Should I give a damn 'bout my reputation?

So back story there's a girl I have a big crush on, but I don't see her too often, so I don't really think about her too often, butcher I do I'm ecstatic. today we were talking at my job for probably a good 20-30 minutes because she's just so easy to talk to and we both seem to enjoy talking to each other. Anyway, this year she will be of legal age where I live. That said, I can really honestly see myself asking her out to the movies or something once her birthday has passed. However, there still exists that big taboo of 1. Age gap and 2. Most people don't really know the age of consent here and assume it's higher than it is.

In addition to that, everyone where I work really like me and respect me and always jokingly tell me I'm not allowed to move elsewhere or work anywhere else ever. And I love working with them. If I did ask the girl out it is likely that they would find out and this could cause some...I don't know. I honestly don't know. But it'd be perfectly legal, it's just that it's taboo but I'm all for breaking the social norms.

So would anyone her try to talk me out of it because it has the potential to change people's perceptions of me, or should I go for it because it's legal and being around her makes me happy?

Opinions?