The Road to....Somewhere???

I Dance About As Well As I Talk

Logan's p.o.v.

I can't believe I am going off with a girl I don't know.

I mean, I'm not scared, just a little skeptical of why I am choosing to do this.

"This is beautiful. I love looking at the water at night." I say to Ashley, as we approach the lake behind Tracy's house. We were silent up until now. I was just trying to find something to break the ice.

"Yeah, it's nice." That is all Ashley says. I have to figure out how to get her to start talking. Maybe if I ask questions, she will know I actually want to hear what she has to say.

"So...." Shit, I can't think of anything to say either. Not that the silence is awkward, it is surprisingly comforting, but I really do want to know more about this girl. Her shyness has me intrigued. I realize I have been thinking all of this stuff, and have not finished my sentence, and probably have made her feel very awkward. "Anyways, so what do you do for a living?" I ask. This question should be safe enough.

"I own a auto repair shop, and a restaurant. How about you?" Well, that was a start. It was more than a one or two word answer.

"I am the store manager at the Wal-Mart in town." 

"I haven't seen you before, and I go in there all the time. I am sure I would have noticed you before." She says this all in one breath, and as she says the last part, I can barely see the pink creeping up on her face in the dark.

"Well, i just moved here a couple of months ago. I took over the store last month, and I have been trying to get the store back on track. The last manager kinda ran it in the ground." Wow, an actual conversation. I am so excited. "What restaurant is yours?" I ask, trying to hear more of her voice. 

She doesn't answer right away, lost in her own head, and I have to ask the question again.

"Jak's." Great, down to one word answer's again.

"Well, I am new here, and I don't know that I have heard of it. Tell me something about it. Where is it? What kind of food do you serve?"

"Well, it is down off the highway. It sits on the lake. The last review on it gave it four stars. It is a gourmet restaurant, with a variety of dishes. We have a boat that we provide for romantic meals on the lake." She sounds so nervous. I have got to make her calm down.

"That sounds great. Maybe I can come eat there sometime."

"Yeah, you should. The food is great."

"Okay, lets stop right here. Look at me." I reach my hand up and turn her face towards me. If her face gets any redder, it may just catch fire. "Please, don't be so nervous. I just want to get to know you better. I don't bite, okay? At least, not without permission." I threw this in as a tension breaker. It worked, because at this statement, she laughs. I realize that my hand has not left her face, and I don't really want it to. I remove it, though, before things become awkward again. Her laugh is amazing.

"Okay, I'm sorry. I'm not very good at this. I don't have much experience in talking to women, well, anyone for that matter, on any kind of personal basis. Please bear with me." She hangs her head, like she is ashamed to admit this. I don't think she meant to reveal this much about herself to me. Here we go again.

"It's cool. I am a very patient person. I have time. How about we go back, and relax. We can have some drinks, dance, and get a little more comfortable around each other, and we can try the whole talking thing later?" 

"That sounds great. I am a much better dancer than talker." She smiles at me, and in that moment, I know that I never want her to stop.

Ashley's p.o.v.

"This is beautiful. I love looking at the water at night." Logan says as we approach the lake. These are the first words that have been spoken since we left the porch. I didn't have the nerve to say anything, remembering the few stupid things that I have said since I met this girl. 

"Yeah, it's nice." There I go again. That is all I can say. I had something much more smooth in my head, like, 'Yeah, it is beautiful, just like you.' or some equivalent of this, but I couldn't get it to come out. I wasn't trying to freak her out. It's just that all I can think of is compliments to her, but I barely know her, and I know that those are not the kind of things you say to a complete stranger."

"So......" She starts a sentence, but doesn't finish it. I cut my eyes to look at her, and she seems lost in thought. I am amazed that I don't mind just walking beside her, not saying anything. Silence is usually awkward, but in this case, it seems to be golden. I think she realizes she never finished her sentence, because she all of a sudden starts asking my about my work.

I tell her about my business, and ask her what she does. She is a store manager at Wal-Mart. I can't believe I didn't know this. I end up in there all the time, and know many of the employees by name. No one said anything about a new manager. Tracy didn't even tell me, and she is an assistant there. I guess, to them, it doesn't seem to important. I guess I wouldn't find it important if it wasn't for the fact that this girl happened to be the the one. Wait, scratch that. Not "The One'. I just mean, the new manager. I fight with myself over this simple statement. I realize that she has asked me a question as I have been sitting her, talking to myself, as she asks it again.

"What restaurant is yours?"

"Jak's." I reply with this one word. I feel so dumb, not paying attention to her in the first place. I just want to crawl under a rock,

Now she is asking my about where its at, and the kind of food we have. I tell her where its at, and I let slip about the four star rating. Maybe this will impress her a little. Then she says she should come eat there. Maybe I should ask her there sometime. 

"Yeah, you should. The food is great." I am imagining us on the boat, eating by candlelight. 

"Okay, let's stop right there. Look at me." She brings her hand to my face to turn it to look in her eyes. Her hand is warm, and makes me feel like electricity is emanating from her hand. Wow, this is a new feeling. She removes it way to quickly.

"Please, don't be so nervous. I just want to get to know you better. I don't bite, okay? At least, not without permission." At the last statement, I laugh. I know she is trying to cut the tension, and at that moment, I decide to let it be cut. I decide to be honest with her.

"Okay, I'm sorry. I'm not very good at this. I don't have much experience in talking to women, well, anyone for that matter, on any kind of personal basis. Please bear with me." After I say this, I realize I have said way more than I ever planned on saying. I wanted the tension to be lessened, but I did not mean to give her a glimpse of the personal me. I mean, I just met her. Her eyes seemed to tell me she knew I didn't mean to let that much of me go, but it also said that she was not going to push any further.

"It's cool. I am a very patient person. I have time. How about we go back, and relax. We can have some drinks, dance, and get a little more comfortable around each other, and we can try the whole talking thing later?" She gave me this smile that I could so get used to.

"That sounds great. I am a much better dancer than talker." I tried to give her a confident smile, but I think it just came off making me look like a doofus. Either way, I got a smile back, and she stood, holding her hands out to help me up. 

Unfortunately, the last sentence I said to her was not entirely true.

I dance about as well as I talk.