She challenged him. She didn't think that he could get an intelligent woman, but who was she to say what he could or could not do? She was driving him crazy, and while at first it turned him on, now it was making him lose his mind. Who was she to say that he wasn't good enough for some women?
What did she know about him anyways? She knew what everyone else did- that he was a good looking, hardworking guy. But that wasn't enough for Diane Chambers. She'd insisted on pushing him in a direction in which he hadn't really wanted to go, but as she did, he would try for the life of him to prove her wrong.
Little did he know that there was one intelligent woman that he had in mind when he accepted her challenge. It was Diane. It was always Diane. Maybe if she saw him accomplish the impossible, she would stop looking down on him enough to give him a chance. Not that he would ask that of her, not yet. He knew that things with Diane needed a little more time. It was like a good Sunday dinner- prepared slowly, letting everything fall into place, with a little spice on the side, depending on how the person liked it. He could provide the spice all right. But would she bite?
Part of him wanted to call off this whole silly thing and move on with his life. But it was too late. His pride was on the line, and the one thing he couldn't stand would be to lose his pride now. Not in front of her. Yes, his friends teased him, and he could take that. But whenever Diane teased him, it just pushed him that much harder to prove him wrong.
She would be a tough nut to crack. He hadn't found any signs of her outer shell starting to crack, but when he did he would jump in on that opportunity. Knowing more than ever that he had to have Diane, he pushed himself further, opening the door to rejection. But should one of these so called intelligent women reject him, he could handle it. But if it were Diane to reject him, then he didn't think he would be able to show his face at the bar again. And he couldn't have that.
What was it about Diane that drove him to distraction anyhow? She was maddening, stubborn, pushy, everything that he'd always claimed to hate in a woman. But with Diane, it was absolutely irresistible. She was even more appealing than the first day she'd walked into the bar, so vulnerable and alone. Now she could handle herself, and apparently, she could handle him. They hadn't known each other very long, but Diane was beginning to get underneath his skin like no woman before him had.
Smart women. Who needed them? Little did he know that he would come to need one certain smart woman even more than he could have ever imagined.
TBC