been here a couple of times because it’s so close by. They have really good food.”
“Hangover food?” Emily asked, but saw that Shelby wasn’t looking at her. “What, is there a hot guy in the corner?”
Shelby shook her head. “Don’t look as I say this, but I’m watching the booth kind of diagonally across from us, on the other side of the room. That looks like the guy who was with Cory last night.”
Emily paused and turned her head, not in the direction that Shelby had been looking, but toward the mirrored wall. In the mirror’s reflection, she saw a crowd of people gathered around a table. She searched the group, looking for the guy Shelby thought she recognized. Her eyes landed on a familiar face.
“That’s Tyler, his band mate.” Emily looked away from the mirror. “Random that he’d be here, but I guess it’s a good place to watch the game.”
“Are you okay with staying here?”
She shrugged. “He doesn’t know me. I mean, he may recognize me from last night, but Cory and I didn’t really hang out with the guys in his band. I’ve only met Chris, their guitar player.”
A server came to their table and they ordered drinks and food to share, idly watching the basketball game playing on a few screens around the bar. Emily had nearly forgotten about Tyler being there when she caught a glimpse of a familiar male figure coming into the bar.
“Um, Shel.” Emily’s voice was barely above a whisper.
“One sec, there’s a close-up.” Shelby kept her eyes glued to the big screen, watching the player Emily knew she had a crush on.
“This is kind of an emergency.”
“What’s that?”
“Cory just walked in.”
“What?” Shelby’s voice echoed through the bar, and she immediately clamped a hand over her mouth.
Cory turned his head in their direction. Emily slouched down in her seat, trying to shield the side of her face with her hand.
“We’ve been spotted,” she said.
“Sorry.” Shelby’s voice sounded meek and was thankfully much quieter. “What do you want to do?”
“It’s too late for a graceful exit.” Emily kept her eyes fixed on Shelby. “Plus, our order is already in. I think we’re stuck here until we’ve eaten and paid the bill.”
“Maybe pretend you didn’t notice him?” Shelby suggested. “Then he’ll have no reason to talk to you. You said you didn’t return his text from last night, right?”
“You mean his three texts from last night.”
“Seriously?” Shelby asked. Emily nodded. “Okay, you didn’t return any of them, did you?”
“Nope.” In spite of the advice Shelby had just given her, Emily saw her watching Cory in the mirror.
“Good. That should be a clear enough hint for him to leave you alone. We’ll eat quickly, and then we’ll make our escape.”
Shelby turned her head back to the big screen, where the camera moved in for another close-up of her favorite player. Emily resigned herself to spending at least the next half hour in the same room as Cory and turned her attention to the game.
“Uh oh,” Shelby muttered. “He’s looking at us.”
“I thought we were pretending that we didn’t see him,” Emily reminded her.
“I know, but it’s kind of like a train wreck. You know when you just can’t look away?”
“Great, my life is a train wreck. I couldn’t have said it better myself.”
Their server set two plates down on their table. Emily reached for a fry.
Shelby picked up half of the sandwich they’d ordered. “You know that’s not what I meant.”
“You’re missing another close-up of your boy,” Emily told her, trying to change the subject. She nodded at the big screen.
“Ugh.” Shelby scrunched up her nose.
Emily smirked. “That was a quick end to your crush.”
Shelby shook her head and leaned in closer to Emily. “Fair warning for you,” she murmured. “Your ex-boy just stood up and appears to be walking this way.”
Emily whipped her head around in the direction of Cory’s table. She swallowed the sour taste in her mouth when she saw Shelby was right.
“I can’t stay here for this.” Emily slid out of the booth. “I’ll pay you back for the food, I promise.”
“Wait, where are you going?” Shelby asked.
Emily didn’t answer. She felt a hand touch her arm and shook it off without looking behind her, then almost ran for the door.
“Cory, leave her,” Shelby’s voice called out. He must have ignored her, because Emily heard his footsteps behind her.
When she reached the sidewalk outside of the bar, Emily felt Cory’s hand gently grasp her shoulder. She spun around to stare at