things I don’t say.”
Her arms loosened.
“And if dinner is good?” she asked.
“I’ll ask you again.”
“And if it’s awkward?”
“I’ll still ask you again, unless you tell me you don’t want that.”
She looked away for a second, then back.
“I don’t want a first date followed by a committee inquiry into whether we should have a second. I want us to start dating. Deliberately.”
“Yes.”
“No qualifications?”
I shook my head.
“None.”
She took my hand.
“Then let’s go inside.”
The service elevator smelled faintly of
