“I couldn’t do it anymore. I sound like I have a fear of commitment, and maybe I do. Who the fuck knows? All I know is, the longer I thought about marrying Cecily, the more those old restless feelings came back, the kind of shit that got us into trouble as teenagers.”
Ian nodded. “I get it. Which begs the question, why did you continue dating her?”
Damn. Ian was asking the hard-hitting questions today. I almost wished he insisted that I find someone to hook up with, as per his original plan when he had told me he was coming to visit. One look around the bar told me I wasn’t going to find anyone here.
The bar was dark, in that way all bars were. It provided the perfect mixture of dim lighting and alcohol that allowed people to make decisions they would regret come morning. The person you thought you were attracted to under the influence of alcohol was rarely the person you wanted to wake up next to in real life.
It was a Saturday night, so the bar was full. And it was mostly full of college students. Ian’s hook-up plan wasn’t coming to fruition. I may haven’t had sex in a long time, that didn’t mean I was hooking up with a woman under the age of twenty-five.
“I dated her because I was in love with her. At least, I thought I was,” I said, turning back to Ian.
“Glad you finally had the guts to end it. There are so many things I wanted to say. Namely: how did it take you three years to realize that Cecily was a cold-hearted bitch. But as your best friend, I held my tongue.”
“Thank you, that was very big of you.”
Ian laughed, running a hand through his blond hair.
“Enough about me,” I said. “There’s a woman at the bar who’s been looking at you since we sat down. Do you need me to play wingman?
Ian swung his head around to look where I had indicated. A dark-haired woman in a short black dress was sitting at the bar, toying with the straw of her drink. When she saw him looking, she smiled and waved with her fingers.
“I can handle this on my own, thanks.”
He was already sliding out of the booth without a second glance at me. Okay, then. I did wonder how it came so easily to him.
Ian and I had been best friends since seventh grade when his family moved to Los Angeles from London. His father was a cinematographer and had gotten a job with one of the bigger production houses. He was the new kid and I was the scrawny kid who was trying to figure out where exactly he fits in and it was just easier to be friends with each other.
We were also the only two who tested above our grade average and got to skip two grades. Being in high school when you’re two years younger than everyone was not easy; we still managed. Sometimes I thought I was still that high school kid, while Ian had become an adult.
I pulled out my phone and opened the messages. Eve’s name was right at the top and my heart gave a little tug. I opened her messages and read the last one she had sent me this morning. Maddie was leaving to shoot a movie in New York and Eve was looking forward to watching all the movies Maddie wouldn’t allow. Then she had sent me a list of romantic comedies from the nineties.
My thumb hovered over the little keys, as I wondered about asking her how her night was going. What movie was she watching? Clueless was her favorite. Did she start with that? I never got the chance to decide because Ian chose that moment to return. I quickly powered off my phone and slid it back into my pocket.
“Struck out, already?” I asked.
“No, she’s here with a friend. A very single friend,” Ian said, raising his eyebrows meaningfully.
“No,” I said, shaking my head firmly. The last thing I wanted was to be set-up with a woman I knew I wouldn’t get along with.
“You’ve got something better to do?” Ian asked.
“Don’t be snarky. Go, go have a threesome. Live your dreams. My gift to you.”
Ian stared back at me dryly. I rolled my eyes and downed the rest of my beer. He was right, it wasn’t as if I had anything better to do. I didn’t want to sit in a bar and text Eve. Even to me that sounded pathetic.
I rubbed my sweaty palms on the thighs of my jeans.
“Come on,” I said. I slid out of the booth and followed Ian to where the woman was sitting.
“This is Sheila, it’s her birthday,” Ian said in introductions. “Sheila, this is my best mate, Daniel. He’s a doctor.”
Sheila’s eyes moved to me. She looked me up and down in a slow perusal.
“My friend doesn’t date doctors, but you’re good looking, so I think she’ll make an exception,” Sheila said cheerfully.
“How kind of her,” I said. I shot Ian a look to get me out of here. He pointedly ignored me and I thought, well, that’s the end of our friendship. I wasn’t going to spend the night talking to Sheila’s friend.
“I can see you’re worried. Don’t worry, Eve is hot, and it’s not like you have to marry her,” Sheila said, before picking up her gin and tonic.
“Wait, did you say Eve?” I asked, not sure I had heard her right. It was loud in the bar and the manager or whoever had turned on loud techno music. She couldn’t have said Eve. What were the chances that this Eve was my Eve? It was probably just a coincidence. Even as I thought it, I realized how much I did not want it to be a coincidence. I wanted Eve to be here, my Eve. Not some impostor.
“You know this woman?” Ian asked.
“Daniel?”
I turned around at the sound of my name. And there was Eve, standing behind me. Except it wasn’t Eve as I had ever seen her. She was in tight black jeans and a tight black lace top that sat a few inches above the waist of her jeans, revealing her creamy skin. Her hair was open and wavy, she wore some sort of make-up that made her eyes wider and brighter. And red lipstick that drew my attention right to her mouth. Her bottom lip was slightly fuller than her top one, making it look like she was always pouting.
I wanted to draw it between my own and suck on it.
“Daniel?” Eve said again. “What are you doing here?”
“You two know each other?” Ian asked.
“Is this the man you told me about? Sienna’s brother? The one you’re insanely attracted to?” Sheila asked. She pushed me to the side so she had a clear view of Eve, who was turning a bright shade of red.
“Insanely attracted, huh?” I asked, entirely too smug in this knowledge.
“I never said that,” Eve said, waving her hand dismissively.
“Liar!” Sheila exclaimed loudly.
“I am so confused,” Ian said.
Eve turned to him and put on her best smile. “Hi, I’m Eve.”
“Ian Thomas,” he replied, shaking her proffered hand.
“Ian, it’s very nice to meet you. Your friend here spilled coffee on me the first time we met, and the only reason we’re still talking is that the coffee wasn’t hot. How did you two meet?”
“He asked me to sit with him at lunch in seventh grade.”
I tapped her on the shoulder and she looked at me. Her wary gaze met mine.
“Let’s get back to the insanely attracted thing,” I said.
She huffed a large breath. “I’m going to need another drink.”
I stepped aside to let her place her order. She narrowed her eyes at the smug smile that refused to leave my face. I had officially reached the point where I was starting to rethink my plan of only dating women who fit into a type. Because here was Eve, brilliant, creative, successful, a woman who was like none I had ever dated. And here I was, insanely attracted to her.
“Just so you know, the smugness is not attractive,” she said.
“Ah, but you do admit that you are attracted to me?”
“We are not talking about it. That never happened,” she said, refusing to even look at me. Her denial only amused me more.
“Oh my god.”
We both turned our heads to look at Sheila and Ian, who were gawking at us with their mouths slightly open as if we were exotic animals at a zoo. I looked at Eve for help. She was avoiding everyone’s eyes and fas
tidiously staring at the drink the bartender had just handed her.
“I have the best idea,” Sheila said excitedly, a sly smile taking over her features.
Chapter 13 – Daniel
Sheila’s brilliant idea was going to the beach. It was cold, the ocean was restless, the moon was playing hide and seek with the clouds, but the stars were large and bright. Sheila and Ian had abandoned us almost as soon as we got here and were talking and walking by the water. If this was their idea of a set-up, it was going horribly.
Eve was huddled next to me, hugging her knees to her chest. Sheila had found an old blanket in her trunk that smelled vaguely of mothballs and handed it over to us since we “refused to join in on the fun”.
“This was a terrible idea,” I said.
“You could have said no,” Eve replied.
“Why didn’t you?”
“It’s Sheila’s birthday. I promised her we could do whatever she wanted.”
She snuggled in closer to me and I wrapped my arm around her under the blanket. The things we did for the sake of friendship. Although, I didn’t have much reason to complain, aside from the cold. I was getting exactly what I wanted, which was to spend the night with Eve. With the bonus of having her body pressed against mine. She was warm and soft and it was taking a lot of effort for me to keep my mind on track.
“I was going to text you tonight,” I admitted.
Eve looked up at me. She was close enough that her face was directly under mine, in the perfect position for me to kiss those enticing lips. Was she thinking the same thing? I certainly hoped so, though it was too dark to see her expression. I could feel her breath across my face every time she exhaled.
“Yeah?” She said softly. “Why didn’t you?”
I shrugged. “I wasn’t sure what to say.”
“You could have started with hello.”
“If I had, I would have asked if I could see you tonight.”
A sudden burst of laughter distracted me. I looked towards Ian and Sheila, who were chasing the waves as they came in. Glad someone was having fun in the cold.
I felt Eve shift beside me and I felt her breath right next to my ear.
“I would have said yes,” she whispered. I looked down at her in surprise. Her eyelashes fluttered when she blinked up at me. Her skin was luminous under the light of the moon, her hair almost silver. Her lips were painted red, and she pressed them into an imperceptible pout, almost invitingly. If she were anyone else, I wouldn’t second guess kissing her right then and there.
Beneath the blanket, she put her hand in mine, holding on to it tightly. I brushed my thumb lightly against the inside of her wrist, feeling her pulse beating wildly. She was as affected by me as I was by her. Good.
“Come on, lovebirds, get in here.”
We turned to look at Sheila, who had taken off her dress and was running into the water in just her underwear. My best friend was in the middle of taking off his shirt and joining her.
“You’re both going to die,” Eve shouted back.
“Tell my sister I was the one who made out with Tommy Park in eleventh grade,” Sheila called back.
Eve laughed, pulling the blanket tighter around us.
“Do you want to go join them?” I asked.
“Absolutely not!” She replied right away. “I don’t like water.”
She was casting wary glances at the ocean as her eyes tracked Ian and Sheila’s every move.
“You’re afraid of the water,” I said plainly.
She looked up at me. “What’s there not to be afraid of? It’s ginormous and you can’t see the end. It’s just water as far as the eye can see. It’s deep, it’s full of mysteries, and did I mention terrifying? You could drown and no one would even find you. Don’t even get me started on all the dangerous things that live in the water. Sharks, stingrays, octopi, jellyfish. Have you ever been stung by a jellyfish? It hurts like a bitch.”
“You’ve been stung by a jellyfish?”
“Well, no,” she said, sounding embarrassed. “But my brother has, and it hurts like a bitch. I have an aversion to pain.”
She was adorable. Beautiful, and sexy, and adorable. And at that moment, I wanted to kiss her more than I needed to breathe. I also knew it would be a mistake to do so. Not only because she was my sister’s friend; it was because Eve deserved someone better than me. Someone good, who knew how to take care of the good things in his life.
I threw off the blanket and stood up, reaching down my hand for her.
“What are you doing?” She asked.
“Come on, we’re going in the water,” I said.
Eve laughed, not an amused laugh. A sarcastic one.
“Like hell we are. Didn’t you hear anything I just said?”
“I heard you, which is why we’re going to fight your fear.”
“We are going to stay right here, on land.”
I smiled and crouched down in front of her. She was looking at me with narrowed eyes. I reached out and pushed her hair behind her ear.
“I’m going to hold your hand the whole time. We’re dipping our toes in and coming right back out. You have nothing to be afraid of, okay?”
I offered her my hand again, and she looked between me and it. I was hoping she would take it. If nothing else, she was still my friend and I wanted to help her overcome this fear. With a loud sigh and a groan, she finally put her hand in mine.
“We try this once. If I don’t like it, we will never speak of this again,” she said.
“I promise,” I said, hauling her up with me. We had already taken off our shoes because Eve insisted on digging her toes in the sand. Bare feet, we walked to where Ian and Sheila had abandoned their clothes. They were far out in the water now, just two pale silhouettes.
“Is your friend going to be nice to Sheila?” Eve asked.
“I should be asking you that. Sheila seems very…headstrong.”
“Eh, he’ll be fine.”
We stopped at the edge of the water where the sand was wet. Eve squeezed my hand tightly, and took a deep breath. I squeezed her hand back, not urging her on, just letting her know that I was right beside her and not letting go.
“You can close your eyes, if you want,” I suggested.
Eve looked up at me, her brows furrowed. She didn’t say anything for a full minute, just stared up at me. I grew self-conscious, wondering what she was thinking, what was happening behind those gorgeous eyes. Then she blinked, the frown clearing, and she turned to look ahead.
“I’d like to keep them open if it’s all the same,” she said.
Something had happened, something went through her mind when she was looking at me. Before I could ask her what it was, she was walking ahead and pulling me along. Okay, then. We waded just enough that the water hit my ankle and just barely reached Eve’s calves.
“Okay, this isn’t so terrible. I mean, my heart is beating faster than it normally does…but, it’s not a heart attack. So, that’s good.”
“I’m glad you’re not having a heart attack.”
She looked at me over her shoulder, her eyes appearing black in the darkness. “Thank you, for making me do this. I would never have done it on my own.”
“You’re welcome.”
I smiled down at her. The small smile on her face fell as she stared up at me. I felt like whatever she was thinking, I needed to know. It may be too sensitive if she was suddenly serious. I felt an inkling of doubt for the first time since we had walked into the water.
I opened my mouth to ask her what happened, and never got the chance. At that exact moment, Eve made a fist around my t-shirt and yanked me down, pressing a hard kiss against my mouth. For one breathless moment, our lips were pressed together and hers were as soft as I had imagined. I had the same weightless sensation I did when I fell off my surfboard and into the water. I was sinking, falling, with nothing to catch me. Why did we wait so long to do this?
Eve pulled back and I stared down at her. What th
e hell was that?
“I’m sorry, I don’t know why—I didn’t even ask—”
I stopped her by kissing her again. Roughly twenty minutes ago, I thought kissing her would be a mistake I couldn’t recover from. Now, I was certain I was right. I also knew that didn’t want to stop kissing her. I eased off a little, placing tiny kisses against her mouth, gently brushing my tongue against her bottom lip.
Eve stepped closer until we were toe to toe, our bodies pressed together. I wrapped my arms around her, one around her waist and the other at the back of her head, pulling her in closer and holding her to me. She whimpered into my mouth and opened hers for my tongue. She tasted like chocolate and gin, her tongue soft and sweet. Why had I not done this sooner? She felt amazing in my arms, like she belonged there, had always belonged there.
Eve trailed her hands over my arms and shoulders and wound one into my hair. She made a fist and pulled gently, making me groan into her mouth. I pulled Eve closer and tilted her head to go deeper. She bit down on my bottom lip, then soothed the hurt with her tongue.
She was even more intoxicating than the gin she had been drinking at the bar.
“Not attracted to him, my ass. This is pornographic. I wish I had my phone so I could take a picture.”
I froze, and it took a moment for Eve to realize that I wasn’t kissing her back anymore. She pulled back, frowning up at me and when she saw the people standing beside us, her eyes widened.
Ian and Sheila were staring at us with identical shit-eating grins on their faces.
“That is the kind of kiss that keeps you warm on cold winter nights. I had no idea you had it in you, Doc,” Sheila teased.
Eve pulled back, taking a wide step away from me. I rubbed the back of my neck, not sure what to do now. Ridiculously enough, I felt as if my arms were empty without her.
“Sheila, is your birthday over yet?”
“Not for another hour,” Sheila said. “We’re going back to the bar, it’s too cold to be in the water.”
Sheila wound her arm through Eve’s and pulled her out of the water, leaving Ian and I standing there. My friend raised his eyebrows at me, and I just shook my head. I was so fucked and all we had done was kiss.
Not My Type : Golden Girls 1 Page 10