Page 29 of After Everything
"And bruschetta," Jess said. "And the charcuterie board. And probably too much cheese. We're celebrating."
I laughed and took the champagne. "Thank you. All of you. This is?—"
"Long overdue," Karen finished. "You've been through hell. You deserve something good."
I took a sip. The champagne was cold and crisp and perfect.
"So, fall semester," Amy said. "Thatmeans you have all summer to relax before the chaos starts."
"Or to stress about it," I said.
"No stressing allowed tonight," Jess declared. She gestured to a guy standing at the bar. "Besides, someone's been asking about you."
I followed her gaze. Tall, dark hair, nice smile. He was talking to Sebastian but kept glancing over at our table.
"That's Connor," Sofia said. "Sebastian's coworker. Engineer. Very sweet. Very single."
"Sofia," I warned.
"What? I'm just stating facts." She grinned. "He asked Sebastian about you when you came in."
"He did not."
"He absolutely did," Sebastian confirmed, appearing at the table with another round of drinks. "Asked if you were seeing anyone. I told him you'd just gotten into grad school and were probably not interested in distractions, but he could try his luck."
"Sebastian!" Sofia swatted his arm.
"What? I'm being honest." He shrugged. "Also, he's a good guy. You could do worse."
I felt my face heating up. "I'm not… I'm not looking for anything right now."
"You don't have to be looking," Jess said. "You can just be... open to possibilities."
Before I could respond, Connor appeared at our table, holding two glasses of wine. "Hey. Sebastian said you guys might need refills?" He set the glasses down, then looked at me. "Congratulations, by the way. On grad school. That's really impressive."
"Thank you," I said.
"Connor, this is Emma," Sebastian said. "Emma, Connor."
"Nice to meet you." Connor's smile was warm, genuine. Not pushy. Just... friendly. "So, nurse practitioner. That's a big deal."
"It is," I said. "Two years of hell, but worth it."
"What made you decide to go back to school?"
And just like that, we were talking. About the program, about my job, about his work as an engineer. He was easy to talk to, asked good questions, laughed at my jokes.He wasn't trying too hard. Wasn't making it weird.
It was... nice.
Jess caught my eye from across the table and gave me a subtle thumbs up. I rolled my eyes but couldn't help smiling.
An hour passed. Then another. The conversation flowed, the wine kept coming, and I felt myself relaxing in a way I hadn't in months. This was what I'd been missing: being around people, laughing, feeling like a normal person instead of someone constantly in recovery mode.
Connor excused himself to take a call, and I headed to the bar to order another round.
The bartender was slammed, so I waited, leaning against the polished wood, people-watching. The bar had filled up even more—groups of friends, couples on dates, people unwinding after a long week. Everyone had their own story, their own life happening in real time.
I was just another person in the crowd. Not special. Not tragic. Just... here.
