Jest has been on his own since his mid-teens and still blesses the chance that let him realize his dream of playing percussion in a band that has become his substitute family. Although he misses the close sharing, he doesn't expect to find a partner and certainly not one as clearly out of his element as the man who one night wanders into the club where Jest's band plays, looking totally lost and friendless.<br><br>Greene has struggled to build himself a life far from the undisciplined communal community in which he grew up. He's lonely though, and not sure how to remedy that, so he works as a game programmer in Silicon Valley until he makes a faux pas at a party. Traveling aimlessly, he meets Jest and the other members of Taken By Storm, and is intrigued but terrified of slipping back into a disorderly world like the one of his childhood.<br><br>They say opposites attract, but can a rebel drummer and an uptight programmer find enough common ground for a relationship?

A Different Drummer

Greene didn’t say anything at first, so Jest didn’t either. Finally Greene broke the silence. “No, I didn’t leave town. I couldn’t quite do it. I started to think about some of the things you said. Then I went on to think hard about my life, what I’d accomplished and where I wanted to go next. Once I got into it, the future I’d thought I wanted turned out not to be what I’d expected or planned. Really, my plan ended when I got the job at Mega and from then on, stuff just happened.”


He pulled in to the Lucky Buck Inn and parked in front of a red-painted door. Jest got out and followed him into the room. Greene waved to the one chair. “Have a seat. I can go get us a soda from the machine or something if you want.”


Jest shook his head. “I’m fine.” He was and he wasn’t. He figured Greene had more to say and he wanted to hear it before he did anything else and before he decided how he felt about this.


Chapter 18