The best thing Gem could think of was to do something completely unromantic and try to steer their relationship towards friendship, to just enjoying each other's company.
She would much rather sever any contact she had with him for the well-being of both of them, but she knew that it was an impossible thing to do.
He was already her friend, the one person she felt she could share everything with, and even that was too much for her to bear. The knowledge that if she lost his friendship it would break her heart haunted her, and she wanted to do everything in her power to stop their relationship from developing into something more.
There was a high probability that if their relationship kept developing, and if he kept wooing her, she would fall head over heels for him. She decided to do everything in her power to stop that from happening.
The truth was that she was terrified.
What if he hurt her? What if she hurt him? Even worse, what if destiny decided to take him away from her?
Not knowing what else to choose, she decided that for their second date they should start with a visit to the zoo, partly because she thought it wasn't a romantic place to go to, and partly because she loved going to the zoo.
If that didn't work, she had a few other places in mind. First was the fast-food restaurant, and her secret weapon, the last one, was the karaoke bar. As far as she understood, guys didn't like girls who liked eating hamburgers and pizzas. The second thing she thought he would find off-putting, was her terrible singing voice.
Although she had the whole plan worked out, she wasn't sure if she wanted it to work or not. She wanted to love and be loved, but she was still terrified of the pain that a great love could bring with it. Nevertheless, she told John that she wanted them to go to the zoo for their second date.
It surprised her that he immediately agreed, and said that it was a great idea. While she was getting ready for a day out, she couldn't help but feel excited. She wasn't sure how much of her excitement had to do with John, and how much it had to do with going to the zoo.
They decided to meet in front of the zoo, and Gem was, once more, nervous because she wasn't sure how to behave around John.
Once she got there, John greeted her with a kiss on the cheek that came as a complete surprise to both of them. She thought that he would kiss or shake her hand, so she couldn't help but blush after he kissed her cheek.
As for John, he simply found her irresistible, and he had to do something more than kiss her hand. What he truly wanted to do was kiss her breathless, but knowing that wouldn't have been welcomed he settled with a kiss on the cheek.
As they walked slowly towards the entrance, he carefully clasped her hand, and they continued like that.
The moment they arrived at the first enclosure, John could see that special light in Gem's eyes starting to shine brighter than ever. It was pure joy that paired with a huge smile that made her look perfect in his eyes.
"You love the zoo, don't you?" he asked although he was sure he already had the answer in her mesmerized look.
"I love it. I know that some people say that the animals are imprisoned in zoos, but I think that the good zoos take care of the animals that would have been in danger otherwise. Most of the animals in this zoo were saved from the poachers, and some of them are unable to survive in the wild.
"This is my favorite zoo in the world because their priority is the animals' well-being and not earning money. But, I must admit, that I do like that we can look at the animals that I wouldn't have been able to see otherwise." Gem said.
That was the longest John had heard her speak about something she was passionate about, and he simply adored her enthusiasm.
Her voice would get higher and higher, and she would use her hands to explain more than she ever did in a regular conversation. Her smile was constantly present since the moment they entered the zoo grounds.
It gave John immense pleasure to see her so happy, and if the zoo made her feel so much joy, he decided that he would take her there as often as he could. There was a whole new side of Gem that he was able to see for the first time, and he loved it. The childlike enthusiasm and joy looked very good on her.
Before that day, he could often see the sadness in the depths of her eyes, but the cute animals seemed to have a special power to wipe away that sadness, if just for a brief time. It was amazing.
"We have to see the chimpanzees! They are so smart and cute!" she said as she started pulling him around the zoo.
He didn't mind at all, it was the closest they were since they met, and she didn't seem even slightly bothered by the closeness. On the other hand, John wasn't sure if she was able to notice anything besides her favorite animals.
"What makes the chimpanzees so special?" he asked for the pure joy of listening to her excited reply.
"Are you kidding me!? They are very smart and adorable. Some of them can imitate human actions, but there are also a few who learned sign language. They are able to communicate with humans and express their opinions using sign language," she said, with pure admiration of the little fellows.
"Wow, that is awesome!" he said.
John wasn't talking about the chimpanzees but about her love for them, the immense joy that all the animals seemed to bring to her.
As they went on, she kept chiming in with random information or comments about different animals and how wonderful they were, and John always listened to her with the utmost attention.
She was for him, a true mystery of contradictions. One moment she was a scared girl, closed off for the world, the next she was a wonderful chatterbox enjoying the visit to the zoo.
Somewhere along the way, his hand ended up wrapped around her. They walked so close to each other that everyone would have assumed that they had been together for a long time. Neither of them seemed to mind, but John wasn't sure if the situation would change for Gem, once they left the zoo.
He was afraid that once they left, their closeness would seem bad to her, and she would step back like she always did. Those thoughts kept creeping up, but he decided to ignore them, and focus on how much he was enjoying himself with Gem so open and positive.
Gem, on her part, was unaware of the details, all she knew was that she felt like she was floating in the air. She had never been happier in her entire life. She wanted to always feel like that, although she wasn't sure what made her feel so good.
Was it the animals who always helped improve her mood? Was it because of John listening carefully to her even most ridiculous of stories? Or was it his hand holding her close to his body? She wasn't sure, but whatever it was, she wished it could last forever. It was so nice to escape the harsh realities of life, even for a while.
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