Free Getting to Third Date by Kelly McClymer Page A

to pick me up for our coffee date, Sophia had actually faked a phone call on her cell and tried to convince my date that my mother was in the hospital awaiting surgery.
    I’d told him she was a little bit crazy, which he understood—all too well, as I discovered throughout the evening. He hadn’t even had a second date. But I didn’t have to tell that to Tyler.
    He shrugged. “Okay. I’ll just ask her.”
    â€œThat’s not fair.”
    â€œWhy? Because you picked a guy who was Most Likely to Fail as Third Date #1 and you don’t want anyone to interfere with your agenda?”
    â€œI…didn’t.” Even I didn’t believe me.
    â€œStill.” He reached for my backpack, which I had foolishly left unprotected on the top of the table. “I think I’ll pick from now on.”
    I watched in horror as he once again took out my little pink book and began to thumb through. But all I could think of was that I couldn’t let him randomly choose the next guy for me to have a third date with.
    He opened the book and frowned. “Are there pages missing?”
    â€œNo,” I lied, looking straight into his eyes with a sincere frown of puzzlement that he would even ask.
    â€œGood. Then explain this code of yours to me.”
    I took a deep breath, as if to protest, and then I gave up. What can I say? I’m a good friend, even to high school homecoming kings who have the hots for their history (not English) teacher. How can I possibly be expected to change only halfway through my first semester in college?
    â€œIt’s pretty simple. I pick a code name, just in case anyone—like you—ever gets their hands on my book. And then I rate them on ten simple points.”
    â€œTen points?” He checked over the book and slowly said, “S, D, E, T, L, C, M, H, IQ, B.” He looked up, a puzzled frown on his face. “What do those mean?”
    I said quickly, “Sense of humor. Where we go. Who pays. Whether he talks. Whether he listens. If he wears clean clothes. If he has an interesting major. What his favorite hobby is. If he’s smart. The usual.”
    Tyler had been paying attention, even though I’d rattled off my list rather quickly. “That’s only nine. What’s the tenth point—” he checked the book. “ B. What’s B stand for?”
    Buzz factor. Like when a cute guy is around and you feel the temperature rise and the buzz in your ears gets so loud that it shuts out everything but your hot guy radar. But I wasn’t going to admit that to him. “Whether he has an interesting blog,” I lied rather lamely.
    Fortunately, Tyler didn’t notice the lapse in logic. “Okay.” He started to read with a furrowed brow. It’s hard to tell much from this,” he finally said. I mean, you like Mellow Man’s hobby, because you gave it a nine, but it could be grave robbing for all I can tell.”
    I glanced at the entry. “He paints. I like a guy with an artistic flair.”
    â€œDo you?” For a moment he was looking at me. Me me, not Katelyn the best friend and chump, but Katelyn the girl who liked things he didn’t know about. “What other hobbies do you rate highly?”
    I froze. There’s this thing about guys who generate a buzz factor off the scale. For example, Tyler. You want them to notice you. But then, when they do, you worry that you’ll blow it by saying something stupid. I tried an evasive maneuver. I shrugged. “I like lots of things.”
    â€œWhat’s your top favorite hobby for a guy?”
    Reluctantly, I told him the truth. “Working on his car.”
    â€œReally? Why?” He seemed surprised. Maybe a little disappointed? I remembered too late that he didn’t even have a car. He went everywhere on his bicycle. Which was why he had such a nice firm butt. Not that I’d noticed or anything.
    I tried to fix my