Page 16 of When the Walls Come Down
“Too far. She’s worse than you.” I chuckled, ducked out of the café, and headed down the hill. “I’ll talk to you later. I still might need you.”
I hung up and strolled down the sidewalk. I probably should have been more stressed than I was. I probably should have called my barber to get a fresh haircut. And I probably should have been calling in favors to get a last-minute reservation at some fancy, cliché restaurant too. But I was just taking it one minute at a time, and Blake was right. Casey would help.
When I made it to the brewery, which was open in front, I walked around to the back and saw Casey’s red Suburban parked there. I took the loading dock stairs two by two and walked right through the open doors, finding my brother-in-law and nephew right where I’d suspected they’d be.
“Uncle Shane!” Maddox hollered and abandoned his scooter to run over to me. “I didn’t know you were coming to work too.”
“Hey, lil man.” I tossed the curly-headed monster into the air.
Casey leaned over the rail at the top of one of the larger tanks. “What are you doing here on a Saturday?”
I tousled his boy’s head and set him back onto his feet. “Blake told me you were here. I need some help.”
He made his way down the steps and kissed Maddox’s head as he passed his son on his way to me. “Sure. What’s up? You okay?”
I nodded and scratched the back of my neck. “Yeah, I’m good. But I need some ideas for a date I have later.”
He shook his head and then leaned forward, cupping his ear. “I’m sorry. I thought you just said you have a date.”
“Trust me, I’m as shocked as you are. I met her last night, and I just went for it and asked her out.”
He clapped his hands together. “My man. Shane the Stud. Back out to pasture.” He laughed, his genuine enthusiasm for my news just the energy I was looking for. He really was like a second brother. “So, what can I do?”
“Help me figure out what a good first date would be. I haven’t even been out on a date since…shit, I can’t even remember. You of all people know I don’t get out much.”
“Well, you got that right.” It was a burn, but it wasn’t like, after three kids, Casey and Blake were tearing up the town anymore, either. Still, he was my best shot. “But you’ve come to the right place. So, what do you know about her?”
“She’s new in town. Young, in her twenties.”
He squinted at me and punched my arm. “You dog.”
“She’s fucking gorgeous.” God, I couldn’t get the sight of her smile or her blue eyes out of my head. “Southern. Mouthy. Likes the color gray and Italian food.”
“Just met her last night, huh?”
“Yeah, at Two Ships.”
“I swear that place has some kind of mojo. You know I met your sister there back when it was the old Hook, Line, and Sinker.” He pointed to the shipping office and I followed. “That was one of the best nights of my life.” He took a seat on the old, beat-up couch, and I settled for the cleaner corner of the desk.
“Right, yeah. Okay. Can we maybe get back to me now?”
He chuckled. “So you don’t know much about her. Obviously, she doesn’t know much about you. Pathetically, there’s not much to know anyway. But what you have in common is you don’t know shit about the city, either. So take her around to a few places you have been to that are good. A café you like. Maybe a restaurant. Show her the Dogpatch and the farmers market.” He sat forward, held his hands out to his sides, and shook them at me to emphasize what he was about to say. “But none of that means shit. This is key. Are you listening?” He shoved a finger toward my face.
I swatted him away. “Spit it out.”
“Keep the conversation going. Talk about everything or nothing or your misspent youth, a bad haircut you got a few years ago, the dog your dad ran over once. And if you run out of real shit, just start pointing at shit and bullshit about that. Whatever you do…just keep her talking. Be honest about what you like and don’t like. Women don’t hate having different opinions—they hate being wrong. So she’s never wrong. Got it? Never. If she is wrong, change the subject. If she says you’re wrong, and she’s wrong about that, guess what?”
“I’m wrong?” I slumped forward, only falling for his bullshit by about half.
“There’s hope for you yet.” He nodded with his eyes closed. “You might get laid this year.”Turning from one side to the other, I stared in the mirror at what had to be the fifth outfit I’d tried on in the last thirty minutes. Nothing seemed right. What the hell did one wear on a date in a new city with a guy they barely knew?
