"So." I am not going to get tongue-tied, not in front of Marco the irrelevant. "You, uh, you and Jake go back?"
"Yeah," he says, eyebrows raised.
"Cool! Yeah, um, I. I guess you'd know, does he ever—let on—what he thinks about Cassie?"
Marco rolls his eyes. "Out loud? No, but you can tell what he's thinking."
"I thought as much," I say. "She's worse. We have to get them together somehow and have them stop wasting time like this."
"Glad you understand."
"I guess I can handle it," I decide. "Hey, Jake, even your friend Marco got a date with me, surely you're brave enough to ask Cassie out."
He wrinkles his face. "Hold on a minute, I'm not sure which of us that was supposed to be insulting."
"Now you're just asking for it."
"Okay, okay, sorry." He blinks. "So do you just—I mean, you said you hang out here. What does that mean, you go to the arcade or...?"
"I shop," I explain, trying to keep it simple enough even a boy can understand. "Look for deals. Try to see what goes with what."
"Deals. Right. I like deals. But that's not hanging out, you just..."
"Go for the fun of it?"
"I missed a step. Where's the "fun" part?"
"Wouldn't expect that to penetrate your masculine brain."
"It's a wall of self-defense, just to keep nuts like you out."
"Really suave, Marco. Definitely earning that second date." His eyebrows perk up. "Subtle, man."