Am I Ready For Love?

Danielle was very very tired as she walked into the restaurant after yet another physical therapy session. Not paying attention to where she was going due to being distracted by the pain, she gasped when she bumped into someone and her weak legs sent her to the ground.

Drake was minding his own, trying to look for a decent spot to sit in the partially full room. He had just spotted a booth to the far end that didn't have anyone sitting in it when he flet a bump on his back, followed by a thud on the floor. He turned around and noticed an attractive woman laying in the floor, obviously in some sort of pain. He quickly knelt down and gently grabbed her arm and used his other arm to grab her by the waist and help her up to her feet.

"I am very sorry, what happened? Did I bump into you?" Drake asked the woman, feeling sincerely sorry for thinking he had a part in causing her to fall. Also, he doesn't like to hurt women, especially one as attractive as her.

"It's not your fault," Danielle said. The redhead blushed crimson and turned her bright green eyes to the floor. I wasn't paying attention."

"No, don't be absurd. I am a very clumsy guy." Drake smiled and started making his way toward the booth over against the wall, turning he noticed the girl and asked, "Would you like to join me? I'm new here and haven't had the chance to make friends." He gestured her over to his booth, he hasn't talked to anyone since he had gotten to Redrose. It would be very nice to finally get to talk to someone here for a change.

Danielle nodded shyly. "That would be nice," she said. I haven't realy made any friend either."

"That sounds wonderful, also sounds like lunch to me too." Drake gave a small laugh as he sat down at his booth and waved over to a waiter. The waiter finished taking down someone else's order and hurrily walked over to the two. "Hello, you two. What may I do you for?" The waiter asked the two, "I think we will take two menus, and I'll have a glass of tea, with lemon mind you." Drake told the waiter and took a menu out of his hand, while looking at the girl who was shyly standing beside the booth.

"Well, are you going to sit down and order? Or are you going to change my mind and break my little heart." Drake gave another smile, trying to lighten up the mood. He could tell the girl was feeling a bit chy and uncomfortable, and he wanted to ease it up for her.

Danielle blushed and sat down. "I'll have a glass of tea with lemon as well," Danielle said, trying to ignore the throbbing pain in her legs from the earlier session.

"Excellent choices, here is your menu m'am and I'll be right back with you to take your orders.", and the waiter went about his bussiness after handing the woman a menu. "So, my name is Drake, may I be so bold as to ask yours?" Politely, as always, he asked the girl. He wanted to ease her day up a bit with some light conversation. The fall she took couldn't have felt pleasant, it also couldn't have made her day any better.

"Danielle," the redhead responded with a small smile. "My friends call me Dani, Elle, or Avery."

"Well, the pleasure is mine, Dani. My friends call me Valentine," Drake blushed, he didn't even tell the girl his middle name, which was Valentine. So, now he smiled and chuckled at the thought of making a moron out of himself, "and you would know why, if I would have told you my name was Drake Valentine Marsee." Still embarrassed and blushing, he took his glass of tea from the waiter, and asked Dani, "You ready to order, Dani, or do you still need time?"

"Just a little more time," Dani said. "Danielle Avery Lostley is my full name," the redhead replied.

"That is fine, a few more minutes." Drake turned and said to waiter, who nodded and returned back to work. Turning back to Dani he smiled and said, "Wow, that is an interesting name. I can honestly say I haven't heard that name before." Smiling, which is what he was best at, "So, what do you do here at Redrose?"

"I just got here not too long ago so I haven't really started any work other than raising my younger sister Elisa," Danielle said.

"Really, well makes two of us. I just got here a couple days ago, finally found me a place and getting settled in. Luckily, a bit of the money I saved from acting and modeling should hold me over until I find work here..." Drake rambled on about his career, until noticing that he was leaving out Dani in the conversation. He blushed and put his head down and stopped talking. He then raised his head back up, still slightly blushing and said, "Sorry, I sort of tend to ramble on if no one stops me."

"It's....alright," Daniele winced a bit, the pain was becoming more and more intense "stupid CP, spoils everything," Danielle thought to herself.

Drake noticed that the woman began to look more uncomfortable, and even seemed to be in pain. She even winced. This began to make Drake fell horrible, he always had to do something and could never sit around and do nothing. "Is everything alright? You look like your hurting, anything I can do? Anything at all? I insist." Drake began asking Dani, he couldn't have just sat there and continued talking. He wasn't like that, cared too much to do that.

"I'm...I'm fine really, just a little..muscle spasm," Danielle said. The last thing she wanted was Drake's pity.

"Are you sure? Because I wouldn't feel right just sitting here if your in pain, so if there is anything I can do, don't hesitate to ask. I'm a friend, now." Drake smiled, going through the menu he noticed a very tastey seafood platter. Drake enjoyed seafood, it was one of his favorite styles. Reminded him of his native hometown of California. "Food smells delishes here, and this seafood platter looks yummy too." Sitting here with such a beautiful girl, and all he can say is the word 'yummy'? C'mon Drake don't make a moron out of yourself, again! Drake thought over and over to himself, which he was right. He didn't want to come off as ignorant.

"Seafood is one of my favorites as well," Danielle said. She mentally started to block out the pain, vowing to herself that if it got any worse she'd get her medication from her purse.

"Yes, I don't know what it is about the food, but something coming from the water just tastes better." He smiled and he kept trying to think of something better to talk about that would hopefully lead to an interesting conversation. His mind was blank though, maybe it was the unusual atmosphere of this place has never been before, maybe not. He didn't know, but he tried to continue on, "So what did you do before you came to Redrose, Dani?"

"I was a singer, and a model," Danielle said. "It helped pay for the things my sister and I needed."

Drake smiled, finally sparking something the two had in common other than seafood, "Really? Well, as you know I was a model and actor back in sunny Cali, what kind of singing and modeling did you do?" Drake was excited, but tried not show it, he didn't want to seem to eager, especially since the woman appeared to still be in pain.

"I did a lost of pop and country music and I was a swim suit model mostly," Danielle replied. Her green eyes were growing brighter as she began to feel more comfortable.

Drake's dark, brown eyes caught Dani's. They met and Drake felt that she was beginning to grow more and more comfortable as they talked, which was good. He couldn't stand for people to be uncomfortable around him, he someone that he barely knew like Dani. "Really? Have you sung anything that I might have heard? Because I am fairly fond of pop music." Drake asked, looking to see if he saw their waiter, because he was beginning to grow more and more hungry.

"Possibly, but maybe I could play you something sometime?" Danielle asked. She was hoping he would agree, she liked where this was going.