It's a Date!

Tuesday, September 4th

"You seem to have a real passion for Jean Jacques Rousseau?"

Andy was back on the library 'date' with Sara, and this time he felt better prepared for it. For all that she was primarily interested in things he barely understood, Andy nonetheless felt there was at least some natural chemistry between them, and the more time he spent with the star student, the more he liked her.

"He says some really interesting things, but he's not my favourite" Andy told her "I know some of his work can be a tad controversial, but I've always been particularly intrigued by Machiavelli"

Sara's eyes visibly lit up.

"I know, right? People complain about him being immoral, but that doesn't take away from the validity of what he said, or make it any less thought provoking. He literally changed the face of political philosophy, for better or worse. I'm really glad we're on the same page with him" Sara paused, before smirking a little "Although, if you're letting me know you have Machiavellian tendencies, perhaps I need to be more careful around you?"

"Perhaps you do"

Was Andy flirting? He was certainly trying to, and possibly even doing it competently. Sara giggled a little and adjusted her hair subconsciously.

"You're right, there's literally nobody here" she noted as she scanned the library "We may as well take this up to my room. I actually have a couple of studies of The Prince there that you might be interested to read"

He definitely wouldn't be, but there was no need to tell Sara that. The important thing was a cute girl was inviting Andy into her bedroom. Sure, it was strictly to study, but it felt like a definite step in the right direction.

"Sure, I'd love to check them out!" he lied.

---

While Sara sat on her bed, surrounded by philosophy books and her laptop, Andy tried to steer the conversation away from anything study related by walking over to her pinboard and acting like he had just seen the photos on there for the first time.

"Oh God, please don't pay too much attention to my dorky photos!" Sara smiled up at him.

"Is that your sister?" Andy asked about the girl who was in the majority of Sara's photos with her.

"Yes, my twin actually"

Oh God, she had a twin? Andy briefly considered how hot it would be if he could use his time manipulating skills to get himself into a threesome with them both. But no, he needed to keep his mind out of the gutter. Besides, getting one girl into bed had historically proved difficult enough for Andy, there was no sense in trying to run before he could walk.

"So does she go to University as well?"

"No, Dani has a learning disability, so that wouldn't be an option for her" Sara answered quite matter-of-factly "She's actually the reason I've always studied as hard as I do. She gets very little help from the state, and my parents aren't exactly rich, so in order for her to be able to live independently, it's going to be on me to provide for us both. Good luck with that in this economy, right?"

Andy was floored. It was increasingly hitting home with him that these girls he was chasing after weren't just warm bodies to be fucked, they were real people, some of whom may not have led the completely sheltered life he had always been so ungrateful to have. He also felt bad for rushing to judge Sara the moment he met her, as stupid as thinking badly of someone for wanting to make the best of themselves had been anyway.

"Wow Sara, that's actually really inspirational"

"Inspirational? Hardly!" she rolled her eyes dismissively "That little genetic quirk could have just as easily landed on me as her, and I know if our roles had been reversed she would have done the same as I am. I feel like I got the better end of the deal, plus I've learned to love to learn. That probably wouldn't have happened otherwise."

"Yeah, I guess"

Sara smiled at Andy and stroked his arm "Thank you for saying that about me though, it was very sweet of you"

As she placed herself back on the bed with her beloved books, Andy decided to seize the initiative.

"Would you like to go for a drink with me sometime, Sara?"

"Are you asking me out on a date?"

"Yes, I think I am"

Sara paused thoughtfully for a few agonising moments.

"I have a book club on Thursday which I'm sure you would be welcome to join. We could do something together after that"

"So that's officially a date then?" Andy wanted to make sure.

"It's officially a date" Sara confirmed "Unless you would prefer to call it something else?"

"No, I'm good with it being a date"

Andy was a little shell shocked at how simple that had been. Sure, he'd had to travel back in time on a few occasions, spy on Sara, and pretend to like all the same things he secretly knew she did, but once that was all out of the way, all he had to do was ask!

He decided he should probably quit the study session while he was ahead, and felt like he was walking on air as he made the short journey back to his own room. Hie mood only lowered once he got there, and an unfortunate thought intruded on his happiness.

He was going to have to read that fucking book now.