Emily's POV
"To Love and Be Loved."
The words were still fresh on my skin and even fresher in my mind. I couldn’t stop staring at it in the mirror of the tattoo parlor, the inky script wrapped just below my ribcage.
It felt unreal. Beautiful. Terrifying. Like Adam had somehow inked the truth I didn’t want to face straight into my skin.
"You like it?" he asked, voice soft, like he wasn’t sure if he’d crossed a line.
I nodded slowly, still processing. "Why that phrase?"
Adam shrugged, reaching for my hand. "Because you need to remember that love isn’t all bad. Not everyone is going to treat your heart like it's disposable."
I swallowed hard. My chest tightened with something too complicated to name. Grateful? Nervous? Flustered? All of the above.
"Come on," he smiled. "Let's get out of here before I get a tattoo too."
He dragged me out to the car like an excited kid, and I followed, still dazed. The second I buckled my seatbelt, I found myself stealing a glance at him from the corner of my eye.
How was it that someone like Adam Cooper, the guy everyone at school wanted to be or be with, was with me right now?
"So," he said, eyes on the road. "What do you wanna do now?"
I blinked. "Hmm?"
"You got a new tattoo. That calls for a celebration, right?"
I smiled despite myself. "A date, maybe? Then bowling?"
He laughed. "A date? Bold. I like it. I actually canceled bowling with Steve and the guys earlier. Guess I had a better offer."
My cheeks heated up. "I didn’t mean to ruin your plans."
"Ruin?" he turned briefly to look at me. "Emily, I’m having more fun right now than I ever would with those knuckleheads."
That made me smile. A real one. The kind that reaches your eyes and your soul, even if your heart is still bruised.
The date venue wasn’t anything extravagant—just a cozy diner tucked into a quiet corner of the city. But the vibe was right. Dim lights, soft music, booths that made you feel like time slowed down a little.
We ordered milkshakes and fries like we were kids again. Except the conversation wasn’t childish. It was real.
"So... siblings?" I asked.
"One older brother. Lives in Chicago. He's the overachiever. I'm the screw-up."
I raised an eyebrow. "You? A screw-up? Seriously? You’re like... everyone’s favorite."
He laughed, a deep, warm sound that made something flutter in my stomach. "You’d be surprised. What about you?"
"Only child," I said. "Spoiled, apparently."
"I don’t buy that. You don’t give spoiled vibes."
We kept going like that. Asking, answering, teasing, laughing. Every now and then, our knees would brush under the table and I’d feel this spark. It was ridiculous how easy it was with him. Like we weren’t two people from opposite ends of the social food chain.
Then, out of nowhere, the question formed in my head and stuck there like a splinter.
I wanted to ask him if he had a girlfriend?"
I didn’t say it aloud. I wanted to. But I knew I wasn’t ready to hear the answer. If he said yes... what did that say about me? About last night?
So instead, I excused myself.
"Bathroom," I said quickly, sliding out of the booth.
As I rounded the corner toward the restrooms, I froze in my tracks.
Amanda.
She was walking out of the ladies' room, laughing with her boyfriend, Noah. She hadn't seen me yet, but I panicked.
My best friend. The girl who called me last night, wanting to know how my date with Seb went. The girl I’d completely ghosted since discovering Seb with Tammy.
And here I was, on a date with Adam freaking Cooper, with a fresh tattoo and secrets spilling from my pores.
I turned on my heel fast, almost bumping into a waitress.
"Sorry," I muttered, rushing back to the booth.
"You okay?" Adam asked, noticing the shift in my face.
"We have to go. Now."
He blinked. "What? Why?"
"Just... please. I’ll explain in the car."
To his credit, he didn’t push. He threw some cash on the table and followed me out without another word.
The second we were inside the car, engine humming, he turned to me.
"Alright. Spill."
I stared at the dashboard, suddenly unsure how to word it. "I saw someone. A friend. Amanda."
"So?"
"I didn’t want her to see me... with you."
There was a pause. A thick, heavy pause that filled the car like smoke.
Then he said it.
"You're ashamed to be seen with me?"
"What?!" I turned to him so fast, I nearly knocked my head on the window.