Gemotions

The air in the restaurant felt thick, the low murmur of conversations a background hum to her agitation. "Everything okay, Ethan?" her date, Leo, asked cautiously.

Ethan swallowed hard, forcing a nonchalant shrug. The truth was, the knowledge of the other party on the horizon was like a weight. He could barely focus on the present.

He kept fiddling with his silverware, a nervous habit he hated. The clinking and scraping were almost as bad as the tension that had settled deep within him. He longed to be anywhere else, away from the impending collision of social circles.