Page 12 of The Playboy's Playbook

“Jeez, thanks bud. I appreciate your help. Asshole,” I mumble to myself, walking to my room to get dressed.

After Luke finally calmed the boys down from their morning energy surge, he loaded them in his truck and said we’re having breakfast at Frank’s Diner right in the middle of downtown Oakridge.

Frank’s is like any other small-town diner, pictures adorning the walls of Frank and some of his customers over the decades. It even has a jukebox that still works.

We walk into the diner and the bell above the door dings and Frank’s wife, Ms. Eileen, looks up and greets us with a smile. “Well, if it isn’t my favorite boys! Have a seat wherever you’d like, I’ll be right over.”

We smile and nod before making our way to the back booth we’ve claimed as ours since our high school days. Clay and Jen are sitting in the booth next to us, giving Luke and I privacy to talk without them listening in.

“I’m gone for one night and you find yourself with girl problems. How’d that even happen?”

I sigh and run a hand through my hair. “Technically, I’m in this situation because of your son. He walked right up to the girl and I folded like a fucking lawn chair, man.”

“Just ask her out and go about your life. What’s the deal? ” Luke asks.

“The deal is I think she hates my guts,” I answer, keeping my voice low.

“Who is she?” Luke asks, breaking me out of my thoughts.

“An old classmate. Her name’s Laila.”

“The cute girl with the pink glasses? Always had her hair in braids. People teased her and called her Miss SGA?” Luke asks.

“Yes, except she doesn’t have pink glasses anymore, her hair is a gorgeous bundle of curls that I want to run my hands through, and I’m sure she found a way to become queen of a small country because people called her Miss SGA. I saw her at the rodeo and then Clay saw me looking at her and walked right up to her and said ‘Do you know my Uncle Matty?’ and obviously she wouldn’t know some random kid’s uncle, so then he nodded at me and she turned around and the air was knocked out of my lungs because fuck, man. She’s gorgeous.”

Luke leans back in the booth, a smirk playing on his lips.

“What?” I ask, not liking how he’s looking at me like he knows something I don’t.

“Nothing, I just didn’t think it was possible for you to know how to describe a beautiful woman and remember her name. I’m impressed.”

“Will you help me or not, jackass?” I ask seriously.

“Eh, I kind of like seeing you squirm,” Luke states matter-of-factly, which I find extremely annoying.

“Luke,” I groan, dropping my fork on the plate, making it clatter.

“Alright, alright. I’ll help your sorry ass out. What’s she been up to since y’all graduated?”

“Uh, funny story.”

Luke sets his coffee mug down again and stares blankly at me. “You mean to tell me that you’re all up in arms about this girl and don’t know her from Adam?”

“Well, it’s not like we keep up with each other on social media.” I lean back and run a hand through my hair again. It’s my nervous tick and just talking about Laila makes me nervous.

“I guess you gotta start somewhere. First things first, get with the times and send her a friend request. Did you even speak to each other in school?”

I sigh and shake my head. “No. We were friends in elementary school, but then we fell off.”

“Why?” Luke questions, looking over to see the boys are engaged in a serious game of tic-tac-toe.

I never really thought of Laila and why we stopped talking. One day we just did – I lived my life and she lived hers. But obviously, there’s something I’m missing based on her reactions to seeing me.

“What if this is a mistake?” I ask, more to myself than to my best friend.

“The only mistake you could make is not trying,” Luke states. He nods at the red notebook next to me. “Give me a run down, Cap. What’s the play?”

I look down and shrug. I reach beside me and grab the notebook, setting it gently on the table. “When it comes to her, I’m not sure where I should start.”

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