“Of course. I’m fine. Go ahead.” He leaves, and then I’m left alone.

The pub seems different without him. Emptier, scarier.

This is how it would’ve felt if I had come to the college tour without him or without anyone. Alone. I take a drink from the amber beer bottle and then make a face into my hand. I don’t like the taste of beer, I’m discovering. I consider taking out my phone so I can scroll Instagram, anything to distract myself from how out of place I feel. But I don’t want to do that.

The truth is, I want to experience this. The secret truth is, I’d like to make friends here, but I don’t know how to do that.

The door opens and four boys stumble in.

They’ve obviously been drinking before they even reached the pub. They’re laughing too loud, smiling too hard. The pub is full. Every stool at the bar is taken. The booths are full of people. Too many students crammed together in leather booths.

Maybe that’s why they zero in on me.

A single person at a table, an empty chair across from me. They swagger over, and my eyes widen. A guy who seems to be the leader slides into the chair across from me. Beau’s chair.

“Hey, sweetheart,” he says with a wink.

“Oh,” I say, feeling unsure. “Someone’s sitting there.”

He winks, “I’m sitting here.”

My cheeks feel warm, “I’m sorry, but this table is already taken.”

Not breaking eye contact with me, he picks up Beau’s beer and takes a long swig. “If your date left you alone, that’s his problem and my gain. What’s your name, sweetheart?”

I glance over at the bartender, but he’s busy pouring drinks. The waitress is nowhere in sight. I’m not sure what I’m supposed to do in this situation. I don’t really want him sitting here, but I also don’t want to make a scene.

His three friends crowd around the table. They don’t have seats, but that doesn’t seem to bother them. They rest their elbows on the table. One of them comes close to me and slings his arm across the chair that I’m sitting in.

It’s too close for comfort. My personal space.

Every muscle in my body tightens.

I don’t like when strange men are close to me.

You didn’t feel that about Beau, says a small voice in my head, and that’s true enough. He made me nervous for completely different reasons than these guys.