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So, Ask Her Out Already

“So, she gave you her number?” Dennis asked.

“Yeah.”

“Are you going to call her?”

“I don’t know.”

“You don’t know? She sounds perfect for you, man. What’s the problem?”

“Nothing. I just need to focus on work for a minute. I’ll deal with that later.”

“That sounds bad.” Dennis looked at his schedule. “How’s your head?”

“I probably don’t need this on, but I don’t want to gross people out.”

“You know, Toby? Sometimes, I think maybe you’re too nice.”

“I saw it in the mirror this morning, Dennis. It’s not ready for public viewing.”

“That’s fine. I’m just saying, it’s kind of a trend with you. You’re always putting everyone else first. You need to look after yourself a little. You know?”

Toby shrugged and sat down on the dolly.

“Oh, that’s why you’re having second thoughts about calling her. I get it.”

“I didn’t say that. I just need to get my mind on my work for a while.”

“Yes, exactly. Nothing helps you straighten things out like a little repair work. Good. Good for you. I’ll leave you to it. I’ve got to go grab, um…” he looked at his sheet. “Ooh, Miss Calveri’s Zümmer. This ought to be fun.”

Toby watched his friend head for the lot before he lay down and rolled under his current assignment. ‘If she’s never… What did this Bobby guy do?’

Meredith woke to the sound of her ringtone. She struggled with the blankets as she lunged for the nightstand and fumbled with the drawer.

“Keep ringing!”

She grabbed the phone and rubbed her bleary eyes. “Ivy?” She pressed the speaker button and flopped face down.

“Meri? Are you okay?”

“I was sleeping.”

“I’m sorry for waking you up. Is everything alright?”

“I don’t know.” She flopped over onto her back. “I think I freaked him out again.”

“Honey, I’m sorry. What happened?”

“I don’t know. We had a weird conversation on the way to drop me off. I put my number on his phone, but he hasn’t called me or anything.”

“He works early. Maybe he’ll call at lunchtime.”

“Maybe.” She itched her side. “He said maybe we could get dinner or see a movie.”

“Well, that’s good. Right? Maybe you should see what’s playing so you can suggest something when he calls.”

“What kind of food does he like?”

“I’m pretty sure he likes basically everything. Just pick something you like. I’m sure he’ll like it, too.”

“I don’t want him to think I’m bossy.”

“Honey, he’s busy working. He’ll appreciate you saving him the effort of coming up with something. If he already has an idea of where he’d like to go, he’ll mention it.”

“Sure, that makes sense.” She rolled around to free herself from the blankets. “I’m so itchy.”

“Oh, the reason I called was that we’ve got a fitting this afternoon. I’ll come pick you up in a while. We can grab some lunch and go to the dress shop.”

“Sounds good. Ah!” She thrashed free of the blankets and kicked a leg up in the air to itch it. “This is driving me bats!”

“It must be dry in there. Take a shower. That should take care of it.”

“Alright, see you in a while.” She hung up and hurried into the shower. She washed off and let the hot water massage her neck and shoulders until the bathroom was fogged up. Wrapping up in a cozy towel, she headed out to her suitcase to pick something to wear.

Missed Call: Toby Belzer

‘Oh, rats! He’s going to think I was blowing him off.’

Sorry, I was in the shower.

‘Oh, great. Now he’s going to have that in his mind all afternoon.’ She got a sneaky smile on her face as she picked through her clothes for something to wear.

“Hmm, something that’s easy to get in and out of for the fitting, but it’s going to keep me warm the rest of the time. I wonder what her colors are. Can’t go wrong with a sweater and slacks.”

“So, what did she say?” Dennis unwrapped his sandwich.

“She didn’t pick up.” Toby tapped on the edge of his soda can.

“Phone tag. It’s classic. She’ll hit you back.” He ripped open a mayonnaise packet.

Toby’s phone vibrated on the tabletop.

“Well?”

“Well, what?”

“Are you going to see what she said?”

Toby exhaled slowly and tapped his phone. “Says she was in the shower.”

“Sounds legit.” Dennis took a bite of his sandwich.

“Yeah.” Toby dismissed the notification with a swipe of his finger.

Dennis gave an imploring shrug.

“So? She was in the shower.”

Dennis choked down his food and wiped the mayo from the corner of his mouth. “What were you going to say if she had picked up? Just text her that.”

“I can’t ask her out to dinner over a text.”

“Why not?”

“It’s so impersonal.”

“So, add some emojis. At least you won’t have to worry about missing a call.”

“Why do you care so much?”

Dennis threw his hands up. “You’re right. None of my business. Sorry.”

Toby stared at the phone and took another gulp of soda.

Dennis stared at the phone and chewed his sandwich.

“I don’t know, man. She totally flipped out in the car.”

Dennis studied him as he took another bite of his sandwich.

“I know I was overreacting. Dad was teasing me and she was going along with it, but…”

Dennis shrugged.

“Dude, she was totally flipping out.”

Dennis covered his mouth. “Like how?”

“She’s laughing. She’s crying. She’s laughing again. She’s crying again. Totally tripping, y’know?”

Dennis tilted his head.

“What about? About me, mostly. Total roller coaster ride. Crazy laughing like a supervillain and then crying so hard…”

Dennis washed down the last of his sandwich with some apple juice. “Wow, that sounds really intense. Why did you tell her you were going to call?”

“Because I get it.”

“So, ask her out already.”