Date Coach
Chapter 3
Danny sat on the couch in Dr. Chantry’s office, in the office for his weekly appointment as he listened to the doctor speak to him. “That’s great news, I’m glad you’ve lost another 10 pounds, you’re well on your way to your ideal weight, just keep going. Sounds like things are all good with Linda as well, so that’s all in order then?”
“That’s right doc, I couldn’t be happier. It’s been easier to talk to women in general too, I’ve been greeting them, complimenting their clothes and shoes, and they all react friendly—I can’t believe it was this easy to talk to them!”
“That’s right, so let’s keep going then with the advice,” Dr. Chantry thought to himself for a moment the water has done it’s job, let’s try just talking to him today. “Alright today’s going to be a big day for advice, and you’re going to have to trust me. Are you ready for this?”
Danny wasn’t even nervous as he responded, “you don’t even have to ask me, I’m ready for all of it!”
“Excellent. Because you’re going to ask Linda if she wants to go hang out with you somewhere.”
“Like a date?? Am I ready for something like that?” Danny asked, surprised.
“No, no. It’s not a date, you just want to hang out. She won’t feel pressured if you’re just hanging out. Remember this is just practice for you too, so you’re not trying to string her along or anything.”
“Oh ok, I understand. Where should we go?”
“Ask her to take you out to her favorite club. It doesn’t matter if you can’t dance. The point is to get you used to an environment like that. It will be healthy for you.”
“Alright, I hope she’s into clubs.”
“If not then a bar is fine too, but I’m sure it will work itself out. Anyways, next order of business. Your clothes need work if you’re going to a club. You’re getting in better shape now, and you’ve got to show some of that off. So I want you to buy some new shirts. Preferably ones with a V-neck style, the deeper the better, but not too deep. We want to be reasonable here, right?”
“Of course doc, I get you.”
“So no deeper than below your pecs, we’re not trying to look ridiculous here. Right so, we’ve got to give you a little flash, some pizzazz, if you will. So I want you to buy a bit of jewelry, nothing too much. A ring, a necklace, and a bracelet. No big deal, just something to give you an interesting look. Oh, and while we’re at it, definitely get your ears pierced.”
“Both of them?” Danny asked, while touching his earlobe.
“That’s correct, it’s the cool thing to do nowadays anyway. Girls will know you’ve got modern sensibilities.”
“I see, that sounds like a good thing.”
“Mmhm. On the subject of ‘good things’ I also want you to stop working out using that video at home. We need to step it up a bit. There’s a gym I want you to go to, don’t worry its near your home. I want you to sign up for a couple of aerobics class. Actually two of them. You’ll do the light one three times a week, and the heavy one once a week. We’re going to tone you up, and this is an great way to do so.”
Dr. Chantry handed him the card. Danny looked at it as he spoke to the doctor, “wow you’re right. A lot for this week, is there more I should be doing?”
“Nope that about covers us for a week. Oh actually one more thing as well. I’ll see you in two weeks instead, but I want you to have lost 10 more pounds by then alright? We’re so close to where we want you, we’ve just got to make that last push. Think you can do it?”
“Of course doctor, I don’t get very hungry nowadays anyway. Sometimes I even skip lunch!”
“Alright, wonderful. I’ll see you in two weeks Danny.”
Danny was a little nervous. Even though it wasn’t a date, he still had to actually ask her to go somewhere with him. He made sure he wore nice clothes today so he wouldn’t putt off Linda. He had on his deepest V-neck, going down about 5 inches, and his gray slim jeans, trying to stay cool as they sat down for lunch.
Linda spoke first, “I like your earrings, they’re cute.”
Danny touched one of his small diamond studs, “thanks. I like the way you did your hair today too.”
“Alex does a great job, I can give you the card for his salon if you like.”
“Ah, maybe later.” Deciding now is a good a time as any, he went for it, “um, hey, what are you doing this weekend?”
“Oh, are you asking me on a date, hmm?” The two of them laughed. She laughed because she knew he wasn’t into her like that, and he because his nerves just became shot.
“Ah, uh, oh no. No! No. I just want to hang out, y’know? You think we can hang out sometime?”
“Sure, that’d be great! What kind of hangout did you have in mind?”
“I was thinking maybe somewhere fun, like a nightclub maybe. Do you know any?”
Linda looked surprised, “do I? Boy, I know all the good places. But I didn’t figure you for the clubbing type.”
“Well I figured with the changes I’ve been going through, something fun would be nice.”
“Let me call my girlfriends then, we’re going to have a great time, an outing for your ‘outing’!” Linda quickly closed her mouth and looked at Danny, worried she’d made the wrong call about him and might offend him. She was relieved when Danny didn’t notice what she had implied and made no reactions to it.
Two weeks went by quickly, and Dr. Chantry was thinking to himself as Danny walked in to have a seat, alright this is going to be a big turning point for Danny today. I’m definitely going to have to use the water today.
“Doctor, I did it! I’m down to 115 pounds, and I feel like such a different person now! I’ve never looked better, and I get a lot of looks around the office now.”
You’re going to get a lot more soon, Dr. Chantry thought as he spoke “how did your night out with Linda go?”
“Extremely well! We went to this night club where they played great 80’s music all night, and we danced and drank and talked. She seemed to enjoy herself a lot.”
“That’s perfect, because we’re going to need Linda’s help for the next steps. She’s a woman, so she knows what women like, right?”
“That sounds reasonable.”
“So you’re going to talk with her about what women like, fashion, style, that sort of thing. Girl talk, if you will.”
“But isn’t that not going to help me very much?”
Dr. Chantry gave Danny a disapproving look as he spoke to him, “I’ve said you have to trust me, right? Don’t worry about it too much. You have to understand women, to understand how to be with them, do you get it?”
“Ahh I see. That makes perfect sense. I’m sorry for questioning doctor, but how do I talk about that stuff with her? I don’t know the first thing about any of that, so I can’t start any conversations.”
“No problem. I’m going to pay for a few subscriptions to fashion and style magazines for you. No need to make you pay for something like this.”
“You’ll buy them for me? Wow thanks doc, that’s really nice of you.”
“It’s no trouble, really. I want you to study them well, and talk with Linda about them, since she sounds like shes a fairly fashionable woman.”
“Oh I’d say she is, I hear her talking to the other girls in the office about stuff like that all the time.”
“Great, if you get into any conversations with them too, that’s absolutely perfect. The more opinions you get the more it can help you. So we’re going to get into a few more things now, why don’t you have some water while I prepare.”
“Sure thing.”
Danny was out, and the doctor was ready to speak. “Okay Danny. Time to get serious. I’m going to tell you to do a number of things. You’re going to do them. Just as always. But now people are definitely going to notice you, and talk about you, and stare at you. When they do this, you won’t feel embarrased, and you won’t think anything they tell you is strange. In fact you’re going to enjoy the new attention. So what will you do when people stare at you?”
“Enjoy...”
“Perfect. Now we need to get you new clothes again, because you’re getting perfectly thin. Buy some skinny jeans, at least 3 pairs, in whatever colors you want. We should also do something about your height, so I want you to buy a couple of pairs of shoes. First, get a pair of boots, with at least 1.5 inches of heel. That’s pretty low so you could probably get away with a platform sole on combat boots or something similar. Same goes for some tennis shoes. If you have to buy girl’s shoes thats fine. You’ll try to get a unisex looking style, and you won’t think it’s strange at all. You’re merely trying to get some height to look more attractive.”
Dr. Chantry stared at Danny’s face, noticing his hair and his thick eyebrows as he sat in a trance, before continuing on. “On that note, we’ll take more steps for your face and hair as well. I want you to go back to the salon I sent you to before, and tell them to give you some highlights. Maybe around the bangs or something. Ask them to make it sexy, they’re good and know what to do. So make sure you agree to anything they say. Afterwards, ask them to trim your eyebrows too, they’re far too thick, and you’ll feel like ladies will like it more if they were sleeker. Now tell me, do you think your communication skills are good enough to talk fashion with women other than Linda?”
“Not...sure...” Danny said, frowning.
“Not to worry, follow my tips, and you’ll feel confident about it. Girls are expressive, and like to use their hands. So you’ve got to use your hands too, this way they can understand you more easily. So before you start talking to anyone, I want you to touch them lightly. The arm or the shoulder is fine. Make sure you don’t tap them too hard, it should just be a very light very gentle touch. I also want you to practice using plenty of hand gestures, and pay attention to the way they use their hands when they speak, so you can perform it better. It’s an important part of communicating with women. I want you to practice this all the time, regardless of if you’re speaking to women or not. Practice makes perfect after all. Hm, I just remembered you have earrings but I can’t see them. What’s the point of wearing them if no one can see them? I want you to start keeping one side of your hair behind your ear, at least this way we can see one of them. If you feel like your hair is over your ears, I want you to use your hand and sweep it back around your ear again. Hm, ah yes, and in fact, there’s nothing wrong with playing with your hair in general. It shows women you care about your hair, and thus your appearance, and that’s a good thing. So I want you to go ahead and play with your hair, twist it around your finger, play with the ends in your hands. When you get nervous or if you’re thinking about something, doing this will make you feel especially comfortable. So you think you can handle the hand gestures?”
“Important...definitely can...”
“Excellent, ‘banana hammock’,” the doctor said, watching Danny wake up and continuing “now I want you to go out with Linda and her friends a few more times. And don’t be afraid to let loose a little, it’s ok to have a few drinks and get drunk, as long as the girls are there to watch your back.”
“Hehe, I’ll try and have a bit more fun then doctor,” Danny said, putting up his arm and sweeping his hair back over his ear.
“Sounds great, see you in two more weeks then Danny.”
“Ooh I love your hair, it’s hot,” Linda complimented Danny, “I love those highlights!”
“Thanks.”
They arrived at the club, meeting up with Linda and Danny’s coworkers, and Danny was getting some stares. “Are you alright with all those looks you’re getting lately? I guess its a big change for you,” one of their other coworkers asked Danny.
“Nah, it’s alright. I’m not putting in all this effort so no one can see me, right girls?” They all laughed. Danny enjoyed clubbing with Linda and her friends nowadays. Danny had a cocktail as one of the girls noticed something, “hey, you and I have the same boots!” Danny became flushed because he knew he was wearing girl’s shoes. He wasn’t ashamed, but he didn’t exactly want to flaunt that fact.
Linda came to his rescue, “oh don’t tease him. Danny’s a small guy, he just needs to get things that fit him right?”
Danny twirled his hair in his fingers, fidgeting around as he tried to relax, “yeah, I have really small feet, and I liked these boots.”
“Oh no no no! I didn’t mean to insult you! I’m so sorry! I really thought the boots were cool too! I’m so sorry!”
He waved his arms around as he responded, “no it’s okay, they are girl’s boots after all. They go well with my top though right? Green’s in style,” he said, posing to show off his outfit, a loose green shirt, with dark black skinny jeans and his girl’s calf-high black boots.
They all laughed and talked. Danny was a little tipsy already, but thought, what the hell, I’m with my girls, I can get a little drunk!