QUOTE : I reached for my purse which I’d hung on the back of the chair. Desperate, Scott moved to grab my hand. Clay stood abruptly. He successfully knocked Scott’s hand out of the way but also bumped the table in the process. Peter reached out to steady his and Rachel’s drinks, and I hurried to pull a twenty from my purse. The waitress returned with the bill and the wrapped up leftovers. Since Rachel was still digging in her purse, I just handed the waitress the twenty after a quick glance at the bill. I was willing to pay for Rachel if it helped us leave faster. “I better drive her home,” Rachel said to Peter. “You have my number. Give me a call if you want to do something next weekend.” I stood, and Rachel shadowed me, ready to go. Clay bumped into me, knocking me off balance so I had to grab Rachel for support. I looked down at him and noticed Scott stand and hand the waitress his portion of the bill. “Rachel, you can stay with Peter. I don’t mind taking Gabby home,” Scott said. Oily enthusiasm dripped with each word, and I didn’t even need to look at Rachel for her to decline. “No, Scott, I think we’re done for tonight.” She waved to Peter and grabbed my hand. Poor Peter looked at us all, bewildered. His night out with Rachel had fallen apart fast, and I truly felt bad about it. I went with Rachel, relieved to escape before Scott’s recklessness grew. An “oof” sounded behind us, and I panicked, realizing I’d forgotten Clay. I spun around in time to see Scott hit the ground. He’d tripped over Clay in his hurry to catch me. I suspected Clay had done it purposely to slow Scott down. Clay wasted no time. He ran to me and bumped his head against my back to get me moving before Scott could pick himself up again. There wasn’t yet enough distance between the table and us to mute Peter’s next words. “What the hell is wrong with you, man? You come on too...” What he still had to say faded as we quickly walked away. “I’m sorry,” Rachel said. “You told me, but I didn’t really get it. Even the men sitting around us were eyeing you.” I’d been too busy keeping an eye on Scott and Clay to notice. We continued to speed walk to the car. “No big deal. You should see me in some of my classes. ‘No’ is the most common word in my vocabulary. Scott’s reaction was worse than most because he already considered me his date. If you say ‘no’, consistently and to everyone, it doesn’t get so bad.