Transformed

"You have to admit your 'transformation' is working, though, right?"

Andrea said that encouragingly, but it had no effect on Megyn who finally said some of what she'd been thinking.

"If that's the kind of guy I can expect to hit on me, I'll go back to my baggy, comfortable clothes and no makeup."

"Hey, come on. At least give it a couple of hours, okay?"

"If you're really okay," Megyn said as she put a hand on her friend's arm.

"I'm fine!" she said as she shot the second drink and shouted, "Woo!" before slamming it down.

Andrea slowed down after that, and it was maybe just after ten when Megyn noticed four guys come in together. Two of them were cute, and one of them so much so she found herself looking his way even after they sat down. They were probably in college, but she couldn't stop glancing over at him. At one point his buddy noticed it and pointed her out.

She felt like crawling under the table but had nowhere to go after she looked away so fast it made her soft, silky hair swish.

"Hey, see that cute guy over there?" Andrea asked as she nudged Megyn.

"Don't," Megyn said as she explained what just happened.

"He's checking you out."

"I know, and I'm trying to ignore him."

Until then only his friend had been looking her way. Against her better judgment Megyn stole a quick glance, and when she did, he smiled at her.

"Did you see that?"

Andrea nudged her until she replied.

"Yes. Ugh!"

"Not ugh. Smile back, Meg. He's really hot!"

"No thanks."

"What? Why?"

"Because he's also really young. As in...really young."

Andrea smiled at him, and as Megyn watched her she couldn't believe what she saw.

Andrea was mouthing the words, "She likes you!" to the super cute guy.

"I am so gonna hurt you!" Megyn said, now feeling preposterous for letting herself get talked into doing this.

Megyn refused to look his way, but Andrea let her know he gave her a 'thumbs up' in reply.

Several minutes and another song passed without event, and Megyn finally finished her first drink. The same girl was right there, and this time she said, "Your next drink is on the really hot guy with the short hair."

He smiled at Megyn again who simultaneously felt a blast of excitement with a side order of revulsion. Before she could say, "Tell him, 'no thanks'," the girl was gone.

Just before she got back with the drink, the piano players said they were going on a short break and offered the pianos to anyone who knew how to play. She wouldn't admit it, but Megyn had been stealing short glances again, and when she looked over she saw the hot guy's friend pointing to the piano.

"Go on, man!" she heard him say loudly enough that his friend felt embarrassed.

His buddy wouldn't let up, and after some more cajoling and a little pushing, the super cute guy got up. His friend escorted him over to the open piano then asked for everyone's attention.

"Ladies and gentlemen. Yo! Over here!" he hollered.

Nearly everyone looked, it got a bit quieter, and he continued.

"My good friend here is an incredible piano player. Yeah. And he's been checkin' out the hottie over there in the pink top since we got here!"

There was a mix of laughs and 'oohs' as Andrea elbowed her friend again.

"That's you!" Andrea said, her mouth near Megyn's ear.

"Oh, no," Megyn said as everyone looked her way.

"Yo, Pink!" he called out further embarrassing Megyn. "My buddy here can't keep his eyes off of you. Yeah. So that's what he's gonna play for you. Can't Keep My Eyes Off of You by Frankie Valli."

The bar burst into applause, and when it died down, he looked at Megyn and said, "I apologize. I have no idea who this...idiot is."

His buddy clutched his chest dramatically and hollered, "Oh...that hurt!"

Then the hot guy said, "But as weird as he is, he's right about one thing. I haven't been able to keep my eyes off of you."

He smiled at her again then started playing, and to everyone'e surprise, he also sang.

Megyn stopped wanting to slink away and started listening and heard, "You're just too good to be true. Can't take my eyes off of you. You'd be like heaven to touch. I wanna hold you so much...."

"He's good!" Andrea said as she moved closer to Megyn. "And he's sooo hot!"

He looked at Megyn as he played, and after the initial embarrassment lifted, she found herself looking back and singing along.

"I love you, BAY-bee!" he sang, "and if it's quite alright I need you, BAY-bee. To warm the lonely night...."

The entire place exploded in applause when he finished. He acknowledged the applause, but never took his eyes off of Megyn. As he stood up, he nodded, indicating he'd like to sit with her.

She was going to shake her head 'no', but Andrea slid over and gestured to the empty space. When he got to her table, the people applauded again along with a lot of whistles and even a, "Go get her, dude!"

"Sorry for the peanut gallery," he said as he waited to be invited to sit down.

She looked at the small empty space then up at him. He took a seat then said, "Hi. I'm Brent. Warner."

"I'm Andrea, her best friend," Andrea said across Megyn's body, "and this is Megyn--with a 'Y'. Megyn Cantrell."

"Ladies. It's a pleasure," he replied in a calm, baritone voice before asking if they'd like another drink.

Megyn had barely touched the one he sent, but Andrea told him she wouldn't mind one more. He waived at the same girl then pointed at Andrea who thanked him then claimed she needed to use the restroom which Megyn knew was a way to let her be alone.

There was a moment of awkward silence before Megyn slid over a few inches.

"I hope I didn't embarrass you," Brent finally said.

"No. Not at all," Megyn said unconvincingly before changing her story. "Well, maybe just a little."

She smiled then said, "You're really good, by the way. That was amazing. How did you learn to play so well?"

"My mom is a piano teacher. She says that when I was two or three I used to bang on the keys. When I turned four she told me the only way I could do that was if I learned to play."

"Oh, wow. So have you played ever since?"

"No. I got tired of it in high school."

She could tell he was hesitant, and she wanted to say, "That's okay. I'm prying," but he explained.

"I actually got a music scholarship to three different colleges."

"Oh, my heavens! That's amazing!" Megyn told him, now aware that he wasn't a beer-swilling boob.

"But I turned them all down."

"What?" she said very quietly and in disbelief.

"I was sick of playing. I mean sick...of...it."

"What did you do?" she asked rather meekly.

He laughed then said, "I joined the Marine Corps."

Megyn's eyes got big then bigger.

"Get out of here!"

"True story," Brent insisted, his right hand held up. "My mom was not happy."

She smiled sympathetically, and he smiled back. When he did, Megyn felt her heart skip a beat. Young or not, he was extremely attractive, and he clearly liked her. And he was smart. Or at least he was a very talented musician and quite well spoken.

"As far as the song goes, I really couldn't keep my eyes off of you, Megyn, and that's the truth," he told her, the smile still there.

"I'm...flattered. I don't get it, but I am flattered."

"What's not to get?" he asked.

"Um...this place is full of beautiful women. Most of them are your age, and I'm...not."

"Hold on. You're clearly beautiful. There's no way you don't know that. And as for age, who cares? But before you answer that let me just say that you are, by a long ways, the most attractive woman here tonight regardless of age."

Andrea came back before Megyn could say anything else. She asked what she'd missed as she admired the very handsome young man sitting next to her friend.

"I was just telling Megyn she's a very beautiful woman," Brent explained. "She seems to be having a hard time understanding that which I most definitely don't understand."

"That's just how she is," Andrea told him, drawing an 'I beg your pardon' look from Megyn.

"It's true," she told her friend before turning her attention back to Brent.

"This whole look is new," she said, nodding at Megyn. "The hair, the clothes. She didn't want to...."

"Hey! I'm sitting right here!" Megyn said, putting her hands up.

"I'm sorry if I came on too strong, Megyn," Brent said, feeling bad for whatever was going on. "But the truth is the way you look is what caught my eye. And you look...amazing."

"Told you," Andrea said in her friend's ear.

The piano players were back, and when the first song was played, the guy who was with Brent walked over and asked Andrea if she'd like to dance. He wasn't nearly as cute as his friend, but he was a nice looking guy, and she agreed, partially because he was cute but also to let Megyn have a chance to continue talking to Brent.

"My friend is very strong willed," Megyn told him as Andrea took the other guy's hand and followed him to an open area.

"That's Danny. He's my wingman. And my roommate."

"Your roommate. Okay. May I ask what you do, Brent?" Megyn asked, her voice changing from challenging to something more polite. "And please don't tell me you're unemployed or in school."

"Um, well, that's going to be difficult," he told her, that smile back on his very handsome face.

"How so?"

"Because while I am in school, I'm also fully employed."

She was now very turned off, but because he'd been so nice she asked him what he did for a living.

"I'm a Marine. Still."

"What? As in the military Marine?" a surprised Megyn asked.

"Yes. I'm going to college at Ohio State on a Navy ROTC scholarship. So I'm on active duty but only wear a uniform a couple of times month but I get my full pay and allowances, plus books and tuition are free. Well, free to me. The taxpayers are footing the bill, and I'm doing my best to make sure they get their money's worth."

Megyn was intrigued. She'd never heard of such a thing and wanted to know more.

"I managed to get about 20 credits going to night school on active duty. At the three-year mark, I applied for the NROTC program."

He spelled out the acronym again for her benefit then continued.

"I was fortunate enough to get selected, and I was even more fortunate to get my first choice of schools. And...here I am."

"So if I understand you, you get paid the same as you would fighting in a war, but you go to school instead?" she asked, only trying to understand.

Brent didn't laugh at the 'war' comment. He just explained a little more.

"Were I in a combat zone, all of my base pay would be tax free, and I'd get something called combat pay. But other than that, yes, that's how it works."

She didn't know a single person in the military, but her uncle had served in the Army in Vietnam, and she had a lot of respect for those who did.

"Let me first thank you for your service, and then also for explaining this to me. I have no idea whatsoever how anything works in any branch of the military, so you have to excuse my ignorance."

Brent laughed then told her everyone was ignorant about something then chuckled when he said, "That goes double for me, as there are very few things I know a lot about."

He hesitated then smiled before saying, "Unless it's an F-35 engine. I pretty much know them inside and out."

"Wow. So why did you do this ROCT thing and not keeping fixing engines?"

He didn't correct her acronym and tried to explain.

"The truth is, I want to fly F-35s, and the only way I can do that is to become a commissioned officer. The NROTC program is the fastest and best way for me to do that."

"So...you're in for a career?"

"That's my plan. I'm doing well in school, but were I not to make it through Officer Candidate's School for some reason, I'd go back to my old job."

"May I ask what you're studying?" Megyn asked, now even more interested in all of this.

"I'm majoring in physics," he began, causing Megyn's eyes to open wide.

Brent laughed then added, "What can I say. I'm kind of a science geek. If it helps, I'm also minoring in literature because I love reading. Especially the classics."

Megyn loved literature and couldn't believe what she was hearing.

"I'm a little embarrassed now myself," she confessed. "I had the impression you were a party boy or maybe...."

"A player?"

She saw the pained look on his face and kind of winced as she said, "Yes," then, "sorry."

"It's okay. I can assure you I'm not a player. I'm down to earth, honest to a fault, and I would never go out with anyone else if I'm dating a woman."

He paused then said, "Especially one as beautiful as you."

Megyn's heart fluttered, and that surprised her but not as much as her inability to understand why she found herself attracted to him for reasons unconnected to his looks. Then again, he was smart, and smart was sexy.

Andrea had been gone for several minutes, and as she looked around, she saw her with her arms around Brent's roommate. The slow song that was playing ended, and someone older than Megyn called out, "How about Bridge Over Troubled Water?"

"I can do that!" one of the players called back.

"I love that song. My mom played it a lot when I was a girl," Megyn mentioned without any hint about being asked to dance.

"I'd love to dance with you," Brent told her as he stood up and held out his hand.

Megyn looked at it then at him, and when he smiled she let him help her up.

Seconds later her arms were around his neck, and they soon found themselves next to Danny and Andrea.

"Hey there!" Andrea said as they swayed with the music. "Danny is in the Marine Corps."

Megyn looked at Brent who told her he was also an NROTC student.

"And my roommate."

"That explains the short hair, huh?" Megyn said as she looked up into his eyes.

"We both need a trim, but yes, that's true."

It looked pretty buzzed to her, but if Brent always told the truth, and so far she had no reason to believe otherwise, the Marines must really require short hair as there was very little on the sides and only 2-3 inches on top. It was actually kind of sexy in the same way that her new look made her feel sexy, neither of which she could explain.

"You don't like short hair?" he asked with a smile.

"That depends. On who it's on," she told him without telling him it looked quite nice on him.

"So...were I to ask you out, you wouldn't turn me down strictly because my hair's too short, right?" he asked lightheartedly, but in a way that told her he was about to ask her out.

"No, but don't you think I'm a little bit too old for you?" she asked, pointing out the obvious as nicely as she could.

"You look young," he told her. "Very young. And I wish you'd never mention that again."

He said it so nicely it almost didn't make her feel bad for having mentioned it. He made her feel even less bad when he quietly told her, "If I thought you were too old for me I wouldn't want to ask you out. And yet I do. So does that tell you anything?"

"So...are you? Asking me out?" she asked, not sure it was really her asking the question, because the Megyn Cantrell she knew wouldn't even consider it, especially since he was a very preppy dresser himself.

"Yes. I'd very much like to go out with you, Megyn."

She searched for a reason to say 'no', but he'd already shot down her age argument.

"Is it because I let Andrea talk me into dressing like I'm back in high school?" she asked, only partly kidding.

"I'll be honest. I love this look, and you look incredible, and as I said the way you look is what got my attention. But after talking to you for a bit, I'm equally impressed with everything else about you."

He laughed then said in an overly serious way, "Hey. How about this? You can be my teen angel."

She knew the song, and while oldies weren't really her thing, a romantic guy was, and Brent was definitely romantic. And he was smart. And he was also really cute.

"Then, yes. I'd like that, too," she told him, still not sure why the new her had said 'yes' even as her heart beat faster when he pulled her close. "The date part. The jury's still out on being your teen angel."

Unable to help herself, Megyn smiled, and when she did, Brent held her close. She melted into his arms, and forgot about his age and even his looks. The only thing she cared about was feeling safe in his arms. She tried not to read too much into what was happening knowing her tendency to ruin something wonderful by overthinking it.

For the briefest of moments she opened her eyes and saw Andrea's head buried in Danny's neck. As she closed her eyes again Megyn wondered if making such a huge change in her appearance could actually result in a huge change in her life. A huge, positive change. For the rest of the evening she forced herself not to think about that and allowed herself to have a nice time.

The four of them talked until the end of the last set at around 1am. When the pianos opened up for good, Brent told Megyn he'd be right back. She watched him walk back to the same piano he'd been at before, and as he sat down he smiled at her.

The crowd was in the mood for more, and Megyn couldn't wait to here him play again. There was a chant for a song several drunk guys wanted, but Brent waved them off.

"Sorry. I want to play a song for someone I only recently met but who's already very special to me."

The place quieted down, and Brent played the opening notes and sang the words.

"Teen angel, teen angel, teen angel, ooh...."

Andrea was so into Danny she wasn't paying attention, but if she had, she'd have seen her best friend smiling and also fighting to keep herself from tearing up as Brent sang, "Can you hear me? Are you somewhere up above? And am I still your own true love?"

He looked right at her when he sang and asked, "Am I still your own true love?"

The look on his face was so corny she wanted to laugh, but when he slipped in, "Are you, Megyn?" without missing a beat, she nodded and felt a tear run down her cheek.

Andrea finally noticed her friend and leaned over Danny.

"Hey? What's wrong? Did he say something?"

Megyn pulled a tissue out of her purse, dabbed her eyes, then answered her friend.

"He did."

When Brent sat back down, Andrea's fears were calmed when Megyn slid even closer to him and laid her head on his shoulder. Brent's arm came up and Megyn pulled it around her shoulder and reveled in the way she was feeling.

She wasn't upset. She was happy. And the truth was, so was Andrea who really liked Danny. Or as she'd been calling him, her Danny Boy.

It was close to 2am when the four of them walked outside.

"Everyone sober?" Brent asked, scoring big points with Megyn who didn't say anything but took note of his mature concern. Were he the party boy she imagined that would have been the last thing on his mind.

"We're good," she replied for Andrea, not sure whether or not her friend was there yet.

Megyn drifted one way with Brent and Andrea another with Danny.

"I can't tell you what a pleasure it was meeting you, Megyn."

The look in his eyes was sincere, and it made her feel that same way he'd made her feel all night.

"You know. I was really apprehensive about this 'transformation' thing. I didn't want to do it, and I nearly chickened out."

He brushed her pretty blonde hair back and told her how glad he was she didn't.

"Yeah. Me, too," Megyn told him as she looked up into his eyes. "You really don't mind that I'm...."

He put a finger on her lips and leaned closer.

"You promised not to mention the 'A' word again, remember?"

Megyn thought of 'assface' and somehow suppressed a laugh.

"I did, didn't I?" she replied rather sweetly.

"Uh-huh. And I need you to not say another word for at least five seconds."

She started to ask why, but when he kissed her softly, she knew. And she didn't mind at all.