I'd Give Up The World For You

"Did you like it there?" Daisy asked conversationally. 

Leo actually shuddered. "Not at all. I had the most horrendous roommate. If I ever see them again it will be too soon."

That wasn't the sort of thing she should be laughing at but there was something about the way he said it. She desperately tried to choke down her laughter. This guy was surprisingly funny and she didn't think he was trying to be either. 

"Well, at least you don't have to deal with them now," she reassured him. 

"Thankfully," he said with a sigh. "I was this close to losing my mind being stuck in such a small space with them."

He held his fingers together for emphasis and this time Daisy couldn't stifle her laughter completely. "I'm sorry. At least your roommate is better now since you're actually friends, right?"

"Oh no, I live alone." 

Had she misunderstood him earlier? He said he was in her building looking for a friend to stay with. Either they turned him down or it had been a temporary measure while he found his own place. She was betting on the latter. 

"Gotcha. So do I. I was so done with roommates after college. These days my only roommates are my plants and they're much easier to deal with," Daisy said. 

Leo cracked a smile. "Let me guess: your apartment is basically a forest."

"Bingo! I have plants everywhere I can feasibly put them…which isn't a lot of places but I make do. I'd be able to fit more if I didn't need counter space for cooking. How are your daisies doing? Have they sprouted yet?"

"Barely. I'm looking forward to seeing them grow into actual flowers." 

"It is always cool seeing things grow from nothing," Daisy agreed. "Most of my plants were bought already sprouted but I've done it a few times and it never ceases to amaze me. Nature is amazing."

Leo grabbed another cookie and spoke before taking a bite. "You don't get much of that in a city like this."

"Unfortunately not. But there are some pretty parks and botanical gardens. I take what I can get. Someday I'd like to travel to more national parks since they don't have many in Ohio. I'd need to travel further west for that but it's no fun going by yourself."

Daisy didn't know why she admitted to that last part. That was basically confessing that she was a friendless loser. Thankfully, Leo didn't seem to notice. He continued on as if she hadn't said anything weird. 

"That would be nice. Anyway, it was great talking to you but unfortunately my break is up. See you around, Daisy."

He smiled at her again as he headed out of the breakroom and she was left feeling off-kilter. Why was that? Because she had talked to a guy for more than five minutes for the first time in a while? She really should get out more but whenever she did it didn't end well for her so she had sort of given up. 

When Daisy returned to her desk she forced herself to refocus. She was only thinking weird things because Valentine's Day was coming up. She had more important things to worry about. 

=== 

Daisy ended up running into Leo a lot in the days following that first little encounter. In the halls. In the breakroom. At lunch. In the parking lot. 

He always greeted her cheerfully and asked her how her day was going. Somehow it seemed more sincere from him than it did from everyone else who asked this very basic question. 

She wasn't the only one who noticed either. Bree leaned over and whispered, "Hey, I think the new guy likes you."

Daisy snorted. "Why would you think that?"

"Because he's always looking over here with his heart in his eyes and I know it's not for me since we've never spoken two words to each other. Doesn't he talk to you every chance he gets?" 

She supposed Bree would have noticed that since they shared a desk. But was he really looking at her like that or was her coworker exaggerating? She had never seen him do anything so mushy. Why would he do that, anyway? They hadn't talked that much and had only met a few weeks ago.

"No offense but you're crazy," Daisy said resolutely. "He doesn't like me."

Bree rolled her eyes. "Well, he certainly doesn't like anyone else here. He only answers direct questions in the most minimal way possible from anyone but you. Watch him for a while and you'll see."

She had much better things to do than spy on a guy her coworker suspected had a stupid crush on her but she couldn't get Bree's words out of her head. Her curiosity had kicked in and needed to be satisfied so she instinctively ended up peeking over the top of her computer at him throughout the day. 

As much as she hated to admit it, Bree might be right. At least she was right about him not talking to other people unless they specifically asked him something. He always answered in a sentence or less before getting back to work. 

Yet on Daisy's first break of the day he specifically sought her out with a warm smile asking how her weekend was. They chatted all through their shared break and then again at lunch and on her afternoon break. He seemed fairly animated while talking to her but she had assumed that was simply how he was until she had noticed the difference Bree pointed out. 

Did he like her? Why would he when they had hardly interacted?

A kind of terrible thought struck her. She had been wanting to go out on Valentine's Day…wasn't this the perfect opportunity?

Normally, Daisy didn't like getting involved with people from work because things got so awkward if they went south but if it was one simple date it shouldn't be the end of the world. Still, she was reluctant. She debated whether or not to ask him out all day. 

Valentine's Day was less than a week away now. She really needed to do it today if she wanted to have time to set anything up. To do it or not to do it? Would one potential night of fun be worth a potentially stifling work environment?

Her mind was essentially made up for her at the end of the day when she was walking out to the parking lot and it was snowing heavily. She saw Leo squinting against the wind and getting snow stuck in his hair as he walked to the bus stop, having barely missed the most recent bus. He would be waiting there in the snow for at least fifteen minutes and she felt sorry for him. 

Feeling like she might regret it already, Daisy called out to him. "Hey! Leo!" 

He turned at the sound of his name and when he saw it was her he seemed confused for a moment before giving her one of his usual bright smiles that didn't quite manage to hide the deep sadness in his eyes. He walked toward her before replying rather than trying to shout over the wind. 

"Hey, Daisy. What's up?"

"Let me give you a ride home. It's cold out here," she said lamely, losing confidence in her plan now that he was standing right in front of her. 

Leo blinked at her uncomprehendingly for only a moment before beaming at her. "Thank you!" 

"It's no problem. I know what it's like waiting for the bus in the snow. Follow me, my car is this way. Where do you live?"

"About two blocks away from you. I can tell you how to get there."

He opened her car door for her when they got to her car and she was stunned. No one had ever done that in her life. She had thought chivalry was dead. It was kind of weird, honestly. But she didn't fault him for it because she knew he was trying to be nice. 

Daisy shook the snow from her beanie as best she could before climbing inside and turning on the heater. She was freezing. Walking from the building to her car was rough in this kind of weather. 

To her surprise, her car heated up much faster than usual. It normally took forever because the thing was so old. 

Now that she was warmer she needed to bite the bullet and do this. Taking a deep breath, she told herself that the worst thing that could happen was the date not going well. If Bree's theory was correct, it was unlikely he would reject her.

"Do you have any Valentine's plans?" Daisy asked as casually as she could. 

"None whatsoever," Leo replied in an unfathomable tone. "…you?"

"No, not yet.. I uh…I was wondering if maybe you wanted to do something with me? You totally don't have to if you don't want to but since neither of us have plans I thought it might be nice to get dinner at least."