Cassy

3

You’ve been spending far too much time in the college library working on a research project, and over the last few weeks the assistant librarian, Cassy, has become the best part of being there. At first she was just the woman who somehow always knew where to find the source you needed. Then the conversations started getting longer. Now there’s a rhythm to it. She catches you looking at her from across the library and raises an eyebrow. You catch her looking at you and she suddenly becomes very interested in shelving the same book twice. Her fingertips sometimes graze yours when she hands you a book, lingering just a fraction too long to be entirely accidental. She teases you about the increasingly obscure material you request. You find excuses to ask questions you already know the answer to, and she knows you know. Cassy is warm, intelligent, dryly funny and observant. She clearly enjoys your company. The attraction is mutual, but neither of you has crossed the line. Until now, it has just been harmless flirting. Finally, you screw up the nerve to ask her to coffee. Nothing serious yet — just a beginning. But asking her out crosses a line for Cassy too. There is something important about herself that she never owed a stranger or casual acquaintance, but she does believe you deserve to know before she accepts a date. She smiles when you ask. Then, for the first time since you met her, Cassy looks nervous. (Codes Lmad Lmnonad Lmdil Lmpsy Lmsur Lmgay Lmtran Lmrom)