Page 19 of A Game Plan for Love

The air is somber around the room, and when I glance at Nathalie, her face crumbles and she buries her face into her elbow. This is exactly why I didn’t say anything. It’s because I know they love me, regardless of whether they sent me a care package. Maren is more stoic than Nathalie and Sawyer, but I know it upsets her too. It’s why she’s thrown herself into this wild game plan.

“So, what’s this plan?” Jack asks, breaking the uncomfortable tension.

Maren pulls out a whiteboard marker and scribbles ‘Step one: Determine interest’. “This step is complete. Both parties have expressed interest via words or actions.”

“Step two: Ask her out on a date. Do you have a plan?” Maren asks. I nod. “Good.”

“Do you know her favorite flowers?” Deon asks. “You could bring her some.”

“Great idea, Romeo!” Maren cheers.

I grimace. I have no idea.

Sawyer cuts in. “She has an air freshener in the shape of a daisy in her car. You could get those. But there is one thing…”

Nathalie punches her in the stomach, and she groans. “Not our place.”

What the fuck was that?

Part of me wants to know what’s going on, but the other half wants to stay the hell away from it.

“Practice!” Henry yells, shifting the conversation, “Practice what you want to say so you don’t blurt it out all at once.”

Another scribble on the board.

“Alright. What happens if she says no?” Maren tosses out the question I don’t want to think about.

“We crawl into a hole and die,” I mutter.

“We respect her wishes and act professionally,” Jack says.

“And if she says yes?” I prod.

There’s a chorus of answers. Take her to the movies. Dinner at an upscale restaurant. Laser tag. Tide pooling. After some back and forth, we land on a list of appropriate restaurants for a first date. They move on to appropriate attire and topics of conversation.

The board becomes a mess of pink as Maren writes as quickly as possible. She underlines ‘be yourself’ a handful of times, then adds ‘when in doubt, ask her what her favorite shark is’ next to it.

She writes out the remainder of the steps she’s created.

Step one: Determine interest.

Step two: Ask her out on a date.

Step three: Learn about her interests and hobbies.

Step four: Kiss her.

Step five: Show her you care about her through actions.

Step six: Explain the ‘zing’ without sounding crazy.

Step seven: An overnight (if she doesn’t freak out about the zing).

I cut Maren off. I think if I’ve made it to step seven, I will no longer need this game plan. Every suggestion they’ve made is on the board, including Deon’s less-than-helpful advice: tell her I need new Ninja Creami recipes.

We silently survey the board, and then Nathalie blurts, “Compliment her! And flirt with hera lot. Make her feel wanted.”

“That’s really all anyone wants,” Sawyer says, “And if she cries, don’t try to fix her problems. She can do it on her own, she just wants a shoulder to lean on.”

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