Page 26 of Not Dating Material

Son of a gun, have I already scared him off?

I quickly cast my mind back over what I said, and come on, none of it was that bad. If Molly’s going to be oversensitive—

“Please knock,” comes through the door.

It takes me a good couple of seconds to realize he’s serious. I lift my fist and drum out a quick tap.

Nothing.

No movement, no answer, just … silence.

It’s right as I’m debating whether to knock again or head back to my room when Molly pulls open the door. His lips twitch a little, but he doesn’t smile, just holds out his hand.

“Hello, nice to see you again.”

Christ on a cracker, it’s a do-over. “Yeah, you too.” I take his hand, but instead of shaking it, I tug him in to land a quick kiss on his cheek. “You look good.” And he does. His brown mop is styled, his clothes are tight but not obscene, and with him holding back his smile, his eyes forking shine.

Yeah, there’s way too much goodness inside this guy.

He steps into the hall and closes his door, then clasps his hands in front of himself. There’s nothing natural about the movement; it looks more like he’s holding himself back.

I eye his body language and how tense he is, and then I break into laughter. “This isn’t working.”

“What?” He throws his hands up, the tension immediately disappearing. “You said don’t be overeager, so I’m toning it down, and now it’s not working.”

“Just … be you.”

“I was being me.”

“You were trying too hard.”

“I have to try hard.” He looks at me like he can’t believe what I’m saying. “I’m not going to let a great guy go because I half-assed it.”

“No, you’re going to scare them away because you barnacle yourself to them and never let go.”

Molly sags. “This is hopeless.”

“No, Rachel, Omron, and Pilot’s love triangle is hopeless. This is just a date.”

“Who are Rachel, Omron, and Pilot?”

I blink at him with shock and betrayal. “The golden triangle of love interests? Kill Diver?”

Molly’s eyebrows inch higher. “Who?”

“Wow. Wow. If this date was real, this is where I’d end it.”

“I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

“Kill Diver. A video game turned book series turned movie franchise.”

“Aww …” Molly links his hands together and rests his cheek on them. “Are you a little fanboy?”

“Shut up.” I turn and start walking down the hall, Molly trailing after me. I’m not just a fanboy. I’m the fanboy. I’ve run the Kill Diver fandom site since I discovered the video game, and I have zero plans to stop. The series was there for me during the most dog breath time of my life, and now it’s my happy place. The one thing I can sink into that’s all mine.

“How tall are you?” Molly suddenly asks.

“Six three.”

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