Every Sunday, I try to post an excerpt from my novel, The Awakening of Russell Henderson. Here’s another. The book is available at http://www.amazon.com/author/edwardlehner.

I followed her to the great room where I saw a tall man with narrow hips, broad shoulders, blond hair, and blazing blue eyes set into a square jawed chiseled face. He had on a sleeveless t-shirt exposing his rope muscled tattooed arms, khaki cargo shorts, and flip-flops. Hanna ran to him and was swept up into, what appeared to me to be a bone crushing hug.

“Hanna! So good to see you! You’re back. I can quit worrying now. Man, you look more beautiful than ever. Traveling must suit you.” He grabbed her again for a long hug and kisses in her cheeks. She giggled in delight. He let her go and turned to me. “And you’re Russell — ”

He walked towards me and I felt totally intimidated by him. He grabbed my hand and pulled me into a man hug, something I had never experienced before. Men in my family and in my home town did not hug. You shook hands at proper arms length and that was that. Having never been hugged by a man before, I was taken by how hard his body felt, unlike Hanna’s which was all soft and snuggly. 

“Damn, Russell, good to meet you. Hanna’s told me about you. Said she likes you. I guess if she thinks you’re okay, maybe I will too.”

Oh shit. Maybe?