Never Say Never

Chapter 9

 "Would you stop stressing? You look like a million bucks," Dustin told Steve. He leaned back against the bathroom wall, watching Steve in the mirror as he ran his fingers through his hair for the twelfth time. "Aly already knows what you look like, dude. This isn't your first time meeting."

"I know, I know," he sighed, lips pressing together as he surveyed his reflection. "Do you think the button-down is too much? It's too much, isn't it? I should change into something more casual."

"No, man," Lucas groaned. "That's the seventh shirt you've put on. It's not too much. It's perfect for a first date. It's a button-down but it's loose and short sleeved." He stepped up, grabbing onto Steve's shoulders and turning him around. He unbuttoned the top two buttons, revealing a bit of the undershirt. "There. Now it's nice but also casual. It says this is important to you but also that it's going to be an easygoing and fun time. Best of both worlds."

"Plus, she gets a little peek of the chest hair." Dustin rolled his eyes, snorting. "I still don't get it but apparently, the ladies dig the jungle you've got going on. Maybe it takes them back to their primal instincts. You know, caveman days? The hairier, the more manly, the better they'll be able to conk things over the head and provide?"

Steve sighed, his eyes rolling toward the ceiling, "Seriously, Henderson? This seems like a good time to compare me to a caveman?"

"Yeah, you can't be doing that," Lucas teased, ruffling Steve's hair.

"Dude! Seriously!?" Steve protested, shoving him off before turning back to the mirror, fingers working to fix it once again.

"Calm down," laughed Lucas. "Our Stevie's all nervous and you're only making it worse, Dustin. He's got a mad crush on Aly. I mean, our man has got it bad and he's Steve which means he has a high probability of being a doofus and potentially destroying his only shot at his soulmate. Then our poor Steve would be doomed to spend eternity all alone and pathetic with nothing but Miles to keep him warm at night."

"Jesus, you guys suck, you know that? I really don't know why I keep you around."

"Because you love us and your life would be a barren wasteland of boredom and monotony without the pleasure of our company," stated Dustin.

"Come on, Steve," Lucas snorted, throwing his shoulder into him. "You know we're just messing with you. You're going to be fine. From what we saw, this girl likes you just as much as you like her. She wouldn't have agreed to go out with you otherwise."

"Yeah. You two have already spent tons of time together. You really think she'd agree to hang out with you as much as she has if she didn't like you? Do you really think she would have agreed to a date if she wasn't crushing too? Trust me. This date is going to go great."

Steve turned back to the mirror, assessing his image one more time. His hair was definitely working for him tonight, swooping to the side perfectly. Herbal Essences Flexible Airspray wasn't quite like the Farrah Fawcett spray used to be for him but it did an okay job. He wore a yellow linen button down, short sleeved to keep cool with the weather that was quickly moving more toward summer temps. Nothing said unsexy like nasty pit stains and body odor. He'd paired it with a white tank underneath and gray dress slacks.

His body hummed with anticipation but also with nerves. He couldn't wait to pick up Aly but he also couldn't help dreading it a bit. All of this time he'd spent hoping, wondering if it would ever actually happen, and now was the big moment. He would either soar or fall flat on his face. This was going to be the moment of truth. He wanted to make a good impression. He wanted this to be successful. He wanted her to want to go for date number two.

The other night had been perfect. They'd ordered pizza and watched Air Bud with the boys. Steve had set up sleeping bags on the living room floor to make it a true sleepover. But he hadn't gotten much sleep, continually waking to ensure that Aly was still breathing. Robin might be neurotic but her words had gotten to him as he watched her chest closely to ensure it was still rising and falling. Miles, who'd chosen to sleep on her feet on the couch, kept giving him a look that said calm down, man. I'm right here. I got her.