…When he asked her out to dinner, she started to agree out of habit, then stopped and looked at him.

He grinned aggressively at her. "Well?"

"I..." Alison stammered. While it wasn't unexpected, she didn't feel quite ready for it, either. She felt herself blushing and that didn't help.

His hazel eyes twinkled. "What did you think, that I'd been spending all this time with you because I felt sorry for you?"

Trust Crash to bring it out in the open that way, non-hostile but impossible to dodge. She took a deep breath. Did she feel sorry for him? Hard to, really. No, she was still hiding from the unknown.

His fingers rested on the back of her hand. "What are you thinking, Alison?" he asked softly.

"Can you?" she blurted out, then really blushed. "I mean...I'm sorry...I meant...."