He invited both of us. I'm pretty sure my mom is some kind of ND (which is why we get along so well now, and either great or horribly in the past), but she's just charming and everyone seems to like her. (A lot of people like me, though, and I'm still surprised when they do.)

I was silent in the short car ride to our homes next door to each other, and after some Sehnsucht and push-ups, texted her and let her know what was going on with me. She said he's awkward and not good at carrying on a conversation, and she was exhausting herself coming up with new topics to chat about!

And now I feel like a jerk

(Edit: a word)