by Daya Daniels
I sighed and pressed my cheek against the warm thermos in my hand, willing myself not to cry. Miranda tossed a pile of papers into my lap, breaking my trance.
“Tyler’s paper on the Coriolis effect. It’s good. Give it a read,” she said.
“I will.” I grabbed my phone and shined the light along the lines of the first page.
“The Coriolis force is an inertial force responsible for large scale weather patterns and legendary cause of the direction of water swirls down the sink…”
Chuckling, I tucked the thick stack of pages away. “I will read the rest when I get home,” I said to Miranda.
Evie
When I got home, I logged into my email. Scrolling through the messages, it sank in that there was still nothing from Luke. Eden gave me some sort of a code I could use to try to contact him. She’d passed it to me the last time I had class with Cahner. I didn’t understand the meaning of it at the time but Eden had to have known I would likely be returned, even though she didn’t say. I peered at the long line of numbers written again that I presumed served as some sort of an email address. It was worth a try.
I typed a quick message, reviewed it carefully and hit send. Less than two seconds later I had an undeliverable message. I tried again, sending a different message and hit send again...another undeliverable message. I promised this would be the last attempt, so I typed another message, even shorter. Less than two seconds later, I had another undeliverable message and I felt my anger soar. Eden wouldn’t have given me this code if it didn’t work. I was sure of it.
I knew Luke could watch me from the sky but maybe he didn’t. Maybe he wanted me to move on with my life. It was possible that all this stuff he left me with was a parting gift, some form of an apology and a get cracking, kick rocks sort of message.
Pulling my long hair up into a loose bun, I stared at the screen of my laptop. Kitten nudged her face against my socks, meowing. I picked her up and cuddled her. She always seemed to know when I was sad.
“I’m okay, Kitten,” I mumbled, looking into her grey eyes and resting her down again.
I clicked on the sent items in my inbox, feeling depressed.
The first message read “I miss you, Luke.” The second message read “I love you. I thought you loved me?” The third message read “Why won’t you contact me!!!” I cringed at the three exclamation points. I knew they officially put me in stalker territory and in the angry, raging, psycho, ex-girlfriend department.
I covered my face with my hands. I was grateful the messages had bounced back. I threw on a pair of sneakers and decided to hit the gym that was in the building, for some much-needed exercise to blow off some steam.
Evie
Steven asked me to join him for dinner with his boss and a potential client of theirs. The two of us weren’t technically dating but over the past few weeks, we’d been spending time together.
Steven had a swanky place on the thirty-second floor at the Palms Place, not far from the Las Vegas Strip. I walked around the large apartment, taking in the view as the sky began to turn shades of pink and orange.
“You look hot,” Steven said walking up behind me, wrapping his arms around my middle.
“Steven,” I scolded in a whisper.
He spun me around to face him, boldly eyeing me over. I decided a navy-blue dress paired with strappy tan heels were good for the occasion tonight. It was slinky and long-sleeved. Steven wore suit pants and a long-sleeve cashmere polo, carrying a jacket in his hand. He was preppy chic.
“I don’t know why you’ve decided to get your own place here, Evie. You can just stay with me.” He pulled me into him.
“I need my own space, Steven,” I said softly.
I loved my three-thousand-square-foot apartment. It was big and modern and overlooked the vibrant Las Vegas Strip. The apartment had floor-to-ceiling windows that let in the sunlight during the day. I had a spectacular view of the lights on the Las Vegas Strip during the night and a view to the sky above. All the appliances were modern and stainless steel. The place was the single girl’s dream. I rarely had company. Usually it was only Kitten and me, as always.
It annoyed me that I hadn’t seen or heard from Luke in two months. If I could email Ariana from the SS Everest, I was positive Luke could email me. His lack of communication only solidified my original thought that he had no intention of ever seeing me again.
Steven grabbed my hand, jolting my thoughts back to the present. We headed across the room for the door.
“Have you thought about what we talked about, Evie?”
“A little,” I said walking alongside him.
“I’m not seeing anyone else, Evie. I want to be with you.”
I smiled, looking at our linked hands.
“Don’t you want to be with me, Evie?”
“I don’t know, Steven. I thought we were taking it slow.”
“You’re right. It’s no pressure. It’s just that I’ve been playing this game with you for two months now. I’m tired of waiting.”
So was I.
We headed down the elevator to the valet, where Steven’s car was already waiting for us. I caught the tightness in his jaw when he opened the car door and I knew in some way I’d annoyed him. Slipping into the supple leather seat, I looked him over again and hoped that this conversation wouldn’t resume. I had no answers for Steven.
Steven wrapped his hand around mine, while we both stared at the gold promise ring he gave me twelve years before on Valentine’s Day. Steven ran a finger over it, giving me a soft smile.
We sat outside on my grandparents’ porch all those years ago. Steven pulled a small green box from his pocket, taking the ring out and sliding it on my ring finger.
“I love you, Evie,” he said looking me in the eye. “You’re my girl.”
I wondered if Steven buying me the ring was just a ploy to have sex with me but he seemed genuine when he said the words.
We were both virgins the first time we had sex. Steven pestered me for nearly the entire summer about it. Eventually, I relented a few months later after my sixteenth birthday. We were both nervous. I’d heard horror stories about girls losing their virginity. I prayed losing mine wouldn’t be a painful disaster. Steven and I’d been in puppy love for three years already. I knew him well. He waited for a day when his parents weren’t going to be home. When the time came, he was gentle, kissing me for a long time and touching me gently. I wanted to. It hurt a little at first but Steven took his time, until it didn’t hurt anymore. Steven took his time. I came every single time we fucked, sometimes twice. I knew a girl my age couldn’t have asked for more.
When Steven went off to school things changed but I was still madly in love with him. He viewed me differently sometimes. Steven scoffed at my ideas and ridiculed me when he thought I wasn’t listening. I couldn’t make sense of what was happening to him or what was happening to us.
I knew deep down that Steven was seeing other girls. I denied it in my head not wanting to face the truth but I already knew.
“I meant it when I gave that to you, Evie,” Steven said, letting out a little laugh.
“Did you?” I asked curiously.
“Yes. I did,” he said firmly just as he started the car, throwing it into reverse. “It was Valentine’s Day.” He smiled.
Evie
We were having dinner at Yellowtail at the Bellagio. It was a popular Japanese restaurant that specialized mainly in seafood.
I was introduced to Steven’s boss, Max Schuman, who was a native New Yorker and a client of theirs, Mr. Yatagawa, who was accompanied by an older woman. Mr. Yatagawa’s wife was a petite lady with porcelain white skin and black hair that was cut in a bob. Mr. Yatagawa’s wife took a seat next to me. I hadn’t realized it when I sat down but she didn’t speak English. Steven and his boss and Mr. Yatagawa engaged in their own conversation.
“O ai dekite kōeidesu,” I said in a soft voice, leaning in to her. It translated to “it’s nice to meet you
” in English.
Mrs. Yatagawa’s face lit up when she looked at me. “Watashi mo anata ni aete kōeidesu,” she replied.
“Anata wa koko wa sukidesuka?” I asked her. It translated to “do you like it here?” in English.
“Hai, totemo,” she said excitedly. “Hatsu,” Mrs. Yatagawa said placing her hand in the center of her chest.
I nodded. “Evie,” I said softly, telling her my name.
Hatsu and I talked about everything from her and Mr. Yatagawa’s children, to their travels throughout the world and their visit to Las Vegas, all in her language.
Steven eyed us both with knotted eyebrows but I knew the shock that colored his features was mostly directed at me as I spoke Japanese fluently throughout dinner.
“So, when are you both tying the knot?” Max asked across the table in his husky New York accent.
Steven’s gaze remained in his dinner plate. Then he chuckled softly, lifting his eyes to face me head-on. “Soon,” he said firmly.
I quickly broke our eye contact and continued to eat feeling a little panicked.
“Kare wa hijō ni hansamudesu,” Hatsu said, nudging me in the shoulder.
I giggled. Hatsu told me that Steven was handsome. When my eyes met Steven’s again, he gave me a sexy wink. I knew I was blushing. Steven took my hand in his beneath the table and I warmed at how comforting his grip was. It was possessive yet gentle. Slowly, I pulled my hand out of his, letting it remain in my lap. I needed to get a grip on myself and fucking fast.
“How did you both meet?” Max asked in his husky voice.
I gave Steven a funny face, which made him smile. He opened his mouth slowly to speak, still keeping an eye on me.
“It was in grade school but we didn’t live far from each other in Rachel, where we grew up. Evie is two years younger than me. We used to play ball and hide and seek together, with her friend Ariana.
“We’ve been friends since we were kids. Rachel is a small space. Sometimes I miss it,” Steven mumbled.
His honesty surprised me.
“Evie is in most of my best memories,” Steven said softly, running his thumb over the top of my hand. I smiled accepting that it meant a lot to hear Steven say that.
“Do you remember chasing cows?” he asked, nudging me in the shoulder.
“Yes.” I giggled.
Max laughed loudly and then asked the waiter to bring another bottle of champagne over to the table.
“How did your family end up in such a tiny place, Steven?” Mr. Yatagawa asked.
“My grandfather, Andrew, headed out to Rachel from North Dakota when he was young to develop some of the gold mines that were there. The McCallister family settled there in the 1940s before the place was even officially founded.” Steven laughed.
“And such a strange name,” Mr. Yatagawa said with a twisted face.
“It’s actually named after the first baby born in the valley. Her name was Rachel Jones. She died when she was three, sadly. After that the residents created a cemetery and a memorial park named after her, although she wasn’t buried there.
“The community was first known as ‘Tempiute Village’ and then later as ‘Sand Springs’ before that. Then Rachel,” Steven explained.
“We used to hear loud sonic booms from the Nellis Range Complex.” Steven laughed.
“Remember, Evie?”
“My mother used to scream all the time when she used to hear them!” I said loudly, laughing with him.
The waiter moved around the table pouring more champagne, which I refused. Steven’s eyes remained on mine longingly, while I tried my best to ignore him. The feel of his fingers over the back of my hand and the look he was giving me was causing my skin to heat. I eyed him again in a silent reminder that we were at a table full of people.
Steven leaned in, pressing his lips into the shell of my ear. “I’m enjoying having you here, Evie. This is us...how we used to be.”
Evie
“Since when do you speak fluent Japanese?” Steven asked, taking off his jacket, tossing his keys down.
I slipped off my shoes, walking into his kitchen. “It’s just something I learned,” I said grabbing some water out of the fridge.
He opened the balcony doors, which led out to a large patio with a heated swimming pool and overlooked the Las Vegas valley.
I headed outside, taking in the view of the night sky and the city lights below. I found the Big Dipper and the Little Dipper, then focused on where the handle of the Big Dipper meets its cup. I drew an imaginary line in with my finger from that point, straight through the last star in the handle of the Little Dipper and identified the constellation of Cassiopeia from where I stood. Five bright stars in the constellation form a W shape in the night sky.
When the cool breeze touched my face, I thought about Luke and what he might be doing. I wanted to speak to him so badly.
It was my problem in relationships, always being so fucking desperate.
“Ty vyglyadish' ochen' krasivo,” he said coming up behind me, wrapping his arms around my waist.
I could feel his hardness against my lower back. He had removed his dress shoes.
“Spasibo,” I said softly.
He chuckled. “You speak Russian too?”
I didn’t respond, only let out the long breath it seemed like I’d been holding in for the past year. “What did she have that I didn’t, Steven?”
He sighed. “Nothing.”
I scoffed and rolled my eyes, giving Steven a disinterested stare.
“You were always happy with me, Evie, just the way I was. I lost my way,” he said with honesty in his voice.
He pulled me to sit in one of the wide lounge chairs with him, settling me into his lap. He grabbed a blanket resting it over the top of us from the chill.
“Thank you,” I whispered.
When he leaned in to kiss me, I let him. He slid his tongue into my mouth softly, exploring. We kissed for a little while, until his breathing deepened and his hands tightened around my waist. His cock strained through the fabric of his dress pants and against my ass.
“Steven, stop,” I hissed.
He exhaled loudly, giving me an exasperated look. “Evie, I don’t understand what is going on with you. Who is this guy that you were seeing? I feel like he’s keeping you from me. You might be here with me physically but emotionally you are someplace else.”
I closed my eyes for a moment.
“I am trying so hard, Evie, to make everything up to you but you keep pushing me away.”
“You broke my heart, Steven,” I whispered as the tears threatened to fall.
“I know that,” he snapped. “And you will never let me live it down.”
Pressing my lips in a hard line, I turned away from Steven wiping the wetness from my cheeks.
“He’s not from around here, Steven,” I said, which only earned a scoff from him.
I was so confused, completely unsure of what direction I was going in.
“Please don’t cry, Evie.”
I shot up from the lounge chair, looking down at him. “How can you say that, Steven?! It’s all I’ve done since you dumped me!”
“Evie, please don’t leave,” he said curling his fingers around my forearm when I attempted to walk away from him.
Yanking my arm out of his gentle grasp, I grabbed my shoes and headed back inside, while Steven followed closely on my heels. When I made it to the foyer, he grabbed me and kissed me, stilling me against the wall, placing his big thigh in between my legs. I melted in his kiss, sinking into the feeling of his warm lips against mine. I breathed in his scent, realizing how accustomed I was to it and how different it was from Luke’s, yet still good. Steven’s blue eyes opened to peer into mine, searching my face, while he slid down to the tile floor, pushing my dress up slowly.
“I still love you, Evie,” he said softly with a trembling lip.
Slowly, he pulled my leg up over his shoulder, pressing a kiss to the inside of my thigh
. He nibbled and sucked on the sensitive skin there and then let out a warm breath against the soft cotton of my panties. My pussy quivered at the tortuous sensation.
His fingers crawled up my hips, settling at the edge of the thin material. Then he ripped it away slowly but firmly, while I listened to the sound of the fabric tear. Steven let out a long breath, staring at my bare flesh that I was certain was slicked with wetness already. Steven’s lips parted and his fingers trembled, then he licked his lips, still staring at me.
“I’ve missed this pretty pussy, Evie.” He wrapped his hands around my thighs.
I craned my head up to the ceiling allowing the back of my head to settle against the wall. I needed oxygen that was proving to be more and more difficult to find. When Steven’s lips pressed against my sensitive skin, I jerked in his grasp and whimpered when he nibbled lightly on the inside of my thighs. I dropped my head, meeting Steven’s blue eyes again when he edged closer to my naked flesh with his lips. I was so starved for this but everything inside of me was screaming. I was telling myself to go, to stay, and then repeating it all to myself again. I didn’t know what the fuck I was doing! Steven gripped me hard and pulled my other thigh over his shoulder. He made a loud breath against my swollen flesh, while I squirmed, feeling the cool wall against my back, when he shifted.
My heart was in my throat and my skin was slicked with nervous sweat. It had been so long since I’d been with Steven but it was always good. What he was doing to me now only reminded me of that. I dropped my gaze again, while Steven ran his hands over my thighs. God, this felt so good.
“I want to fuck this pussy, Evie,” he murmured. “But I am going to feast on it first to remind you of why we’re so good together. You will forget all about him.”
I froze at the words that spilled from his mouth. Everything inside of me was one big jumbled mess.