Page 38 of A Little Bit Extra

I look over at Emmett. He has his left elbow on the table and is resting his head on his hand.

“All of them, actually,” I answer truthfully. Sure, I could hide the fact that I know the movies he’s been in. Except he’d catch me lying. It’s not like his movies are indie movies or anything. These are blockbusters. Everyone knows them.

Emmett opens his mouth for a moment to say something, but he’s interrupted when Tyler and Lucy come barreling on the other side of the table.

“Well, helloooo lovebirds,” Tyler says, grinning ear to ear while sliding into the booth. Lucy follows suit and slides in next to him.

Emmett glances at me, rolls his eyes at the notion, and returns his gaze to Tyler.

“What have you two been up to?” Emmett asks. His hand that was once on the table slides underneath and lands on my thigh. He gives me one squeeze. To my surprise, he leaves his hand there. It suddenly feels hot in here again, having this little intimate secret between us. Since we're nestled into the booth and the venue is dark, his touch remains unseen.

Tyler glances over at Lucy and throws his arm around her shoulder. “Oh, you know, little bit of this, little bit of that.”

“We got a drink.” Lucy grabs Tyler’s hand and moves his arm out from behind her shoulder. This is typical Lucy. Tyler is pushing his limit with her and he will find that out real quick if he doesn’t tone it down a bit. She’s single, sure, but only because everyone she’s been with has never shown any serious, long-term interest in her. Lucy and Tyler share a glance. Maybe it’s a glare. Either way, it’s some shared moment that makes me wonder what they talked about while they got that drink.

A waitress brings over two drinks and smiles at Emmett when she places them both in front of him. She doesn’t glance at anyone else, but slips a piece of paper to him with the drinks. I can only assume it’s a phone number and now I’m wondering if that happens to him a lot. My mind feels like it's rapidly switching contexts tonight. I’m overwhelmed by the environment and all the people.

I can feel myself growing increasingly restless. Now that I have a drink, I find myself twirling the little straw in the glass. I take small sips and smile when I remember I need to act engaged. Tyler is rambling about something to Emmett in relation to the studio and work, but I zone out. When there’s a break in the conversation, Emmett leans over to me and asks me if I’m alright. I meet his gaze and nod, trying to convince my mouth to form a better smile than what I’m sure is displaying on my face right now.

He squeezes my leg once. It's comforting to know that I am heard and understood.

“Let’s dance?”

“Sure.” I smile. A real smile. Anything to get out of this booth and occupy my mind.

He turns back to let Tyler and Lucy know we are going to go dance. He offers to have them join us, but they both decide to stay at the booth.

Emmett gives my leg one more squeeze before he removes his hand and slides out of the booth. I slide out after him, standing up and moving to Lucy’s side for a moment. I lean down to be closer to her face before speaking. It’s not too loud in the club, but I also don’t want my conversation to be heard by everyone surrounding us.

“Will you be okay? Sorry for basically ditching you tonight.”

Lucy places a hand over mine, which is resting in front of her on the table. “I’ll be fine. I got this guy—” she glances back at Tyler before returning to face me, “to keep me company. He’s a goof. Don’t worry about me. You go have fun. Just let me know if you plan on leaving.” She smiles and removes her hand from mine.

I nod. I don’t know what I’d do without Lucy.

Actually, I do.

I’d probably be living with someone who cares more about themself than others. I’d most definitely not be working at the diner. I only got that job because of Lucy. If I didn’t work at the diner, I wouldn’t have met Emmett. I also wouldn’t have the job at the studio, since I only applied for that when I was with Lucy and we stayed up too late watching a movie after work. Hell, I don’t know if I’d still be living in Los Angeles trying to chase this dream.

“Let’s go dance,” Emmett whispers the reminder into my ear. My cheeks flush and I bite my bottom lip when I turn around to glance at him.

I let him take my hand and lead me onto the dance floor. He moves past the spot we were originally dancing and leads me into the far back corner, where it’s empty and less illuminated.

“I want some alone time with you while I can,” he says.

Before I can respond, his hands land on my waist and he puts enough pressure to spin me so my back is once again on his chest. I’m feeling spoiled by all of this close contact with Emmett.

I’m finding that he’s very forward tonight.

I like it.

I like that I can always find his gaze on mine if we’re in the same space. Our relationship has evolved since that first night to this moment on the dance floor.

It’s no longer surprising that I crave his touch and presence. From tonight onward, I decide to welcome it.

But it’ll be my secret. For now.

“Come back to me,” Emmett whispers in my ear.

---