Chapt 2: Knight Errant Chapt 3: Extending on Invitation

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She was always better with books than people but she wanted to know more about the man she met last night. Taking a deep breath, she knocked on the door.

It opened quicker than she expected, catching her off guard. "Hi," she was sure she sounded like an imbecile.

"Hello."

The man standing in front of her now was quite a contrast to the one in light-weight gray sweats from the night before- khaki dress slacks, brown loafers, cream and tan plaid short-sleeved dress shirt with a questionable brown tie (though the colors did bring out his eyes), even his satchel was a muted brown. The overall affect was as if he wanted to be as invisible as possible; he could easily fade into the background in that costume.

"Um, bad timing?" she asked, hoping her warring feelings of relief and anxiety at the answer weren't glaringly obvious.

"Actually, I was on my way out- got called in…"

Well, that explained the get-up. "Off to tilt at more windmills, I bet," she muttered more to herself than to him.

"Pardon?" the curiosity plain on his face.

"Oh, nothing. I just wanted to thank you again for last night… and apologize for disturbing you, too."

"There's no need. It was the least I could do."

His voice seemed shaky, not scared but like someone struggling for the right words. In her mind's eye she could imagine him going over everything he said before he said it- though that obviously wasn't his normal state; he would have been better at it if it was.

"I really did just want to say thanks." Come on woman bite the bullet and ask, she chided herself and before she could think about it further the words came in a rush, "I thought, maybe I could fix you dinner or something… sometime." God, she felt like a fool, probably looked it, too. She'd barely had any sleep and had chosen comfort over style in her wardrobe- denim and a tank top- and her hands were shoved deep in her back pockets to keep them from playing with her hair.

"That's really not necessary."

"No, it's not, but I'd feel better. Next week sometime?"

She swallowed hard when he didn't answer and decided to end the conversation before it became any more awkward. Offering up her best 'I did not just make a fool out of myself' smile, she turned to go calling over her shoulder, "Just let me know. I know you know where I live."