. But that didn't mean he was the kind of guy she wanted to hitch her star to.

"I know what you're thinking," Hannah said.

"Bullshit."