“What?” he asks, turning to follow my gaze.
“Is that Jake?” I whisper.
I squint my eyes as I stare across the festival at Jake and a blonde-haired girl. I feel like I’ve seen her before and it takes me amoment to place her. It hits me that I have seen her before. It’s Emily, the waitress from the tavern.
Graham drops the bean bags and his hands ball into fists at his side.
“I’m going to say something,” he says.
“No, don’t,” I plead, turning back to him. “His dad threatened Beth and I really don’t want to cause a scene.”
“His dad threatened Beth?” he echoes.
I nod. “Yeah, it was a whole ordeal.”
“He shouldn’t get away with what he did to you.”
“No, but it’s better if we don’t engage.” I bend down and pick up the bean bags. “Come on, let’s finish our game. Just ignore him.”
I hand him his bean bags and nudge him back toward the game.
Graham half heartedly throws a bean bag and still makes the shot.
“Not fair,” I say, trying to make him laugh.
“I think you’re being bad on purpose.”
“Oh, I promise you I’m not.”
I glance over my shoulder again and see Emily by herself now at the ticket stand. This might be my only chance to speak to her.
“I’ll be right back,” I tell Graham before dropping my bean bags and darting off through the crowd.
She’s just turning away from the ticket stand when I catch up to her.
“Hi,” I say as I tuck my hair behind my ear. “Emily, right?”
She looks up at me, confused.
“Yeah,” she answers warily.
“You’re here with Jake Osborne?”
“Who are you?” she asks.
I shake my head. “Not important. Look,” I say, stepping closer to her. “I don’t want to tell you what to do, but please be careful with him.”
“Wait, I remember you,” she says, “from the tavern.”
I nod and glance around again. I know I don’t have much time before Jake reappears.
“Yes, that’s me. I just wanted to warn you that Jake isn’t the nice guy he comes off as at first. He groped me that night at the tavern.”
Emily’s face twists into a look of disgust. “Oh my God,” she says.
“He kept trying to kiss me and wasn’t taking no for an answer,” I explain. “So, again, whatever you do, just be careful with him.”
Emily glances over her shoulder and I follow her gaze, spotting Jake leaning up against a gate around one of the carnival rides.
