Page 55 of It's a Date (Again)

“Nothing,” I say, pressing the delete button firmly until the whole text disappears from the screen.

He scrunches up his face. “It doesn’t seem like nothing.”

“It’s dumb. I got a text from Shawn, and I don’t know how to reply.” I sigh. “This whole dating more than one guy is harder than I thought it’d be because I don’t want it to seem like I’m more interested in one over the other, at least not at this point.”

“What did he say to you?” Robbie spins his chair around and crosses his arms over his chest.

“Just that he hoped I was having a good week and that he couldn’t wait for our date on Friday night.”

“Well, say the same thing back.”

Another text pops up on the screen from him. “He also just texted that I should wear something nice for our date. What does that mean?”

“I think it means notThe Officerabies T-shirt and ripped jeans you’re currently sporting.” He stifles a laugh.

I stare at the screen and type out another text.Looking forward to Friday night too! And how nice?I hit “Send” and exhale.

Another text pops up.Dress to impress

I eye Robbie, who’s staring intently at me. He clears his throat and straightens up.

“Shawn told me to dress to impress. Do I have anything impressive to wear?”

“I’m sure you do. But if not, we’ll figure something out.”

A corner of my mouth lifts. “You’re going to help me pick out a dress for my date?”

“Of course, that’s what friends who don’t want to honor silly marriage pacts do.” He half smiles.

I press my lips into a thin line and force a smile back. Robbie spins around in his chair, refocusing on his work. Why is he so adamant about me dating one of these guys to avoid the dumb pact we made when we were in college? Is he not attracted to me? Have we tried dating before? I know Maya said we didn’t, but maybe we did and she didn’t know about it. Does he really only see me as a friend? Sometimes I get the feeling that he sees me as something more. It’s in his pauses, the words he speaks and doesn’t speak, the way his gaze lingers on me, and everything he’s done since I’ve woken up from my coma. But if that’s what Robbie wants, then I’ll date the hell out of these guys. I pull my phone back out and send three texts. One to Tyler. One to Nash. And one to Shawn. They all say the exact same thing:Thinking of you.

I turn my attention to Robbie, staring at the back of his head. His dark hair is cut close and tapers at the nape of his neck. There are three small moles right below his hairline, stacked in a curved line like Orion’s Belt. I wonder if I ever noticed them before.

My phone buzzes, a text from Shawn.I know. We were just texting.

Well, that’s embarrassing.

Two more texts come through. One from Nash and one from Tyler. They both say,Thinking of you too.

My stomach rumbles, and Robbie snaps his head in my direction.

“Was that your stomach?”

I slowly nod as my cheeks warm like I’m standing next to a fire.

“All right, let’s go,” he says, powering down his computer.

“Don’t you have work to finish?”

“Yeah, but the work is never finished, so it can wait.” He waves his hand dismissively at the computer. Robbie scoops a backpack from beside his desk and walks to the door, slipping on a coat and a pair of tennis shoes. “Besides, I can’t work with all that loud rumbling, so let’s get you something to eat.” He cracks a smile, and I can’t help but do the same. The heat dissipates from my cheeks. Somehow, Robbie makes me feel fearless.

We’re seated across from one another in a booth at a restaurant just a couple of blocks away from my home. It’s spacious with high ceilings and exposed wood beams. The place has an industrial style mixed with black finishings and pops of dark green. It feels both cozy and sprawling. A young server sporting a pixie haircut hands us two menus and says she’ll be back with waters. She skips off into the busy restaurant, tending to other patrons.

“Whatcha thinking?” Robbie asks, flicking his menu.

I take my eyes off the hustle and bustle of the place and refocus them on the menu.

“The Wrightwood salad looks good,” I say.

---