TUESDAY TALES - WORD PROMPT "STAR"

        

Welcome! This week the word prompt is "star". We're with Robbie and Dale as they wing their way to 

Las Vegas for Thanksgiving. Things are starting to heat up. Take a gander, then hop over to the other 

stories by our talented authors.  Find them HERE . Thanks for stopping by. 

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      “Should I call for a limo?”

      “Nope. Scott is picking us up.”

Oh, yeah. He forgot. That’s what family does. They pick you up from the airport. He had a lot to learn.

She patted his hand, then combed her fingers through her hair. “Don’t worry. He’s gonna love you.”

“Really? He doesn’t even know me.”

“You’re a normal guy with a good job. No, wait. Make that a great job. Nothing like guys I’ve brought home in the past.”

“Oh?”

“Yeah. Kinda charity cases. You know, guys out of work. Guys detoxing from drugs. Stuff like that.”

“You went out with guys like that?”

“No. They weren’t boyfriends, just kinda friends. Guys I knew who needed help.”

“What about me?”

“You’re a star, they’ll be thrilled.” She frowned. “But they may think there’s more between us than there is. Just sayin’. Expect anything.”

“So instead of pumpkin pie for dessert, there’s gonna be a shotgun wedding?” His voice squeaked a bit, so he cleared his throat.

She patted his hand again. “Not that bad.”

“But close?”

She shrugged. “Just people making assumptions.”

“That’s nothing new. People have been making wrong assumptions about me all my life.”

Her gaze met his. “I get it.”

“Oh no, you don’t. The guys on the team are only the half of it.”

“Really? Do you want to tell me about it?”

“Don’t want to bring the mood down. Let’s just say that in high school, the sheriff kept an eye on me, so did the principal. Everyone expected me to break the law.”

“And did you?”

He laughed. “No, Ma’am. I put my nose to the grindstone. Days were spent playing football. Kicking mostly. And nights were spent with homework and reading. I didn’t even have a girlfriend. Didn’t go to my proms, either."

“Aw come on. I find that hard to believe.”

Emotion closed his throat for a second. “With everyone expecting me to fuck up because my homelife was a disaster, I did everything I could to prove them wrong. I got a full scholarship to Duke. Brushed the dust of that sleepy, nasty little town off my shoulders and never looked back.” His voice had a hard edge. His gaze went to the window -nighttime-- the sky was black. 

A squeeze from Dale’s hand on his drew his attention. He took a deep breath and attempted a smile.

“It must have been hard.”

He nodded.

“I’m proud of you. You took the high road, the harder path.”

“To me going to jail for stealing was a much harder path than studying. So tell me about Scott again.”

Dale filled him in on her favorite brother as the plane landed in Las Vegas. His nerves kicked up and his stomach twisted as they left the plane and hurried toward the exit. 

A young man in a pilot uniform greeted them. After hugging Dale, he approached Robbie. He drew his eyebrows together as his gaze did a quick tour of the kicker.