Page 65 of I Wanna Be Your Lager

Eve

I’m so sad you had to leave this morning.

Lach

Same. Did I wake you up?

Eve

Yeah. It got cold real quick once you left. I didn’t want to say anything because I knew you’d stay, and climbing out my bedroom window might have been the only way to escape.

Lach

I would have done it for you.

Eve

I know, but you were in your boxer briefs, and there’s snow.

Lach

Since someone kept me up late last night, I’m going to take a nap before my shift later.

Eve

Okay. I’m going to try not to make awkward eye contact with my brother. Wish me luck.

Lach

Good luck, Sunflower.

I’m standing behind the bar at Porter’s when the front door opens. A familiar face emerges, a dusting of snow covering his shoulders. He finds an empty stool at the bar a few feet away from me. He shrugs out of his coat and neatly hangs it over the back of the stool. I wait a few minutes, expecting the rest of theSingle Bros. Life crew to follow, but no one comes. I mosey to where he’s seated.

“Hey, Miles. What can I get you?” I grab a cardboard coaster and slide it toward him.

“Actually, I was wondering if Rylee was working?” He adjusts his black-rimmed glasses.

“No. She’s not here.”

His shoulders drop, a frown falling on his face. “I know she’s good with advice, and I could really use some right now.”

He looks like someone just stole his puppy. Rylee always gives straight-to-the-point advice. It can’t be that hard, right? I rest my palms on the bar and lock my elbows. “Lay it on me. Maybe I can help.”

“There’s a girl I like.”

Oh fuck. If he’s looking for dating advice, I’m the last person he wants to listen to, seeing as how I’m in my own dating predicament myself. I nod along anyway.

“And I’ve gone out with her twice. But somehow, the second date went worse than the first. I don’t know what to do. I have a feeling I only have one more shot with her. If I don’t do it right, she’ll never want to go out with me again.”

“How do you know that’s the case?”

He rests his elbows on the bar. “Because if I screw it up, I wouldn’t want to go out with me. So I really need to wow her.”

Color me curious. I wonder what he considers a bad date. Did he spill a drink on his shirt? Food stuck in his teeth? Maybe he had a streamer of toilet paper stuck on his shoe after using the restroom? The perk of not dating: you don’t have bad dates. “How bad could the dates have been?”

“Our first date turned into a double date with my parents. Not by choice. They happened to be at the same restaurant I took her to. That was awkward, especially when my mom pulled out baby pictures she had in her purse. After the date, I convincedmyself I wouldn’t get a second date, but she said yes. For the second date, I made sure my parents had plans, so I could stay as far away from them as possible. I was so nervous about making it the best date that I rambled about anything and everything. Did you know sea cucumbers can expel their internal organs to ward off predators?”

I shake my head.

---