Page 31 of Nerdelicious
Did you make it home okay?
I nod. “You might want to mention who you are.”
His brow furrows.
“If she doesn’t have your number in her phone already, she won’t know who’s texting, and it’s possible you aren’t the only one she’s given her number to recently.”
He frowns at that, but nods and adds to the text so now it reads.Did you make it home okay? This is Beast.
“Good,” I say.
He presses send.
“Don’t get worried if she doesn’t text back right away,” I tell him. “Some people like to wait so they don’t seem—”
His phone dings.
He swipes it off the counter and reads it, eyes brightening. He stands next to me to show me the text, both our backs to the counter, arms brushing.
That’s so sweet!!!!Heart eyes emoji.I am home safe and sound!!! Thank you for checking on me!!
I clear my throat. “That’s good. That’s... she’s definitely interested. Now maybe ask if she wants to go to coffee.” And we’ll just pretend she didn’t completely overuse exclamation points.
He switches over to a notepad app and keeps the phone in my eyeline so I can watch him key in the words.Coffee? Not dinner or something?
“Think of it like a test run. Then if things go well you can ask her to dinner. Baby steps. There’s less pressure with coffee, and you’ll be able to talk more easily. If you’re eating, she’ll have to bear the brunt of the conversation, which can be uncomfortable for people not used to sitting in silence. And instead of being obligated for a couple hours, you can make it like thirty minutes if you need to bail or it gets too weird.”
His brows lift. He types and I watch.That’s smart.
“And if she super sucks, you can say nice knowing you, byeeeee.”
I hope she doesn’t suck.
His eyes widen and he immediately backspaces the words.
I laugh. “You mean you hope she does suck. At least a little. Maybe not on the first date, though.”
He shakes his head, a ruddy flush tinging his cheeks.
“You just want to make sure she isn’t a jerk. Sometimes you don’t figure out people are... not good until years later.”
I don’t have room to be picky, Fred. I’m a disaster.
My heart twists at the self-defeating words. He sounds like me. I put a hand on his arm and look up at him. “You are not a disaster.”
He blinks down at me and then averts his gaze to the phone and types,Caroline seems a lot more experienced than me. I’m inexperienced and I can’t talk. I don’t have much to offer.
I squeeze his arm. “You have a lot to offer. You are kind and funny and can probably bench press a car. Don’t ever let anyone make you feel inadequate. There’s nothing wrong with inexperience. We all have to start somewhere.”
He studies my face, as if verifying the truth of my words through my eyes. Then he nods slowly.
I’m still holding his arm. I pull my hand back and take a step away. “Ask her if Monday at two at the Finer Diner works. We’re both off work. We can get there earlier and set up a couple of booths next to each other. That way I can listen in.”
He nods and types. They chat back and forth via text, scheduling the date and time. It’s pretty obvious from the excessive exclamation points and emojis that Caroline is ecstatic.
“Well, there you go. Not too bad, huh?”
He switches to the notepad app.Thank you for helping me.
