Johnny and Carmen spend most of the morning in bed, before she has to leave to get ready for her shift. Unlike Carmen, Johnny doesn't have any work today and there's hours before he needs to get to the dojo for his first class, so he throws himself down on the couch and reaches for the remote control. But then he remembers he never got the TV replaced, so he picks up his laptop for some entertainment. Looking at pictures of hot babes or cool cars doesn't appeal to him today, so he decides to look at Facebook.

He makes it about two minutes before he's typing Daniel LaRusso into the search box. He had sent LaRusso a friend request as soon as he figured out how to do it, mostly to keep tabs on what he was doing at his dojo, and Daniel accepted probably for the same reason. Johnny lingers on Daniel's profile picture, it's of him and Amanda, tanned and smiling with their arms around one another. Daniel is unreasonably handsome in the photo. Not that that's a new discovery about him, it's just a fact, like how his eyes are that nice shade of brown. But now he looks at Daniel with a new appreciation, and he remembers how it felt when Daniel put his hand on the back of his head and drew him close. Johnny lets out a breath and drags his eyes away from Daniel. Amanda looks hot as ever in the photo too. They look like they were made for each other. There's a sudden uncomfortable feeling in his chest.

Johnny suddenly remembers what Daniel said about not adding Ali as a friend on Facebook, the way he said he was a married man as if that closed the door on the subject for good. And all that new-agey shit the bartender was talking about last night, the way Carmen was understanding and told him he should find out how Daniel feels, it all seems so stupid now. It seemed perfectly plausible when he was drunk, but now with a surprisingly mild hangover considering, he thinks there is no way in hell that Daniel could be interested in him. Why would he? He already has it all.

Dragging his eyes away from the photo, Johnny looks at the rest of Daniel's page. His most recent post is a note to say he's out of the hospital, thanking everyone for their concern and well wishes. There's a big number of likes and comments, so many that Johnny assumes it's some kind of computer bug or glitch. But when he clicks on it, there they all are, the blue thumbs ups and messages from lots of people. Daniel sure is a popular guy.

Johnny thinks to write something himself. But there's so many people wishing Daniel well, what would he care if Johnny did or not? The bad feeling in his chest intensifies. He scrolls on.

Below that, there's a photo of the stupid walking cane, and a surprisingly chipper message Daniel wrote about being in the hospital. Again with lots of likes and comments.

There's nothing where he says thank you to Johnny Lawrence who visited me every day and helped me to walk again. Johnny shakes his head. Who is he kidding?

Further down, there's more photos, of Daniel and his kids, Daniel and Amanda, the four of them together, pictures of the dojo and Daniel with his students. Johnny finds himself smiling as he looks at Daniel in each of the photos, and starts clicks the like buttons under them until he remembers he's not supposed to do that for some reason.

He reaches to close the lid of his laptop, but then stops, and moves his mouse pointer to the message button. It's not weird if he drops Daniel a message to see how he's doing, right? After all, it was Daniel who said they were friends now. Maybe he meant it. Johnny concentrates as he types out a message to him.

Hey Daniel. I miss you bitching about how hard it is to walk. I've got so much free time now I don't have to keep driving down the 101 to visit you. Bored as hell. How's the leg? That cane better be in the trash by now.

Your best pal Johnny

Johnny smiles to himself. Yeah, perfect. It's not too serious, and sure to raise a smile from Daniel, right?

He hovers over the send button, and starts having doubts about the best pal bit. Maybe that's too much. What if Daniel doesn't see it in the jokey manner he means it? What if it just makes him look sad and desperate? He stabs the backspace key several times to get rid of it. He sighs. He should probably get rid of the rest too. His irritation grows at how long it takes to get rid of the message, one letter at a time.

Suddenly the computer makes a sound, and Johnny stares at the screen in horror. His finger must have slipped. He's accidentally sent part of the message.

"Oh, crap!"

Daniel is standing by the water cooler with Louie, who is telling him at length about a lady who he's just sold a minivan to with all the extras. But Daniel's struggling to listen because he keeps on thinking about Johnny and what Amanda said yesterday. "The best thing is her son's just about to take his driver's test, so I told her to bring him the hell in! That family's obviously got the dough."

"That's great," Daniel says, although without the enthusiasm Louie was hoping for.

"But that's nothing compared to the guy who swung by yesterday. Bought forty three brand new Ferraris! Would you believe it?"

"Uh-huh." Daniel knows he should put personal matters to one side until after work, but he can't help but mentally start to prepare what he's going to say to Johnny, if he decides to call him.

Louie throws up his hands. "See, I knew you weren't listening!"

"I'm sorry, Louie."

"Is it the leg? Because if it's the leg you really ought to go sit down."

"No, really, I'm fine," Daniel says. His phone makes a noise, and he reaches into his pocket for it. "I thought I turned the sound off already." As he lifts his phone to flip the silence button, the screen lights up and he sees a Facebook message. His heart skips a beat when he sees the name Johnny Lawrence before he can even read what it says.

Hey Daniel. I miss you

Daniel stares at it.

What?

He quickly turns off the screen of his phone and puts it back in his pocket.

"Hey, what was that?" Louie asks, looking up from re-filling his cup. "One of them messages that says you've won an all expenses paid trip to Miami? You gotta be careful with those, some of 'em are scams, you know."

Daniel wonders if Louie caught him smiling when he looked at his phone. "Just a parcel delivery notification," he says without missing a beat.

A couple walk in through the main doors, saving Daniel from both Louie and thinking about the Facebook message. He pats Louie on the arm and strides over to the new customers with a smile.

Daniel tries his best to put that weird message out of his mind for the rest of the day. There's got to be some explanation for it. After the initial shock, and yes, admittedly, delight too, Daniel realises that it was very out of character for Johnny to write something like that. In fact, has Johnny ever messaged him on Facebook, even to taunt him? Daniel doesn't think so. Probably one of the Eagle Fangs got hold of his phone and this is all some silly prank.

He focuses on harmony, inner peace and meditation in this afternoon's classes, as much for his own sake as for the benefit of his students. After dinner is over, Sam and Anthony pull out their phones before they're even away from the table. This makes Daniel think about his phone, which he hasn't allowed himself to touch since he got that message. He starts to help Amanda clear the table to distract himself.

"You go and rest, honey," she tell him.

Daniel pulls his phone out. The message from Johnny is still on the lock screen. He shows it to Amanda.

"There you go then," she says.

"What do you mean, there you go?" he says. "Don't you think it's odd?"

"Daniel, not everything is a cryptic mind game. Sometimes I miss you just means what it says."

"A mind game? I hadn't thought of that. I thought it was a prank."

"Mind games, pranks, they're all the same."

"No they're not."

Amanda prods him in the chest. "They're both you assuming the worst."

Daniel shakes his head. "Maybe his account got hacked?"

"So call him and ask, then you'll find out," Amanda says, smiling like she's pleased with herself.

"I think I'm going to go and lie down," Daniel says.

"Okay, honey. I'm sorry," she says, kissing him on the side of the head.

"It's fine, I'm probably overthinking this."

"You are."

Daniel starts to think of what to say to Johnny as he walks upstairs, but nothing sounds quite right. He needs to keep it casual, but no matter how he thinks to articulate asking him to go for drinks with him, it sounds weirdly flirtatious.

He sits down on the bed in the spare room, so if he falls asleep early and then needs to get up to get painkillers later he won't be disturbing Amanda. It's easier for him to move his leg onto the bed now than it was, but it's still not yet back to normal. He lies down. He is tired, but his mind is still racing.

He doesn't have Johnny's phone number. Why didn't he think of that before? He picks up his phone and goes into the Facebook app. The one message from Johnny is still there. He hesitates, wondering how to ask. Should he be polite about it? Explain why he's asking? Johnny would probably just say gimme your number. Or would he? Maybe Daniel really doesn't know how he texts.

But wait, there's a phone symbol next to Johnny's name. You can call people through Facebook now? That must be new.

Before he can properly think it through, Daniel's finger slips and he hits the phone symbol. The screen says Calling Johnny Lawrence. His phone falls out of his hands.

"Hello? Hello? LaRusso, that you?"

Daniel fumbles for his phone. Of course Johnny would answer straight away. He manages to get his phone to his ear, feeling awkward about talking to him while lying down, but with his leg it's not as easy to sit up so he remains where he is. Johnny won't know.

"Hey. Yeah. Hi, Johnny."

"Be honest, did you butt dial me?"

Daniel laughs nervously. "Not exactly."

Johnny sniggers on the other end of the line. "Do I even wanna know what you mean by that?"

"Okay, enough. That message..."

"Oh, man." Johnny's voice is low and breathy. Then he bounces back and sounds like his normal flippant self again. "Would you believe me if I said I butt messaged you?"

"No, Johnny."

"So did you throw the cane in the trash?"

"What?"

Johnny laughs. "Uh, never mind."

Daniel wonders if Johnny is drunk, it's hard to tell over the phone. He's not sure if he should press the issue. But the thought of asking Johnny if he really misses him is already making him feel hot and flustered. Maybe he should just do what Amanda suggested and ask him out for drinks.

"LaRusso, you there?"

"Yes!" Daniel feels himself sweating as he considers how to ask. He hasn't asked anyone out in a very long time. He forces himself to take a breath. He's overthinking this. He takes customers out regularly, there's no reason why he can't ask Johnny out for drinks in the same way.

"So…" he says, drawing out the word. "I was thinking we could go out for drinks, my treat, just to say thank you for everything you did for me while I was in the hospital."

"Hell yeah," Johnny says without a moment's pause.

Daniel smiles to himself, imagining the jubilant expression on Johnny's face. Not just acceptance, but enthusiasm. Johnny sounds eager to spend more time with him. Maybe he's wrong to doubt that Johnny tried to kiss him in the hospital.

"So is this some kinda double date situation? You bringing Amanda?"

Daniel is momentarily thrown off by the question. Does Johnny want to do another double date and not just spend time with him? Daniel tells himself to stop overthinking it, it's just a question. "Actually, I thought it'd just be you and me this time."

"I get it."

It's not a no, but does Johnny sound kind of nervous? Or is it disappointment? Stop it, Daniel, he tells himself. "How about Friday night?" he asks.

"I've got a class," Johnny says. "But I could cancel."

"No, don't. Saturday?"

"Works for me."

"Okay. Pick you up at seven?"

"I don't need to be picked up, LaRusso."

Daniel sighs. Johnny really does thrive on being difficult. "We're going to the same place. This is purely for logistics, not some power play thing."

Johnny sniggers again. "If you say so. Fine, I'll be ready about seven."

Daniel is about to say goodbye when he realises the call has already ended. He lets his head fall back against the pillow, his heart beating in his ears. He can't believe he's really doing this.

Johnny jumps up and pumps his fist. "Oh yeah!" he says to himself. "He's got it so bad for me."

But then something occurs to him. He makes another phone call.

"Miguel, get over here."

"Sensei Lawrence? What's up?"

"I need your help with something. It's important."

"You sure you don't want my mom? She gets home pretty soon."

"Nah, I definitely need a guy's opinion on this."

"Uh, okay."

When Miguel gets there, Johnny has a bunch of clothes strewn over his bed.

"What's going on? You getting rid of old clothes?" Miguel asks.

Johnny turns to him. "That was not the response I was looking for," he says. "I need a killer outfit."

"Oh I see, you got a special evening planned, huh sensei?"

"You could say that."

Miguel says no to most of the shirts he's pulled out, and also shakes his head at a few pairs of worn, retro jeans that Johnny thought were pretty cool. They narrow it down to a couple of shirts and one pair of trousers that Johnny usually wears for interviews.

"You sure about these?" Johnny asks.

"Or you could buy something new? But you know my mom doesn't care what you wear, right?"

"Oh, this isn't for your mom. I need to impress LaRusso," Johnny says, and then quickly adds, "I can't let him one-up me."

Miguel frowns, but then points to the red checked shirt. "Okay, that one. I've seen Mr LaRusso wear shirts like that."

Johnny goes to try on the outfit and has to admit Miguel made a good choice. "What do you think, two buttons undone, or three?" he asks as he comes back into the room.

"I'd start with it buttoned all the way up."

Johnny shakes his head. "You kids today have no idea about fashion."

"Hey, you asked me."

Daniel looks in the mirror and smooths down his hair.

Amanda comes up behind him and smiles. "You look very handsome, darling," she says.

"Thanks," he says, unable to keep the tension out of his voice.

"Which earrings should I wear?" she asks, holding up two pairs.

"The silver ones look good on you, but I think the gold ones go better with that dress," he says, turning to his wife. "What's all this? I thought you and Carmen were just having a quiet night in."

"Oh, we are," Amanda says, putting on the gold earrings. "But that doesn't mean I can't make the effort. She's always so stylish. I'm not going to invite her into our home with sweatpants and a messy bun."

"But that look is so good on you," Daniel says, putting his hands on her arms and kissing her.

She smiles. "Thanks for making me feel like I shouldn't have bothered making the effort."

Daniel smiles and shakes his head. "You look incredible. I love that dress on you."

"You're nervous."

"Is it obvious?"

Amanda touches Daniel's cheek. "Just relax and see what happens."

The doorbell sounds.

"That must be Carmen, she's early," Amanda says, checking her reflection before heading towards the stairs.

Daniel follows her. "I should be going, I'll call an Uber," he says. "Oh, this is crazy."

"You know it's not too late to back out if you really want to," she says as they walk downstairs.

"No, no, I can't do that," Daniel says. The thought hasn't even occurred to him.

He stands in the hallway to open the Uber app on his phone while Amanda gets the door.

"Oh, you're both here, what a surprise," Amanda says. "Come in."

"Thank you, it's so nice to see you," Carmen says. "I brought us a bottle of red."

"Oh, this looks nice."

Daniel looks up from his phone to see both Carmen and Johnny. Amanda is hugging and exchanging cheek kisses with Carmen, who is wearing a floral cocktail dress. Johnny watches the two of them with an unreadable expression on his face. Then he notices Daniel and turns to stare at him, his eyes flicking up and down his body before he speaks. Daniel wonders if the shirt he chose is a little too tightly fitting.

"I thought I'd come and drop Carmen off, then you didn't need to come pick me up."

"Johnny, you might have told me, I've just ordered an Uber to your place," Daniel says. "Doesn't matter, I'll change it."

"So what have you chicks got planned for this evening?" Johnny asks. He puts his arm around Carmen's waist but keeps shooting looks at Daniel, who doesn't know how to feel about this and is pretending that he is still trying to change the destination on the app.

"Well, I've got some new recipes I'd like to try that the kids won't even entertain, so I was thinking you could help me choose one over a bottle of wine or two," Amanda says, holding up the bottle Carmen brought.

"Sounds perfect," Carmen says with a smile.

There's the beep of a car horn outside.

"That'll be our ride," Daniel says.

"Well, have fun Johnny," Carmen says, turning to kiss him.

Carmen glances at Daniel, and he feels uncomfortably like he's stealing her boyfriend. Does she know? Or does she just think it's two friends getting drinks? If she doesn't, Amanda will tell her. Daniel has a horrible feeling that this is going to end in someone getting hurt.

He turns to Amanda, who kisses him on the cheek and gives his arm a reassuring squeeze.

Finally, Daniel faces Johnny, who looks quite serious. Daniel hopes he doesn't look as nervous as he feels. "So, ready to go grab a beer?"

Johnny nods. "You know it."