Reckless.

Two days passed and Emily kept her eyes on the booth in her section, but he didn’t come. He must’ve taken her word seriously. Emily was pleased, it was what she wanted, but she couldn’t help but feel bad about it. Had she been too hard? The kid was only coming in and buying food, he wasn’t just loitering around or anything like that.

“Emily.”

Emily stopped putting away the silverware at the sound of her name. She looked up to see Amber standing there with a slight frown. “Tyler’s here to see you.”

Emily dusted off the nonexistent dust from her hands on her apron and headed out to the counter where her boyfriend stood, his dark hair a mess on his head, showcasing the fact that he clearly hadn’t taken the time to make himself presentable before going out in public.

He followed behind Emily as she led him out to the parking lot. She sighed once she turned to face him. She knew why he was here; it was always the same thing with him. He’d never visit her for any other reason.

“Babe, I need some money.”

“What for?”

“Chris is having a party tonight, he invited us and it’s pretty rude to go to a party and not bring at least a pack of beers.”

Emily rolled her eyes, digging into her apron and withdrawing her tips for the day. “How much do you need, like fifteen bucks?” she began counting it out, but he simply reached forward, his lightly tanned hand grabbing all of the money in her hand.

“Just in case,” he clarified and with a smile, he leaned forward and kissed her lips. He shoved the money into his pocket and withdrew his keys. “So, what time are you getting off tonight, so I can tell Chris when we’ll be heading out.”

“Ten,” she stated with a sigh and began turning to head back into the diner to finish up her shift for the day.

“I love you babe.”

“Love you too,” she muttered, dragging her way back to work.

+

Emily’s frown was ever present as she sat on the couch that reeked of weed and cat piss. She watched as everyone around her tossed back drinks or took a hit, or danced throughout the house with an offbeat rhythm. Tyler had long since ditched her and she beginning to wonder why she had let herself get dragged to a party yet again. She hated everyone who came to the parties, she always sat on the same fucking couch, said no to a blunt from the same potheads, denied a drink from the shady creeps, and thought about how life got this shitty until three in the morning when Tyler would finally decide it was time to leave.

“Have you ever wondered why a cat has four legs?”

Emily narrowed her eyes to slits as she turned to the guy beside her who had been smoking since the moment she’d gotten there. His hazel eyes were barely open enough for her to tell what color they were. He had a lazy smile on his face as he awaited her answer. “I mean, like, why can’t cats be like us? You know, with the whole walking on two legs part? I just feel like, everything would just work out better that way, you know?”

“Shut the fuck up.”

“Woah, woah, woah. No need for such foul language,” he slurred, his hands slowly coming up to push the air her way. “Here,” he said, holding out the blunt to her. “Take a hit, you’ll feel so much better.”

“I’m going to cut your dick off with rusted garden shears.”

“So violent,” he shook his head slowly and took another hit. “I can handle your aura.” With that, he stood up, leaving Emily to herself as she continued to sulk in her own self misery.

She glanced down at her watch and realized the pizza shop a few blocks away would still be open for another two hours. “Sure fucking beats being here.”

She looked around for Tyler, wanting to at least let him know she was leaving, but after a minute of searching, she gave up. She knew he wouldn’t think twice about her all night until he was ready to leave, and even then, he’d stumble his ass all the way home before he realized she wasn’t there.

The wind was harsh as she walked down the dark sidewalk and she pulled her coat tighter to herself as she turned onto the street of the pizza parlor. She smiled once she smelt the delicious aroma and the brightly lit building with the open door.

“Emily, here for the usual?”

Emily smiled briefly, pulling off her beanie with a smile. “Sure thing, Mike.”

She slid onto the barstool and pulled out her cellphone while she waited on Mike to bring out her peperoni and black olive pizza slice with a vanilla coke. She texted a quick message to Tyler, letting him know where she was. Just as she hit send, a deep voice sounded in her ear.

“What a lucky day.”

Emily turned around in time to see Harry take the barstool beside her with a smile. He pulled his own beanie off and shook his hair out, bringing it back to its normal place. He took a moment to order, and after thanking Mike, he turned to the girl beside him.

“It’s pretty late for a girl like you to be out alone.”

“A girl like me? What’s that supposed to mean?”

“An attractive girl,” Harry shrugged nonchalantly. “Where’s your boyfriend?”

Emily’s eyebrows scrunched up in confusion. “How do you know I have a boyfriend?”

“I saw you with him earlier. He came to your work and was basically harassing you for some money.”

Emily’s cheeks flushed with embarrassment and she quickly rolled her eyes trying to play it off, but her mind caught on something. She didn’t recall seeing him today at work. She was sure he hadn’t come in, she looked out in her section all day. Sure, he could’ve sat in one of the other girl’s sections, but she was sure she would’ve recalled seeing him.

“Ah, so now you’re stalking me from afar. How lovely.” She thanked Mike once he set down her pizza slice and coke. Her small hands seemed to be swallowed up by the pizza as she took the large slice in her mouth and she began chowing down without so much as a care at the boy watching her with intense eyes.

“What can I say? I’m a creature of habit, and when I see something I like,” he shrugged, “I just can’t help but always want to be in their presence.”

“You can’t say shit like that to me,” Emily pointed out, taking a large bite out of her pizza before wiping her mouth with the napkin Mike laid out. “I have a boyfriend, so that means I’m off limits.”

“It’s only compliments , love.” He shrugged as if his words were nothing. He brought his own slice of pizza that just arrived to his lips and took a bite. He moaned as he took another bite.

“It’s good, isn’t it?” she smirked, watching him devour the pizza now that he knew how good it tasted. “Mike’s got the best pizza in California. He’s originally from New York, so he knows what he’s doing.”

“Holy shit, I don’t think I’ve ever tasted a proper pizza slice until now.”

Emily laughed at this, and Harry stopped chewing, his eyes glancing up to meet hers. She quieted her loud laugh and frowned, confusion etching on her face. “What?”

“You have a beautiful laugh, that’s all.”

Emily had never been one for that cheesy romantic shit boys always tried to pull. It was childish and it only showcased how big of a tool bag a guy really was. She assumed that’s why she took a liking to Tyler, he wasn’t about fake compliments and bullshit to get to her, he was straightforward and that was enough for her.

But the way that Harry said the same bullshit she’d heard before, and made it sound so promising, like he actually meant those words, well, it was a change, and his words actually made her feel better about herself, made her feel pretty, even if it was just for the night. But she knew better than to become putty in his hands, this was how he picked up all his girls, that she was sure of.

“What’re your plans after this?”

Emily met his eyes and tried to hold back an eye roll. See, this is what she was talking about, not even a minute later, and here he was, inviting her for a night of sex, she knew this is where it was headed. “I haven’t really thought that far, I’m probably going to head home.”

“Come with me, I’m just going back to my hotel, but the guys I was with in the diner, they’ll be there, and we’re just going to hang out and watch a film.”

“I don’t know.” She finished up her pizza and tried to ignore the big green eyes watching her face intently as she wiped off her hands and lips.

“Come on,” he placed his hand on hers and grinned. “What else do you have to do? You’ll have fun, I promise.”

It was true, she didn’t have anything better to do. But was she really going to spend her night with a teeny bopper boy bander? Surely Emily’s life hadn’t gotten to this point, this was just sad and frankly, not her.

“Do you guys have booze?”

“Enough for all your hearts content.”