Chapter 22: The Wing Man
Evan thought he was finally making progress with Rylee. They laughed, joked, she even agreed to go on a date sometime. On all accounts, he should be elated.
But one wrong word and she withdrew, climbing back into her shell.
Evan took her to the doctors, she got cleared to have her stitches removed, and when she was free of the chair, she politely asked to go home.
No board game, no staying longer. Game over.
After dropping her off, Evan drove home, feeling bewildered. He tugged at his brace and wanted to blame something for messing things up. Maybe she only said she would go out to spare his feelings? What if he misread her actions all along? What if she secretly hated his cooking? He sat on the couch, staring at an empty TV screen until Zane arrived.
"Who died?" His friend remarked, dropping into a seat and handing him a bottle of cola.
"Girls are confusing," Evan admitted.
Zane burst into laughter. "I should have known. What happened?"
"I asked her out, she said okay. We talked, she got depressed and left," Evan summarized.
Zane leaned back and rolled his eyes. "What did you mention that set her off?" He dug.
"We were talking about careers—"
"And there's your mistake."
Evan was stunned. Zane elaborated, "She works two jobs. She barley makes enough to pay her bills. Her family is all out of state, and she's been on her own since her looser X dumped her. She meets you, and you are absolutely killing it with your artwork. That's a lot for her to handle."
"But she was fine before," Evan groaned, hitting his head against the couch. "So, talking about careers intimidates her?"
"I wouldn't say intimidates, more like, depresses her," Zane decided. "But that's still not a great sign.
"I think if you're interested in romance, avoid some of the time bombs in the mean time. Don't ask about the X, don't ask about the art, focus on things that make her happy. She likes you enough to go out sometime! Isn't that a win?"
"You weren't here when she left," Evan felt he was too old for this type of heart to heart, but he needed some reassurance. He had a few flings in high school, but nothing super serious. He was not ready for this level of relationship.
Rylee felt, fragile. Like a bird that would fly away if you moved too soon. He just wanted to get closer without scaring her. Unfortunately, he was already screwing it up.
"Okay, we can do damage control. There is movie coming out she's been dying to see. You know, dogs at home when their owners are away, cute cartoon. We drag Tara and her out, get back to basics. Minimize the chances for you to put your foot in your mouth."
Evan glared, "Thanks."
"You're welcome. You will come to appreciate my direct approach. Oh and you're paying, by the way, since I've seen your PatronPower and I KNOW you have more spare change than I do."
Evan didn't argue. He pulled out his phone and opened his favorite forum, desperate to relax. As he navigated to the thread with FallenSparrow, he had a new understanding for the romance they were creating. At first he felt a little embarrassed writing something sappy like this, but it felt nice now digging into those intense emotions. Seeing Rylee hurt helped him understand his characters motives. He found it easy to use those emotions to progress their role play.
Zane noticed his attention shifting, and stood up to hunt for food. While Evan typed, he scrutinized the mess left from the hamburgers. At least Evan had the forethought to put the leftovers away... "Don't mind if I do," Zane smirked, and started heating a patty for himself.
———***———-
When he returned, Zane watched his friend writing in silence. After talking with Anna, he felt confident in his choice to play matchmaker. So why did it now seem so difficult? Honestly, he should have known. In college, Evan was always bad with girls. He laughed easy, used his good looks to charm them, but lacked the EQ to realize they were attracted to him. The breakthrough with his comic hadn't helped. Evan wouldn't say it, but he was cautious with relationships now, as if expecting someone to like him for the wrong reasons.
Despite the fact that Evan's name was listed in the creator section, few people paid attention to that. It had given Evan freedom to be normal. He would always say that the comic was famous, not him. But each convention threatened to change that. Recently, management companies started contacting him. The emails had their own folder, and Zane would catch him comparing fees and reviews. Drawing a comic was one thing, but planning a future was becoming a different struggle. There were other things to consider like branding and merchandising.
On the one hand, he needed to plan his career.
On the other, he was just a young adult trying to figure out how to work things out with a girl he liked.
Zane finished his hamburger, formulating a plan. It would involve being a third wheel on a number of occasions, but really, could they manage without him at this point? Evan could handle the business side of things.
Romance? That was where he needed a wing man.
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