by Lauren Wood
Now, I was left to call Cassie if I wanted something and when I thought about it, I didn’t find myself too enthused to see her. While I should have been, I just wasn’t. What I wanted I couldn’t have, so instead I turned up the music and tried to forget her. I didn’t even think about going down to the bar and picking up someone new. It was only Eve that had me going.
There was no noise from downstairs and I had to wonder what she was doing. It seemed to me that a woman like Eve would come around eventually. I had never met someone that I couldn’t have and I was sure she was no different. The only thing that could stop me was her moving and I had to make sure that it didn’t happen. I could be quiet if I wanted to be…
I looked over at the radio and felt the floor underneath me moving. I was already being too loud, but I hadn’t thought about it that way. I had always been a little loud, but now I was starting to realize how much. Going to the stereo, I turned it way down and sighed deeply. I wasn’t doing this because she asked. I was just doing it to get on the right side of her. That was all this was, just until I convinced her to give me a chance and then I would run with it. I’m sure as soon as I have her the way I want her, I will be able to get her off my mind once and for all.
Chapter 4
Eve
The music stopped upstairs after Carlos left. I was sure that it was going to be louder and he would be worse than before, but it seemed like he was actually going to be better. I could have handled talking to him a little nicer, but it was hard to. All I could think about was how he had looked the night before when he had opened the door to me. I had not been expecting the hard chest and hard rod that was practically bursting from underneath a very thin sheet around his waist. It was something that I wasn’t prepared for and talking to him after seeing him in such a way was not how I was going to be able to look at him straight.
Now it was becoming a problem. Before I couldn’t write because I was too tired and everything was too loud, but now things were different. Now I couldn’t work because I was thinking about Carlos and I couldn’t help but think about how long it had been since I was with a man in that way. My last boyfriend was my only boyfriend and he didn’t look anything like Carlos with his clothes off. If he had, maybe we would still be together, but Tony never looked like that. He had been upset when I left, but now I was starting to see that there were a lot of things that I never knew about, things that were now making me wonder.
Sighing to myself, I knew there was nothing that I could really do, but leave the apartment. I couldn’t work and I was starting to get a little cabin fever. A run was just what I needed and before it got too much later and hotter, I was going to get a run in. I was hoping that it was just what I needed to get the man off of my mind. He was off limits after all. A man like that would be dangerous to a girl like me, to any girl really.
I left the apartment and did my best not to look up at the balcony of Carlos’ apartment. There was part of me that wanted to, to see if he was up and smoking a cigarette like I saw him doing some days. But I didn’t look. I was trying hard to be good and ignore the temptation that was right above me.
The pace that I started was faster than usual. I had too much energy to get out of my body and all I could think about was the hard abs that I had seen the day before. It was hard to think of anything else and I found myself on the wrong side of the road, going the wrong direction. Where was my mind at today? I was never going to get any work done this way. I knew what I needed, but there was no clear answer on how to get it.
Passing up the coffee shop that I had seen Joel in, it gave me an idea of how I could get my mind off of everything. I knew that Joel liked me in a way that I wasn’t sure I liked him, but he was nice and didn’t push. He was also one of the only people out of work that I knew in the city and I was starting to feel lonely. The knowledge that I wasn’t going to see my friends at home for months was hard to fathom. It was rather lonely in the city that didn’t sleep.
Calling Joel when I got back to the apartment, I asked if he wanted to go out and do anything that evening. I was sure that I knew how it sounded, but I was hoping that he would take it as a friendly invitation. That was what I was hoping for anyways.
***
“You look, stunning Eve.”
I had made the effort and I was already rethinking it when I saw the look in Joel’s eyes. Maybe I had done too much because he looked like he wanted to eat me alive at the moment.
“Thank you Joel. You clean up nice as well.”
He grinned at me and I noticed that he was wearing a leather jacket. Joel looked different and I knew that the jacket had something to do with it. He looked like a biker all of a sudden and it made me wonder what form of transportation he was going to be taking me out in. When he handed me a helmet and walked towards the bike, I knew that my fears were realized.
“We are taking this?”
His smile faltered and he shook his head. “I told you that I had a bike, didn’t I?”
Shaking my head that he didn’t, I was sure that I would have remembered such a thing. There was no way that I was getting onto the back of it. That was all I could think about. I was going to die, I was sure of it if I did get on.
“You don’t want to ride with me?”
About to answer him, I saw a movement out of the corner of my eye and I could tell that it was Carlos on his porch. He wasn’t usually home this late in the day, but of course he had to be there. I didn’t want him to think that I was a coward, so against all better judgement, I put the helmet on and got on the back of the bike.
It moved when I got on and it scared me for a moment, but I was happy that the helmet covered up my face and the expression on it. More regret came when Joel got on and my body naturally nestled up against him. It was too close and I could feel my face getting hot. This was supposed to be a night to get Carlos out of my mind, but it was only getting me in trouble so far.
I couldn’t ask him where we were going because of the loud bike, so I was left to hold on for dear life and hope that we didn’t crash on the way to wherever it was we were going. When we stopped at a particularly rough looking bar that was lined with other bikes like Joel’s, I started to wonder if I would have been better off in a wreck. There weren’t a lot of women there from what I saw and the few that were there were not dressed like I was. I was dressed to go out to a restaurant and eat, not this. What had I gotten myself into?
***
“This is Carlos’ place.”
“Carlos?”
“Yeah my cousin that lives upstairs.”
“Oh.”
Looking around, it started to make sense why Carlos was always gone when he was. His lifestyle was far different from mine. Curiously enough though, I didn’t see the man that Joel kept talking about. I could tell that the man admired Carlos and it wasn’t hard to see that there was a loyalty there. I liked that about Joel and it made me rethink Carlos if he had someone that thought that highly of him. Maybe I had seen him all wrong before?
“You still haven’t really met him yet?”
I was sure that Joel had heard about my comments the other night, so I told him that we had met when I had went over there.
“I wouldn’t really call it a social call though. It was three in the morning.”
Joel just smirked and shook his head. “I hope Carlos wasn’t too gruff with you. He has a tendency to be that way sometimes, but his bark is worse than his bite.
“He was actually pretty nice about it and they were quiet the rest of the night. He even brought me coffee the next morning, so that was nice.”
My words stunned Joel and I wasn’t sure why.
“That doesn’t sound like my cousin.”
“Why?”
Joel just shook his head. “Carlos usually doesn’t give in to anyone.”
The look on his face was different than before. Joel was looking at me strangely and I took a drink of the glass in front of me to break the eye contact.
&
nbsp; “What are you two doing here?”
Speak of the devil.
“Just taking Eve out to see the place. She is still new to the city, so she had to come to the best place here.”
I agreed with Joel, but it was Carlos that took my attention. His look was similar to his cousins, but with Carlos it didn’t look like a want, it looked like a need that he had every intention on getting his way.
“You flatter me Joel. I don’t think that this is Eve’s kind of scene.”
His comment offended me, even though it was dead on. “You don’t know what kind of scene I am into Carlos.”
“Well you don’t fit in here. I think you need something a little fancier, like a drink with an umbrella in it.”
Taking Joel’s shot of whiskey I downed it and asked Carlos for another. I saw the brow go up on Carlos’ face and I thought I had made myself clear. I wasn’t some weakling like he thought. I didn’t have to be handled with kid gloves, but I seemed to forget that I wasn’t a very good drinker. Never had been and by the way I was feeling, I was never going to be.
Chapter 5
Carlos
I couldn’t stop smiling like a fool. I shouldn’t be, had no real reason to be, but my lips refused to do anything else but curl upwards towards my eyes.
The woman next to me moved and I stilled like it was going to matter if I moved an iota. I didn’t want to wake her, enjoying just watching her sleep for a time. It wasn’t something that I usually did, but nothing about Eve was usual. If she had been anyone else, I wouldn’t have found myself being so protective of her. I wouldn’t have brought her upstairs to my bed and laid her down still clothed. If she was anyone else but her, I suppose I would have been feeling a whole lot better than what I was right then.
My body needed Eve, but it wasn’t the right time. I wasn’t the type to take advantage and it was easy to see that she had been far too drunk to give any kind of answer. So now she was lying next to me and I was trying to tell my body that she wasn’t for me. It was hard, every part of me was, but I knew that I was going to have to settle for just looking at her now.
When that wasn’t enough and I was agitated with the wait, I got up and decided to make her some breakfast. It was something that I never did, but wanted to do for her. I wanted her to look at me differently, even though she had tried her best to be something else, I knew that she was a gentle woman. I didn’t have much experience with her sort, but I was willing to try. She was worth it.
Getting up, I looked back one last time to the woman in my bed and felt a surge of something in my chest. I wasn’t used to feeling this way. I was used to telling the woman to leave so I could get some sleep. It didn’t matter that Eve had stolen the blanket while she slept and her knees stayed in my back half the night, I would never tell her to go away.
There was a skip to my step, another new addition that I wasn’t sure how to handle. I wanted her to want me, a feeling or desire that I never had to worry about before. What was it with her that made me feel this way? I was up before noon and had a clear head for once.
I was just getting to the small store down the road when my phone rang. I saw who it was and I sighed to myself. There was many people that I wanted to talk to, but the one on the phone wasn’t one of them. I was sure I was going to hear about last night and I didn’t want to sour my mood. After he called three times in a row, I knew that I would have to answer or he would be at my house soon.
“Joel, you are up early.”
“Where is she?”
“I don’t know what you are talking about.”
“Where is Eve, dammit!”
“I took her home last night. I don’t think you remember how drunk you were. That is why you went and laid down in the store room. What was I supposed to do, but take her home?”
“You didn’t take her home Carlos, so where is she?”
Looking back towards the apartment, I couldn’t tell if he was still out front or not. Had he went and checked on her and found her missing?
“I took her home.”
“She isn’t answering her door and I have pounded for five minutes. What did you do with her?”
“What are you getting at?”
“Did you sleep with her last night?”
I had technically, but I knew that he wasn’t worried about actual sleep. He was asking me if I had had sex with her and though I would like to have said yes, I couldn’t. I had been good and I didn’t like the reminder in the way of him trying to imply that I had.
“No, I put her to bed. She was too drunk to drive and you were passed out in the back. What was I supposed to do? If I had left her, I never would have heard the end of it.”
“She was too drunk to go with you.”
“We didn’t do anything. What kind of man do you think I am?”
I was getting more and more upset and offended by the minute. I was doing the right thing and all I was getting was shit from him. I had wanted to take her, badly, but I wasn’t into that kind of thing. She would be with me because she wanted to be. There was no other alternative to that.
“I didn’t mean it like that Carlos. I just, I don’t know. I woke up and was worried because I don’t remember much.”
“Well you need to get a hold on your drinking if you are going to take a girl like that out. What were you thinking taking her to the bar? That is not the kind of place for her. Something could have happened if I hadn’t been there. Every man in that place was watching and waiting for you to slack off, which you did.”
I was angry when I thought about what could have happened if I wouldn’t have been there. Eve had acted like she was trying to fit in, but the more she tried, the more painfully obvious it was that she was a square.
“I don’t know what happened. I started matching her shots. Who would have thought that she could put down drinks like that? As tiny as she is, I don’t know how she was still walking.”
There was a bit of admiration from me as well. I don’t know what made her want to drink in the way she did, but it was a surprise to say the least. I hadn’t expected that from her, but I wasn’t going to get sidetracked.
“Yeah I don’t know. She was pretty sloshed when we left the bar.”
“Well where are you at?”
“I’m at the corner. Why, what’s up?”
“I was going to go to your house and drink a beer.”
“No! I uh, I mean you need to get home and get some sleep. Last night is something that you are going to have to sleep off.”
There was a non-committal sound on the other side and all I could hope was that he didn’t knock or use his key to get in. I didn’t want him knowing that Eve was there. I didn’t want her to get woke up and then I wouldn’t be able to spend some time with her. I wanted to be the first thing that she saw when she woke up, not Joel.
“Alright man. I guess I am going to go home. I just wanted to make sure that she was alright. I can’t believe that I got so drunk last night.”
“Wait until you see your tab for the night.”
I chuckled before I hung up, but I wasn’t without all guilt. I knew that Joel liked Eve, a lot, but I couldn’t just stand aside when I thought I had met the girl of my dreams. She could be a good girl in the day time, but there was a wild part of her that I rather enjoyed. It was that part of her that I wanted to see more of, see where it related to the bedroom.
Going in the store, my mind was elsewhere and all I could think about food wise was some chocolate sauce and whip cream. I wanted to make Eve my dessert, but I put the items back, reminding myself that she wasn’t a girl like Cassie or the others. I was going to have to go slow, no matter how hard that was going to be.
Chapter 6
Eve
My head was killing me when I finally woke up. I opened my eyes to find that they were burning with the light. What was wrong with me? Lying back on the pillow, it was the first thing that I realized was off. It wasn’t the same feel as mine was and it smelled different
ly. Was I losing my mind?
Cracking my eyes open, I peeked at the pillow and saw that the pattern was all wrong. I was not in my own bed, though I wasn’t sure where I was. The light was still burning my eyes and all I wanted to do was close them, but the idea that I was somewhere I wasn’t supposed to be forced me to look anyways. I had to squint through the pain, trying my best to see what it was that I was missing. Where was I and why couldn’t I remember the night before?
A look at my surroundings didn’t help me to determine where I was. It was clear that I was in a male’s house. No woman would be so bad at housekeeping. Thinking back to the last thing I remembered and the dress I was still wearing, I last remembered going out with Joel. The bike came through me memory and then the drinking. Sighing and groaning all at the same time, I went to lie back down. I was at Joel’s most likely. The fact that I still had clothes on was a good indication that nothing happened, but I couldn’t believe that I had let myself get that drunk. What was I thinking?
“Eve, are you up?”
The voice reminded me. I was thinking that I didn’t want Carlos to think that I was such a light weight. I wasn’t, but I wasn’t a very good drinker either. Between the two things, it was clear to me that I was not where I was supposed to be and my savior was actually most likely the devil.
“Yeah, um I guess I am.”
“There is breakfast ready when you are. I know that your head must be killing you.”
It was, but I wouldn’t admit that to him. “Um, where is your bathroom?”
“Second door on your left when you come out of there.”
I thanked him softly and made my way out of his warm bed and wondered if he had slept in there with me. Had I snored? I must look a mess.