I pull up to Bella Noche at around eight thirty. Emily said she had a date, and I didn’t want her to think I was sitting home alone on a Saturday night, so I decided to meet up with Dom and the others after their golf tournament. I’m sure Dom chose this place for dinner so he could skip out on the bill. For once, I’m thankful since him skipping out on the check usually winds up with me paying it. But I don’t have any problem letting his family cover this one since they own the place.

I walk up to the hostess stand, where Janel greets me.

“Welcome to Bella Noche. Will you be dining alone this evening?” Janel reminds me of Siri because she has automated responses for everything. She’s known me for years, but she’s so conditioned to greet people the same way she doesn’t bother to acknowledge me.

“Hi, Janel. I’m meeting Dominic and a few others for dinner.”

“Right this way,” she says, grabbing a menu and walking toward the back of the restaurant.

I sigh. When I see her at Last Call, she always calls me by name and has actual conversations with me. But at work, she turns into this robot of a hostess.

I do a double take when Janel leads me past a table for two tucked behind the fish tank. Emily is seated with someone who looks a lot like a celebrity whose name I can’t place at the moment. Her back is to me, so I keep walking and pretend not to notice her.

“Hey!” Dom says, waving his hand in the air when he sees me.

I want to tell him to shut up before he draws Emily’s attention, but if she hears my voice, she’ll definitely look this way. I quickly slip into the empty seat, which gives me a little too good of a view of Emily and her date.

“Your menu, sir,” Janel says, handing the menu to me.

“Thank you, Janel,” I say, using her name on purpose, though it has no effect on her.

“Certainly. Your server will be right with you.” She turns and walks back to the hostess station.

“You missed a hell of a tournament today,” Dom says.

“Yeah, sorry I stole your spot,” Will says.

“You didn’t,” Malcolm says. “Dom’s the idiot who forgot he promised you a spot.”

“All right, I made a mistake. Big deal. David doesn’t even really like the sport anyway.” Dom claps me on the back. “Right?”

“Yeah.” My eyes are glued to Emily and her date. Who the hell does he look like?

Will and Malcolm turn in their seats, following my gaze. “You know her?”

They aren’t the type of guys I’d bring Emily around, so they don’t know who she is.

“We work together, and she’s my new roommate.”

“She’s also his ex,” Dom adds.

“Thanks for that,” I say, glaring at him.

“Tell me you’re kidding,” Will says. “You had a girl that hot and you let her go?”

“How the hell are you living with her now?” Malcolm asks. “Are you two still sleeping together or something? Did you just decide not to be exclusive? Because if that’s the case, you need to give her my number.”

“Right,” Will says. “Like you have a chance. She’s dating a celebrity lookalike.”

“He does look like a celebrity, doesn’t he?” I ask.

“Yeah, that brother from Supernatural,” Will says.

That’s it. Emily loves that show. That’s just my luck, that she’d meet a man who looks like her celebrity crush. The universe keeps kicking me in the balls.

While Will and Malcolm are busy staring at Emily’s date, Dom leans in and whispers, “You all right?”

“Fine. Just hungry.” I pretend to peruse the menu, and when the waiter returns, I order lobster ravioli and an Amstel Light.

“Since when do you drink Amstel Light?” Dom asks me.

I didn’t even realize I’d ordered it. “Emily has it in the apartment. It’s not bad,” I lie. I must have ordered it because I’m so honed in on Emily, and when the waiter asked what I wanted to drink, I said the name of the beer she was drinking.

Her date flashes a smile at her, and she returns it. She seems so at ease with him, like she used to be with me. I miss those days. I’m not sure why I had to ruin everything by asking her out. If I didn’t, we might still be looking at each other like that, flirting all the time, touching each other in suggestive ways... I enjoyed every second of it, but it wasn’t enough for me. I wanted more. I wanted her.

Dom waves his hand in front of my face. “Man, you need to stop staring. It’s bordering on stalkerish.”

“I didn’t know she’d be here. She told me she had a date, but I didn’t know where she was going.” And I hoped she was lying, trying to put some space between us after I broke the boundaries of our new relationship and kissed her.

“You want to leave?” Dom asks after several long minutes pass where I can’t take my eyes off Emily.

“No. I haven’t even eaten yet.” Besides, if I got up and left, I’d have to walk by her table again. I’m lucky she hasn’t seen me yet, but I’m not about to push that luck.

As if on cue, the waiter arrives with my ravioli. “Here you are, sir. The plate is hot.”

I take it from him, not heeding his words. Damn it if he wasn’t kidding, though. I quickly put the plate down.

“That’s why the waiters wear gloves, man. You’ve been here enough to know that. Don’t let Emily mess with your mind.”

He’s right. I had to get over Emily. She was moving on, and I had to do the same or I was going to lose her as my friend, too.

“You up for Last Call after this?” I ask Dom.

“Why do I get the feeling you’re looking for someone to take your mind off Emily?”

“Because you’re not stupid.” I cut my ravioli and shove a large piece of it into my mouth.

“Now you’re talking.” Dom pats my back before picking up with the conversation Will and Malcolm are having.

I spend the rest of dinner watching Emily and her date. Once her date pays the bill and they leave, I slap money for the tip on the table. I stand up, downing the rest of my Amstel Light. “I’m ready. You?” I ask Dom.

“Meet you there. I have to finish this.” He holds up his beer, which is still half full.

I give Will and Malcolm one-armed hugs and head out. I’m getting into my car when I spot Emily and her date standing next to her Altima. I know I should drive away, but I can’t help watching.

Her date steps closer to her, and I mentally chant, “Get in the car. Get in the car.” But she doesn’t. He tilts his head and leans in. She meets him halfway. The kiss is brief, but it still sends jealousy coursing through me, mainly because she doesn’t run away from him like she ran away from me. She smiles and brushes her hair behind her ear. He opens her car door for her. Wonderful. He’s attractive and has good manners. I should be happy for her. If she’s not with me, I want her to be with a good guy.

No, I don’t. I want her to be with me.

She pulls out of the spot and drives past me. She eyes me through the window, and all I can do is offer a small wave. She knows I saw her. Now I really do feel like a stalker.