Honestly, it was less about the lack of a male role model (he'd had their father, after all), and more about being too reclusive and insecure to ask. He probably could have gotten the information from their father—or even Zach when he had been around—if he'd bothered to ask. He knew, for a fact, that there was absolutely none of his issues that he could blame on anyone else, and it bothered him when others tried to take the blame. "Well, they've got to know more than me," he said with a slightly annoyed chuckle. "I mean, part of me wants to know where things go, but at the same time... part of me doesn't want to rush. I like her. I don't want to ruin it. You know, by moving too fast or anything." He was embarrassed to say that, but it was true.
"I've always believed in fate. Kind of, anyway..." he trailed off. But he'd always been the big romantic in the family, so... it made sense. At least he figured it did. "I think it's just a Johnson thing," he added with a bitter laugh. "I mean..." he chewed on his lip. "I know how fictional characters would like it done, but..." That didn't matter a whole hell of a lot in reality. "I feel like I suck more than everyone else, because I've never actually been in one."
Don't think about it? Dillon shook his head and laughed a little bit. "Remember who you're asking not to think, here." He'd always been the big thinker in the family. "Asking me not to think is like asking a wall not to be a wall." It was a weird and random joke, but it was what it was. "It kind of feels like cheating," he admitted. "The first girl I find is a girl that's like... perfect." Or maybe not perfect, but perfect for him. "She does seem to like the stargazing, but I don't know as much about clouds as I do about stars." He shrugged. "I guess it wouldn't kill me to learn."
He chuckled and shrugged. "It's okay, really. Just do twice as much next year or something." It was a joke, or at least it was meant to be one. It was too late to do a birthday celebration this year, anyway. The last thing he wanted was to take the focus off of someone else's birthday... even if it did kind of suck that everyone had forgotten his. "Fair enough. But alcohol's a depressant, so I have to be careful with it, okay?"
"I'd add my wrath to that, but that's probably not all that scary," he chuckled a little bit and crossed his arms at his chest. "Maddie's is very pranky, though, so unless you want to wake up with pink hair or something, I'd probably stay on her good side," he quirked a half-smile and pushed the door open. "Hey, it's totally a younger sibling's prerogative to tattle and all that. Just count yourself glad I grew out of it."
Sighing, Dillon rolled his eyes. "You're really not pleading your case for me not to tell Mads and Talia," he pointed out. "No, I know they aren't. Just telling you who was cooking. They both make different stuff. Although when that Kanji guy cooks, I think he's afraid of flavor," he added. "I said 'some kind of salad,' not just salad. I think it's three bean. Or macaroni or something."