Page 7 of Just One Chance
Three hours later, David stood in Lucy’s living room, surrounded by piles of new clothing from stores he’d never even heard of. Lucy had deployed her husband, John, on what she had called a mission of utmost importance. John had been all too happy to comply. He was that guy. The guy that always looked impeccably dressed, even when he was dressed down in denim and t-shirts. David wasn’t so clueless he couldn’t recognize good fashion sense. He did. And was happy to own that John had some. But hewasn’tthat guy. He wore clothes that were functional. Comfortable. And scrubs. Lots and lots of scrubs.
He adjusted the shirt John had made him try on. “I’m supposed to leave it untucked like this?”
“Absolutely,” John said. “And you don’t have to button it all the way to the top. Leave the top button open.”
David tugged at his pants. “I just feel like these are sitting so low.” He looked at Lucy. “I wouldn’t have agreed to this had I known you were going to make me wear skinny pants. I feel ridiculous.”
Lucy smirked from her perch on the couch. “Only because you aren’t used to them. I promise you don’t look ridiculous. You’ve been desperate for a makeover for years, David. Why not now? You’re in a new city, you’ve got a new job, and now you’ve got a woman you’d like to impress. These clothes are going to help.”
If only David’s older sisters could see him now. They’d been begging him to tweak his wardrobe for years, they just weren’t bullheaded enough tomakehim do it. Not like Lucy. All they’d needed to do was stop asking him for permission.
“I never said I wanted to impress Avery,” David said.
Lucy opened her mouth to respond but John spoke before she could. “Who’s Avery?” he asked.
Sufficiently distracted, Lucy grabbed her phone off of the coffee table, swiping a few times before holding the screen out to John. “She’s David’s neighbor. She invited him to go to the aquarium with her.”
“That’s not what happened,” David said. How had this situation gotten so out of hand?
“Nice,” John said, taking the phone.
“Wait, is that her picture? Did you look her up?” David lunged forward, trying to take the phone from John. He suddenly felt like he was back in high school. Five more minutes with John and Lucy, and they’d likely be composing messages to Avery’s work email, asking her to be David’s girlfriend—check yes, no, or maybe.
John tossed the phone back to Lucy before David could intervene.
“I just went to the aquarium’s website,” Lucy said. “Her last name is Middleton, by the way. And her picture is great. It doesn’t look like she has Facebook, but she does have an Instagram profile. She likes sailing. And dolphins. And cheeseburgers loaded with bacon.”
David resisted the urge to pull out his own phone and search for Avery’s Instagram account. He also liked cheeseburgers loaded with bacon. And the idea of Avery on a sailboat... He shook his head. He could not get sucked into Lucy’s game.
“Lucy, you have to stop,” David said. “You’re turning this into something it’s not. It’s not a date. It was just a neighborly invitation.”
Lucy dropped her phone back onto the table and crossed her arms. “Why are you so sure of that? What would happen if you just tried? You’re adorable, David. Could maybe even qualify as legit hot if you would lose the glasses and keep the skinny jeans. Any woman would be lucky to have a chance with you.”
David reached up and fingered the frame of his glasses. There was something wrong with his glasses?
“When was the last time you even went on a date?” Lucy said.
David dropped into the overstuffed leather chair that sat opposite the couch and pushed his head into his hands. He sighed, massaging his temples before looking back at his friend. “I’ve dated. You set me up with that nurse back in Chicago, remember?”
Lucy stared. “That was your first year of residency! It’s been three years since then. You haven’t dated anyone else? Anyone recent?”
“Of course I have.” David flinched at his own defensiveness. He didn’t actually have anything to prove to Lucy. She was his friend. She only asked because she cared. “Occasionally.”
Lucy raised a doubtful eyebrow.
“Fine. I never date. But it’s not like residency provided all that much free time. You and John never saw each other, and you were married and living in the same house.”
“That’s true,” Lucy conceded. “You did have a girlfriend in med school, didn’t you? What was her name? Melissa, right? I remember you telling me about her.”
David nodded. “We were together three years.”
“Why’d you break up?” John asked.
David shrugged. “It was mutual. When we graduated and left Boston, we were moving to opposite sides of the country for residency. I was going home to Chicago to start at Northwestern, and she was moving to Seattle. The relationship just didn’t seem as important as our careers.”
“I totally get that,” Lucy said. “It’s normal to feel that way when you’re fresh out of med school. And I can almost see how you could be too wrapped up in residency to have dated then. But you’vegotyour career figured out now. You’re settled. You bought a house. It’s time you try and live a little.”
John nudged Lucy over and sat down on the couch beside her, picking her feet up and dropping them into his lap. “Have you ever thought about trying contacts?” he asked. “I can help you out if you want. We could run up to the office right now. I bet I have some samples that are pretty close to your prescription.”
