Page 108 of That Friendzone Feeling
Theguy standing next to me puts his arm around his partner, pulls him close, and kisses him on the forehead.
“Youprobably know that already,”Emilysays. “Butsometimes it’s easy to take people for granted.Ifyou’re around someone every day and have been for years, it’s easy to think they’ll always be there.Andnot to consider the giant gaping hole they’d leave in your life and your heart if they weren’t.”
There’sa whole lot of hugging going on in this room right now.
“She’sso good at things like this,”Elliotwhispers.
“Yeah, well, she doesn’t do anything she isn’t perfect at,”Isay, turning my glass in slow circles.
“Theother thing that’s easy to do”—she looks down and takes two slow steps across the mini stage—“is to not see that what you need is the thing that’s right in front of you.”
Ifher looking at me was an arrow to my heart, quoting our fortune cookie is like a torpedo to it.
“Isthis about you?”Connorasks.
Iignore him and take a sip of beer to cool the heat growing inside me.
“Imaginethis,”Emilysays, lifting her gaze to the crowd again. “Imagineif someone you loved walked out the door one day and something terrible happened and you never saw them again.You’dwant them to know just how much you loved them, right?”
There’sa murmur ofyesaround the room as more people hold hands, put their arms around each other, and kiss.
“Andif you’d wasted the time you had with them by pushing them away because you were scared of getting involved, you’d have missed out on what could have been the greatest thing that ever happened to you.Andyour chance would be gone.”
Ihave no idea what she’s up to, but it’s sending my pulse sky high and a prickly heat down my spine.
“SoIask you all to think, which is the biggest risk?Therisk of being with the person you want to be with and it going horribly wrong, breaking your heart, ruining your friendship and your business?”
“Oh, definitely about you,”Connorsays.
“Yup.Thanks.Gotit.”
Emilylooks at me over the heads of the sea of people between us, and her eyes find mine exactly as they did the moment we met in our first lecture. “Orthe risk ofnotbeing with them?”
Holyshit, is she saying whatIthink she’s saying?Isshe telling this whole room that she’s decided to stop beingSensibleEmily?Thatshe’s going to let us give it a go?Mystomach flips and does a freaky dance around my insides.
“Sometimes,” she says, “you have to stop being the sensible version of yourself.Youhave to take the same type of gamble with life that you would take with a business.Youhave to assess the risk, look at all the spreadsheets, and make the best decision you can.Butan important thingI’velearned, andIhopeIhaven’t learned it too late, is that you also have to listen to your gut.Particularlyif it’s screaming at you.”There’sa buzz of approval around the room. “Andsometimes, you need to step away from the comfort of the things you know you can do well and try something you’re not good at.”
Awoman at the front of the stage takes off her headband with sparkly pink heart boppers and hands it up toEmily.
Emexamines it, shrugs, and puts it on.
Shelooks at me and tilts her head to one side, the hearts bobbing.
Igive her a silent clap.Connorwhistles.Shesmiles and curtsies.
“There’sjust one more thingIneed to do,” she tells the crowd. “AndI’dlike to apologize in advance for how terrible it will be.Because,Ipromise you, it will be more terrible than you can imagine.”
Shenods at the woman operating the karaoke machine, and the unmistakable sound ofTheDreamtownBoyscomes out of the speakers.It’sthe songIcaught her dancing to in the office before theNewYear’sEveparty, the one she refused to sing later at the party.
She’sgoing to do it.She’sreally going to fucking do it.Myheart swells with pride and admiration for the guts this must take, and for the fact she seems to be doing it for me.
“Oh, shit,”Isay to the guys. “Coveryour ears again,Owen.TheSinatraguy was a maestro compared to how this is going to go.”
“Shecan’t be that bad,”Elliotsays.
“Shecouldn’t hold a note if you superglued it to her hand,”Itell him.
Sureenough, she hits the first line so off key she might as well be in a different county from it.
