Home from the office...

{if DerekDinnerInvite = 1
}It was certainly a tempting offer, but Beth shook her head. "Another time, maybe."
Derek gave her a look, but then just shook his head. "Suit yourself. Guess I'll enjoy my porterhouse and Chateau Beaumont by my lonesome." And he sauntered away, leaving Beth to feel a moment of regret before wrapping up her work and heading to her car to go home.
{else
}
Beth let the work of her afternoon wash over her in a blur. Much of it was autopilot: letting her mind wander. She wasn't keen on being expected to entertain Brian's little brother, whom she had never met, while he was wining and dining a potential client. Eventually, though, she wrapped up her work and headed home. {endif
}
When she arrived home, a young man in a military hair cut, wearing fatigue pants and a green t-shirt over well-developed muscles popped up from where he had been lounging on the couch, watching SportsCenter.
"Hello! You must be Beth."
Beth put on a smile. Hmm. He's cute. And polite. Maybe this won't be so bad. "And you must be Kyle." She pushed aside his proffered hand and gave him a hug. "Welcome home."
They ended up sitting in the living room for a bit, getting to know each other.
Kyle Jackson. Corporal, US Army, had been honorably discharged after a four year tour. He'd been deployed, first in Iraq, and then Syria. Now that he was done with his duty, it was time for him to fit back into civilian life. He wasn't eager to see his and Brian's parents, for reasons he didn't seem to want to get into, and Beth didn't press. That's why he was crashing here, and not in Newport Beach with them. He would start looking for a job, but he was really excited to be home in time for their wedding.
Beth recounted the story of how she and Brian had met, how he had proposed, and some little bits about the upcoming wedding. Kyle snorted when Beth talked about the New Year's Eve proposal. "What a sap." It sounded fond. While they talked, Beth pulled out a bottle of white wine and offered Kyle a glass, which he took, but toyed with more than drank throughout the conversation.
Beth was coming to the strange realization that Kyle was very charming. He had a slightly "rough around the edges" demeanor that she supposed was typical of recently discharged soldiers, but his politeness was refreshing and his smile was roguish. He had much of the traits that she found attractive in Brian, with the additional benefits of youth, and the physical training of a soldier. She knew, from Brian, that Kyle had been a bad kid: ****, fighting, eventually a stolen car and a joyride before an arrest. Community service, instead of jail time, had led to enlistment. She got the sense from Brian that his parents had pushed him into the military as a way to "get rid of" the problem.
Before Beth knew it, the clock was reading 6:30 PM. Beth had already drained a glass, and was working hard on a second. Kyle was still on his first.
What's going on... ? Beth wondered to herself before it hit her that this was the positive male attention she'd been missing from Brian since he started the internship. Not entirely, but she'd been deprived of it enough that she was practically hanging off every word Kyle was saying.
"Hey are you hungry?" she herself was, and was feeling quite good between the wine and the surprisingly pleasant company that Kyle was providing.
"Yeah I could eat."
"We could order a pizza or Chinese, or if you like, we can go out." She was suddenly keen on the idea of a night out with the young soldier.