Emilia stayed up at her parent's house for a few days, so I didn't see her to watch her excite herself over my love life until Friday. But she did get back Thursday night and swung by Coral Brews to say hi.

It was a slower night than usual, but I really couldn't complain. The whole week had been pretty slow, but today with Ryan gone, if it got busy, I would have to ask Alex to help out. And after our weekend trip together at the beach, I really didn't trust myself to be near him for any period of time. If anything, his new tattoo was on my mind far too often.

"I need something," Emilia sighed, slumping down on a barstool looking exhausted and sun-kissed.

Not one to pass up easily presented opportunities, I made her a vodka soda with a smirk on my face. "What, don't tell me John kept your nights occupied after I left?"

Emilia snorted. "Ah, yes, because that is so my style," she said sarcastically, taking a sizable sip of her drink. "You, on the other hand..."

I shook my head but let a smile on my face. "I missed you," I told her.

"Yeah, I missed you, too." She gave a glance around the bar. "What, is there a storm blowing in or something?" she asked, taking note of the empty tables.

I shrugged. "You know how it is. But not going to lie, I could use a freak quiet weekend."

"Hmm." Emilia examined me over the rim of her glass. "So does that mean you'll be not tired enough to go out on Monday?"

I hadn't given it any thought, but then I shrugged. "Yeah, sure, I'd be down. Although it might be pretty quiet, there."

Emilia nodded. "True, less of a chance there'll be some guy who you want to dance and make out with."

"Emilia!" I hissed under my breath, my eyes involuntarily scanning the near vicinity for signs of Alex. Fortunately, he wasn't anywhere nearby.

But Emilia's eyes were lit up with amusement. "What? Don't want someone to think you're off the market?"

"Emilia," I said again, a warning in my voice.

She chuckled. "Alright, alright, we don't have to have this conversation in public."

"We don't have to have this conversation ever," I muttered.

"Although, you know what would be fun..." Emilia's voice trailed off as she glanced around the room. "Oh, hey Alex," she said when she found what she was looking for.

Alex had just come from the back and looked surprised when he saw Emilia. "Hey Emilia," he said. "I didn't know you were back, yet."

"Just got in," she told him. "Dropped by to see if you guys were busy, and apparently..." Once again, she glanced around at the almost empty bar.

Alex chuckled. "Yeah, not exactly a rave in here."

"Yeah, actually, I was just telling Ana," Emilia paused and gave me a look that told me she was about to do something I was going to hate. I just stared at her. There was nothing I could do to stop her. "Since it won't be too crazy this weekend hopefully, Monday would be a good night to go out. You should come with us."

I cursed to myself at how the butterflies in my stomach appeared and started their own dance party after Emilia asked the question and we waited for Alex's reply. What if he said no? What if he said yes?

His eyes flickered over to me briefly, and I kept my very best poker face. "That sounds like fun," he said, turning his attention back to Emilia. "I haven't been out in like," he paused, "way too long."

"Great!" Emilia said. "Ana can text you the details." She drained her drink and stood up. "I'm going to get going and unpack. It was nice to see you," she added to Alex.

"Oh, what, and not me?" I grumbled, already ready to throttle her.

She gave me a sweet smile. "Get home safe," she said, actually genuine.

I couldn't help but return her smile. "You too," I told her. "I'll see you later."

"See you around, Emilia," Alex told her.

We both watched her go and then Alex turned back toward me. "You don't have to come if you don't want to," I said, not really sure why I was trying to give him an out. "Emilia's feelings won't be hurt."

"No it's cool," he said. "Like I said, it's been a while. Unless—" he suddenly looked uncertain. "Unless you don't want me to come, like if you want a girls' night or something..."

"No, no," I said quickly. Fuck, why was this so awkward. "You're more than welcome, it'll be fun."

He flashed me a smile that made me want to swoon. "Great," he said. "Like Emilia said, you can text me the details." He glanced toward the door that Emilia had just left through. "She seems like a really great friend."

"I'm lucky to have her," I agreed. At least, usually, she was a great friend. But right now, I really needed to stop her from playing matchmaker all the time.

***

I woke up the next morning to the smell of pancakes. Emilia must have ordered brunch. She knew I was about to start an argument.

"Any reason why you insist on playing matchmaker for a relationship that breaks pretty much all the rules I have about dating and/or sleeping around?" I couldn't muster up too angry of a tone, those pancakes really did smell good.

Emilia gave me an amused look from the table as I plopped down in a chair next to her. "I have great reasons," she said.

I poured a healthy serving of maple syrup over my pancake stack as I waited for her to continue.

"But it boils down to a few main points," Emilia explained. "You clearly like him, he clearly likes you, and your rules are stupid."

"Oh, so what, you think I should have been going around town this whole time sleeping with every single eligible bachelor?"

Emilia rolled her eyes. "And that's another thing, you operate too much in extremes," she said. "There is a happy medium between celibacy and a total sexual conquering of the town."

I raised an eyebrow and had to bite back a laugh. "Total sexual conquering?" I repeated.

"Shut up, you know what I mean. And honestly, Ana," she carried on as I chuckled and shook my head, "I would have let the subject drop but, I mean, you did fall asleep on him the other night."

I knew that would come back to bite me in the ass, and I had no defense. "I was tired."

Emilia just gave me a look.

I wasn't the type to fall asleep anywhere. And I definitely wasn't the type to fall asleep with just anyone. Even in college when I would spend the night with a guy, it was never the whole night. If I wanted to get any rest I would have to go back to my own apartment.

Yeah, I was that person, sneaking out after having sex with someone.

"Even John noticed there was something between you," Emilia carried on. "And he doesn't know either of you."

"How is John?" I asked, trying to steer the conversation off of me. "How was your alone time?"

"John is great," Emilia replied, looking unperturbed and taking a bite of her pancakes. "We're taking it slow but I'm right where I would want to be with him." She blushed slightly. "I really do like him, Ana."

I felt warmth fill my chest as I observed my friend. I hadn't seen her like this before.

"But maybe that's also where all this is coming from," Emilia said. "I'm right where I want to be with John. It's new to me, but it feels right. But can you say the same about you and Alex?"

It took a lot of effort to answer honestly. "Truthfully, no," I told her. "If I think about what I want, no, I'm not anywhere near where I would want to be with Alex. And this awkward dancing around each other we're doing, I mean I know it's my fault, but it feels off."

"So, then, maybe him coming along with us on Monday isn't such a bad idea?" Emilia asked hesitantly.

I sighed. "No, I guess not," I grumbled. "But that doesn't mean I'm not going to complain about it to you."

Emilia grinned. "I would expect nothing less."

I was almost done with my pancakes when I remembered I hadn't told Emilia everything, yet. "Oh, and there's something you should know about when Alex and I drove back down."