Dale had been pacing the kitchen for at least half an hour now. Every ten-ish minutes his hand would hover over the phone, then he would run it through his hair and turn away. Why was he so scared? He was Dale Holt for Christ’s sake! He could do anything! Apparently not this

Tyler had grinned at him knowingly and handed him a beer “Just do it, man. Not like you even go to school, ain’t nobody to make fun of ya if you get rejected.” Oh yeah. Real helpful.

And then Jay. “If you like her…Go for it, Dale. The worst she can do is no, right? And if she does say no, we can go hunting together after. Get your feelings out by skinning a few rabbits”

His Ma and Pa had given the advice you’d expect. Sharon had told him just to trust his gut about the whole thing, and Bear had told him to make sure she can’t say no. Neither helped.

Dale had met you in a parking lot on a late Friday night. You had been fighting off at least three guys on your own, and he had rushed to help. Since then you two occasionally saw each other but were never very close. He wished you two were closer.

“Hi! Uh—yeah. Yeah, it’s Dale. Dale Holt” His voice shook slightly and he had this nervous grin on his face. Tyler and Jay were watching, both amused. Even Jay had a half grin on his face.

“Yeah, the one that…Went to Juvie. Listen. I see you working that liquor store every night and I was just wondering if uh…I dunno if you wanted to go to the bar next door tonight? Yeah, the one with the pool table,” the brunette shut his eyes and held his breath as you paused, then they flew open as he heard your response, an immediate grin on his face. Both brothers silently cheered him on.

“Yeah! Yeah, tonight. 9 PM sharp. Yeah, I’ll see you. Bye.” As soon as the phone was hung up Tyler clapped him on the back and Jay handed him the strawberry magnet he had collected for his future girlfriend. Hopefully you were her.