“Really, Sage? A date?”I sighed. “Yes, Adrian. A date.”“A real date. Not, like, doing homework together,” he added. “I mean like where you go out to a movie or something. And a movie that’s not part of a school assignment. Or about something boring.”“A real date.”

“I peeked at him out of the corner of my eye. He had a slight smirk on his face. I imagined he was mentally checking off a task in his planner.Seduce date by talking about other girlsImpress date with number of awards you have receivedDo not spend money on dateMake date watch corny movie in media centerSneak in comments about your frugalityPut arm around date at exactly the halfway mark of the movie”

“That’s right, Sadie. For our first real date, I picked up Zia in a boat pulled by a deranged griffin. So what? Like your dates aren’t weird?”

“Yeah. A real date. Something official. You. Me. Tonight. We're long overdue.”

“It's not a bit strange,' I tell her. 'Davey's thinking of taking up shooting as a hobby, so he wants to go check out the rifle range and he asked me if I'd like to go with him.'Kayla snorts. 'Are you kidding me? He should be checking you out - not the rifle range! No way is that a date.'I go to the one person I know I can depend on. 'It is a date, isn't it, Reggie?''S'pose it all depends on how it goes,' he says. 'If you have a good time, come home happy, then it's a date.''Okay.''But if he shoots yer, it wasn't a date - it was an ambush.''Reggie! That's mean!''You know I'm only kiddin', Tiffy. He puts his arms out and I gladly fall into them. 'Don't worry about what anyone says, luv. It's a date.”

“Are you sure this is okay?” he asks. “I mean, did your dad really invite the handsome stranger who’s dating his daughter to sleep on the couch?”“I like how you added in the ‘handsome.”