Em
This night is perfect. I lean back in the booth, feeling Jake’s arm around my waist, and press myself closer against his side. I used to come here sometimes with Rob, but every time he’d sit at the bar, stuffing pretzels into his mouth, glued to the game on the giant TV screen. And I would sit beside him thinking that was normal and acceptable. What planet was I on? I don’t even recognize who that girl was. She wasn’t me.
“Are you okay?” Jake murmurs in my ear, shouting to be heard over the band.
I nod, shaking off the memory, determined to stay only in the present from now on. No more looking back. No more Emerson. I’m back to being Em.
Shay sits on my right-hand side. She’s laughing at something Aaron has just said, but my mind isn’t on the conversation; I’m just soaking it all in—this last night out together before Shay and Jake leave. At least, I think to myself, Toby will still be here to keep me sane. And Aaron, too, by the looks of things. He and Toby seem to be really into each other, are holding hands under the tabletop, sharing their drinks, and whispering into each other’s ears like teenagers on a first date.
Toby suddenly glances across the bar area toward the door. “Look what the cat dragged in,” he mutters.
I turn my head and feel my bubble of happiness prick. Rob has sauntered in and is standing in the doorway surveying the room. His gaze lands on me and he scowls.
Shay lets out a groan beside me. “Look who he’s with.”
My eyes flit to the person who’s walked in behind him. Reid.
“Great,” I mumble, feeling Jake’s arm tense as he pulls me closer against his side.
“Oh my God, what’s Tanya Hollingsworth doing with them?” Shay announces.
My eyes widen as I see Tanya—the most popular girl from school—sidle up to Rob and slip her arm through his. She flicks her hair over her shoulder and then catches sight of me. A smug, gloating smile takes over her face, and I laugh out loud. I always had a suspicion that Tanya liked Rob. Every time she saw him, she’d flirt with him, but then again, Tanya flirts with everyone with a pulse and a penis, and I thought she was just doing it to rile me. I never realized she actually had a thing for Rob.
“Tanya Hollingsworth and Rob?” Shay wonders aloud. “If they were on OkCupid, it would say ‘one hundred percent match.’ ”
I laugh. I’m actually happy for them. They suit each other.
“Who is that scary-looking girl?” Aaron interrupts, glancing over at Tanya. “And why is she giving you a stare that could freeze lava?”
“She’s nobody,” I tell him. “Just some girl we know from school.”
“Wow, she should audition for Mean Girls, the sequel.” Aaron chortles.
“Do you want to go?” Jake asks me.
I turn to him. He’s looking at me anxiously. “No,” I say, feeling a warm buzz start to build in my bloodstream at the way he’s looking at me: fiercely, protectively, like I belong to him.
“You sure?” Jake asks, his eyes searching mine.
“Actually,” I say a little weakly, “yeah, I do want to go.” I lower my voice and lean into him. “But not because of them.” I whisper in his ear, catching a hit of his aftershave as I do. “I want you to take me back to your place.” We’ve only got one night left, after all—best to make it count.
I pull back to watch the grin split Jake’s face in two. Instantly, he’s on his feet, pulling me up with him. “We’re going to go,” he tells the others.
Toby and Shay start laughing. “You have some kind of curfew, Lowe?” Shay asks.
“No,” I stammer.
She stands up, grabbing her purse. “It’s cool. I get it. You two love bunnies go enjoy yourselves. I have to get home and pack anyway.”
“Wait up,” says Toby, draining the last of his drink and standing up as well. “We’ll come too.” He catches my look of alarm. “No, not with you,” he clarifies. “But we need to catch the last ferry.”
Shay, Toby, and Aaron walk past Rob’s table and out the door, but as Jake and I pass the table, I hear Rob say something under his breath, something aimed at Toby and Aaron.
Jake freezes and I grip his arm tight. “Come on,” I say. “Let’s just go.”
“Yeah.” Rob snickers. “Listen to your woman.”
Jake’s jaw tenses. I pull him toward the door.
“Slut.”
Jake stops again and turns back to Rob. This time I feel the tension running in ripples through his body. His back stiffens and he pulls his hand from mine. Before he can do anything, I step up to the table.
“Last week I was frigid. This week I’m a slut. Make up your mind. You’re pathetic.”
I whip back around, take Jake by the hand, and tug him toward the door. He’s resisting, but I hold on tight.
“Yeah, that’s right, follow your little whore and her fag friends!”
I cringe as if he’s thrown something at our backs.
Jake rips his hand from mine and, before I can stop him, takes a step toward Rob, who jumps to his feet at Jake’s approach.
“What did you just say?” Jake asks in a low voice.
Oh God. I can see exactly where this is heading. I take hold of Jake by the arm and try to pull him away from the table, but he’s a statue and won’t budge.
“Jake,” I say, but it falls on deaf ears.
Reid stands up now as well, and steps between Jake and his little brother, fronting Jake with an angry stare.
“Jake,” I say again, loudly, pulling on his arm some more. “Just ignore them. It doesn’t matter.”
But Jake isn’t listening. His hands are fisted and the energy is bursting off him like a crackling force field.
“Apologize,” Jake says quietly, almost under his breath. “Both of you.”
Reid laughs. Tanya is still sitting at the table—her eyes glued to the four of us—as the drama plays out.
“What do I need to apologize for?” Rob snorts. “She’s the one who was two-timing me. And look at how she tried it on with Coach Lee, then acted like he assaulted her when he turned her down. If that ain’t a slut, tell me what is.”
His words hit me hard, knocking the air clean out of me, but they don’t hit as hard as Jake’s fist, which smashes into Rob’s jaw with enough force to make his head snap back like a Pez dispenser.
I blink in shock, watching Rob go stumbling backward into the table, knocking over a bottle of beer, which spills all over Tanya’s lap. Her screams pierce my eardrums. The bar roars to life, people yelling and rushing toward the fray. Rob’s suddenly back on his feet and tearing toward Jake, who stands his ground and pulls back his arm, ready to lay another punch.
Reid throws himself out of the booth. Everything becomes a blur. Reid tries to get between Rob and Jake, but he trips. He falls toward Jake, who steps aside, and the next thing I know, there’s a loud smack as his head cracks against the side of the neighboring table. He smashes to the ground with a thud. There are more screams. More shouts. Someone’s shoving Jake back toward the bar, and in the jostling crowd I get pushed aside.
My head spins as I stare at Reid on the ground, surrounded by people. A man kneels and rolls him over onto his back. His head lolls. He’s out cold. Blood oozes from a cut to his temple. I turn to Jake and see him scanning the bar. He’s looking for me, and I see the wild fear in his face before he spots me and then the despair when our eyes meet.
Behind me, I can vaguely hear Tanya crying hysterically and Rob yelling at her to shut up. I turn, distracted, and see her flapping her arms and Rob kneeling over Reid as he starts to come around, stirring blearily and groaning.
I turn back to Jake in a daze. I can’t believe he just punched someone. I’ve never seen Jake lose it like that before. I stumble toward him. He reaches for me and I wrap my arms around his neck. He pulls me closer, so tight it feels like he’s drowning and I’m the only thing keeping him afloat.
“I’m sorry,” he whispers hoarsely, burying his face in my neck.
“It’s okay, it’s okay,” I say, kissing him, stroking his hair, holding him as tight as he is holding me.
I don’t think he hears me, though, because the wail of the police siren drowns me out.