Page 28 of Save the Date

Will laughed at the obvious surprise in her voice.

“Sorry… It’s just very small. Like maybe it’s not even a car at all.”

“I assure you it is in fact a car. With a manual transmission, if it impresses you that I drive stick. But it only has two doors so getting you in the back seat might be a little tricky.” Will watched as Emma assessed the situation and tried to put on a brave face.

“Maybe if you pull the passenger seat all the way up—”

“Better plan. Where are you parked?”

About fifteen minutes later, Will was expertly driving Emma’s SUV toward the nearest urgent care center while she was spread out in the back with her leg up. The immediate shock was wearing off and Emma had officially stopped crying. For now at least.

“How you doing back there?”

“Good. It doesn’t hurt if I don’t move it,” Emma said just as she shifted and winced. “Thank you so much for driving me. I know this isn’t how you planned to spend your evening.”

“You keep things exciting,” Will replied. “Has this ever happened before?”

“Kind of. My left knee subluxated a few times when I was younger, which is when the patella pops out but then goes back in on its own. But this is the first time I’ve had an issue with my right one. And I’ve never had a full dislocation before where it pops out and stays out.”

“How did you know what to do?”

“I didn’t. It was pure instinct.”

They caught eyes in the rearview mirror. It felt sexually charged despite Emma’s puffy face and disheveled appearance. Maybe that even added to it, like how couples always got hot and heavy in disaster movies despite all the dirt; forced proximity and coursing adrenaline was a hell of a combination.

“I’m impressed. I would have just lied there in shock.”

“No, you wouldn’t have. You would have tried to make the pain stop.”

“I don’t know. I think there’s a large chance I would have just wailed like a little baby until an ambulance showed up. We can’t all be brave like you, Emma Whatever-Your-Last-Name-Is.”

“Uh-oh. Are you going to try to look at my medical forms to find it out?”

“No. I’ll respect your strange no-last-name policy,” he said as they locked eyes again. “But once you do tell me, I’m doing afullinternet deep dive.”

Emma tried not to convey her horror at the idea. It would probably be less painful to dislocate her knee again than have her entire internet footprint combed by someone she actually liked.

***

“Oh my god, are you okay?” Debbie nearly shrieked as she and Alan barged into one of the patient rooms at Beverly Hills Urgent Care. Both of Emma’s parents were too distressed to notice Will seated by the door.

“Were you hit by a car?” Alan asked rather accusatorily.

“Dad, I already texted you what happened. My knee dislocated as we were walking down the street.”

Upon hearing the wordwe, Alan and Debbie whipped around to take in a tired but friendly Will. He stood up to properly greet them.

“Mr. and Mrs… .?” Will looked to Emma for guidance she didn’t want to give.

“Nice try. You can just call them Alan and Debbie.”

Will gave Emma a playfully annoyed look before reaching out to shake her parents’ hands. “So nice to meet you, despite the circumstances. I’m Will. This is my second date with your daughter, but I swear I won’t let her get hurt on the next one.”

Emma was incredibly pleased to hear there was going to be another date. Apparently a major medical emergency followed by prematurely meeting her parents wasn’t enough to scare him off—this boded well for their future.

After pleasantries were exchanged and Debbie sneaked Emma a thumbs-up, Alan turned his interrogation tactics on Will. “Was she doing anything that could have caused this? Because you don’t want to lie to the doctor just to avoid a little embarrassment.”

“Dad, we were just walking! Don’t be gross.” Emma covered her face with her hands as Will looked confused. It took him a moment to realize Alan was implying Emma might have been hurt in the bedroom. But instead of being embarrassed at the implication, Will laughed and caught her gaze. Emma was impressed with his ability to appear so confident in front of her father. Maybe parental approval wasn’t important to him given his background.

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