“What?” I asked.
“See, this is why I don’t get dressed up or go out places with guys. I put on a nice dress and pick out some decent jewelry to put on, and the guy can’t even listen to what I’m saying because he’s too preoccupied with trying to see further down my top.”
“That wasn’t what I-”
“I’m sitting here rambling on about my boring week in school thinking you would actually give a damn about it.”
“Emma, I’m sorry if-”
“This was a mistake.”
I watched her set her drink down as she gathered her things.
“Excuse me?” I asked.
“I shouldn't have agreed to this,” Emma said.
“Wait a second. Emma, come-”
She slid out of the booth just as our food was set on the table and she was moving quicker than I could get to her. I could see tears in her eyes as she whipped around the corner of the booth, traveling at lightning speed for the front door. What the fuck had just happened? How the hell had this careened so quickly out of control? I grabbed my coat and slung it around my shoulders, then told the waitress to hold on.
I stormed after Emma and caught her arm just as we dumped out into the night.
“Emma, hold on a second.”
“What?” she asked heatedly.
She whipped around and her eyes were filled with tears. Her arms were held tightly across her chest, like she somehow felt exposed. I gently cupped her elbows and drew her into me, and the mom
ent our bodies connected she fell. Her knees collapsed underneath her and I threw my arms around her, catching her before she hit the pavement.
I’d missed something.
Something important.
She was shaking and I didn’t know why. It wasn’t cold. She wasn’t crying. But something was very wrong. I unthreaded her arms from around her body and wrapped them around my neck, then slipped my arms around her waist. Holy shit, her body felt amazing. Warm to the touch. Soft against the edges of my body. I stroked my fingers through her hair and swayed us lightly underneath the moonlight of the alleyway as confused people passed us by.
But I didn’t care.
Something was wrong with Emma, and that was the only thing I cared about.
“What happened?” I asked.
I felt her sigh against my neck and the heat wafted down my spine.
“Are you okay?” I asked.
“I don’t know,” Emma said plainly.
“Do you want to talk about it?”
“I don’t know.”
“Do you want to go back inside and eat?”
“I don’t know.”
“Well, what do you know?” I asked.