Daisy gave him a tiny smile, her lips just barely quirking up for him. “Like you said, it’s only been a month. And I wasn’t doing anything different than before,” she said. Other than missing you, that is. Gosh, why do I want you so badly?
Arvil ran a hand through his hair. Why was he still flirting with her? He was just making things harder for himself. It was just a silly crush.
“You have one more turn left,” he said to her without looking. “Go again.”
Why wouldn’t he meet her eyes? Had she done something wrong? Had she upset him somehow?
Daisy sighed and mentally shook herself, pushing her worries to the back of her mind. She could wonder about her feelings for him later, when she wasn’t likely to pull him to herself.
So, with a nod, she picked her bow up again. After nocking and aiming her arrow, she peered down the shaft at the target and released. Again, not quite a bullseye, but better than the last time.
“Well, at least your aim’s getting better,” Arvil teased, hands in his pockets, eyes on the target rather than the woman. “At the rate you’re going, you’d be one step closer to becoming the heroine.”
“Yeah, yeah. This is literally the second time I have shot a bow. I can’t be perfect in two sessions,” Daisy said, picking up another arrow and going through the motions again. She shot it, the arrow burying itself in the target below the last one.
“I never said that, though. You’ll be coming here often, I assume,” Arvil gave her a knowing smirk. Of course she’d be coming here. They were going to be married. And even if they weren’t… Arvil didn’t think he could ever have the company’s doors closed on her. “Take it easy, tiger. Your arms will start to ache with the strain.”
“Just one more shot,” Daisy murmured, reaching for another arrow. She just wanted to see how close she could get today…
“All right. One more shot,” Arvil crossed his arms as he watched her.
Daisy shot him a smile before aiming and shooting the next arrow. It hit closer, yet still didn’t make it. With a sigh, Daisy moves to put he bow away.
“All right. I suppose I should jet you get back to work, huh?” she mused as she turned back to Arvil.
“I don’t really care,” Arvil said instantly, not wanting her to leave yet. “Work can wait. It’s not like I have a lot to do, anyway.”
Daisy blinked and put her hands in the pockets of her blazer. He had answered quickly… “Well… What should we do, then? I’m open to suggestions.”
“Ah, that’s a good question…” Arvil rubbed the back of his head. “Walk with me, I guess?”
“Where? Just… around the building?” Daisy asked, making her way over to him. “Or a park somewhere?”
“Wherever you want,” Arvil finally looked at her, holding out his hand. “We can walk wherever you want.”
Daisy hummed softly, glancing down at his hand. She fought the urge to chew on her lip — a bad habit she needed to break — remembering how it affected him.
“Is there a park nearby?” she wondered as she gently took his hand, continuing to look at their hands even after she had.
Arvil squeezed her hand, tugging her out of the room and toward the elevator. “Uh, there is one, but it’s about thirty minutes away,” he cringed. “We can hang around there for a while and then we can go for dinner. I’m all yours for tonight.”
And the rest of the days, too, if you’ll have me.
“You don’t have work to finish?” Daisy asked, looking up at him as she was pulled along. They stepped into the elevator, and she leaned against the wall, her gaze traveling over him as she took him in. “I don’t want to be a distraction from something you should be doing.”
Arvil shot her a flirty look. “You’ll be a distraction whether you’re here or not,” he winked, letting go of her arm, albeit reluctantly. “I’ll just stay confined to my office a little while longer to finish everything that piles up. Don’t worry about it.”
Daisy rolled her eyes, willing her cheeks not to heat up at his words and he look he gave her. Why did he insist on doing this to her? It was like he tried to fluster her on purpose… Which she was sure he did, but still…
“I have a proposal,” she started, completely changing the topic. She looked up at him as she leaned back against the wall of the elevator. Maybe this was a weird thing to say, but she felt the need to suggest it.
Arvil loved the way her cheeks turned hot. It was his favorite thing to see. Well, one of it. Then she changed the topic, and Arvil let her, leaning against the elevator with one shoulder.
He quirked an eyebrow. “What is it?”
“Let’s… Let’s try to be friends. And I’m sorry about the way I acted toward you before we really knew each other. Can we start over?” Daisy asked softly, her blush deepening in embarrassment at her words.
Friendzoned. Arvil couldn’t believe his luck. He was friendzoned. If it hadn’t been for Daisy’s darkening cheeks, he would have started sulking. But she was trying. It must have been embarrassing saying those words. Arvil couldn’t stomp on them.
“Well, I don’t blame you. I didn’t exactly give you a reason to act any differently,” Arvil shrugged. “And… yeah, we can start over, Daisy.”
Daisy let out a soft breath, nodding slowly. “Cool… Thank you, Arvil. Now, let’s get to know each other better, yeah? I know we played the game when we first met, but is there anything else? Maybe we could, like, look up questions or something to ask each other…”
“Before we begin, let me tell you something,” Arvil started, looking right into Daisy’s eyes. “Something that can get you to know me better both as a… friend and as my fiancée.”
“Yes?” Daisy asked, her eyebrows furrowing in confusion. He was suddenly very serious sounding… What was the deal with that? Had she done something wrong?