Page 278 of His Virgin Romance Series
“Well, I’m sure we can come to some sort of compromise,” I suggested, giving her a special smile.
Her green eyes were so incredibly arresting. They inspired me to want to draw or paint immediately. I could see a white canvas in front of me, and I could feel my fingers twitching to get started. But what could I draw that would capture her likeness and represent the kind of beauty she possessed? Somehow, I felt as though I would fall short of the task.
This was not the time for me to be getting involved with anybody. I had to find a roommate, get myself a decent job, finish my community service, and concentrate on my art. It was too much for me to handle at the same time so dating on top of that felt irresponsible. But somehow letting Gabby walk away from me without asking her out felt equally if not more irresponsible. And I reminded myself that it wasn’t every day that I met a woman who made such a huge impression so instantly.
“A compromise?” Gabby repeated. “How do you propose we do that?”
“Well… how about we discuss this over dinner sometime?” I said, throwing caution to the wind and going with my gut instinct. “A compromise requires conversation, and I’m sure we can reach one if we had a couple of hours alone together.”
I wondered if that was too heavy-handed an invitation. I saw her smile grow a little weary and I saw conflict burgeon in her eyes. Was it possible that I had moved a little too quickly? Maybe I should have made it clear that it wasn’t a date and rather an attempt at friendship. Except I had no interest in being only her friend so I decided not to pretend that that was my only goal. I was going to own how I felt about this. Hopefully, that honestly would put me over the line.
“You’re asking me out?” Gabby asked, and she sounded uncertain.
I refused to back down. “Yes, I am asking you out,” I said.
She looked into my eyes for a second and smiled. “I don’t know if that’s a good idea.”
“What do you mean?” I demanded. “Based on the conversation we just had, we have great chemistry.”
“You’re a firefighter,” Gabby said, and even though I wanted to correct her, I chickened out and didn’t. “And from what I’ve heard, they tend to be public heroes and complete jerks at home.”
“Is that a fair assessment to make?” I asked.
Gabby chuckled. “Probably not… but I just… I don’t know—”
“You need time to think about it?” I asked.
Gabby looked surprised. “You’d give me time to think about it?”
“Of course,” I said. “And if you’re still thinking about me two weeks from now… you can come back here, and we’ll set up a dinner date. How does that sound?”
I could see that she liked the idea. She also seemed to like the idea that I was persistent without being pushy. I was giving her a way out, but I was also making it clear that I was interested.
“Well…”
“Go on,” I said. “What do you have to lose?”
She smiled. “Okay…”
“Let’s shake on it.”
Gabby laughed and extended her hand out to mine.
