“He’s taking you to the Marlin?” Jackson asks, incredulously. Wyatt looks at me in horror.

“Why are you two acting like it’s a slaughterhouse?” I sigh, putting on my gross lip as they gape at me. Being friends with boys is annoying.

“It’s a seafood place off the highway,” Wyatt says, and I balk slightly, but I won’t back down.

“I’m sure it’s fine, you two are so dramatic,” I say. Miller spins at my ankles as I head into the kitchen where they are both sitting at my counter eating my Hershey’s kisses.

“We'd better stay in tonight Jack. Gotta wait by the phone in case she needs a rescue.” Wyatt says, with that little bit of sass poking through.

Rolling my eyes, I grab my keys out of the bowl. “Let Miller out in an hour,” I say heading out the door. As I turn to pull it closed behind me, my eyes catch on Wyatt’s. He gives me an encouraging smile that doesn’t quite meet his eyes.

By the time I get to the restaurant, my hair is in frizzy ringlets. The humidity in the air couldn’t even give me an hour. That, and he refused to roll his window up.

He is about 4 inches shorter than me and immediately voices his displeasure about that. “She didn’t mention you were so tall,” Paul says.

“Oh yeah,” I say and laugh nervously. I’ve never been totally sure how to address that line of conversation.

By the time we get to the table, he has told the bartender to bring his drink to the table, run into the back of someone’s chair, and asks them why they are sitting so far from the table, and sat in the booth, leaving me the outside chair. Every time someone walks by, they knock into my back. Lovely.

He orders beers for each of us, even though he still has a cocktail in front of him.

“I actually have celiac disease,” I explain to him.

“What the hell is that?” He asks, not kindly.

“I’m allergic to wheat,” I explain.

“That sucks!” He says laughing in my face. “I’ll drink your beer don’t worry.” When the waitress comes back, he proceeds to order mozzarella sticks and sliders, neither of which I can eat, then dismisses her before I can order a drink for myself.

“So my stocks are doing really well. Most men don’t understand how it works, that's why more men need to golf, that’s where you learn all the secrets,” he tells me, food falling out of his mouth.

“Right, excuse me for a second?” He looks irritated as I get up and head to the bathroom. I peek at him before turning into the ladies' room and see him admiring the ass of another patron in a much prettier dress than mine and duck into the kitchen.

“You can’t be in here,” my waitress tells me, her hands up in case she needs to pouch me back.

“Can I please use your phone?” I say in a rush. She looks at me with pity.

“Blind date?” She asks and I nod. She swings her hand at me beckoning me to follow her.

“Hello?” Wyatt’s voice on the phone relaxes me.

“It’s Elli, can you come get me?” I say quietly.

His voice is gentle when he says, “Be right there.”

I only have to wait about ten more minutes and hear about the women in the office that really should just stay at home with their kids, when I catch sight of the two burly figures of Wyatt and Jackson in the corner of my eye.

I’d hoped they would flag me and I could think of an excuse and bail but the boys saved me the trouble.

Without a word, Jackson pulled out my chair.

“No, no, no!” I say laughing as Wyatt puts his shoulder to my belly and lifts me into a fireman’s carry.

“She’s gotta go,” Wyatt says.