Emily blushed. She wasn’t sure if Rob did, too, because she wasn’t looking at him anymore. She was staring down at the crumpled napkin on her grease-stained paper plate, hoping no one saw her reaction.

They walked down the street with Priya in the middle, but it was hard to deny the tension crackling between Emily and Rob. It was like an ember had been glowing for years, and now someone was fanning it, blowing on it, waiting to see if it would burst into a roaring flame once more.

—

The three of them took seats on the PATH train.

“So how did you two meet?” Priya asked.

“Funny story,” Rob said. “I was sitting all alone one night in a folk music club my junior year of college, minding my own business, when this stunning woman comes over and asks me if I want to share her popcorn.”

Emily laughed. “Not true!” she said. “I walked into this folk music club my sophomore year of college, minding my own business, when this guy with the biggest smile I’d ever seen offers to buy me a drink. So I figured it was only fair to offer him some popcorn in return.”

“I think I offered to buy you the drink after you offered me the popcorn,” Rob said, winking at her.

“Well, if that’s what you need to tell yourself,” Emily said, “I won’t argue. But we both know the truth.”

“The truth that it was love at first sight?” Rob said, raising an eyebrow, Groucho Marx–style. He was joking but not joking. Teasing but being serious, too.

Emily was quiet for a moment, stopping the banter completely. “Yeah,” she said softly. “Maybe it was.”

—

When the PATH let them off at 33rd Street, Priya gave Emily a hug. “It was great to see you so happy tonight,” she whispered. “Be careful with him, though. He wants a lot from you.”

Emily hugged her back. “I will. Thank you for coming.”

Then Priya said good-bye to Rob and hailed a cab.

“Good night!” Rob and Emily chorused, as Priya shut the car door behind her. Then Rob looked at Emily. “Another slice, Queen? Or are you going to leave a stranger in this city to eat pizza all by his lonesome? One who might even end up at a terrible dollar-a-slice pizza joint, if left to his own devices?”

Emily shook her head at him, laughing at the same time. This night felt like a moment out of time where she could laugh and flirt and share her feelings through her fingers and her voice. It was a moment she didn’t want to lose quite yet. “Come on,” she said. “There’s a great pizza place not far from here. Don’t let anyone ever say New Yorkers aren’t friendly, staying up late to help a stranger in need find some pizza.”