log → the way to a man's heart is

[toothdoctor]

Carl Howell was the kind of guy whose home was pretty much as neat as his office -- about as neat as the average home, if a little neater than the average bachelor pad. He'd gotten a little behind on upkeep since the beginning of the school year (what with both high school starting in addition to the influx of out-of-state students at the nearby

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[perfectlyironed]

Being with Carl was different than it was with Will; they were both passionate about their jobs, but she didn't have to worry about him hurting her. He shared a lot of the same interests as her and he made her ridiculously happy. There were a few moments where she'd falter when she thought about will, but Carl was there to pick her back up. It was nice that she still got excited when he asked her out. It made her feel young again and she didn't want to waste any time

[toothdoctor]

As soon as he heard the knock on the door, Carl felt his pulse skip a beat. Sucking in a deep breath, he hurriedly checked his reflection in the small mirror about the coat pegs, running a hand back through his hair and still straightening his collar as he opened the door, bright smile in place.

"Emma!" he beamed, stepping back. "My god, you look beautiful. Please, come on in." While, for all appearances, he was in control, inside he was in a bit of a flurry. He couldn't really help it. He wasn't just going for flattery when he said she was beautiful; she was. What's more, she was sweet -- when he'd found out she was a guidance counselor, he'd hardly been surprised. It seemed perfectly natural that she'd have gone into a profession where she helped other people. While he didn't entirely know what to make of her obsessive compulsive tendencies, they were something he was perfectly willing to get to know. (Still, it didn't mean he wasn't occasionally going to push the label.)

[perfectlyironed]

Emma swore there was a hummingbird in her chest when the door opened and Carl was looking down at her. Her cheeks flared up and that made her freckles even more noticable than they normally were. A surge of bashfulness came over and and she looked down at her shoes for a moment before looking back up at him.

"Th-thank you," she said between a deep breath and took a step towards him. "You look handsome yourself. Always like seeing you outside of your scrubs." She wasn't going to mention they were dirty since he wore them to work, so seeing him in something that wasn't close to the mouths of other people made her happy.

[toothdoctor]

"I'll try to keep that in mind," he said with a quick grin, ushering her in, one hand just briefly brushing her shoulder. "Separates the man from the doctor, or something like that." That particular distinction was fairly delicate (if things went sour - and he prayed they wouldn't - she couldn't exactly stay on as one of his patients and he couldn't exactly stay on as her dentist), but not one he'd really felt the need to bring up in discussion yet.

Clearing his throat, he motioned to the rest of the house, attitude bordering on bashful for a split second. "Can I get you anything? Water? Iced tea? I could give you the tour, if you'd like?"