Chapter 2: TikTok Restaurants and Burnt Coffee
When she went on a business trip to Savannah, she sent me a message—then immediately deleted it.
I waited a few minutes on purpose before asking her what she’d remembered. She claimed she sent it by mistake.
But I saw it.
She wrote: "I don’t even know if it’s right to go out with him, just think of it as making up for old regrets."
My heart skipped a beat. I tried to FaceTime her right away, but she declined, saying she was eating with coworkers and it wasn’t a good time.
I said I wanted to see what she was eating.
She sent me a few food pics. The restaurant name was on the napkins. I looked it up—it was one of those TikTok-famous spots, the kind with neon signs and a waiting list a mile long.
I stared at my phone for a while, then opened up a task app and placed an order, setting the location to that restaurant.
I added the runner on Facebook Messenger and told him I was looking for someone—she was right there, could he secretly snap a photo or a short video for me?
I sent him thirty bucks right away. The guy saw I was serious and agreed.
I quickly described my girlfriend to him, then waited. In those few minutes, I was torn—I wanted him to find her, but at the same time, I hoped he wouldn’t.
As I waited, the seconds dragged like hours. My phone vibrated against the kitchen counter, and I nearly jumped. Part of me desperately needed proof; another part of me wanted the whole thing to be a dead end, just a random mistake. I drummed my fingers on the Formica, the burnt coffee smell clung to my hoodie, sharp and bitter, as I waited for proof I didn’t want.
After three or four minutes, he sent me a photo and asked if it was her.
Even though I thought I was prepared, I still went cold all over when I saw it. My breath caught in my throat, and my hand shook as I zoomed in on the image.
She was eating alone with a man. No sign of the female coworkers she claimed to be with.
Then he sent a few more shots, blurry but clear enough for me to recognize the guy.
Her high school classmate.