Nice to Meet You

Chapter 2

"Excuse me, may I sit next to you?" a sweet voice spoke close to him. Bruce looked up and felt his throat go dry. Usually a very outspoken young man, he was at a loss for words. He slowly nodded his head and pulled the stool out for her. He couldn't bring himself to look her in the eye, he'd surely make a fool of himself if he did.
"Thank you for the drink. It's not often a stranger buys a pint for someone in a place like this." she looked around as she spoke. "A place that seems wouldn't welcome newcomers I mean." She turned to Bruce and smiled, "My name is Monica by the way." Bruce looked at her and saw that she had stretched her hand out. He wiped his hand on his jeans and cleared his throat, "I'm....uhmmm...I'm....Bruce Dickinson." he shook her hand and quickly brought it back to his lap. Monica smiled. "Well Bruce Dickinson, are you from Worksop? Maybe you can show me around sometime."
Tom stood at the other end of the bar watching the two kids talking. He had never seen Bruce act so shy around a young girl. Even around girls he actually cared for. He was usually cocky and arrogant. He liked to show off, was very affectionate, and was persistent to the point that he wouldn't stop until the girl he was interested in was leaving the bar with him. He chuckled to himself as he gazed up to a picture he had on one of the shelves. It was of young Bruce with his Grandad. "Austin, if you could see him now. You'd be proud of the young man he has become. All the morales you've instilled in him he's maintained them. But look at this lovestruck fool. You have taught him to treat women with respect and that is what he is doing." Tom sighed as he grabbed two empty glasses and filled them up with beer. He walked up to Bruce and Monica and set the pints in front of them. "You'll have to excuse Bruce young lady, he's usually a chatter box, but you see, he's not used to someone so pretty talking to him. Don't get him started talking about music though, you won't get him to shut up." He looked at Bruce and winked at him, leaving the couple to themselves.
Bruce took a sip from his beer and looked at Monica, "Tom tells me you drink Fuller's ESB. Not often do you find someone that likes that, especially not a lady." Monica laughed and looked at Bruce, "It's my favorite, always has been. I actually grew up in Chiswick, the town where it's brewed. Dad always had it in the fridge." Bruce smiled at her. "It's my favorite as well. It's what Grandad would always order when he would come down here to see Tom." After a few minutes of silence, Monica asked Bruce, "So Tom was saying something about talking to you about music? What kind of music are you into?" Bruce chuckled, "Well, mostly rock. Deep Purple, Led Zeppelin, the Who, Arthur Brown, Jethro Tull...you know, the usuals. " Monica smiled at Bruce. She felt herself starting to like him. He seemed to be someone she could be friends with they liked the same type of music and he was easy to talk to once you broke down the wall of shyness he was initially hiding behind. Soon they were both enthusiastically talking about their favorite bands and songs. Unaware that the bar was slowly emptying out and Tom would soon be closing.