Amused, I settle back into my seat. “I’m trying.”
“Good.”
I chuckle. “Next time we eat there, I can feed you some lines.”
“Why would I let you do that?! You don’t have to work to get girls, Zachary de Bergerac!”
“Maybe not in a school setting, but I’ve gone to clubs before. I managed.”
“You did?” He turns to me. “Really?”
“Sure.”
He moons, “She has such beautiful eyes.”
I roll mine. “Never let it be said you’re not original, Callan.”
“What do you mean?”
“Most guys wouldn’t be looking as high as her eyes.”
“Oh! Don’t get me wrong, I noticed, but…”
“But?”
“If it comes to a showdown between Gregg and me, I have to prove I’m not a Neanderthal.”
“That’s some logic.”
“I’m a logical man.”
“Hmm. Maybe that can be your in.”
“What in?”
“Logic. Women like that.”
“No, they don’t. Humans prefer fantasy. It’s why the biggest fan fiction pairing inLord of the Ringsis Frodo and Sam.”
“How the fuck do you know that?”
“Hey, I read!”
“So do I, just not that.” I huff. “Look, I loveLord of the Rings,too, and completely agree that they’re immortally in love over there after Sam followed Frodo to the West when Rosie died, but we need to degeekify you. Lex is one of the cool girls.”
“I know,” he moans. “She was Pi Beta Epsilon last year. I’ll never get her to go out with me.”
“Don’t be a defeatist. There’s being a nerd, then there’s being… well, whatever this is.”
“I’m logical, remember? Cool girls go for cool guys, and Gregg might be the missing link in human evolution but like I said, I don’t have game.”
“Firstly, Gregg’s a decent guy?—”
“You would say that! You share a locker room with him.”
“Yeah, a locker room. Not DNA.”
“Denny might disagree.”
