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Will shoved his hands into his pockets, praying that he wasn’t making a mistake. He didn’t think he was, but he couldn’t predict Janessa’s response, which meant this could go very differently than he hoped it would.
Despite wanting to portray confidence, the stuff Daphne had said to him at the end of their relationship weighed on him.You’re too weak. You’re too introverted. You’re too nerdy. You’re too boring.
He’d tried to keep her comments in perspective. By the time they broke up, she was done with him, and she was doing her best to make sure that he wouldn’t bug her for a second chance.
The thing was, she wasn’t one hundred percent wrong. Hewasintroverted, nerdy, and could be boring. He hadn’t needed her to tell him that. However, he would argue that he wasn’ttoomuch of those things.
But weak? He supposed some might say he was weak when compared to stronger personalities in his life—even Janessa—but he could be forceful when he needed to be. There was no way he could teach math to teenagers and be a push-over. He just chose when and where to be more aggressive. It wasn’t his default mode, like it was for some.
That didn’t mean he was weak. Or at least he didn’t think that’s what it meant. He’d spent time since the breakup, trying to parse the truth from fiction in what Daphne had thrown at him. Hopefully, he’d come to the right conclusions. Because if not, and if everything she had said was true, there was no way Janessa would be interested in a relationship with him.
After a brief conversation with Charli, Janessa turned and headed back to where he waited. Will wished he could talk her into going for ice cream or something, but he had a feeling that all she’d give him was the short ride back to her house.
It was better than nothing, however, so he’d take it.
“Ready?” he asked when Janessa joined him.
“Yep.”
When they reached his car, he opened the front passenger door for her. Janessa thanked him, then slid into the seat.
Will closed the door, then blew out a breath as he rounded the front of the car, hoping to get rid of the nerves that had flared to life in his stomach. He tried to calm himself with the reminder that Janessa was a friend. Regardless of anything else, they always had been—and always would be—friends.
Unfortunately, the thought didn’t help lessen his nerves. But he’d committed to this now, so he had no choice but to go forward.
“Is everything okay?” Janessa asked as he backed out of his parking spot.
“Yep. I just… uh… wanted to ask you something.”
“Oh? About the dinner tomorrow?”
“No.” He took a deep breath. “Did you hear that I went on a date the other night? A double date with Jackson?”
“Yes. Aria mentioned it.”
“I agreed to go on the date as sort of a trial,” he said. “I wanted to see if I would spend the evening comparing the woman to Daphne.”
“And did you?”
“Well, I did compare the date and the woman to someone, but it wasn’t to Daphne. It was a rather enlightening moment, to be honest.” He paused, then said, “Instead of comparing her to Daphne, I kept comparing her to… Well, to you. And I kept wishing that I was spending the evening with you instead of her.”
“What?” She sounded really shocked.
Will pulled to a stop at a light, then looked over at Janessa. Because the sun had long set, the interior of the car was dimly lit, so he couldn’t see her expression. Not that Janessa had an expression that was easy to read at the best of times.
“I’ve always cared for you as a friend, but over the past few weeks, I’ve come to really enjoying hanging out with you. I always look forward to the time we spent together.”
“And you think that means we should date?” Skepticism was heavy in Janessa’s voice, which wasn’t at all encouraging.
“It means that I’d like to spend more time with you.”
“We don’t have to date in order to do that.”
Will nodded as he accelerated and turned in the direction of the house. “That’s true. Would you be willing to do that?”
“Spend more time with you?”
“Yep.” Though she wasn’t jumping on board with going on a date, she also hadn’t shut him down completely.
