She seemed a little nervous to be talking to me. I had to admit; I liked that she was nervous. It meant that somehow my presence affected her and it could only affect her if she was attracted to me. Despite my cool demeanor, my pulse was racing on the inside.

She was a complete and total beauty. I had never been so taken with any woman at first sight before. She had dark blond hair that was long and silky straight, though it curled a little at the edges. Her eyes were a startling shade of green that made me think of sunny meadows and rolling hills and tropical summers.

“You have beautiful eyes,” I heard myself say.

I saw her blush visibly, and I felt a little spark of electricity hurtle through my body. It was the most visceral reaction I had ever had to a woman, and I knew nothing about her. She was a total stranger… and I wondered if this was what chemical attraction was all about. She made me want to paint… she made me want to create something as beautiful as she was, but I knew that I probably wouldn’t be able to come close to capturing her likeness. She was bigger than my talent.

“Thank you,” she said.

I didn’t bother to lead her into the station because it meant I wouldn’t be able to talk to her alone. But she seemed content to stand at the entrance with me. I had the box of cupcakes in hand, and she was carrying a book bag that looked heavy.

“I’m Devlin,” I said, balancing the box with one hand so that I could shake her hand.

“Zoey,” she replied.

“Are you in university?” I asked.

“I am,” she nodded. “Columbia.”

“No way… that’s a good one,” I said. “What are you studying?”

“Music,” she replied.

“Wow,” I said, immediately intrigued. “What instrument do you play?”

“Mainly piano,” Zoey replied. “But I can also play the guitar and the violin.”

“Wow, that’s impressive.”

“You think so?” Zoey asked. “I’ve spent the last few years surrounded by people who play twice as many instruments as I do. It’s always made me feel inadequate.”

“Inadequate is the last word in the world I would use to describe you,” I said.

She raised her eyebrows and gave me an amused smile. “You don’t know anything about me,” she pointed out.

“But the tiny little bit I do know about you makes me want to know all the rest.”

She blushed again, and I had the sudden urge to kiss her, but I knew enough to know not to act on that particular desire. That would just freak her out and ruin any chance I might have had with her. I would just have to control my desires. For the time being, I would just have to resort to imagining what it would be like to kiss her.

“When did you start working at the station?” Zoey asked, and I could tell she was trying to change the subject because she was embarrassed with my obvious interest in her.

“Uh… a few days ago,” I replied.

“Oh so you’re a rookie,” she said.

I frowned, realizing that she had probably assumed that I was a firefighter. I was on the cusp of admitting to her that that wasn’t the reason I was here, but then something stopped me from telling her the truth. I wanted to impress this girl and admitting to my past transgressions was probably not the way to do that, so I decided to be as vague as possible without actually lying to her face. I figured that I could come clean if and when we got to know one another a little better. Then she would understand me… she would have context; she would see that I was more than just my mistakes.

“I guess you could call me that,” I said. “But… I don’t plan on sticking around here for very long.”

“You don’t?” Zoey asked.

“No,” I said. “This is just… a temporary thing. What I really want to do is… make art.”

“Make art?” Zoey repeated, and she seemed surprised by that. “You’re an artist?”

I laughed. “You sound surprised.”

“I guess I am a little,” Zoey nodded. “You just don’t look the type…”

“I don’t?” I asked, raising my eyebrows.

She blushed again, and I saw her getting nervous. “I… that is… what I mean is… you look more like a firefighter and I mean that as a compliment.”

“Well then… thank you,” I said, bowing my head a little.

“So… what’s your medium?”

“I paint and draw,” I replied. “But I’ve also incorporated photography into my art before. I don’t like to stick to one thing; I like experimenting.”

“And what subjects do you like to focus on?”

“Mostly portraits and scenic paintings… but again I don’t stick to just those subjects. I like to dabble… I draw inspiration from everywhere and everyone.”

“I always wished that I could draw,” Zoey admitted. “I thought it would be the most wonderful thing in the world to be able to imagine something in your head and then bring it to life on paper.”

“Funny,” I said. “I used to wish that I had some musical ability… I always wanted to play guitar.”

“You can still learn.”

“I’m not patient enough.”

“Don’t you have to be patient to paint?” Zoey asked.

“Not really,” I said. “When I’m working… it’s like I enter this other world. I’m building slowly on this story I can see in my head, and my mind is on and completely alert. Then I finished working, snap out of it and see that hours have passed and it’s only felt like minutes to me.”

“Hey, I have that too, that’s what happens to me when I’m composing,” Zoey said excitedly. “It’s almost like the rest of the world—”

“Fades away—”

“And there’s only you—”

“And the work,” I nodded. We stared at each other for a second, and I let out a little chuckle.

“What is it?” Zoey asked.

“I just think it’s interesting that we met a few minutes ago and we’re already finishing each other’s sentences.”

“We have a lot in common,” Zoey said. “We’re both storytellers. I just tell my stories through music, and you tell yours through pictures.”

“True,” I nodded. “Maybe we should put the two together and see if that works?”

It wasn’t a very subtle line, but I had to say it. Zoey looked amused, but she didn’t address it. There was something about this girl, and it wasn’t just that she was beautiful. It was more than that. Maybe I recognized something in her that was similar to me. Maybe it was just a question of kindred spirits. Or maybe the artist in me was reading too much into a beautiful face, but I couldn’t ignore my feelings. It wasn’t like I could describe them accurately, but I knew it was different from anything else I’d felt in the past.

“You’d have to show me your work first,” Zoey said. “I’d really love to see what you do.”

I was never self-conscious about showing people my work, but somehow, I got nervous when Zoey asked. I realized that her opinion mattered to me. If she didn’t like what I did, it would actually upset me.

“How about we strike a deal?” I asked. “You play for me, and then I’ll show you my work?”

“Uh, no deal,” Zoey said immediately. “You have to go first.”

I laughed. “Well then… we have a bit of a problem.”

Zoey shook her head. “I’m being silly… I play in front of people all the time. I’ve played concerts too. I don’t know why I’m so nervous to have you listen to me.”

I realized she was feeling the same thing I was, and it gave me confidence that this was not a one-sided connection.

“Well, I’m sure we can come to some sort of compromise,” I suggested, giving her a special smile.

Her green eyes were so incredibly arresting. They inspired me to want to draw or paint immediately. I could see a white canvas in front of me, and I could feel my fingers twitching to get started. But what could I draw that would capture her likeness and represent the kind of beauty she possessed? Somehow, I felt as though I would fall short of the task.

This was not the time for me to be getting involved with anybody. I had to find a roommate, get myself a decent job, finish my community service and concentrate on my art. It was too much for me to handle at the same time so dating on top of that felt irresponsible. But somehow letting Zoey walk away from me without asking her out felt equally if not more irresponsible. And I reminded myself that it wasn’t every day that I met a woman who made such a huge impression so instantly.

“A compromise?” Zoey repeated. “How do you propose we do that?”

“Well… how about we discuss this over dinner sometime?” I said, throwing caution to the wind and going with my gut instinct. “A compromise requires conversation, and I’m sure we can reach one if we had a couple of hours alone together.”

I wondered if that was too heavy-handed an invitation. I saw her smile grow a little weary and I saw conflict burgeon in her eyes. Was it possible that I had moved a little too quickly? Maybe I should have made it clear that it wasn’t a date and rather an attempt at friendship. Except I had no interest in being only her friend so I decided not to pretend that that was my only goal. I was going to own how I felt about this. Hopefully, that honestly would put me over the line.

“You’re asking me out?” Zoey asked, and she sounded uncertain.

I refused to back down. “Yes I am asking you out,” he said.

She looked into my eyes for a second and smiled. “I don’t know if that’s a good idea.”

“What do you mean?” I demanded. “Based on the conversation we just had, we have great chemistry.”

“You’re a firefighter,” Zoey said, and even though I wanted to correct her, I chickened out and didn’t. “And from what I’ve heard, they tend to be public heroes and complete jerks at home.”

“Is that a fair assessment to make?” I asked.

Zoey chuckled. “Probably not… but I just… I don’t know—”

“You need time to think about it?” I asked.

Zoey looked surprised. “You’d give me time to think about it?”

“Of course,” I said. “And if you’re still thinking about me two weeks from now… you can come back here, and we’ll set up a dinner date. How does that sound?”

I could see that she liked the idea. She also seemed to like the idea that I was persistent without being pushy. I was giving her a way out, but I was also making it clear that I was interested.

“Well…”

“Go on,” I said. “What do you have to lose?”

She smiled. “Ok…”

“Let’s shake on it.”

Zoey laughed and extended her hand out to mine.