Socio

Shannon noticed the dark and younger security guard who had taken the place of one of the older security guards. At first, they would simply nod to each other when they passed each other by. They didn't actually chat until he came into the lounge one day to grab lunch while she was in there eating. "Hello, there," she heard as she sat eating a chicken sandwich at the bar while checking her phone for tweets and other updates from cyber friends. She looked up and glanced to her right. It was him. He had piercing dark eyes and very distinct features. His dark brown hair brushed his shoulders. "Hi," she said with a smile. "How are you doing today?" Before she could answer, a petite young waitress in her twenties with a high-pitched blonde ponytail stepped forth to take his order. The waitress, whose name tag said her name was Charlotte, had icy blue eyes and a tan that was probably fake. She had never really seemed very nice either, no matter how much Shannon smiled and tried to make friendly chatter. Finally, she gave up and respected the fact that Charlotte believed she was only there to make money, not friends. When the waitress stepped away, Shannon said, "I'm Shannon. I see you recently started working here." "Yeah, about a month ago. My name is Doug, by the way." He offered his hand and she took it. "Anyone sitting here?" She looked at the empty stool next to her. "Nope." Doug took his seat and was soon served a burger and fries. "So, you like working here, Doug?" "I do. It's a rather relaxing atmosphere. There isn't a whole lot to do and it gets slow enough at times to feed my Facebook addiction. Just don't tell the boss I said so." Shannon laughed. "Your secret's safe with me." "You like living here?" "I love it." "How long have you been here?" Shannon told him about meeting Dr. Warren, the fire that had destroyed her pets and apartment, and how she ultimately came to live at the Windsor. "Wow. Like really, wow. That's a lot to go through and so fast, too." "Yeah, I know, right?" "That really sucks about your pets. I mean, it all sucks, but especially when it means the loss of animals you care about." "It sure does. I miss them a lot. They were adorable and quite smart." "Any pets now?" "No, just a beautiful apartment with a very kind owner and boss that I hardly ever see." "It must get lonely up there at times despite the view." "It does, actually. That's why, when I'm not working at the medical center, I make a point of getting out once a day even if I don't actually leave the building." They enjoyed chatting over lunch that day and Shannon was surprised at just how fast the time passed before the lunch hour was over and Doug had to get back to work while she had to return to her online job up in the apartment. Shannon found herself more and more hopeful that she would run into Doug whenever she came and went from the building. At first, she never thought of whether or not she might run into him or anyone else whenever she would move about the building. But now she hoped she would indeed as she came to the slow realization that her attraction for the security guard was growing. "Don't think like that," she commanded herself one day. "You're with someone. That someone may not be around as much as you'd like but with all she's given you, you can at least remain faithful, right?" Wrong. The more she and Doug got to know each other, the more it became obvious to them that they were attracted to each other. No words needed to be spoken to convey that fact. It was something that was simply known to them as something that had become a fact. Maybe it always had been a fact. Maybe they had always been physically attracted to each other and getting to know each other had only brought that to the forefront as they formed an emotional bond. "Hey, Socio!" Shannon heard someone call out when she and Doug were having lunch once again in the lounge. Both of them turned to find a guy in his late 20s to early 30s approaching the counter where they sat. "Hey, man," said Doug, "what's up?" "Nothing, bro. Just came by to see if you were still okay with holding down the fort on your own for a while." Shannon realized the guy was his roommate. Doug had mentioned him going to some other state to visit relatives for a week or two. Someone in his family had died. The sandy-haired guy turned his blue eyes to her. "This her?" "Yeah," Doug said with a nod. "Hello," Shannon said as she also realized that Doug had told his roommate about her. The roommate offered a hand. "Hey, I'm Jerry." Shannon took the hand and politely said with a smile, "Nice to meet you." Doug and his roommate chatted for another minute or two and then Jerry left. Shannon waited until Jerry was out of sight before she asked, "Socio?" Doug chuckled, shrugged and said, "It's just a nickname." "How'd you get it? You hardly seem like a sociopath, assuming Socio is an abbreviation of that." "Yeah, well," Doug said, running a hand across his chin and looking away as if he was embarrassed and didn't want to talk about it, "the nickname sort of came from the way we would play video games when we were younger." "You mean you had no empathy or feelings for your opponent?" "Something like that." "So, you got the place all to yourself now?" she asked the cute 34-year-old Comanche descendant with a slight laugh. "Yeah," Doug said, pushing a lock of hair behind one ear. "Wanna come over?" They both laughed and Shannon said, "Well..." Doug now knew her situation and that she and Dr. Warren were more than just roommates and business partners. But he also knew that she was feeling more and more neglected despite all the material things she so generously lavished upon her. "It isn't that I don't want to, but something interesting has come up." "What's that?" Doug asked, turning his sexy dark eyes to her. "The good doc not only tells me she's getting too old not to take relationships seriously, but she also thinks I ought to finally have medical insurance for my own good." "So?" Doug said questioningly, unsure of the point she was trying to make. "She asked me to marry her."