"What else?"
"Dry time."
"Obviously."
"And junk accentuation."
"I'm listening."
"Basically determining which pair makes your ridge look bigger when wet."
"I take it back, that's the most important factor."
He nods and then turns to the gate, "Oh, Crosby and Laila are here."
"Go time." I whisper to myself. I have never felt more ready for a task off the ice than what is ahead of me right now. I might not be the guy who is going to woo a woman but I sure as hell know how.
I pick up the battery pack and switch it on. "Put your hand on the small of her back and ask if she wants something to drink." I whisper.
I watch Crosby's eyes dance around until they land on me and then I can’t look away as he almost knocks his date over by basically sheep dogging his golden retriever into her knees.
She tells him she's going to get a drink and points to the side of the yard where our friend Caroline is standing. I turn back and look at Crosby who looks like a sad puppy.
"Smooth." I say into the mic as I roll my eyes. But he turns to me and glares. "What?"
He rips the ear piece out and that's when I realize I yelled "what" across the party at full volume.
My bad.
"Dude." He says coming to a stop in front of me and rubbing his ear.
"Sorry, you were staring daggers at me and I forgot."
"Okay, well what am I going to do now? She's all the way over there." He gestures with limp arms to the bar and I take a minute to admire the red, white, and blue patchwork table cloth hanging there.
Felix really did a nice job with the decor for this party. Not that I expect anything less.
I bring myself back to Crosby, my poor, helpless friend. "I don't know, maybe go over and talk to her." I suggest.
"Won't that be clingy? Shouldn't I be making her come to me?"
"We'll worry about clingy later. Right now we need you to interact with her so she falls for you."
"Okay, so what's my opening line?"
I pause to think about it. I snap my fingers. "Ask her what drink she got, if she likes it, just make conversation, it's that simple."
I think about how easy conversation is with Rhys. It flowed between teasing and real connection smoothly. His quiet openness had me admitting things I barely let myself think about.
"If it's that simple, why do I have an ear piece and microphone?" Crosby challenges.
"Because you have a way of complicating easy things." I look my friend up and down. "Also, I didn't say it before, but I'm proud of you for not wearing your cargo shorts and Dog Dad belt."
He reaches for his waist. "Shit, I must have left it in the car."
He turns but I grab his shoulder. "Leave it."
Stella sits at attention between us and I see a bit of a chewed up blue cocktail napkin at her feet. Best not to say anything and let Crosby freak out about why she has blue streaks in her poop later.
