“Yes, he put his arm over the back of my chair, and when I sat down he did this back rub thing!”
Emma beamed.
It washappening.
Zane returned to the table with more drinks just as the TV screen changed to the next song: “Don’t Go Breaking My Heart” by Elton John and Kiki Dee with performers Zane/Nadine.
“It’s your song! You’re up!” Emma exclaimed, pushing Nadine out of her seat. She shot Emma a nervous look as she and Zane walked up onto the stage, situating themselves side by side in front of the mic as the song started to play.
For a moment, as Zane sang off-key and Nadine mouthed the words, Emma doubted whether karaoke was the best choice tonight. But eventually they got the rhythm down, relaxing and smiling at each other as the song went on. Soon the entire bar was cheering and singing along, erupting in applause when they were done. Zane took a bow, while Nadine jumped down and hugged Emma.
“I can’t believe I just did that!”
Zane smiled. “You were awesome.”
“The perfect team.” Emma beamed, not even trying to hide her smug grin.
There were more drinks and more songs, and Emma didn’t even know what time it was when Zane finally suggested they call it anight. It didn’t matter anyway. Her body was loose and her mind was riding the high of yet another successful match. She finished her drink—what was this again? rum?—before heading outside into the cold.
“Zane, why don’t you share a cab with Nadine?” Emma suggested as they made their way to the corner.
“I’m heading uptown, actually. You and I should share a cab,” he said, stepping into the street and lifting up his hand to hail the next taxi.
“But Nadine is so close!”
“Oh, I’m just going to walk,” Nadine replied, barely suppressing a yawn. “The dorm is only a few blocks away.”
“Wait, Zane, why don’t you walk with Nadine?” Emma insisted. “Make sure she gets home okay?”
A cab pulled up just as Zane turned to look at Nadine over his shoulder. “I’m sure she’ll be fine. Right, Nadine?”
Nadine nodded, oblivious. “Totally fine. You guys take the cab!”
Emma couldn’t think fast enough. What was happening? Why was Zane blowing this opportunity?
“We could drop you off? It’s cold,” Emma blurted out.
Zane sighed. “Emma, the cab isn’t going that way, plus that’s a lot of stops. There’s other cabs if she wants to take one.”
“He’s right,” Nadine added with a drunken smile. She didn’t seem to understand what she was giving up here, either. “And this is nothing compared to the cold back in Ohio. I like it.”
Zane opened the taxi door and looked at Emma expectantly. “You see, she’ll be fine. Come on.”
Emma looked at Nadine. Didn’t she want Zane to walk her home? Why was Emma the only one who was following the script here? After a few more awkward seconds, she finally gave up, giving her friend a quick hug before turning to the cab.
Nadine waved goodbye as they pulled away and turned down 6th Street toward FDR Drive.
“That was fun,” Zane said, spreading his legs out across the seat so his knee grazed hers.
“Yeah,” Emma said, trying not to sound annoyed. “I thought you would have wanted to walk Nadine home, though.”
He shrugged. “She said she was fine.”
Emma nodded and looked out the window across the East River. The cab went over a pothole, causing them to jolt forward and back again. Suddenly, Zane seemed to be right next to her. She tried to subtly move closer to the window, but he filled the gap.
“Emma…” he started.
“Yes?” she asked, leaning away from his body so much that she was almost flush with the car door.
