Page 42 of It's a Date (Again)

My brows scrunch together. “I’m not breaking it off with him because he’s a fan of a band called Nickelback.” I lean back, sinking into the cushion.

“I thought you’d say that.” Robbie lifts his chin, and a look of determination comes over him. “There’s more.” He glances at the easeland sighs, lifting the sheet of paper. A large blown-up picture is taped to it. Robbie taps the end of his pointer stick against the paper. “Look at this photograph,” he says in a husky, singsong voice. It’s a photo of Tyler standing shoulder to shoulder with four guys.NICKELBACKMEET ANDGREETis written on a banner hung above them. “He’s a superfan!”

I roll my eyes.

“Well, that is damning,” Maya says. “Should I cross him off the list?”

“No.” I glance back at the photo, taking in every detail. Tyler doesn’t even have long hair in it. It’s cut short. “And that’s a really old picture, Robbie. He has to be, like, twenty-one in it.”

“Once a Nickelback fan, always a Nickelback fan,” he says.

“How did you even get that photo?”

“It’s called a deep dive for a reason.” Debbie hiccups and takes another sip of wine.

“Doesn’t matter.” Robbie smirks, tapping the metal pointer against the picture. “So, this isn’t a deal-breaker for you?”

“No.”

“Wow, I thought you had higher standards than that,” he jokes. “All right, moving on.”

Robbie flips the piece of paper, revealing a drawing of a rat in a chef hat. Written at the top isNash Doherty. Just like with Tyler, there’s a bulleted list beneath it.

“Why is he a rat?” I ask.

“Like inRatatouille,” Robbie says. “He’s a Disney character that helps an inexperienced chef cook.”

“Are you saying he’s inexperienced as a chef?” I squint.

“No, that’s why he’s Remy the rat fromRatatouille.” He points to the picture again. “Never mind.”

“I could really go for another bowl of that chicken noodle soup right about now.” Debbie smiles fondly.

Robbie slides the pointer stick down. “Anyway, Nash is thirty-five, originally from Wisconsin. He enjoys reading, mostly literary novels.He recently announced a book deal for his very first cookbook, so he’s been spending much of his time working on that. He has two sisters, and he’s the youngest in his family. He lives alone in Logan Square. As far as a background check, he has an underage drinking ticket from when he was nineteen.”

“Sounds like he likes to party,” Debbie says, raising her glass of wine.

“Yeah, sixteen years ago,” Maya teases. “That all seems fine,” she says to Robbie and gestures for him to continue.

“Yep. Sounds good to me too,” I say with a nod.

“But wait, there’s more,” Robbie adds dramatically in an infomercial-like voice. He slowly turns the page, revealing the wordRELATIONSHIPwritten in all caps. A red circle is drawn around it with a line slashed through the middle.

“What does that mean?” Debbie asks.

“It means he has never been in a serious relationship,” Robbie explains.

“Red flag.” Maya puts her hand up.

“Maybe he hasn’t found the right person,” I argue. “Or maybe he just didn’t post about his relationships?”

“Nope, I cross-checked with his family and close friends. His mother has commented on a number of his Facebook posts asking when he’s going to bring a girl home for them to meet,” Robbie explains.

“That’s kind of embarrassing. I’d block my mom if she did that to me,” Maya says.

I toss a few kernels of popcorn in my mouth and chew slowly. It’s definitely something I should ask Nash about. Maybe he doesn’t do serious relationships, or maybe there is something wrong with him.

“Wait, have I had any serious relationships?”

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