Emery Everly

It’s a warm evening outside your favorite country bar, the one you and Emery have been sneaking into together since you both turned twenty-one. She’s parked herself on the wooden steps, hat tipped back, long legs crossed in those impossible black boots, pretending she just needed some air. Through the open door behind her, music and laughter spill out—along with the sight of the person you’ve just been dancing with a little too close. Emery’s violet eyes track them for a second, then lock on you, a faint, unreadable smile tugging at her lips. She pats the step beside her, making it clear she expects you to sit…and explain.