Page 100 of Last Night Was Fun

Termination of your personal relationship.

This coming Monday.

The message jumbled into chaos, but those words stood out. They had five days to make a decision: the job, or their relationship.

Emmy turned to Gabe and saw an ashen look of shock on his face.

They had, indeed, just ruined everything.

She stood from her chair and headed for the door.

“Emmy, wait,” he said, and followed her. She didn’t slow. She beelined for the elevator at the end of the hall. He caught up in no time with his long strides. “Where are you going?”

“I need some air.” She stopped at the elevator and pressed the button. Her lungs felt like they were closing off. The ceiling waslowering; the walls were closing in. Getting into a small metal box might not have been the best idea at that moment, but it was the quickest escape to aboveground oxygen she so desperately needed.

The elevator doors opened with a ding, and she stepped in. Gabe followed her. A flashback to that night in the elevator in Mexico when she’d asked him what he was thinking hit her like a truck. She could feel the heat of him, hear the velvety purr of his voice. At the same time, the memory felt like it came from another reality. One where they could be together without worry. Without compromising everything she’d worked years to achieve.

“Fuck!” she shouted once the doors had closed. The word exploded out of her in an angry rush. She mashed the heels of her hands into her eyes. She heard a loud bang and moved her hands to see Gabe shaking out his own hand like he’d punched the metal wall. She couldn’t blame him; she’d have done the same if it wouldn’t have hurt.

He spun around to face her. Frustration pulsed off him the same way it did her. They weren’t mad at each other—or maybe they were; Emmy couldn’t interpret her emotions. She was mostly mad at the situation. Mad she was falling for him and now she couldn’t have him, not if she wanted her job. Part of her wanted to take it all back—the texting, the flirting, Mexico. Part of her wanted to forsake everything and rip off all his clothes right there in the elevator. The line between rage and lust was dangerously blurry. They stared at each other, silently blinking and fuming.

The elevator dinged and dumped them out onto the field level. Dim daylight cut between the concrete layers. The field below was busy with another afternoon of preparation. The food vendors had started to cook, lacing the air with the tangy bite of hot dogs and tacos as well as sugary treats.

“Are we going to talk?” Gabe asked when she stomped out of the elevator, and he followed.

“No,” she snapped and kept walking. “Not right now.”

He jogged to catch up and reached for her arm. “Emmy, wait. We’re in this together, okay? And I—”

She whirled on him and snapped again. “I just need a minute!”

He stopped and dropped his grip, looking hurt.

“Sorry,” she said with a big breath. “This is just... a lot.” The truth spun around in her mouth:It’s going to be me; I’m going to get the job. Shewas the one with something to lose here. But she couldn’t bring herself to say it. With the look on his face, it would only have been salt on a freshly opened wound.

She took another breath. “I think we need some time to think.”

He nodded. “Today’s Wednesday, so we have five days before they want a decision.” She took relief in knowing he wasn’t ready to make a decision right then either.

Emmy looked up at his handsome, tormented face and wondered if she’d ever be ready to make a decision. He must have read the pain on hers because he stepped forward and smoothed his hand over her hair. “I know this is the exact scenario you’re afraid of, except it’s the job making you choose this time, not some insecure partner. But we’ll figure this out. Together. It’s going to be okay.”

As much as she wanted to believe him, she couldn’t see how that could be true. Not now, at least.

Emmy fought to calm her racing heart, because Gabe was right: this was her worst-case scenario come to life, again, but with bigger stakes. “Let’s just get through the rest of the week, okay? We can talk this weekend.”

He looked at her with a deep knit between his brows. “Okay,” he said with a nod. “This weekend.”

Chapter20

Emmy threw herself into work as best she could for the rest of the week. She sought solace in numbers and equations—logical things where the world made sense, and she could find an answer to everything. She realized late on Friday night she could probably benefit from seeking solace—and advice—from another human and not just a spreadsheet. Seeing as her sister was still in Europe, and Beth had a date, and Axe Murderer was obviously out, that left her parents as the best option.

Exhausted from the week and needing sleep, she decided to pay them a visit on Saturday morning.

Her parents still lived in the house where Emmy had grown up. It was in a stereotypical Southern California neighborhood, where all the cookie-cutter houses shared identical stucco exteriors and tile roofs and sat on lots so close together the inhabitants had to think twice about walking around naked inside in case the neighbors might see.

When she pulled up outside their house midmorning after texting her mom she was coming over, the sense of home welcomed her like a pair of arms. The front lawn of her youth had been replaced by gravel and a tasteful succulent garden—much more eco-friendly and lower maintenance. Her mom’s favorite wind chime gently gonged its low, soothing notes from the walkway. A wreath of rosemary and lavender hung on the door.

Emmy knocked and then entered. “Hello? Mom? Dad?”