12. Dating For Dummies
12
DATING FOR DUMMIES
NEHA
I agreed to the date before I could fully convince myself it was a bad idea. Not a date-date, but a one-time, see-what-he’s-really-after kind of thing .
So that’s how I found myself walking through Central Park on a late spring Sunday, with Ansel.
Cherry blossoms hung heavy on the trees, their petals drifting down like soft pink confetti. The scent of fresh blooms and hot pretzels from a nearby vendor was such a classic New York contrast.
The city had come out of hibernation. Joggers weaved between tourists, couples sprawled on picnic blankets, and a guitarist played something slow and sweet.
Ansel focused on me .
He didn’t have his phone in his hand, like he always did at work. He didn’t check his watch for the time, another thing he always did at work.
He also didn’t talk about work.
It was almost as if he were showing me who he was outside the office, and I very much liked what I saw.
I decided that humor would be a good way to break the mild tension between us during our date-not-date. “Did you bring me here to check if I still hate you in natural lighting outside the office?”
“I was hoping I might get upgraded to mildly tolerate status.”
I huffed a laugh.
“I know you don’t hate me, Neha.”
“No, I don’t even though you deserve it,” I admitted. How could I hate him when I loved him so much?
“I know, and I’m sorry, so damn sorry.”
His words weren’t over-the-top apologetic—they were pure Ansel. Direct. Flat. Blunt. And, I had to admit, honest .
He wasn’t the type to give grand speeches or make some desperate attempt to remind me of the long hours we’d spent together in the office. But he was the type to lay things out as they were—to acknowledge the attraction between us and give us a chance to actually do something about it. And that was making him really damn hard to resist.
We reached the edge of the lake, which was reflecting the bright blue sky. A couple nearby was laughing as they attempted to row a boat. The man did all the work while the woman pretended to be helpless, giggling as she let him struggle.
I turned to Ansel, watching as he took in the scene. “You know this might be the first time we’re together, and we haven’t talked about work.”
He glanced at me. “Do you want me to?”
I tilted my head. “It would’ve been the easiest way to get me talking to you.”
“Maybe.” He exhaled, watching a few petals from a cherry tree nearby land on the water. “But I don’t want you in my life because I need you, Neha.” His gaze flicked to mine. “I want you in my life because I want you.”
My stomach twisted—not with unease, but with lust .
I looked away, focusing on the tiny ripples in the lake. “That’s a big change from she’s just an assistant .”
“I know,” he said quietly. “And I hate that I made you believe that’s all you were to me.”
I believed him. God, help me, but I did. But did I believe him because he was sincere or because I was so damn desperate for him?