“I don’t know about that,” Chris said. “She made the schedule.”

“What if I want more than the schedule?” John asked. “I’ve only known her for a week and I want to be with her every day. I think about her before I go to sleep; I wake up with her on my mind.”

“Jesus, I need to meet this Victoria,” Chris said under his breath. “I don’t think I’ve heard you this sprung since Patricia Mayweather in our junior year of college. When she dumped you, you were a real bummer to be around.”

John rolled his eyes. “This isn’t a Mayweather situation.”

“No, it sounds worse actually.”

“I got to date Patty for a full year at least,” John reminded him. “I’ve got a couple weeks with Dr. Reese.”

“Weird. Was there anything in particular that pissed you off yesterday? Like, what made you two leave stuff so awkward?”

John thought back to their ruined lunch date. “What if I’m not good enough for her?”

“Fuck that,” Chris said. “She wouldn’t have bothered if you weren’t good enough for her. Do you know how many women ask about you after you leave a session? Man, I’m getting tired of cleaning up after you.”

John looked at his friend and grinned in spite of himself. “Cleaning up after me?”

“Yeah, I have to distract them with a tiny white lie.”

“How tiny?”

“I tell them you’re dating someone so they can redirect their attention to me,” he said. “So I need you to start dating someone ASAP.”

John ran his hand down his beard and laughed. “God, you’re terrible.”

“You have no idea,” Chris said with a devilish grin. “But when they find out you have a brain under those muscles and tattoos, and that you read to children for a living, women lose their collective shit. As a simple small business owner, it’s hard to compete with.”

“Okay, so I’m good enough to be with a Pembroke girl?”

“Yes, and she’s not a Pembroke girl. We’re not kids anymore,” Chris reminded him. “She’s a Pembroke woman who likes your books.”

“Sure, but she makes me a little anxious.”

“That’s because she’s a challenge. And to be honest, you haven’t had one of those in a while. Who was the last woman you dated? Blair? God, she was pretty simple to figure out.”

“Yep, I imagine that’s why it lasted just three months.”

“And that was a couple years ago,” Chris said. “You’ve been working and hanging out with me all that time.”