Fake it Baby

by Tia Siren

  He simply looked at her with a smile and clasped his hands together. “No, thank you. I think I’m okay. Just learning the ropes around here.”

  “Well, if you ever need a guide, a piece of advice or,” she grinned, cascading her eyes down his body “just a piece, let me know.” She hesitated before slowly turning away from him and walking away with a strut his eyes were glued to until Eva’s image made it fade from his mind.

  The stirring in his pants reminded him that he hadn’t been laid in a while. It had to have been a new record for him. He adjusted himself and tried to put it out of his mind.

  Some things are more important in life.

  The next morning, he was adamant on finding Eva and he had mapped out her entire schedule for the day. Her day looked busy with several classes so he was bound to run into her sometime.

  Walking into his own class, there were several students already seated and waiting for the class to start. Edward really had no idea what he was going to teach. When he saw a curriculum on the desk he was somewhat relieved. He approached his desk and stood there until the murmurs and quiet talk silenced.

  “Good morning,” he said with a grin. “I am Mr. Caldwell and I will be your teacher for the next twenty weeks.” He glanced down at the cover of the stack of books in front of him. “We will be learning about business and economics and hopefully a little bit about each other.” He walked to the side of his desk and sat on the edge. “Who would like to start?”

  The hour passed quickly as he learned a little about each of his students and what they expected from his class. There were a few who were serious about the class since it was part of their major, a few needed the grade to keep their overall grade above average and of course there were the few jerkoffs who didn’t much care that they were there at all.

  Luckily, Edward was always good at reading people and he had a good idea where he stood and how the class was going to go. Moreso, he had a good idea what to expect from the students on campus at that particular university.

  “Okay,” Edward looked out across his students and chose one who wasn’t paying attention. “Andy?”

  He knew he got the rogue looking boy’s name right when he looked up from his doodling and squinted his eyes, annoyed at the interruption.

  “Tell me about supply and demand. If X company has a large supply of their product, what does that tell you about the demand?”

  Andy shook his head and went back to his artwork on the front of his text book.

  “Let’s put it in terms you might understand.” Edward walked around his desk and stood. “If your dealer has a huge supply of marijuana and he can’t get rid of it, what does that tell you?”

  Andy looked back up and grinned. “Means I got a better deal someplace else.”

  Several of the students giggled and murmured amongst themselves and Edward let them.

  “That could be one scenario, sure. Or maybe not enough people know about it.”

  “So he should increase his advertising to increase the possible demand,” said Gwyneth after raising her hand.

  “Very good.”

  “Or, maybe the demand is just not there,” said another student.

  “Another possibility,” said Edward. He walked back around his desk and wrote an assignment on the board. “The next time we get together, I want to go over this.” He underlined it. “Please get familiar with it. I’d like to know your thoughts.”

  The students gathered their things and left and Edward felt renewed. He actually liked his new career choice. He gathered his things together as the last of the students left the classroom. As he was just about to leave, Gracie walked in through the door.

  “Hello,” she said with more enthusiasm than expected.

  “Gracie, hello again.”

  “How are you getting along?”

  “Very well.”

  “I see you got the job. Congratulations.”

  “Thank you. I’m sorry I can’t stay around and chat. I have a meeting I have to get to.”

  “I understand. I was quite busy when I first started here as well.” She seemed genuine, but she didn’t move out of his way.

  “Um, maybe we can get together for lunch sometime,” he said, trying to conclude their short meeting.

  “I’d like that.” She hesitated before stepping out of his way and letting him pass. She followed him out of the room and down the hall and didn’t veer from his path until they had gotten out of the building. He thought it quite odd that she stayed behind him the whole way out. He looked behind him a couple of times to be sure she wasn’t following him. It was all he needed to have to justify why he wasn’t going to his so called meeting instead of waiting for Eva outside her classes.

  With several attempts at catching Eva in different areas of the university, his frustration soon set in as each attempt was unsuccessful. By the end of the day, he scuffled back to his flat, his mind flooded with new worries. Did he even have the right campus? Maybe she decided to take a semester off, or maybe she was sick and not attending classes. He had to try harder. He wrote down her first class the following day on a piece of memo paper and stuck it on his planner.

  8:00 am History 309

  Room 6349 – Radcliffe Building

  This would give him an hour before his class started. He was going to see her, if he had to interrupt her class to do it.

  “Fuck.” He slid his fingers through his hair and took a deep breath. “I need a run.”

  He changed into his running gear and took off toward the park. The sun was only beginning to set so he had plenty of light to run by. He made a silent promise that when he got back he would call Joseph and let him know what was happening. With his thoughts partly on Eva and partly on Joseph and the new business, he lost himself in the repetition of the sound of his feet hitting the pavement. His breathing patterned with his stride and he easily ran three miles around the park.

  As he rounded the corner to run back toward the other side of the park, he kept his eyes on the pavement as it disappeared underneath his feet. A skateboard quickly appeared in his peripheral vision but he couldn’t stop in time. He collided with the kid, sending him off his skateboard and onto the pavement.

  “Oh, shit! Man, I’m sorry. I didn’t see you.”

  The kid yelled, grabbing his head and curling up into a ball, moving his body back and forth.

  “Damn.” Edward looked around then knelt by the boy. “Are you okay?”

  “Fuck, what’s the matter with you?” the boy yelled out still holding his head.

  A young woman ran to him and crouched over him, tending to him and fussing over him. “Are you okay?” she asked the boy.

  “Ah. Yeah, I think so.”

  She helped him up and he turned toward Edward. “Man, look where you’re going next time.”

  Edward recognised him immediately as Andy, the rogue in his class but before he could acknowledge, the young woman turned toward him and his heart stopped.

  Eva.

  Her eyes widened as soon as she saw him but she didn’t say a word. She put her arms around Andy and helped him to a nearby bench. Edward wanted to grab hold of her and pull her close. He wanted to call her name and tell her how much he missed her. He wanted to scream to the top of his lungs that he finally found her, but he didn’t. He stood there and watched her walk off with Andy, nurturing him and taking care of him until he felt better.

  The entire five minutes he stood there watching them, she never once looked up at him. She never once said a word to him and she never once asked him why he was there. She merely got up when Andy stood and walked off with him in the opposite direction, leaving Edward standing in the middle of the path, speechless.

  Chapter 18

  Edward’s next class was a lab the administration department talked him into. He agreed since he didn’t have anything more to do with his time. He had found Eva and she knew he was there. It didn’t go as he had hoped and he thought it better to let it lie for the time
being. He would have his chance to make it right with her.

  The lab room was much larger than his classroom. It was held in a seminar room that housed many more students. When he entered, he saw a few familiar faces from his class. Andy was perched in a chair up to the top, out of the way, in the I’ll stay out of the way because I have to be here section. He made his way up toward him, expecting the boy to get up and walk away before he had a chance to talk to him. Surprisingly, Andy never looked up until Edward stood in front of him and placed his hand on Andy’s desk.

  “Andy, how are you feeling?”

  Andy looked around, his head still down, then looked up at Edward. “Fine.”

  “How badly did I hurt you yesterday?”

  “You didn’t,” he mumbled. “Don’t worry about it.”

  “Well, I am. And I wanted to apologize again. I didn’t see you at all. I guess I had my head in other places….”

  “I said… don’t worry about it,” he snapped.

  “I saw you struggle to get up, and when your friend helped you to the bench it looked like you….”

  “Dude. It’s fine, okay? Give it a rest. It was all an act.”

  Edward was puzzled. “An act? I don’t understand.”

  “No. You wouldn’t understand, would you? Mr. Debonair, Mr. Good looking. I bet you never had a problem getting the girl.”

  “What does that have to do with what happened… yesterday?” As Edward completed his question, it made sense. He lowered his head.

  “It was an act. I’ve been trying to nail that girl for weeks. She is the sympathy type so I had to act vulnerable. She’s a tough cookie to crack.”

  Something inside him wanted to pummel the guy for being a sleazebag, for wanting to be a player just to get a little from someone so innocent and sweet, but Edward used to be that sleazebag, until he met Eva.

  “Well, sometimes if you just learn to be yourself, you’d be surprised at who notices.”

  “Hey, man. I’m not into commitment. I just want a little piece of ass.”

  Edward knew it was pointless to try to talk him out of it. “Well, I’m glad you’re okay.”

  “Yeah, thanks. Too bad it didn’t work.”

  Edward turned and walked back down to the front of the room, disgusted at himself. Andy was the epitome of himself in his college days and for years afterward. Was this how he perceived women all his life? Was this how he treated them? He didn’t feel he deserved someone like Eva.

  Edward played the part of professor, teaching his class, monitoring the labs and filling in where he was needed. He didn’t try to find Eva again. He began to doubt himself as he contemplated his life and what he was doing with it.

  He was a successful entrepreneur with his best friend from college. They had both made good money doing what they were good at and there he was, over two hours away from home pretending to be a college professor to get close to a woman he met in Paris. Was this really what he wanted? Was it what he deserved? Did he have a chance with her? It was the first time he had doubted himself.

  He picked up his books and itinerary from his last class and left the seminar room. It was the end of the week and he needed to make a decision. Would he stay and continue the charade or would he give it all up and go back to what he knew? When he got back to his office, he set his things on his desk and plopped down in his chair. Just as his mind shifted into deep thought about Eva and the way she looked at him in the park, he heard a light knock on his door. He grimaced as he remembered his last encounter with Gracie.

  “Who is it?”

  “Hello?” The meek voice was barely audible.

  He stood and opened his door expecting a student from his class. When his eyes were filled with Eva and her solemn eyes, his heart swelled. She was beautiful standing there, vulnerable and alone, her book bag slung over her shoulder, the strap across her chest. Her breasts were full and protruding out from each side of that lucky strap. Her dark blue oversized sweater hugging them effortlessly and layering over her long skirt that barely hid her feet. Her lips were full and pouty, her hair cascading across her shoulders, her eyes big and green. He wanted to touch her. He wanted to kiss her lips. He wanted to…. “Eddie? Is this a bad time? I can come back if you want me to.”

  Edward snapped back to reality and took a deep breath. “I’m sorry. Yes. I mean, no. Um, Eva.” He stepped back and offered her the room. “Please, come in.”

  She walked past him and he closed his eyes feeling like an idiot as he stammered and stuttered. His eyes flew open as her aroma filled the air around him, filling his senses. He tried to concentrate on keeping his sanity and his composure. When she reached his desk, her fingers played along the edge before she turned around and leaned against it.

  “I hope I’m not intruding.”

  “No, not at all. I was just going through my,” he pointed at his desk several times before recalling the word he needed, “my lessons for the week.”

  The silence was awkward, but he held on to every moment, stealing a look at her every chance he got.

  “I’m sorry I haven’t seen you before now,” she said, her eyes concentrating on a fingernail she fiddled with. “It has been a crazy week.”

  “I understand. I know it must have been awkward seeing me here.”

  “Yeah, a little. What are you doing here anyway?”

  “Do you remember when I told you I was a traveling teacher?”

  “Yes, but here? Who would have thought you were to be transferred to my college?”

  “I know. I actually thought you were in Bristol.”

  “Bristol is where I grew up. It is where my family is. I was fortunate enough to get a scholarship and get accepted here in Oxford.”

  “Small world.”

  She nodded repeatedly. He didn’t know if she was at a loss for words or if she was having a difficult time telling him what she truly wanted to say. He hoped for the latter, and he hoped it was something he wanted to hear, but as the room thickened with silence he found it more difficult to keep his composure. His eyes cascaded along her neck, her milky white skin flawless, calling out to be kissed. Her pouty red lips slightly apart begged him to touch them. He took a step back and struggled with his emotions.

  Chapter 19

  “How is your friend, Andy?” He wanted to ask her if he got his way. Did he touch you the way I want to touch you? his mind screamed. He wanted to tell her Andy wasn’t a true friend. He wanted to tell her what the kid admitted to him so openly in his class. He only wants a piece of ass, Eva. He isn’t interested in you. Not like I am. “I hope I didn’t hurt him too badly.”

  Eva started to laugh, covering her mouth with the back of her hand.

  “He appeared out of nowhere,” Edward continued. “I still can’t believe I knocked him down so violently.”

  She continued to laugh and shook her head. “He’s fine. You didn’t hurt him.”

  “I didn’t? Are you sure?”

  “I’m positive. I stayed with him for a while afterward.”

  He wanted to ask her if they were a couple. He needed to know, but he didn’t know how to ask.

  The silence filled the room again, but a hint of a new edge sliced through it.

  “You didn’t call me when you got back to school,” he said, frozen where he stood.

  Eva lowered her gaze and found that fingernail she needed to fiddle with again.

  “I know. I’m sorry.”

  “Why not?”

  “I’m pretty good at reading through the thick bullshit that guys like to dish out to me, as you are well aware from Andy and his little escapade.”

  Edward had a bad feeling this conversation was going to veer off the path he had tried to cut out for it. Was she good enough to see through Edward’s escapade of changing his entire career and financial status to get close to her? “Yes, you seem to have the gift,” he said, trying to keep it light.

  “I had a feeling about you, that night in Paris? You seemed… too good to
be true. There was something off though, and I couldn’t figure it out. That’s why I left things so open toward the end.” She hesitated as she seemed to search for the words. “Monica said she saw you.”

  “Monica? Oh, your friend. Yes, she did.” He remembered the night he met with Brian from Ardo. He was Edward Caldwell, successful entrepreneur again and Monica caught him. “I told her to say hello to you for me.”

  “She did.” She pressed her lips together. “She told me you were with some guy, talking business and politics. You were all dressed up in a suit and tie. She said you looked like a million bucks.”

  “In most instances, that would impress someone, not upset them,” he said lowering his head to look into her eyes.

  “Well, at first it didn’t bother me, but then I got thinking about it and it seemed to fall into place with the other things about you I was unsure of.”

  Without thinking, he stepped toward her and took her arms, “What do you mean, Eva? What were you unsure of?”

  “The watch? The phone? Eddie.” Her tone faded away. “Are you rich? Were you lying to me?” Her eyes pleaded with him and it took everything inside him to keep the story going. He didn’t want to break it all to her like this. She was too fragile.

  He locked his eyes onto hers and shook his head slowly. “No. I know how it must look, but I feel like I have to impress Brian.”

  “Brian?” She furrowed her eyebrows.

  “The guy I was with. I went to school with him and we have always been in competition with each other. He was always gloating on how he was so much more successful than I was. I didn’t want him to get the last laugh.”

  “Why would you think that? Why would you care? You make an honest living and as long as you stay true to yourself, who cares what others think?”

  Her words were like a knife in his conscience, but there was so much more to his life than lying about who he was. Yeah, maybe he should have been truthful with her from the beginning, but would she even have given him the time of day? He was tired of being the successful player who could get any woman he wanted. It seemed the women he did want, for more than a one night stand, read that about him and veered away from him. He couldn’t take that chance with Eva.