"Mita-what- giving it a longer name isn't helping, Charlie!" he joked. He nodded and gave his shoulder a quick squeeze. "Good. That'll be good, then," he told him, feeling strangely relieved. It was something, it was better than just sounding like a raving lunatic with zero evidence.
"Yeah. You can talk to her, Charlie. If you want to, just to see what she's like," he nodded. "You don't have to. Just if you wanted to," he added, in case it sounded like a pressure on him.
Then Charlie mentioned Isabel, and he felt his heart sink a little. He was trying not to think about that, it wasn't going to be easy. He didn't want to make Isabel feel like she was being tossed aside for a better offer, but there wasn't much of a way to make it seem otherwise.
"I... well. I guess I'll have to talk her. It was only a couple of dates," he added, not sure that his casual tone was entirely convincing.