November 9

Glenn covers his mouth, trying to hide his drunken laughter. Amber is actually speechless for once.

“What the fuck?” Theodore says. Before I can move out of his way, Theodore is reaching over me, grabbing the collar of Ben’s shirt, pulling him closer so that he can choke him or punch him or . . . I’m not sure what he’s doing, but I duck and crawl out of the booth so I’m not in the middle of it. When I turn around, Theodore is on his knees in the booth with Ben in a headlock over the table. Ben is grasping at Theodore’s arm, trying to pull it away from his throat. His eyes are wide and he’s looking straight at me.

“You fucking prick!” Theodore yells.

Ben lets go of Theodore’s arm with one hand and crooks his finger at me, wanting me to come closer. I take a hesitant step forward, not sure what to do to get him out of this mess. When I’m about two feet from them, Ben struggles to speak. “Fallon,” he says, still clawing at the arm that’s wrapped around his neck. “Are you . . . are you gonna come home with me or not?”

Oh, my God. He’s relentless. And he’s being pulled away from Theodore’s chokehold by two bouncers who are intervening. But now both Ben and Theodore are being escorted outside, and Amber, Glenn, and I are following after them. Before we reach the door, Amber punches Glenn in the shoulder.

“You told Ben where we were gonna be tonight?” she hisses.

Glenn rubs his arm. “He showed up at our apartment today looking for Fallon.”

Amber scoffs. “So you just told him where she would be? Why would you do that?”

“He’s funny!” Glenn says, as if that’s a legit defense.

Amber glances over her shoulder at me with an apologetic look. I don’t tell her there’s nothing to feel bad about. So far, I’m kind of glad Glenn told Ben where I’d be tonight. It makes me feel good to know that he waited at the restaurant for four hours and then went looking for me at my old apartment, hoping Amber and Glenn still lived there. It’s a little bit flattering, even though it still doesn’t make up for what he put me through.

As soon as we’re outside, I immediately walk over to Theodore, who is pacing the pavement with a pissed-off look in his eye. He stops when he sees me standing in front of him and he points in Ben’s direction. “Is that true?” he says. “Are the two of you like . . . fuck, I don’t know. What are you? Dating? Exes? Do I even fit in the picture or am I wasting my goddamn time?”

I shake my head, completely at a loss. I don’t know how to answer that, because I honestly don’t know where I stand with Ben. But I do know where I stand with Theodore, so I guess I’ll start there.

“I’m sorry,” I say. “I swear, before tonight I haven’t spoken to him in a year. I don’t want you to think I was seeing both of you at the same time, but . . . I’m sorry. Maybe I just need some time to figure it out, I guess.”

Theodore cocks his head, as if he’s shocked by what he just heard. “Figure it out?” He shakes his head. “I don’t have time for this shit.” He starts to walk in the opposite direction, but he’s still within earshot when he mutters, “You aren’t even that pretty.”

I’m still processing the insult when I see Ben sprint past me. Before my eyes can even adjust, his fist is flying. I see Glenn rush to intervene, but . . . wait. No. Glenn also punches Theodore.

Luckily, the bouncers never even made it back inside and all three of them are separated before anyone is seriously injured. Theodore is struggling to break free from one of the bouncers and he’s yelling obscenities at Ben the entire time. Meanwhile, Amber is standing next to me, steadying herself on a parking meter while she unfastens one of her heels.

“I want every one of you to leave the premises right now before we call the police!” one of the bouncers yells.

“Hold on,” Amber says, holding up a finger while she pulls off her shoe. “I’m not finished.” She takes her shoe in her hand and glowers at Theodore, then rears back and throws it across the sidewalk, hitting him square between the legs. “I hate your stupid pants, asshole!” she yells. “Fallon deserves better than you, and SO DOES NANTUCKET!”

Wow. Go, Amber.

The bouncer holding Theodore asks him where his car is parked. He escorts Theodore in that direction as Amber retrieves her shoe. Ben and Glenn aren’t released until the bouncer returns without Theodore. “The four of you. Leave. Now.”

As soon as the bouncer releases Ben’s arms, he runs straight toward me, taking my face in his hands, inspecting me to see if I’m hurt. Or maybe he’s checking my emotions, I don’t know. Either way, he looks worried. “Are you okay?”

I can tell by the soothing sound of his voice that he’s worried Theodore hurt my feelings. “I’m fine, Ben. That guy’s insults about my appearance don’t carry much weight when he willingly wears those pants.”

I can see the relief in Ben’s smile as he kisses me on the forehead.

“Did you bring a car?” Glenn asks, directing his question at Ben. Ben nods and says, “Yeah. I’ll give the two of you a ride home.”

“The three of you,” I say to Ben, insinuating that just because he stood up for me doesn’t mean I’m automatically going home to his place. “I’ll need you to drop me off at my apartment.”

Amber groans and then brushes my shoulder as she passes. “Just forgive him already,” she says. “Glenn found a member of the male species he actually likes, and if you don’t forgive Ben you’ll break Glenn’s heart.”