"So. You have a crush on Natalia." Shane says, leaning back in his chair.

"What? No." I say quickly. I feel my face getting hot at the accusation.

"You invited her over to your apartment." He reminds me.

"Yeah." I say slowly.

"You never invite people over." He laughs. "Come on man, it's just me. You know you can trust me." He tells me.

He's right. I trust Shane more than I trust anyone else in my life.

"Plus, she's hot." He adds. "Come on, just admit it." He urges.

"Maybe." I shrug.

"Maybe...?"

"Maybe I like her?" I say, questioning my own words.

Natalia Zamora isn't just an average girl. She's strong. She's confident. She's kind. She's beautiful. She is the first person I have ever been able to hold a full conversation with in years. For some reason unknown to me, she makes me feel...calm. She makes me relax the more that I'm around her.

"You hired her on as your intern so she wouldn't have such a hard time with the other guys in the office. Then, you let her drive you home and invite her inside. Not only that, but she's wearing your sweatshirt today. I've got to say, I'm really proud of you." He laughs.

"What do I do?" I ask.

"Just...be yourself." He shrugs.

"I can't." I say quickly.

"Okay, and who exactly are you going to be if you aren't yourself?" He asks.

"I don't know." I shrug in reply. "I just want to be...cooler? Relatable? More outgoing." I say, finally finding the words that describe exactly what I want.

"You're fine once you get to know someone. Listen, I know things are different for you, but that shouldn't stop you from going and getting something that everyone naturally wants in life." He says, leaning up in his chair and resting his arms on the table.

"Which is?" I ask.

"A relationship? Love?" He says as though it should have been obvious. I'm sure it was obvious.

"She would never go for someone like me." I say nonchalantly.

"Dude, come on. She totally would. I have a feeling she likes you, too. Think of it like this; the guys in the office accused her of having some sort of relationship with you, yeah?" He asks. I nod in reply. "Okay, well if she was really too concerned with what they thought, don't you think she would have turned down the offer to come over to your apartment? I mean, that doesn't exactly turn those guy's ideas away." He says.

"I don't know." I repeat.

"She's into you. I'm calling it now." He tells me. "So, you need to make a move."

"Wait, me? Why me?" I ask quickly.

"Because you're the man, Gray. Just...try and let her in. You'll get more comfortable." He assures me. Although, I don't know if I'm as sure as he is.

"But how?" I ask. "I haven't been in a relationship or even attempted one in..." I say, counting the years in my head quickly. "Twelve years." I say.

"I know. You need to get laid." He says, putting emphases on the word laid.

Even the thought of that puts me in a slight panic. Shane must notice, because he quickly holds his hands up in defense.

"But, I think maybe you should start with something simple." He adds.

"Like what?" I ask.

"Like asking her If she wants to go and get lunch with you today. It's casual and there's no pressure of it being a date. This way, you can get more comfortable with her and eventually work your way up to asking her out on a real date." He suggests.

"Ask her if she wants to get lunch." I mumble to myself quietly.

"Yeah, and just make it super casual. No pressure." He reminds me.

"Casual." I repeat. "But where do we go for lunch?" I ask.

"I don't know, wherever you want to go." He laughs. "You're the boss. Do what you want."

I nod in reply, when suddenly the door to Shane's office opens quickly. We both turn to look and see a girl with light blonde hair standing in the doorway.

"What do you want?" I ask quickly, relieved that it wasn't Natalia. I flinch as I feel Shane's foot kick me in the shin. "Ow." I say, rubbing my leg.

"I think what he meant to say was how can we help you?" Shane asks the girl with a kind smile.

"Uhm, Mr. Parker's meeting was canceled. Well, postponed. Derek sent me up to tell you. " She mumbles.

"Okay, great. Thank you." Shane replies, excusing her quickly. When she leaves, Shane kicks me again.

"Ow! What was that for?" I ask.

"Harsh! You see, you just need to...think about how you're phrasing things before you say them. Sometimes people can take things differently and you could be considered rude." He reminds me.

"You're right." I mumble, mentally cursing at myself for coming off as rude. I really don't mean to come off as rude. But sometimes it just happens.

"So when you're taking to Natalia, just be cautious of how some things might sound. Don't worry, man. You've got this."

"Okay, you're right. Thanks." I say, earning a nod in reply.

"Now, get out of my office and go get her." He laughs, pushing me out.

I begin walking towards her office and then quickly turn away, backing out.

"Hey, do you want to go and get lunch?" I mumble to myself quietly, pacing in the hallway. "Are you hungry?" I mumble some more.

"Talking to yourself in the hallway isn't going to get you laid." Shane says, sneaking up behind me and pushing me towards Natalia's office. "Do it! Now!" He whispers quietly.

When he walks away, I wonder if I should knock or not. Considering that her office door is cracked open, i'm only assuming that she'll be fine if I just walk in.

As I approach her door, I hear her familiar voice along with another not so familiar one. As I step in, I see Brian leaning against her desk.

"Hey, you know I was thinking. Maybe you'd like to get a drink with me sometime? If you're not busy or anything, that is. It could be fun." He says. I feel jealousy course through me, which is such a foreign emotion for me.

I clear my throat as I interrupt the two, not wanting to hear her agree to his own offer to a date. Well, what i'm assuming is a date.

"Grayson! Sir, I...we didn't hear you walk in." She says, jumping up from her seat and slamming her laptop shut.

"I just got here." I reply nervously. I look over and Brian and then back at her.

There's no way I stand a chance against Brian. He's tall, athletic, and smart. Plus, it's clear that they're capable of holding a conversation pretty easily. He didn't stumble on his words even once while asking her out.

"I should probably get going. Shoot me a text if you need any help later." Brian says to Natalia as he grabs his laptop and shuffles past me. He gives me a tight smile.

I don't make even the slightest movement for him.

"Can I help you with anything?" Natalia asks me once Brian leaves and it's only the two of us.

Ask her, Grayson. Just ask her.

"I was up here for something but actually just forgot." I lie, squeezing my thumb in my palm to try and help me relax. I am an idiot for thinking for even one second that I might actually stand a chance.

""Oh. Well..." She says, trailing off.

"So...Brian is his name, right?" I ask her.

"Yeah, that's him." She replies.

"He likes you?" I ask, trying to sound as casual as possible.

"I...what?" She asks, stuttering on her own words. "No, no, no. He's just a friend." She says quickly. Something about her faltering on her own sentence makes me feel a little bit better. It makes me feel normal.

"But he was just asking you out?" I ask, confused by it all. He has to like her. I mean, why wouldn't he? Plus, I just witnessed it for myself.

"I...no. He was just using that sentence as an example on how to ask someone out." She replies.

"Oh." I say quietly. Maybe she's telling the truth and he really was only using it as an example. Or, maybe she's only trying to hide it from me because technically, i'm her boss and she did have him in her office alone.

I realize that i'm just standing here with her staring at me, so I nod at her quickly and walk out of her office and back to my own.

Despite whatever may or may not be going on with her and Brian, I know i'm no where near ready for this. I'm not outgoing and confident like Shane is. I don't know all of the right things to say like Brian clearly does. At this point, i'm not even really hungry anymore.

When my phone buzzes in my pocket, I force myself to ignore it. I know it's Shane, and I know what he's about to ask me. I know he's only curious, but I don't want him to know the truth. Because the truth of all of this is that no matter how hard I try, Natalia Zamora will more than likely always be out of reach.