Me: This date is falling apart faster than an Oreo in a glass of milk. Everything I do sets her on edge. I gave her space. Wrong move. I tried to talk to her. Won’t look me in the eye. I tried to hold her hand. Limp fish. She keeps hiding behind Anna. What am I doing wrong?
Ten seconds later the responses started rolling in.
Christy: She asked *you* out?
Me: Yes.
Christy: Did you Listerine before you left?
Me: Yes. Anna checked my breath and said it smelled good.
Lemon: I’m sorry to say it, Ashbucket, but ‘limp fish’ is never a good sign.
Mom: No! I love Tally!
Me too, Mom.
Christy: Yeah. I have to agree. None of that sounds positive. Sounds like she’s friend-zoning you.
Lemon: Look on the bright side - in another 9 years, you might get a second date!
Mom: Sounds like it’s a dud. Come on home for a big hug and a pan of brownies with peanut butter chips. Her loss.
Me: I should’ve made a group chat with the guys. This is not helpful.
Christy: Okay, okay. Tell her she looks nice. Every woman wants to hear that. Even ones that aren’t interested.
Me: Even ones that aren’t interested?
Lemon: I second Christy. It’s a winner every time. Even if some gross rando at the gas station tells me I look nice, I blush a little. Makes Silas so jealous. Haha.
Gross rando?
Mom: Hear, hear. If you’re going out, might as well go with a bang.
I scoffed.
Me: Worst halftime speech ever. Thanks, ladies.
I slipped the phone into my pocket and caught up as they went inside.
“We have a reservation,” Blue said to the host. “Bishop. Party of four.”
“One moment while we grab some menus,” the teenage girl said, motioning for her friend to do it. Then she looked upat Blue through her lashes. “You’re Blue Bishop, the Virginia Tech quarterback.”
He slipped his arm around Anna’s waist. “I was. Two years ago.”
Then he wiped a hand over his mouth so that she’d see his wedding band. The boy had it down to a science.
The girl’s eyes widened. Then she looked at Anna and her eyes widened even more. She cowered a bit. Anna’s beauty tended to have that effect on people. Amplify that beauty with the fact that she was married to a sports semi-celebrity and Anna could be a bit overwhelming.
Now the hostess was watching Anna with wide, unblinking eyes that practically glittered like Anna was a movie star.
Tally watched the scene with amusement, smiling for the first time tonight. I stepped a little closer and she tensed. But her smile held and her doe eyes were doing their normal Tally twinkle—as if she was asking me if I could believe this nonsense.
A momentary surge of bravery pulsed in my veins and I wanted to tell hershewas the prettiest woman in the room. She’d dressed up for the date, wearing a skirt that showed off her long legs. Her hair was curled in loose waves. And she had some kind of makeup on that made her cheekbones glimmer. Even without makeup, she was stunning. But tonight, she took my breath away.
I gathered my courage and closed the distance, placing my hand on her lower back as I bent to whisper in her ear.
