"This was somehow worse the second time around." Emily complained, cracking her back.
"You're built like a glamazon, woman, this is cake!"
Emily rolled her eyes and hoisted herself up onto the counter, gratefully accepting the bottle of water he handed to her. "If I have to keep doing this, I'm going to be so pissed that I'm not reaping the benefits of this much exercise."
Derek laughed and thumbed through his phone for a moment before shoving it back in his pocket.
"What are you doing tonight, Princess?"
"Same stuff I did yesternight, I guess. I mean, I have to retrace my steps, right?"
"I was gonna ask if you wanted to come meet some people at Eighteenth Street for JJ's birthday, but you probably knew that already, didn't you?"
"Yep, and I'm going, and I'm gonna talk about Doctor Who with Reid."
Derek groaned and clutched his chest like he'd been wounded. "You're such a nerd, Prentiss."
Emily laughed and slid off the counter. "We done?" but it was clear she was asking as a courtesy as she was making her way to the front hall, Derek following behind.
"Yeah," he replied needlessly, locking the door behind them. "You know where to go tonight?"
"Eighteenth Street, nine-thirty."
Derek shook his head. "Damn that is creepy! I take it since you met Reid, you make it there."
"Yep."
"What did you do between now and then?"
"Um, fed my cat that I didn't feed this morning yet again, took a bath, ate dinner, got ready and met you guys at the Lounge."
"Hey!" Derek said brightly. "That's gotta mean it was someone you saw at the club!"
"Fuck that, Derek. Eighteenth Street on a Friday night? I could be doing this for months."
"I hope you like hanging drywall then!" He laughed as he got into his truck.
"Fuck you." Emily returned, sliding into the drivers seat of her car and heading back towards DC.
On the drive home, her stomach felt twisted in knots. What if it was someone at the club? How many people had she seen before she left? She racked her brain drying to think of someone who stood out when her mind went to the pretty blonde she'd seen outside the club. Maybe her? They had had a moment, she guessed. If you called being caught staring a moment, it had gone by far too quickly for her to tell either way. Could be wishful thinking on her part since she was positive a woman that looked like that was taken. Still, it wasn't unheard of for people in relationships to fall into the Echo and there was no obligation for a relationship, just a meeting. It just so happened that almost everyone who met their someone in the Echo decided to pursue a relationship.
Emily frowned as she unlocked the door to her apartment. She didn't want to break up anyone's relationship, no matter if they were in the Echo together. her thoughts shifted immediately as Sergio trotted towards her, meowing pitifully, the same way she'd remembered him doing it before. Christ, even the animals started the whole day again? Did animals have the Echo? She was really going to have to look this stuff up. "I'm sosorry, Sergio!" she cooed, scooping him up and nuzzling his head. "I forgot to feed you twice even though you don't remember. Please forgive me!"
Sergio meowed again and Emily dropped him to the floor so she could get his food ready. She'd mix up some kibble with the wet stuff too. Just to allay her guilty conscious. She practically tripped over him several times while collecting the bowl and then putting it back, but she scratched his back a few times as he started eating in the hopes that there were no hard feelings. She reached over to the coffee maker and flipped the switch on. "Mmm, refried coffee." she muttered. "I sure am a catch!" she tapped her fingers against the countertop wondering if she should forego the bath for a shower. Deciding that soaking in a tub sounded much more enjoyable than a quick shower and then waiting around anxiously to make sure the timeline was right, Emily made her way to the en suite in her room, pulling her clothes off once she got there and dumping them into the hamper.
Remembering how fire-can-not-kill-a-dragon hot the water had been last time, she let the tub fill up half way before fiddling with the knobs until the water was tepid and filling it the rest of the way. Settling into the tub, she sighed happily at the perfect temperature and leaned her head back against the lip of the tub. Mindful not to relax so much she fell asleep, Emily waited until her empty stomach started to make her uncomfortable before pulling the plug of the tub and let the water drain while she dried off and then wrapped herself in her robe.
Emily made her corndogs and ate them as mindfully as she could so as not to rush before depositing her rinsed plate in the dishwasher, again, and going to get ready to go out, again. Standing in her closet, she wondered if she should wear something different. She vaguely recalled that in the brief unit about the Echo in health class in middle and high school, that sometimes people wore different clothes every repetition in the hopes of drawing attention to the fact that they were in the Echo. Of course, she'd also learned in her first year psychology course at Yale that it wasn't statistically probable that people could possibly be so observant as to notice and remember what everyone they came into contact every day was wearing. Hell, she couldn't even remember what she'd worn yesterday. The day before today. Whatever.
She rang her Uber and managed to make sure Sergio had water and food left before she hollered a farewell to him and left her apartment to go to Eighteenth Street. Again. Making a beeline for her friends in line for the club.
"Glad to see you made it, Princess!" Derek greeted, slinging an arm around her shoulder after Penelope gave her a hug. She shot him a warning glance, trying to telepathically remind him of the text she'd sent while she was having dinner. She did not want him to mention the Echo. Partly because she was terrified the kind of lengths Penelope would go to to find out who was in the Echo with her (and there was only so many times she wanted to relieve a fourth degree by the zaftig hacker), but it was their friend's birthday. It'd be kind of shitty to upstage someones birthday for an Echo repetition when it was highly likely she was going to be doing this several more times.
She mimed herself meeting Reid and commenting on his Doctor Who pin while trying to scan the faces of women around her. Did she feel anything? She was so nervous, it was hard to tell if a met gaze meant anything. They paid cover and Emily charged ahead to lead them to the empty couches they'd sat at the first time she'd done this. Penelope's phone went off as they sat down and she frowned as she checked it.
"The birthday girl and Thomas are running late." She announced. "Her niece wouldn't let them leave until she fell asleep and now they're stuck in traffic. She says to get started without her and she'll be here in about forty-five minutes."
Emily tuned out the decision making process on whether or not they should wait a bit and tried to be hyper aware of her surroundings. So sometime between right this second and the time Mallory text her about Sergio, she saw whoever was in the Echo with her. She felt way too damn jittery for this. "I'm gonna grab a drink." she announced distractedly, leaving the group to get to the bar. She needed a shot of something.
"Is she okay?" Penelope asked with concern, watching Emily's retreating form.
"Yeah, Baby Girl don't worry." Derek replied, putting his arm over her shoulder. "I just worked her too hard on that drywall is all."
"Really? But she's so buff."
Derek laughed and landed an exaggeratedly loud kiss on her cheek. Silently wishing his friend good luck.
