Page 37 of It's Only Make Believe

“I’ll come and help you carry them,” Emily says, and she gets up a bit more calmly than Justin and the two of them go towards the bar.

“When were you planning on telling me that Justin is your ex-boyfriend?” I ask when Louisa and I are alone.

She finally looks at me.

“Truthfully? I wasn’t planning on telling you at all. It’s ancient history, we weren’t good together as a couple, and we are just friends now,” she says. “It’s not something I really think of so it’s not something that would have come up.”

I figure if Louisa was still into Justin, she wouldn’t have chosen to introduce me to him, but I’m still kind of angry that she hid that from me. Especially in light of what he said to me while the women were away from the table.

“He’s still into you,” I say.

“No, he isn’t,” Louisa says. I go to interrupt her, but she goes on, ignoring my attempt to butt in. “And even if he is, it doesn’t matter because I am not into him. I am into you.”

Most of the anger goes out of me at that. How can I be angry at her for not telling me something that she doesn’t deem important, and her not deeming it important is actually a point in my favor too. I’m still angry at Justin, but he’s not important to me and I decide to just let it go. He can be as bitter and as crude as he likes. I’ve still got the girl.

I glance up to see if he and Emily have been served yet and see the bar is empty. I look around and see them beside the bar in a quiet corner of the restaurant. It looks like they are arguing, because their arms are gesticulating wildly and Emily, who is facing towards us, looks absolutely fuming. I nod subtly towards the arguing couple.

“It looks like Emily isn’t taking the news too well,” I say.

“Hopefully she will get over it, because Justin actually said to me earlier that he thinks she’s the one,” Louisa says.

I have to hand it to Justin; he is good. He’s letting Louisa believe that he only wants friendship too, that he has moved on and found this amazing girl, and the whole time, he is just biding his time, waiting to get her on the hook again. I’m not stupid enough to voice this thought to Louisa.

“Oh no, she’s storming off,” Louisa says.

I look back up in time to see Emily reaching the door and leaving the restaurant. Justin doesn’t go after her. Instead, he heads back to the bar and picks the drinks he must have already purchased up, and he comes back towards the table with the four shots in his hands. He sits down and seems to deflate as he does so.

“I was going to say Emily had a family emergency and had to leave, but what’s the point in lying? She has ended things with me and left,” he says. He flashes a grin at Louisa. “I guess she feels she can’t live up to you.”

“Should I go after her?” Louisa says. “Tell her how things are with us, that she has literally nothing to worry about?”

Justin looks even more deflated as he shakes his head.

“No, let her go. If she’s going to throw a tantrum whenever she doesn’t like something, I’m better off without her,” Justin says.

“It was hardly a tantrum,” I interject. “She just lost trust in you because you lied to her, that’s all.”

“Luke,” Louisa says. “Do you have to be so blunt? Justin is upset.”

“Sorry,” I say. “I didn’t mean it to come out like that.”

I’m not sorry in the least and I definitely meant it to come out like that. The only reason I toned down what I said was because I didn’t want Louisa to think I was having a sly dig at her because she hadn’t told me about Justin.

Justin pushes a shot towards me and one towards Louisa. He picks up the other two.

“To being single and getting an extra shot,” he says, and he downs the two shots one after the other.

I shrug and swallow mine and Louisa does the same, grimacing at the taste as she swallows it.

“Maybe we should call it a night then,” I say.

Louisa nods her agreement, but Justin shakes his head.

“Don’t go yet Louisa, please,” he says. “I really don’t want to be alone at the minute.”

Louisa looks at me begging me with her eyes to understand.

“Do you mind?” she says to me. “You can go if you want to, and I’ll get a cab later.”

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