“Fuck, I just messaged you earlier today asking if we could sit down and talk.I never would have thought you’d still be out here,” he said, taking her in.
“Yeah, I got the message.”
“Well, why didn’t you answer me?”
“Well, I figured it could wait until I returned home.”
“Gentlemen, would you mind leaving me for a moment?”he said, looking at the other men he was with.
They nodded and left the restaurant without another word, leaving the three of us there.
I felt like I was in the middle of a terrible movie.I sat there watching the two of them, watching as the looks passed between them.Was this Mark, the guy who’d put her through absolute hell, I wondered.
“I guess it could wait, but since we are here together right now, I just want to say that I’m sorry, and I think we should take some time to sit down and talk when you get back.”
She didn’t even look my way; she just kept her eyes locked with his.
“I don’t know, Mark.”
He shifted from one foot to the next, still staring at her.“I think you do.I think you know I’m sorry for the way things went, and honestly, I miss you more than words can say.I made a mistake, Emma.”
Emma slowly let go of my hand and dug into her purse for something, but then closed it when she couldn’t find what it was she was looking for.“Mark, right now, I think?—”
I didn’t wait for her to continue; instead; I stood up and straightened to my full height, towering over him.“Mark?Is it?I think you need to leave,” I said, looking down into his face.
“Back off, buddy,” he said, giving me a shove to the chest.
Emma looked up at him, shocked and horrified he’d just pushed me.“Colton, it’s okay, I have it under control,” she said, holding her hands out to stop me.
“Oh, so this is him, is it?”Mark said, looking over at me, a sly smile on his face.“The troublemaker!”he shouted, which caused others in the restaurant to look our way.
“Mark, please stop,” Emma pleaded, glancing around at the other patrons watching us.
“Emma, please tell me that you can’t be serious.Getting involved with a guy like this, it must be fake.Isn’t it?”he questioned.
“Mark, please…” she repeated.
“Ah, yes, I figured you had to be behind the sudden shift in good behavior coming from this guy, all those pretty pictures of the two of you in the fake setting.She is good at her job, isn’t she?”Mark said, looking over at me.
Anger erupted inside of me, and I closed my hands, making a fist.
“People should have known it had to be a setup.There is no way a looser like yourself would ever get a girl like Emma in real life.”
That was it; that was the straw that broke me.I grabbed hold of him and lifted my fist, bringing it down to his face.The moment my fist connected with his cheek, Mark went flying into a table behind him, the entire thing crashing to the ground.The entire restaurant silenced as Mark lay on the ground, covering his nose and mouth with his hand, and that was when I noticed a camera flash.I looked up to see many people with their cell phones recording us, and that was when I saw Emma staring at me with a horrified look, shaking her head.
Staff came rushing over, helping Mark up off the ground, two men taking him out another door as management followed.Two other servers appeared and began cleaning up the mess of broken dishes, while the other servers distracted the other patrons, getting them to take their seats and ignore what was going on.
I looked at her, pleading with her not to run and to give me a chance to explain.
“What the hell are you doing?”she cried, looking at me.“All our hard work, undone in minutes.”She whispered.
I could see the disappointment in her eyes as she looked up at me, and it was then I realized I’d let her down and scared her so badly I doubted there would be any way to earn her trust again.
“Colton, I was going to tell him to leave, and you just got up and went?—”
“Emma, I’m sorry.Give me a minute to explain,” I pleaded.
Tears flooded her eyes as she stared at me.“I can’t do this with you,” she sobbed.
