Grounded

she felt electrical shocks run up her arm . Oh, say something, Patty, don’t let him get away again!
    "You’re welcome. Sorry to have bothered you," he told her and turned to go to the elevator.
    "Coffee!" She shouted after him . Oh, my god, I’m an idiot!
    He turned. "Excuse me?"
    "Coffee. I have coffee. " Dammit, can’t I say one coherent sentence?
    "Okay," he said slowly. "That’s great. See you later."
    Crap! Come on Patty, you can do this ! "Would you like a cup? I can make some if you’d like to come in." He smiled again and Patty felt her knees begin to buckle . What is wron g with me ? He walked back to her apartment and stood looking at her. Patty met his gaze and her heart thumped . He is soooo beautiful! Can I keep him?
    "Excuse me."
    "What?" she asked, confused.
    "You invited me for coffee, right? I can’t come in unless you move."
    "Oh, right." She jumped out of the way and bumped her head on the door, then ran into the gorgeous hunk as he came through the doorway. "Sorry," she mumbled.
    "No problem. I’m Dion, by the way," he said and offered his hand.
    "Pat-Patty," she said and tripped as she started to shake his hand. "Sorry."
    He caught her before she was completely off balance. "Pleased to meet you Patty. Is that short for Patricia?"
    "No, it’s Patience. It’s such an old fashioned name. I was named after my grandmother. I always hated it, so I shortened it when I was a kid. I used to cry whenever anyone called me Patience. I got teased a lot when I was a kid, too. You know how cruel kids can be."
    She took a breath . Stop rambling, Patty. You sound like an idiot ! "Coffee, I’ll make coffee. You sit." She shook her head. "I’m sorry. Please, sit."
    "Thank you," Dion said with a big smile. "Do I make you nervous?"
    "No," she said, lying through her teeth.
    "Good. I don’t want you to be nervous."
    "I’m not," she assured him and heard him chuckle as she went about making the coffee.
    He sat at her tiny, Formica kitchen table, and when the coffee finished brewing, she poured them each a cup and set a plate of sugar cookies on the table between them. "Do you take cream or sugar?"
    He shook his head, his blonde hair falling around his shoulders, and Patty felt her heart do a flip.
    "No," he said. "I drink it black." Patty stared at him , not knowing what else to say.
    He seemed to sense her utter loss of social skills and smiled again. "You have a nice apartment. Lived here long?"
    "About two years," she answered. There was another silence . Why can’t I make simple conversation with this man?
    "What do you do? Were you coming home from work when we met on the street?"
    Nodding, she said, "Yes. Coming home from work for the last time, actually. I got laid off today, downsizing they called it."
    "I’m sorry to hear that."
    "I’ll find another job," she said more to herself than to him.
    "Well," he said, "thank you for the coffee, Patty. And good luck to you in your job search."
    He rose from the chair and started toward the door. "It was nice meeting you."
    "It was nice meeting you, too, Dion. And thank you for being nice to me on the street, and for bringing these papers to me."
    "You’re welcome," he said and smiled at her as he reached for the doorknob. He paused a moment and looked at her kindly. "By the way, I might know of a place that’s hiring." He handed her a business card. "Come by in the morning, you might be surprised."
    "Thank you," she said and took the card from him. His fingers brushed hers and again, she felt an electrical shock run up her arm. She watched him step into the elevator and waved as the doors slid closed. Then, shutting the door of her apartment and leaning with her back against it, she squealed, "Oh-my-god! I don’t believe this!"
    She looked at the business card . Dionysu s was printed in the middle of the card, followed by an address and phone number, but it gave no hint as to what his business might be.
    Patty sighed. It didn’t matter, though, maybe her luck just changed for the better.

~ 2 ~
Three Is Not A Crowd
     
    Dion slid onto the barstool and ordered a vodka tonic, which he didn’t drink, but only used for affect. When Dion was in the human realm, he was in his element. Humans were so easily manipulated, especially the females. In the realm of the gods, Dion was really no different than everyone else. Every male in his world was tall, blonde, muscular, powerful, telepathic… but in the human world, Dion was the god he’d been born to