Disclaimer: Same as last chapter, if you recognize them from the show, they aren't mine. I am not being compensated monetarily for any of this and any body who says so is a big fat liar.
Duncan watched Gwen and Richie work out from the office window. Gwen had been right, she was no beginner. She may not have used swords much, but her other training gave her an advantage and she was picking it up quickly. Richie was a patient teacher, starting out with the basics. Duncan just hoped that Gwen wouldn't be forced to use any of this new training any time soon.
After an hour and a half, they decided to quit for the day. As Gwen was getting her stuff, she turned to Richie and asked her favor. "I was wondering if I could borrow some of your muscle, if you're not busy tonight. I haven't done much of anything to put my apartment together and some of it takes two people. I'll buy pizza and beer."
"Sure," Richie said with a smile. "I don't have any other plans. What time?"
"How about seven? That'll give me time to stop by the store and get the pizza ordered," Gwen replied, checking her watch. "Any special requests? I hear Mario's has a great Sicilian pizza."
"They do. That's my favorite. I'll eat just about anything on pizza except anchovies and black olives." Richie's mouth was already watering.
"Got it." She said, heading for the door. "I'll see you in a couple of hours."
"See you then!" Richie waved as she left. He walked to the office as Duncan was coming out.
"So, Rich. Got a hot date tonight?" Duncan asked.
"Not really," he said. "Gwen needs some help moving furniture and stuff and she's going to feed me. Besides, I haven't thought of he like that. Well, not much, anyway," he added, blushing a little.
"Yeah, right! Well, have fun. I'm going to Joe's if you need me." Duncan moved to the elevator, "Talk to you tomorrow."
At five minutes after seven, Richie pulled at the address Gwen had given him. It was a duplex just off campus with a deep front porch and a small yard. He grabbed his helmet and headed up the walkway to the front door and knocked.
A minute later, the door opened revealing a barefoot Gwen, dressed in loose jeans and a short Atlanta Braves t-shirt, her thick brown hair still wet. She had obviously just gotten out of the shower.
"Come on in," she said, moving out of the way. "The pizza should be here soon. Do you want a beer?"
"Whatever you're having," Richie answered, looking around the room. There were a few boxes stacked in a corner and a disassembled entertainment center in the middle of the room. There was a baseball game on the television, the sound turned down.
Gwen went into the kitchen. "Well, I'm having a bottle of water, but I do have beer, V-8 Splash and iced tea. Your choice."
"Beer's good," he said. "You don't have nearly as much stuff as I expected you to have."
Gwen handed him the opened bottle. "Most of my things are in storage in Atlanta. I've been living in student housing for the past several years and there's no point in dragging everything you own all over the world with you if you can help it."
Just then, there was a knock at the door. Gwen grabbed her wallet and went to the front door. She paid for the pizza and set the box on the coffee table. "I'll grab some plates and napkins. Do you need another beer?"
"Sure, since you're going in there anyway." Richie opened the pizza box and inhaled the spicy aroma. "This is the best pizza ever!"
Gwen returned with the plates and napkins and plopped down on the floor beside the coffee table. She handed Richie his beer and grabbed the remote to turn the sound up on the television. "I just want to check the score," she explained.
"Fine with me." He bit into the slice of pizza, closed his eyes and practically moaned with pleasure. "If you feed me this all the time and I'll pretty much be your slave forever."
Gwen laughed. "It seems I have found the secret to Richie Ryan – FOOD!! I promise not to work you too hard, though. I mostly need help with the entertainment center and setting up my bed." She turned her attention back to the game.
"So are you from Atlanta?" Richie asked. "You mentioned that you had stuff there and you do seem to have an obsession with the Braves."
"Yes, that was a little obvious, wasn't it?" She turned the volume down and took a sip of her water. "My mother was raised in Atlanta and I still have a cousin there. It's as close to a home as I have, I guess."
Reaching for another slice, Richie said, "You told me that you were an Army brat. Is your dad still in the military?"
"No, he died two years ago. Lung cancer. No one could get him to quit smoking, even after my mom died from breast cancer. You'd think that would wake him up, but he was as stubborn as they come." Gwen smiled sadly.
"I'm sorry. I didn't mean…" Richie set down the pizza and wiped his hands on the napkin.
"It's okay. My mother died when I was seventeen. Dad and I didn't get along too well after that. I went off to Duke and when I needed to go home on school breaks, I went to my mom's family in Atlanta."
"Wow. Both parents with cancer. Doesn't that make you, like, really high risk or something?" As soon as it was out of his mouth he regretted it. "Oh, man, I really didn't mean it like that! I'm so sorry!"
"Again, it's okay," Gwen said as she reached over and patted his hand. "I was adopted, so there isn't a genetic risk from them. Although, I have no idea who my birth parents were, so you never know. Now, let's get this stuff set up. I'm tired of living out of boxes."
They set up the entertainment center and hooked up the stereo. "I've been playing to CD's on my laptop, but this is the way to listen to music." Gwen nodded to a couple of CD cases on the desk, "Pick out something that you want to hear."
Richie started flipping through the cases, "You have a lot of different types of stuff in here. I would have pegged you as a classic rock or maybe a pop music kind of girl, but you have a little bit of everything."
"I like most kinds of music, except opera and maybe country. Although, I like old country, you know Hank Williams, Patsy Cline. But opera is out!"
"Don't tell Mac you feel that way," he said. "I think he has season tickets or something. He took me to a couple of them, but I just can't seem to get into it."
Richie selected a CD and loaded it into the stereo. The sounds of The Black Crows filled to apartment. Gwen nodded, "Good choice. Now, can you help me get this bed set up? I've been sleeping on the mattress on the floor."
Gwen had managed to get most of her clothes in the closet and chest of drawers before Richie came over and she had a clean set of sheets on the chair. All of the parts to the bed were stacked in the corner.
Richie's eyes traveled over to the other corner where three guitar cases were leaning against the dresser. "You're a musician, too?" he asked.
Shrugging, Gwen replied, "Well, that might be overstating things a little. I play some."
"Cool. Do you like blues? Because a friend of mine owns this great blues club," he said excitedly. "We could go sometime. They have a good house band and Joe usually plays."
"I'd like that. I haven't heard good blues in a while. Now let's get this set up so I'll have a decent place to sleep tonight."