Page 11 of Save the Date

“Absolutely. I’ve sweet-talked my way out of much worse.”

“Like the night I found those texts on your phone?”

Tony was mortal enough to look embarrassed. “I plead the Fifth.”

“Oh, so you are no longer sticking to your story that your mom’s friend has dementia and thinks you’re her dead husband, so it would’ve been cruel of you to not respond?”

Tony grinned. “Come on. That was pretty good for thinking on my feet.”

“Except I’m not totally convinced it was the first time you used it.”

“I forgot you were such a detective.” Tony reached across the table and snagged a fallen olive off Emma’s plate. “I know you have no reason to believe me, but nothing happened with that girl. I was just worried you were going to get the wrong idea so I panicked.”

“And made up an elaborate lie that made you look even more guilty?”

“Hey, you’re the expert. How often does panic lead to good decisions?”

“Fair enough.” Emma took a sip of her Diet Coke and wondered how she would have reacted if he had told her the truth back then—that it was just some friendly flirtation and nothing to be worried about. Emma of today would have understood that flirting isn’t the same as cheating. Sure, sometimes it can lead to infidelity, but more often than not it simply scratchesan itch. An itch that is perfectly normal to have when you are a three-dimensional adult who doesn’t completely disconnect from the outside world just because you’re in a monogamous relationship.

Emma of yesteryear though? She would have thrown a fit.

“I’m sorry you felt like you had to lie. I wasn’t exactly…confident in our connection back then. I saw everything as a threat.”

Tony shrugged. “I’m sure I wasn’t helping things by being so shady all the time.”

Emma smiled. It seemed like they’d both changed. Which meant this time around would be different—and Imani would be wrong for the first time in her insightful life.

“I think we both made a lot of mistakes when we were together.”

“Really? I mostly remember getting stoned and watchingNathan for You.”

“I hope that’s notallyou remember,” Emma said flirtatiously.

He raised his dark eyebrows at the implication. “I guess there were a couple other things that stand out. Like your animal pajamas.”

Emma laughed at the memory. She’d gone through a phase where she’d been obsessed with this comfy, cozy nightgown covered in different safari animals. Tony had started to name each one and often acted out little scenes between them; he was surprisingly good at voices.

“I still have it, you know. If you wanted to say hi.”

Before Tony could respond, his phone buzzed. She wondered if it was a sign from the universe to not go through with pitching him her master plan. Good thing she wasn’t the type to take signs from the universe.

“Oh fuck.” Tony looked up from his phone with a guilty expression. “I totally forgot my buddy needed to grab somethingfrom my apartment tonight.” He started cleaning up their paper plates and discarded napkins. “I’ve got to run.”

“No worries,” Emma lied. Maybe she had read their new connection all wrong. Maybe he was only interested in finally trying New York–style pizza with a Middle Eastern spin—whatever that meant; it had just tasted like regular pizza to her. Another disappointment.

“Hey.” Tony grabbed her shoulder on the way to the garbage. “What are you doing Monday?”

Emma’s heart skipped a beat as she blurted out “Nothing.The Bacheloris on hiatus.”

“Great. We’re doing after-work drinks at Sassafras. You should come. See the old gang, hang out.”

“That sounds fun,” Emma said while wondering if a group hang was a good sign or a platonic one. Either way, he had remembered her animal pajamas and that felt like a win.

***

Emma peered into the bar through its big glass window, hoping to spot Tony so she would know where to go. For all her work to combat her social anxiety over the years, nothing made her feel more on display—in a bad way—than the act of looking for someone in a crowd. What if that person wasn’t there? What if there was never a person at all and her entire reality was a figment of her imagination as her body hung stagnant in a bunch of goop somewhere else in the universe? What if—

She felt her neck relax and her anxiety spiral stop as she spotted Tony’s signature posture near one of the high tops in the back. He was half leaning on the table with one hand out, wildly gesticulating—both calm and vibrant at the same time. He wasn’t the kind of guy who would necessarily catch your attention from far away. Average height. Small to medium bald spot. Simple wardrobe. But the moment he started talking, it felt like a movie star had entered the room. Tony exuded the kind of effortless confidence that Emma had been searching forher whole life. And failed, so far in her personal growth journey, to find.

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