NEW YEAR-NEW START

Here it is January 1st and I'm kind of wondering what Annastatia did New Year's Eve. Because what I did was sit at home, listen to music and play computer solitaire. I know her brother's here from Albany, but did she go to a party and meet somebody, go to Times Square and meet somebody and should I worry? (Yeah, I should) There's nothing tying us together so there's no reason she shouldn't or couldn't hook up with someone, right?
I like her. I like her a lot. How can I get up the nerve to tell her when I'm worried I might scare her off. I'm pretty sure she already knows how I feel, this sometimes tongue-tied writer who's interested in her. Hell, I know she knows. She stand there with a knowing smile on her face when we're talking. I'm trying to engage her attention, get something she's interested in.
Since we've been having dinner together she's started to open up more. It's easier (and more fun) to have a conversation. I somehow felt we'd made some sort of breakthrough on her birthday, when she kissed my cheek at the station. I KNOW that sounds like a school kid with his first crush, but I feel more like somebody sidling onto thin ice, unsure of how long the ice'll hold. Especially after I read her a poem I wrote that she asked "wasn't that a little daring?" Unsure of how to proceed and not wanting to ruin anything I destroyed the poem. When I told her that she said, "but that's art!" (Glad somebody thinks that about my writing. Sometimes I feel like the Captain Beefheart story where Cap. said "Good art takes time." and to the band'-"and so does this shit."
Next time we talk I'm going to remind her of the February 5th Malcolm Mooney opening at White Columns. It's a Saturday and she (says) she doesn't want to leave her house then. I think this might be good both for her art and us.
That's one of the things I'm not certain about, those little things I can't stop wondering about. She won't leave her area weekends, I've never seen her drink anything stronger than tea (she's Ukranian, not that that means anything, but...) and I haven't seen her eat anything such as chocolate or cake-though she does mention her grandmother's cake with fondness. On the other hand she hasn't seen me do any of these things either, but I don't because she doesn't.
I'd love to see her paintings, maybe even help her kick start her art. I even suggested she do something for my next book. It'd be a shame for her to waste any talent she has. That's one of the reasons I suggested the Mslcolm Mooney opening. It'd also be a way to take her somewhere over the weekend.
Oh well. I'll probably see her Monday. We'll talk then and see what transpires. Probably I'll still be scared shitless (again)