Unexpected Valor

4

The next two weeks were pretty uneventful and Brock was always on time to pick her up. Occasionally she had some cookies along and would give him some for his lunch. She told him she would rather he eat them then her so she wouldn't get fat. He didn't know what to say to that, but he knew he liked her the way she was right now. On Thursday of the second week, Brock finally had the courage to ask her out on a proper date. He gripped the steering wheel a little tighter that morning, made sure his breath was minty fresh, and the inside of the pickup clean and tidy. Not that it ever wasn't. He was pretty meticulous when it came to maintaining equipment. It was just habit that was ingrained in him from an early age. He pulled up to her condo and waited as she opened the door and locked it, saying goodbye to Frank in the window. God, she was beautiful. She was wearing a cobalt blue shirt and her soft brown hair was braided in a side braid. She was wearing a pencil skirt and low heels which made her small perfect body look amazing.

"Good morning, Val."

"Good morning, Brock," she answered and returned his smile.

He decided to wait until they were closer to work to ask her out, just in case she said no. Then she wouldn't have to be in the pickup any longer than necessary, making an awkward moment last any longer than it needed to be. As they were almost to the turn, Brock cleared his throat and said, "Do you have any plans tomorrow night?"

Val looked up from the report she was reading, thought for a moment and replied, "No. No plans."

He glanced at her quickly and then asked, "Would you like to go out to dinner with me tomorrow night?"

She stopped reading her report again, and looked at him, and then out at the road. "Are you asking me on a date? I'm sorry, I really have to ask because I'm really bad at reading social cues. I had to take a class on how to – Oh, I'm rambling." She clamped a hand over her mouth. She took a deep breath and let it out. "Let me start over. Why, yes, Brock, I would love to go out to dinner. May I ask what is the occasion?"

He chuckled and shook his head. "You really are something else. It would be a romantic dinner, me and you. If that's ok." He glanced at her with a raised eyebrow. His heart was racing and his palms becoming sweaty. This never happened to him before.

"I'd love to," she replied, beaming at him.

By this time they had parked and it was time to go into the building. They walked to the security desk together and then parted ways. She gave him a genuine smile and a little wave of her hand. He smiled back and then went his way to the training rooms. He was pleased with himself. Step one, completed.