"Dude, just ask her out. She's right over there. What's the worst that will happen? She'll say no? Big deal."
"I don't know, James," Danny moaned.
"Alright, two things. One, stop calling me James. I've been going by Jamie since I was fourteen. Two," Jamie paused and gave Danny a forceful shove forward, "go ask her out."
Danny sighed. "Fine." He walked over to the ballerina and cleared his throat. "Hey," he said with a smile. "Hey?" He thought. "What kind of a greeting is that?"
"Hey, Danny," Maddie smiled. "What's up?"
"Oh, nothing." Danny sent Jamie a nervous glance.
"Do it," Jamie mouthed.
Danny took a deep breath. "Maddie, we've known each other for a little while and...and I just think you're really amazing. So, I was wondering if maybe...you'd like to go out?...On a date?...With me?"
Maddie thought for a moment. She really didn't want to hurt Danny, but she didn't want to go out with him. She wanted to say no, but found herself saying, "Sure, I'd love to."
"R-really?" Danny stammered. He cleared his throat. "Good, then...Saturday night at Lombardi's? Seven-ish?"
Maddie nodded.
Danny turned on his heel and walked back over to Jamie with a wide grin.
"See? It wasn't that hard," Jamie laughed.
"Nope," Danny chuckled, popping the p. He pointed over at Rory. "Your turn."
"What? No way! I am not asking Rory on a date," Jamie scoffed. There was too much to lose. If she said no, it could ruin their friendship, and that was the last thing Jamie wanted.
"Why not? I just asked out Maddie."
"Because, unlike your situation, there is a friendship at stake. I don't want things to be awkward with Rory if -and when- she rejects me. No, sir, I refuse to jeopardize our friendship," Jamie said firmly.
Danny sighed in defeat. "It is impossible to convince you to do anything."
"Yep," Jamie grinned. "I will, however, ask her to hang out."
"It's not the same," Danny grumbled.
Jamie ignored him and went over to Rory. "Hey," she smiled in surprise. "What are you doing here?"
"I came to see Danny," Jamie shrugged. "So, there's this really awful-looking movie coming out this weekend. Would you want to go see it together?"
Rory laughed. "Sure, I'm down."
"Perfect," Jamie smiled. "I'll see you Saturday night at about seven."
"Sounds good," Rory smiled.
Jamie returned to Danny's side. "That's how you do it."
Danny scoffed. "You casually asked her to a movie. I asked Maddie on a date. There's a difference."
"But the process is the same," Jamie said with a small shrug. "You ask the girl calmly, with confidence. You don't go up and stutter and act all shy."
"I'm pretty sure that's exactly what you did the first time you asked Rory out to dinner," Danny smirked.
Jamie laughed. "Shut up."
—————
"How? Why?" Maddie moaned.
Rory giggled. "Come on. Danny's a sweet guy."
"Then you date him," Maddie groaned. "Why did I agree to this?"
"Because, deep down, I think you know that you like him at least a little bit and you don't quite know it yet," Rory reasoned. "It's really not that bad. It's one date. If it doesn't work, it doesn't work. At least, then, you can't say that you didn't try."
"I guess you're right," Maddie mumbled.
"Yeah. And who knows? Maybe the date will go really well and you'll decide that you want to see him again."
Maddie sighed and muttered something under her breath. She didn't want to like Danny. She wanted to be his friend -no, his acquaintance- and nothing more. However, it appeared as though her feelings had other plans
YOU ARE READING
Keys & Laces
RomanceWhen Rory repeatedly crosses paths with a man, it seems odd. When she runs into him at a ballet performance, it seems like it was meant to be. They soon become great friends. But, what happens when they feel that they should be more? 2nd place winne...
