Page 64 of A Little Bit Extra

I kiss her back with every intention to revel in this private moment before we’re forced to return to our group. Her hands wrap around my waist. Mine cup her jaw, deepening our kiss. Hers then gently glide across my back, tracing delicate circles, moving up and down.

I’m five seconds away from taking her right here in this closet when we hear a group of people walk down the hallway.

As much as I don’t want to stop, I know we should head to the diner before our group of friends think something happened to us. We can’t exactly say “sorry we were making out,” and I can’t think of any other excuse.

“Cassie,” I say when I’m finally able to get a word in, but she keeps kissing me. She’s being overly persistent. I gently push her face away from mine. “Sass.”

She finally stops and pouts. She’s so damn cute it hurts my heart.

“Don’t look at me like that.”

“It’s not fair.”

“I know.” I kiss the top of her head. “Soon.”

She nods and kisses me one last time before we step out of the room and head to her car to drive over to the diner.

The drive to the diner is short. We get there in 10 minutes, and I sneak in one more kiss before we get out of the car.

Before we are about to enter the diner, we’re cornered by a reporter. This is why I don’t go out a lot.

“Emmett, look here! Who are you with tonight?” The reporter shouts as if he’s 10 feet away from me, instead of just a few.

I quickly shuffle Cassie to my left side, blocking her from the scrutiny of the reporter.

“Hey, you know the rules!” A shout comes from in front of me.

Looking up, there is an older gentleman hovering outside of the right door. He’s shaking his fist and mumbling about how cameras aren’t allowed in his diner.

“Come on, you two.” He waves to usher us inside.

“Thanks, Dave.” Cassie smiles.

“No problem, kiddo. I know you don’t work here anymore, but I’ll always be there for you. Your friends are at the big table in the back.”

I nod to Dave as we pass, silently thanking him for removing the reporter. Taking a deep breath, I look in front of me to see Cassie looking back at me and smiling. I slowly blink once, capturing this moment forever, hoping that I can figure out what I’m going to do with my career so I can keep Cassie forever.

19

Cassie

We make our way into the diner after Dave runs off the reporter and find our group sitting at a table in the back left corner. On one side are Lane, Max, Lucy, and Tyler. The other side has two open seats and Marcy. There are only a few clusters of people in the diner tonight, but our group of friends talk loud enough to know where they are the minute we walk through the door.

I see Dave again and give him a smile. I’ve only been in a few times since I’ve quit, and every time, his face lights up and he always wants to catch up. I wonder if that’s what it’s like to have a parent that cares, that asks you questions about your day and if your job is going well. Dave filled that semi-parent role over the past few years since my mom is practically absent from my life.

We sit at the table and find they have already ordered what appears to be one of every appetizer. It is enough food to feed double the amount of people we have.

We spend the evening eating too many fries and talking about the movie coming to a close.

“I don’t know about you all, but I cannot wait for a break,” Tyler says. He leans to the middle of the table to grab a fry and shoves it into his mouth.

“You think you’re ready?” Marcy practically yells across the table at Tyler, throwing a fry at him. “I’ve been running around between not one, but two sets! If I didn’t have Cassie, I would seriously go insane.” She looks over at me and we both start laughing.

“You’re welcome,” I say with a smile. I grab a fry for myself, dip it in some ketchup, and stick it in my mouth. Emmett squeezes my leg under the table. I glance at him. I should glare, but I’m smiling and trying to stop myself from saying something out loud that would make what's happening obvious to the others. Instead, I resort to trying to give him a mental “Will you stop that?!” before he forces my hand and I say something to give us away.

“It’s been fun for me, though. Obviously, it’s been great to meet you all and become friends.” I smile at everyone around the table.

“It’s been great for me, too. There are so many things I’ve loved about this film,” Emmett says. I look over at him and find him looking at me. I grab more food to eat, trying to hide the fact that this man is causing me to blush like a horny teenager.

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