“Going somewhere tonight, Chris?”

Chris, who was just applying a final touch of aftershave, gave JC’s reflection in the glass an awkward look as he replied, “Yeah. Don’t know how long I’ll be but I’m banking on a good couple of hours.”

JC merely glanced over Chris’s immaculate hair and goatee, light blue button-down shirt with the sleeves rolled to the elbows, and black dress pants before shrugging and turning away. “Hm. That’s nice. Knock yourself out, man.”

In three seconds, Chris turned around and called, “JC?”

JC stopped. “What?” 

Chris hesitated for another second before forcing the words out. “I…uh…I just want to say I’m sorry. For what I said the other night.”

With another shrug, JC just said, “You didn’t tell us anything that night that wasn’t the truth. Sometimes I do pry a little too much. Sometimes I go far beyond the third degree.”

“What I did was still uncalled for, yelling at you and the other guys like that.” Chris’s tone grew softer, his expression more pleading. “I didn’t mean to. Honest.” 

“I know you didn’t. It’s okay, Chris.”

“Will you forgive me?” 

Now a genuine smile filled JC’s entire face, and the man crossed the room in two strides. “Already been done, brother,” he said before engulfing Chris in a bear hug.

Chris sighed and fervently squeezed him back. “Thank you, JC. I really am sorry.”

“Me too.” When the two men relinquished their grip, JC kept his hands on Chris’s shoulders as he told him softly, “I’m still here if you need to talk about anything. We all are.”

Chris chewed his lip some, and then said, “Actually, now that you’re here, there is something I’d like to discuss with you. If you wouldn’t mind.”

“Yeah? I’m all ears.”

“You remember Jamie Miller, that girl from the movies a while back? The short girl with the brown hair?”

“Yes, I do. She looked like a real sweetheart.”

“Well…she and I recently reconnected, and she invited me to her place for dinner. That’s where I will be tonight.”

JC raised his brows significantly. “Really?” he said, more as a statement than anything else. He gave Chris’s left shoulder a good-natured slap. “Well, good for you! And that’s very generous of her, providing the meal herself instead of expecting you to foot the bill at some fancy restaurant.”

Chris had to smile as he said, “Oh, yeah. No offense to Joey, but I don’t recall the last time I had a decent meal made with the comforts of home. It will be a beautiful change of scenery.”

Noticing the distant look in Chris’s soft brown eyes, JC asked, “So, what’s the big deal?”

Chris closed his eyes for a moment. He took a long breath and took even longer letting it out. When at last he spoke, he asked, almost inaudibly, “Would I sound like I lost my mind if I admitted that I’m starting to like this girl?”

“As in, like-like her? As in, falling for her? Head over heels?”

“Yes.”

Very slowly, JC’s hands withdrew from Chris’s shoulders altogether. JC stood still, regarding Chris in a manner that wasn’t skeptical or critical in the least; quite the contrary, his expression was nothing but tender, and his voice was a perfect fit. “Of course, you haven’t lost your mind, buddy. If that’s the way you feel about this girl, I don’t see the harm in it. You deserve to find love again.”

Chris sighed. “I know you’re right. It’s just so ironic, considering how I swore on no uncertain terms that I would never do this again.”

“Which goes to show how careful you need to be with the word ‘never.’”

Rubbing his eyelids with his fingertips, Chris muttered, “And so far, I’ve picked a lot of losers. Sure, everything’s great between me and the girl at first. But as soon as we get used to each other and all those goo-goo feelings have gone away, everything falls apart. I learn the hard way that the girl never loved me to start with, or she loved me for the wrong reasons.” He shook his head and sighed again. “I seriously don’t think I could handle that kind of disappointment again, JC.”

JC nodded empathetically. “Yeah, I know. Love is always a gamble. It’s often very difficult to tell the difference between the real deal and an unhealthy infatuation.” Returning a hand to Chris’s shoulder, he continued with a smile, “But from the way I see it, my friend, the real deal is well worth the gamble. It’s like a buried treasure—it may take ages and ages to find it and you may fret more than once that you’re just wasting your time and energy. But when you find it at last, all at once that time and energy count for something, and you value your treasure all the more.”

Touched and amused at this profound philosophy, Chris gave JC a light shove and told him with a lopsided smile, “Says you.”

JC laughed and gently shoved back. “And I’m never wrong about such things.” His tone regained solemnity as he ushered Chris to the door. “Now, go have a great evening with Jamie. Don’t worry about rushing into anything with her. Just relax and try to keep things fun between you two. And take your time coming back here.”

“Will do,” Chris said, smiling even as his heart brimmed with simultaneous anticipation and terror.