by Tia Siren
“Then why didn’t you go to the bookstore that was closer to campus?”
“I, um.” He looked at her and wondered why it felt like she was grilling him. “I was already out this way.”
She didn’t move and it gave him an eerie feeling that something wasn’t right.
“We should have dinner sometime, soon.”
He recognized the look in her eyes, the same look she had before she went a little crazy on him in the restaurant during their first dinner.
“That’s probably not a good idea, Gracie.”
“Why not? We had such a good time the last time.” She moved in on him and put her arms around his waist.
“Listen,” he said, prying her arms away. “I really do have to go.”
The books he held fell to the floor and she quickly knelt down to scoop them up.
“Emma by Jane Austen?” She looked up at him. “Doesn’t sound like something you’d be interested in reading.”
“It’s research. I’m helping out a student, tutoring.”
She handed his books back to him, watching him with a skepticism in her eyes.
“I’ll see you around.” He grabbed the books and darted toward the door, putting them on the counter in front of a few customers in line. “Can you save these for me, please? Eddie Caldwell?”
The cashier nodded and Edward walked out the door. He stopped in front of the window when he saw a white Audi hatchback parked down the street from the bookstore. Was it the same car he saw at the park with Eva? He looked through the window into the bookstore, his stomach tightening. Gracie stood where he left her, watching him through the window like an apparition in a horror movie. He snapped his head away from her and quickly walked down the street. Each time he looked back, the car was in the same spot and Gracie was nowhere to be seen.
Maybe it’s just a seriously fucked up coincidence.
He looked back again.
Why would she be stalking me?
He tried shaking it off and dismissing the thought but it stuck with him.
He got through his class as the minutes slowly ticked by. Lunch couldn’t come soon enough. He had made plans with Eva to join her at the University Club. They couldn’t show their affection toward each other, but he would be with her. It was all that mattered.
Just before he finished up his class, his phone vibrated on his desk. He smiled at the thought of Eva wanting to see him sooner than she could.
“Okay, guys,” he called out to the students. “The assignment is on the board. Make sure you get it before you leave. Term paper rough drafts are due at the end of the week.” He looked around and smiled. “Get out of here,” he said, motioning them out the door with his hand. “Enjoy the rest of your day.”
They all rustled around, gathering their books and walking out the door as he picked up his phone and answered his text from Unknown.
It’s Eva. I hate to do this, but I have to cancel our lunch date. Let’s plan a late dinner at your place? *grins* I’ll bring my overnight bag.
So bittersweet, he thought. Sounds good, he texted. I’ll grab Chinese and see you around eight.
See you then. *kiss*
He sat down at his desk, wondering what he was going to do with the rest of his day. Deciding to run a few errands and stop back out to the book store to get Eva’s books, he gathered his things and left the classroom.
The streets were busy for a Monday afternoon so he made a pit stop at the Café Rouge before heading to the bookstore. As he sat at a table by the window he watched and studied the people as they walked by. It was one of his favorite amusements. He loved watching people, studying them and their idiosyncrasies and trying to decipher who they really were.
He watched a young boy stop on the other side of the street, his body slumped over as he leaned against the pillar of a building. He looked sad and lonely, as if he had nothing in life. Edward wondered if the boy lived on the streets, his clothes tattered and torn. He dropped the skateboard he was holding and pushed off the pillar, no expression on his face. Edward concluded he was a punk kid who ran out of mommy and daddy’s house thinking he didn’t need them and their rules. Or maybe he got caught up in the drug epidemic that is seemingly growing worse in the economy. Edward shook his head, sad for the boy.
A good looking woman, perhaps in her forties walked by the window distracting his attention away from the boy. She walked with confidence and as she went by him, her eyes connected with his, a smile forming on face. Her pace slowed as she put a little more hip action in her step, giving him ample time to check her out. He chuckled at the obvious attempt at flirting with him and as she looked back at him he turned away. He didn’t want to give her any inkling he was interested in a hook up.
He watched as he bit into his burger and noticed a couple walking together. They seem happy, he thought. Couple or just study partners?
As they got closer, he stopped chewing and straightened his posture as his stomach tightened. It was Eva and Gerald.
“What the fuck?” He grabbed his bottle of water and left the table, stopping at the front door and waiting for them to walk by.
He followed them down the street at a safe distance and watched them walk side by side until they disappeared around the corner. Running to the end of the block he looked down the street but had lost them.
“Shit. Where did they go?”
There was a shop on the corner where he stood so he tried peering through the window without being too obvious. He opened the door and went in, his eyes darting all around the shop until he spotted them next to a high shelf displaying artifacts from other countries. He hid behind a display, peering over at them as Eva picked up a statue and looked it over.
“No! I can’t. Look at the price tag.”
“That is irrelevant. It will be my gift to you.”
“No, Gerald. I can’t accept it. I won’t accept it. I told you. I don’t want you to buy things for me.”
“Such a stubborn girl you are.”
She put it back on the shelf as Gerald glanced behind him toward where Edward hid. He almost spotted him but he turned back to Eva before making eye contact. He moved closer to her, putting his hand on the small of her back and leaning in toward her. He whispered something to her and when she laughed out loud it speared Edward like a dagger in his stomach.
The longer he stood behind the display and watched Eva with this guy, the angrier he got. He felt his blood pressure rise and he wanted to run him down like a freight train and tear those dreadlocks from his head but he knew the consequences if he did. He closed his eyes and turned away to get his head together. He took one more look back and saw Gerald looking at him with a devious grin before taking her hand and leading her to another part of the store. He clenched his teeth together and tightened his fists before storming out of the shop.
Chapter 30
Edward slammed his body into the front door of his flat as soon as he turned the key in the lock. He dropped his bag and threw his keys across the room embedding one of them into the wall. He watched as they dangled there as if a magician caused them to hover in mid-air. His first thought was to end it all. Walk away from Oxford University and go back to his own life. No call, no show, no explanation. That would show her. That would show them all. He wouldn’t have given a shit about the way Gerald salivated over Eva but when she responded to him the way she did, the thought of it angered him and he wanted to punch something.
She was mine. I worked so hard to make her mine. How could she betray me like this? She was different. So different.
He dropped down onto the couch and looked down at the coffee table. Leaning forward he ran his finger over a dark coffee ring where the two cups sat the first night she was there with him. She was so nervous to be near him. She told him she had dreams about him since the day they met. Her touch was so subtle yet electric. The way she looked at him could never have been faked. Her words were so genuine and the way they made love made him crazy. They fucked with su
ch a fervor that it made him hard every time he thought about it.
She was mine? No. Damn it! She is mine. “I’ll fight that asshole for her. She’s worth it to me.”
He went to his laptop and opened it up. “Now, what to do.” His mind raced as he googled a few things, planning a strategy that would end any possibility he might have with her. “What is his weakness?”
He clicked from page to page trying to come up with something to get Gerald out of Eva’s life. “He keeps flaunting his money at her. Keeps trying to buy her things and she hates that.”
An advertisement came up on the side of his browser and it caught his eye. A woman’s diamond ring from De Beers Diamond jewelry store twinkled and got his mind working.
His weakness.
He clicked on the jewelry store.
“Of course! His weakness with Eva is what he believes makes him great. He has only been flaunting it every chance he gets. His money.”
Edward grinned and clicked through the website. He clicked on the menu and browsed through some of the jewelry they offered. When he was finished, he had purchased a £2,000 necklace to be overnighted anonymously to Eva’s address.
“If she thinks this is from him, it will turn her off from ever thinking he was worth her time.”
He read over the receipt that was emailed to him and smiled when everything looked to be in order.
He pulled up some other emails from Joseph and got into work mode when he noticed an email from Eva. He looked at her name and stewed on how he felt about her. Flashes of the way she laughed as he touched her back burned into his brain. A few moments later he opened it and read it.
Hey gorgeous. Just wanted to be sure we were still on for dinner.
Edward looked at the time. “Almost seven.”
He hesitated before hitting the reply button, wondering why she didn’t call him.
Yes. See you at eight.
He closed his computer down and called the local Chinese restaurant. By the time he had returned, Eva was sitting on his front stairs with her elbows resting on her knees and her hands folded together in front of her, her overnight bag resting at her feet. She looked so beautiful, so vulnerable sitting there alone.
He looked around remembering the guy who jumped him and remembering the vindictiveness in the man’s eyes.
“Eva. You are early. You shouldn’t be out here.” He set the food down next to her and helped her to her feet, groping for his keys at the same time.
“I’m fine,” she giggled. “Nothing is going to happen.”
He escorted her inside and went back for the food afterwards.
“You can’t be too safe,” he said, closing and locking the door.
“I can take care of myself. Really.”
“Yeah, that’s what I thought the other night too.”
She lost the smile she had and looked down at her feet.
“I’m famished,” she blurted out. She sat in front of the bags of take out and peeked into one of them. “What did you get?”
“Sesame chicken and wonton soup.” He pulled the items out and set them on the coffee table. “A couple of egg rolls and aubergines in spicy sauce.”
“Sounds wonderful.”
“I have red and white wine and I think I have some Calypso left.” His voice was flat.
“White wine would be great.”
She watched him walk into the kitchen, feeling a bit of the animosity between them. Trying to get comfortable on the couch, she couldn’t help but feel she did something wrong. When he returned, she sat up straight and faked a smile.
“You okay?” he asked.
“I’m fine. Just super hungry.”
They both picked at their food as the silence between them grew thicker. It was hard for him to stay mad at her, but at the same time he had nothing to say to her that would warrant a normal conversation.
“Eddie?”
He didn’t look up from his food.
“What’s wrong? What’s bothering you?”
“Just a little tired tonight I guess. Been working a lot of hours.”
“Ah, yes. I know how that is. I’ve been working a lot on my thesis. Excited to get it finished.”
Perfect opening, he thought. “It’s about Morocco, right?”
“Yes. You were listening,” she teased.
“How is your research going?”
“Really well. I’m learning a lot about their economy and lifestyle. It is truly fascinating.”
“Is Gerald helping you with that?”
“He has offered,” she said, nodding her head matter-of-factly.
“And have you accepted?”
She nodded again, not verbally admitting to anything. She knew he didn’t like Gerald, and she knew how Gerald felt about her but she didn’t feel she could tell Edward it meant nothing to her when it clearly flattered her that a man of such a magnitude showed interest in her.
“Very nice,” he said dryly. He scooped his wine up and filled his mouth with its sweetness.
“It doesn’t mean anything. He is just helping me with my thesis.”
He nodded and raised his eyebrows, holding his glass up in the air for a moment before finishing its contents. He just figured out that he could be mad at her.
“I’m serious, Eddie. He means nothing to me. I wish you would believe me.”
“It’s not something I can believe when I see the way you act when he is around.”
“How do I act?”
“Like a love-struck teenager.”
She stood up abruptly, ready to throw a fit and crossed her arms. “I do not.”
“Sit down and finish your dinner.”
She wanted to stand to rebel against his request, but she sat down and pouted until he glared at her with his head down.
She picked up her chopsticks and fed a piece of chicken into her mouth. They ate the rest of their dinner in silence. She didn’t know how to convince him that it was just research.
Before she was finished, Edward stood up and scooped up what was left of his dinner and carried it into the kitchen, discarding it into the trash. He stayed there, leaning up against the counter until she appeared with her leftovers. She set hers on the counter next to him and hesitated before stepping back.
“I don’t like it when you are mad,” she said.
“I wish I could say that flirting with other guys doesn’t bother me, but honestly Eva? It really does.”
“I didn’t though.” Her voice was demure and very small as he pushed off the counter and walked by her.
When Eva walked into his bedroom, Edward was already in bed. He didn’t wait to caress her as she undressed like he often did when she stayed. He didn’t tell her how badly his body ached for her or how difficult it was not to touch her when they were on campus together. This time was much different. She didn’t have the nervous butterflies in her stomach when she climbed into his bed and he didn’t turn over to look at her like he wanted to devour her when she lay next to him. His arms didn’t warm her body as she lay still, no matter how hard she mentally begged him to. He didn’t say another word to her until she spoke first.
“Eddie? Are we okay? What brought this on tonight?”
“We are fine. It’s nothing. I’m just tired. I’ll see you in the morning.”
He moved away from her and left a gap the size of the Thames River between them. Running through everything in her mind, she gasped when she came to the conclusion that he must have seen her with Gerald earlier that day. She rolled over to explain but the wall he had put up between them was so thick she knew it would do no good. She reached over and hovered her fingertips very close to his back, moving along the creases that his muscles made but not touching. She felt the heat of his body and craved to have his body press up against hers. She carefully rolled over and silently cried herself to sleep wishing she had gone home.
The next morning when Edward awoke, Eva was not in his bed. He got up and looked for her regretting the way he trea
ted her, but she had already gone. Picking up his phone several times, he wanted to call her, but hung up every time he pulled her up. His thoughts kept flashing back to the way she laughed when she was with Gerald in that artifacts shop.
Should I be angry? Do I have anything to be truly angry about? “Jesus, I’m jealous!” He had just come to terms with the feeling. “I’ve never been jealous before.”
He grabbed his phone and pulled her up again when it rang.
“Hello. I was just about ready to call you.”
“I need to see you.” Her voice was curt and to the point.
“I agree. We should talk. I’m headed out in about half an hour.”
“I’m at the library.”
“Do you think the library is safe?”
“It’s fine. Come up to the fourth floor. I’ll be in the second conference room.”
“Okay. See you soon.”
As soon as Edward stepped into the room, Eva stood up and held a maroon jewelry box out toward him. She didn’t look happy.
“Is this from you?”
“What is it?” he asked, a smile on his face.
She opened it and held it out toward him again.
“Eddie.” She thrust her hip out and narrowed her eyes.
“Yes,” he admitted. “It’s from me.”
“I can’t accept this,” she said softly, lowering the box to her side.
“Why not? It’s perfect for you and I bet it looks gorgeous on you.” He moved closer to her to help her try it on and she stepped back.
“No, Eddie. How can you buy something like this? On your salary? I know the teachers here don’t make a lot.”
“Don’t worry about that. I just….” He moved closer again and she stepped back.
“I am worried about it. If you are going to do things like this….”
“I know the jeweler,” he blurted out. “He is a good friend of mine and he gave me a hell of a discount.”
She shook her head. “Why did you do this?”
“I wanted you to have it.”
“I don’t understand. It’s completely out of character for you,” she looked down at it “and why would you send it to me anonymously?”