Page 61 of It's a Date (Again)

He nods. “All right, well, get home safe. It was nice seeing you again, Robbie.”

Robbie waves a hand dismissively. “Yeah, whatever, caveman.” His words slur, and his head lolls to the side. I shoot him a disappointed look.

Tyler furrows his brow. “What did he say?”

“He said,Yeah, you too man,” I lie. “See you tomorrow.” I back away from Tyler with a tight smile. I need to get Robbie out of here before he does or says something stupid again.

“Looking forward to it.” He flashes a wide grin.

I grab Robbie by his arm and hoist him up, wedging myself under the crux of his shoulder so I can use my whole body to get him to his feet. “Let’s go, you saboteur.”

“What?” Robbie squints in confusion. “I’m not a sabertooth.”

I let out a small laugh and shake my head. Robbie leans into me as I guide him down the street toward home. He half stumbles, half walks.

“What got into you tonight?”

He drunkenly smiles. “Alcohol.” He tries to make a serious face. “I think Tyler’s a bad influence. Look how drunk he got me.”

“You did that all on your own.” I stare at him, my lips forming a straight line. The corner of his mouth curves up.

“No, I didn’t. It was all Tyler. Probably should break it off with him.”

A couple of guys in a car driving by stick their heads out of their windows and hoot and holler at us as we cross the intersection. Robbie eats it up, making awhooosound. He nearly trips over his feet, but I hold him up.

“Fine, it was me,” he admits. “But I was testing him, and he failed my test.”

“Oh yeah?” I say. “How did Tyler fail?”

“Peer pressure. He gave in. He’s too easily influenced. That’s not the type of man you want.”

I giggle at his drunk logic. Robbie cracks a grin.

Together, we stagger down the sidewalk. I’m careful not to let Robbie fall. We’ve had enough head injuries for a while.

“You’re the one that got drunk. He wasn’t even tipsy,” I say as we turn onto my street.

“Yeah, well, I need to adjust some of my test parameters. But he still failed ... mis ... er ... ab ... ly.”

“If you say so,” I say, shaking my head.

Robbie stops abruptly and pulls away. He stumbles backward into a fence and stares at me through bloodshot, half-open eyes. “Do youreallylike him?”

I ignore his question and instead grab his hand, helping him regain his footing. There’s no use in having any serious conversations tonight because it’s unlikely he’ll remember them, and he’s not making much sense as it is.

His brows pinch together, and his face turns serious. “So, do you?”

“Yeah, Robbie. I do.”

He pulls his chin in. “Okay ...” His clouded blue eyes search mine like he’s waiting for a different answer, but then he shakes his head and stumbles forward. “I was just checking.”

All I want to do is get him home in one piece, safe and sound. I position myself underneath his shoulder again and steer him forward. We’re almost there. I push open the courtyard gate and help Robbie up the porch steps. He trips on the top step and falls, clamoring against the wooden porch. Thankfully, he catches himself with his hands, landing practically on all fours.

“Ouch,” he moans.

“Hello!” Debbie’s voice comes from the other side of her door. The porch light flickers on and she pops her head out. “I’m locked and loaded,” she declares.

“Debbie, it’s just me and Robbie!” I say in a panic.