The Passion Parameter - Vol. II

【04】Halloween

I spotted the guys from afar, thanks to Brian's ridiculously noticeable Optimus Prime costume, and decided to head there. I had only come to spend some time with them, after all. Before I did, I turned to Tammy to make sure she was good without me, and I found her staring at someone, seemingly stiff and hesitant.

Curious, I looked in the direction she was gazing in and tried to guess who was the reason for her sudden bewilderment. A few of our colleagues were talking together by the bar, and I didn't see which one could explain her strange behavior.

That was until I noticed one of them was the new guy. Kelex had hired him about two weeks ago, in an effort to develop more tools for learning disabilities. From what I remembered, he was a special education teacher, and was pretty good at it, having worked on new approaches regarding people with cognitive disabilities. I hadn't talked to him yet, but I had heard about him quite a bit.

I could totally understand why now.

He was tall, lean, and muscular. His pharaoh costume allowed his strong arm to be seen, exposing the strong muscles under his dark skin. He had remarkably attractive features, intelligent eyes, lush lips, and a beard trimmed short with impeccable edges. I couldn't see his hair because of the headpiece, but I imagined it was just as neat. He was wearing a faint layer of eyeliner to go with his costume, which only added to the mystery of him.

Wondering if he really was the reason for Tammy's sudden disturbance, I turned back to her, only to find her almost drooling. Oh, it was him alright.

I gave her a quick nudge with my elbow, and when she turned to me, I offered her an intrigued look. "I didn't know you liked the new guy," I signed, dying to know more about this. For the first time in weeks, I was excited about something.

Tammy deserved to find a great guy. She was looking for something serious, but none of the men she'd met since I'd met her were in the same mindset. Maybe this man right there, who legit looked like some Nubian god in this costume, would also be looking for something serious. If so, she deserved to have a chance.

Tamika hesitated, not sure what to answer. "I don't... I mean, he's very handsome and very nice, but I don't—"

"Oh, quit it. I saw the way you looked at him. You like him." Defeated, she didn't respond, knowing it would be pointless to deny it. "Have you talked to him yet?"

"A few times, yes. He isn't really fluent in sign language, so it's been a bit of a struggle so far."

"Okay, but I'm here right now, so I'll translate for tonight," I offered, grabbing her by the wrist.

She tried to resist with little conviction, and I led us to the bar, right next to the sexy pharaoh who had caught Tamika's eye. "Hi, can I have a pint of Heineken and a Malibu Sunrise, please," I asked the barman, knowing Tammy's go-to beverage. I very casually turned around to face the little group and saw the new guy had noticed us. It was hard not to, with Tammy's red glitter dress.

She gave him a shy hand wave, and he saluted her back by raising his beer before taking a sip from it. It was very out of character for her to be this awkward and uncertain, which led me to believe she really liked him.

Deciding to make it happen, I moved slightly toward the man, determined to help my roommate. "Hi, you're the new guy in R&D, right?"

"Hi, yes. I'm Darius. And you are on the dev team, right?"

"Yup. Andy, at your service. And this is Tamika, who works in the same department as you. We're roomies."

He turned to Tamika, who hadn't moved. "Yes, we've met already. Glad to see you again," he said to her as he signed the words. With a glimpse of curiosity in his eye, he checked her outfit from head to toe. Her outfit, or her amazing silhouette. Maybe both. "Are you that first dark-skinned Barbie they released?" Tammy nodded with one of her beautiful smiles, and I could see she was glad someone got it right.