Reaching Emma

4.

The next morning David met me at my locker, "Sooo... when's the big date?" he asked.

I hung my head and groaned. I knew he would bring it up. "Well, I didn't actually ask her..."

"What?! What were you two talking about all night?" He said.

"I don't even know, we talked about a lot of things. We just connected, ya know?" I replied.

"Oh hey, here they come" David said, motioning down the hall. I looked over to see Anna and Emma walking towards us.

"Good morning friends!" David chirped as they got closer. He was bopping around like he's already had 3 cups of coffee. I had only seen him chug two, but I'm sure that he found another. Emma yawned as she turned off her phone and slipped it in her pocket and said hello to us.

"Late night, Emma?" David asked, raising an eyebrow at her.

"Yeah..." she replied, giving David a small smile before briefly glancing at me. There wasn't time for any awkwardness as Anna dragged David off to their first class, leaving Emma and I standing at my locker once again.

"You really should try to get more sleep, otherwise you'll fall asleep in class" I joked with her.

She laughed and nudged my shoulder, "You're one to talk!"

I grinned down at her and the seamlessness of our report came rushing back. She was so easy to talk to and joke with. The bell rang and brought me back to reality as we walked to our first class.

I set my lunch tray down in what was becoming my usual seat, next to David and across from Emma and Anna, who were talking about their upcoming soccer tryouts.

"I don't know if I'll make the team, Anna" Emma was telling her.

"You totally will! But if you're worried we can practice after..." Anna trailed off, which was unusual for her. I glanced up from my food to see what silenced her. Ryan was standing behind them, tapping on Emma's shoulder while Anna was looking up at him with wide eyes. Ryan was on the football team with me, but I wouldn't say we were friends. I always thought he was too full of himself and was kind of a prick.

"Hey Emma," Ryan said. He sounded so sleazy when he was hitting on girls, I'd hear him done so many times that I knew what was coming next. I clenched my fists under the table. I should have asked Emma on a date last night when we talked.

"I was thinking we could go out tonight to see that new Fast and Furious movie?" He smirked at Emma and reached out to touch her arm. I thought about leaving the cafeteria, I did not want to hear Emma's response, that was, until I actually heard her response.

"Oh! I, uh, I'm sorry, but I'm actually not dating right now..." She said, suddenly looking nervous.

"What?" Ryan asked, sounding surprised. He didn't get turned down often. Ryan was known as being a bit of a playboy, I didn't understand what the girls saw in him, but I was relieved to hear Emma turn him down.

"I'm just taking a break from dating for a while." Emma continued, "I'm sorry Ryan, but I'd love to hang out as friends? Anna and I were thinking of seeing that new Rebel Wilson movie this weekend, did you want to come too?" she offered.

Even as she denied him, she was so nice about it. I was surprised that she still offered to hang out with him, just as friends, but I wasn't surprised that he had no intention of just being her friend. Ryan released a big sigh and subtly rolled his eyes, I think Emma noticed even though she acted as if she didn't.

"Yeah, maybe" he replied shortly before turning and walking back to his table without another word.

"OMG" Anna's eyes were just about bugging out of her head. I rolled my eyes at her response, but wanted to know why Emma turned him down, so I stayed quiet, waiting for Anna's questioning to begin.

"Why did you turn him down? Don't you think he's hot?" Anna asked. Emma fidgeted in her seat.

"I- I'm just not dating right now" she answered, reiterating her previous statement.

"That is not an answer! We need more details! Nobody turns down Ryan!" Anna argued. I felt bad at how uncomfortable Emma looked, but I was curious too.

Emma let out a sigh, seeming to understand that Anna's questions wouldn't stop until she explained more, "Well, I just got out of a bad relationship so I'm just taking a break from dating for a while."

"What happened? If you don't mind me asking..." Anna asked a bit quieter, realizing that it may be a sensitive subject for Emma.

"Actually... I'd rather not talk about it right now, if that's alright. I'll tell you guys another time." She promised, giving Anna a small smile. She met my gaze across the table before looking back at her lunch. Anna quickly regained some of her enthusiasm before anyone else could get a word in and said, "When do you think you'll start dating again?"

Emma laughed, "Um, I'm definitely not ready to jump into anything right away." She looked deep in thought before continuing, "I don't want to date to get to know people. I think I want to know someone really well before we start dating. Does that make sense?"

"Yeah, it does. You just want to be friends first so it'll happen more naturally." Anna replied, nodding understandingly.

The rest of the day I couldn't stop thinking of what Emma said at lunch. What happened with her ex-boyfriend? I wonder how long ago they broke up.

I hadn't dated anyone in a while. My last girlfriend, Sarah, went to a different school. We met through mutual friends at a party and dated for a few months, but it didn't end up working out. There was no reason in particular, we just grew apart and didn't have much in common.

I made my way to my last class and sat down next to Emma in Chemistry. I debated asking her more about her ex-boyfriend, but decided against it as she didn't seem like she wanted to talk about it much at lunch. Emma was just wearing a plain black shirt and blue jeans today, but I couldn't help but think how beautiful she looked. We talked about our other classes for a few minutes before our teacher started class. We were taking notes again today in anticipation of our upcoming lab. I was getting antsy of all these notes and instead looking forward to working with Emma.

After the final bell rang I met David at his locker. I tried to be subtle, but couldn't help but ask, "So, what do you think about what Emma said at lunch?"

"About dating? I'm guessing her ex- cheated on her. Seems to have really taken a toll on her though." David answered, shrugging. He may not seem like it all the time, but he was pretty observant.

"But just because she's not dating doesn't mean that you don't have a chance" he added.

"What are you talking about?" I asked, confused by his last statement.

"Well she said that she wants to get to know someone and be good friends before dating. You two seem pretty close already and it's only been a few weeks..." he replied shrugging.

Huh, I hadn't thought about it like that. We connected so well even in the little time I've known her.