Try valiantly to ignore Tom

Anna took a deep breathe, held it for a moment, and said, "So, Phil! What do you like to do for fun?"

"I'm actually super into running," said Phil. "I've doing a marathon in a month."

"Oh, that's nice," said Anna. She was looking at how dark Tom's green eyes were, like a pine forest at dusk. He noticed her looking and smiled, so Anna turned back to Phil. "Is it your first race?"

Anna's date looked a bit flustered, but he carried on. "Well, marathon, I don't really race. And no, it will be my fifth. I do one every six months."

"Yeah, that's super impressive," said Anna, glancing back at Tom. This time Corrine kicked her under the table and she looked away before Tom caught her.

By the time the meal came, Anna knew she was screwing up badly. Mr. Great Cheekbones the fit guy with a great job should be her type, but she'd made that rule about musicians for a reason. She'd always had a weak spot for singers, and Tom was dripping rock star charm. Local rock star, but still.

Phil never gave up. Through the whole meal, he kept trying to chat and get Anna's attention, but it never worked. He kept telling jokes that Anna barely noticed, and he politely ignored the fact that Anna laughed way too hard at every slightly funny thing Tom said.

Corrine couldn't ignore it. As soon as the meal was over, she said, "Excuse me, I need to visit the ladies room. Anna?"

Anna got up nervously. She followed her new (oldest?) friend into the bathroom, feeling like she'd just been caught by her parents doing something awful. She hadn't been able to resist, but she still felt awful.

As soon as they got in the bathroom, Corrine turned around and said, "Okay, I need to say this."

Anna gulped.