Page 41 of It's a Date (Again)

“And I’m in the funny business, so I’ll be a pro at making sure none of your wooers are up to any funny business.” Maya gives a firm nod but is barely able to contain her growing grin. She slides a pad of paper from her bag and finds her page. It’s the same one she’s been using to take notes in since I woke up in the hospital. “All right, Robbie. What do ya got?”

He exhales and paces in front of his easel. “I’ve conducted a digital deep dive on each of Peyton’s suitors, and I found some interesting and less than interesting things during my research. Let’s begin with Tyler Davis.”

Robbie flips the piece of paper over the easel, revealing a page with a drawing of Bob the Builder and a list of bullet points off to the side. He gestures to each one as he goes over them. “Tyler works construction, lives alone in an apartment over in Fulton Market, and has a dog named Toby. He has two brothers and is the middle child, which tells me he craves attention.”

“What? Why?”

“Classic middle-child syndrome,” Maya says. “Trust me. I’m one of them.” She delivers a coy look.

Robbie nods. “Maya’s right. I’ve never met a person that needs more attention than her.”

“Robbie,” I chide.

“It’s true, Peyton,” she says.

“All right, back to Tyler.” Robbie points at the easel. “His last serious relationship ended nearly two years ago.”

“How did it end?” Debbie perks her head up.

“Mutually, according to social media posts from both him and the girlfriend. He wanted kids. She didn’t.”

“Do you want kids, Peyton?” Maya asks.

“Yeah, I think so. Someday.”

Robbie continues. “Tyler’s background check came back pretty clean. A couple of traffic violations for speeding, which tells me he moves fast ... probably in relationships too.” He raises an eyebrow and taps his pointer stick at the easel.

“Speeding tickets equates to moving fast in relationships? Did you stretch before you made that reach, Robbie?” Maya asks, cocking her head.

“No, I did not, Maya,” he mocks.

I raise my brow. “You seriously pulled background checks, Robbie?”

“Of course. That’s what a deep dive is.”

“Tyler seems perfect.” Debbie beams. “And he fixed my sink. Double points for that.”

Robbie motions to her. “Seemsis the right word. He has one fatal flaw.”

I lean forward in my seat. What could possibly be wrong with Tyler? I really like him, and it’s clear we have a strong connection. I hope he’s not the liar because I think he’s my strongest connection so far.

“What? What is it?” I ask.

Robbie turns over the page on the easel, revealing a new sheet. Written in large, bold letters is the wordNickelback.

“Noooo!” Maya yells.

“What’s a nickelback?” Debbie asks, squinting.

“It’s something we don’t talk about. Very taboo, Debbie.” He looks to me. “But I’m sorry to break the news to you, Peyton. He’s a fan of Nickelback.” Robbie lowers his head.

Confusion comes over me because I also don’t know what or who Nickelback is. Or at least I don’t remember.

Maya picks up on it and explains. “Nickelback is a Canadian rock band. Very commercial and all their songs sound the same. So people disliked them because they’re bland and popular.”

“That’s it?” I ask.

“They’re not true rock. They’re corporate rock,” Robbie says, shaking a fist to punctuate his words.