Asking Her Out

I did notice a change in Emma in the passing week. It was subtle, but there. Previously, there was almost a bubbly energy to her. That, ‘maiden in love’ sort of atmosphere. That was gone. She was still playful and enjoyed teasing and kissing me when I least expected it. It wasn’t necessarily a change I could pin down with a, ‘that right there,’ but a collection of slight shifts in her interactions with me. If I had to say anything, it was Girlfriend Emma became simply Emma. I guess in her mind, pretending was only taking what she was already doing from a nine to a ten. It was noticeable, but hardly the doom and gloom she seemed to think it was. Realizing that put me at ease too. Who knows what I would have done if she was at like, a four or five and dialing it up to ten.

Now that things were starting to stabilize and we were getting a feel for our relationship, my focus was on another. Mike. I felt like I was leaving him behind. Emma and her friends were pulling me in another direction. Poor Mike was being left behind. He didn’t deserve that. Talking to Emma about it, she put some of my fears to rest.

“You worry too much about looks.” We were sitting on one of the benches outside school. It was a nice enough day and a change of pace from the library. “If those mattered, we wouldn’t be dating,” she said with a teasing smile.

“Hey!”

“You aren’t bad looking, but consider this; Ryan asked me out sophomore year.” Seriously? “I said no, just like I said no to you. Again. And again. And again.” She frowned. “You are really bad about the whole, ‘no’ thing.”

I grabbed her hand and entwined my fingers with hers. She glanced at it but didn’t say anything. There it was. One of those subtle changes. Before, she would have smiled and squeezed. Today, she accepted it. She enjoyed holding hands, but it didn’t mean the same thing to her as it did to me—or she expressed it differently.

“Aren’t you glad I didn’t accept you saying no?”

This did get a smile. Not the full-blown radiant one, but enough. She also moved my hand so that it rested in her lap. “Yeah.” The moment passed quickly. Too quickly, but such was life with Emma. “The key to Mike’s acceptance is Mike himself. Remember when you were first invited to sit with us at lunch?”

That unmitigated disaster? How could I forget?

“Yeah.”

“And you know what you did wrong?”

“Didn’t say anything or try to include myself.”

“Right. We are an accepting bunch. We’ll meet people halfway, but they have to do their part.” I nodded. Something to discuss with Mike. He said he was doing better in the social department since meeting Emma. Maybe that would be enough.

Emma was looking thoughtful. “I wonder how he’ll react to the casual sex.” Oh shit. How the hell did I overlook that?

“Like me, I guess? Having sex isn’t a requirement to hanging out.”

“True,” she said, smile slowly forming. “But Mike already has some experience in that department, remember?” she said in a husky tone. Here I was trying to help out a friend and she was already taking charge and making my heart race. “He wasn’t bad by any stretch either. New and inexperienced, sure, but not bad.” She had that look in her eye as she went in for the kill. “He might even pick me—”

Pulling away, I stood up, but not before I saw the terror flash in her eyes.

I took a deep breath. “Damn it, Emma!” I muttered, pacing back and forth. Looking back at her, I found she had shut down, a placid look on her face as she sat with her back rigid. Shit. She thought I was rejecting her. I put a bit of humor into my voice. “If you make me pop a boner in school, it’s your responsibility to take care of it.” I grinned. “With that in mind… please continue.”

Seeing I wasn’t mad at her, she relaxed, her smile coming back. “I’ll keep that in mind.” She stood and together we took a slow pace back to the parking lot where we parked. This time, she found my hand and took it.

“You really think he would be accepted?”

“If he puts the effort in, I think he would be a good fit.”

“I’m just worried. He always puts himself down and has some body image issues.”

“Because he’s a bit big?” I nodded. “That will work to his advantage. He’s bigger than average—”

“Emma,” I said, lowering my voice. That little vixen. I knew what she was talking about.

She giggled. “Like I said. That doesn’t matter. Sure, some of the girls might be ambivalent to the idea of sleeping with him, but they aren’t going to say no. Nina dated a guy about Mike’s size last year for a bit. He worked his way through all of us a few times before they broke up for other reasons.”

“Nina?”

She rolled her eyes. “I don’t know whether to be happy you don’t remember their names or annoyed. The blond.”

“Have to be more specific…”

“Short? Boobs too big for her?”

“Oh right. Her.”

“Was it the boobs too big for her size?”

“Plead the Fifth?”

“Honestly…” she huffed.

We were almost to our cars. Before we went our separate ways, I turned to face her, pulling her to a stop. “Want to go on a date this weekend?”

“Date?”

I nodded. “I just realized we never actually went out on a date before.”

She seemed as surprised as I was at the realization. “I would like that.”

“Really?”

“I’m already dating you and you’re surprised I agreed to go on a date?”

“Well, we aren’t exactly a normal couple.”

Reaching up, she put an arm around my neck and lightly kissed me. “Thank god for that,” she whispered. “See you tomorrow?”

Walking her to her car, I held the door for her as she got in before watching as she headed off. She was right. We weren’t a normal couple, and I was okay with that.

A smile on my face, I headed for my car.