Chapter 10 #2
Simon turns her toward us, and she skips over to give West a big hug too. “Well, aren’t you just as cute as ever?” she says.
He gives her a kiss on the cheek and a squeeze. “How long you here for?”
“Just a couple of days.” She turns toward me then and sticks out her hand. “Hi, I’m Kirstie.”
I shake her hand, immediately drawn in by her friendliness. “I’m Eve.” She glances between me and West with an inquisitive look.
“I’m a roadie,” I tell her.
“She’s in sound.” Simon comes up behind Kirstie, wrapping his arms around her. “She’s kind of like Ford’s assistant.”
Assistant? Wow, I like that.
Kirstie lights up with honest enthusiasm. “That sounds like a fun job.”
“It is!” I love that she thinks my job is fun.
Simon gives her a little tug and Kirstie waves. “Bye, Eve. Nice meeting you.”
“You, too.”
She giggles as she snuggles in next to Simon, and they walk to the elevator.
The door opens, they step inside, and Simon backs her up against the wall.
She lifts one leg and curls it around his hip, and his hand disappears under the skirt of her dress as she pulls his head to hers for a thorough kiss.
The elevator door slides closed, and I don’t move.
Wow. That was just, wow.
Slowly, I turn back to the map to find West staring at me.
One dark brow lifts in amusement, telling me he knows exactly what I was just looking at, and I grab the map in mortification and roughly begin to refold it.
I can’t believe I just sat here and watched Simon make out with Kirstie.
West’s ever-present grin returns as he watches me fumble with the map. “Oh, come on, don’t leave yet.”
A little bit more crinkling with the map, and finally I put it and my mortification aside. “Okay, a few more I guess.”
Slowly, he sips his coffee, and as I take a sip of mine he asks, “Eve, how old are you?”
I shift in my seat, all kinds of uncomfortable again, and give him the age on my fake ID. “Eighteen.”
He looks at me from the side. “Hmm.”
I reach for the map and start fiddling with it again.
Calmly, West places his hand on top of mine and gives it a gentle squeeze so I’ll stop with the fidgeting. I frown as I stare down at his hand, becoming acutely aware of how warm the simple contact feels as it spreads up my arm. I want to move away. But I also don’t want to.
He takes my map, neatly refolds it, and then very gentlemanly hands it to me. “Let’s go for a run in the morning. It’s what friends do.” His lips curve in a pleasant, unthreatening way.
I’m suddenly distracted by his scent, just like when we were in the car—cologne, soap, and something uniquely him.
“Please.” He tilts his head. “Eve, I want to hang out with you again, as friends. You won’t even have to talk if you’re not in the mood, though I hope very much you do.”
“I’d like that,” I softly admit.
Things get quiet between us again, but it’s not an awkward quiet, it’s more a thoughtful one. “You’re quite the challenge, Eve.”
It worries me that he thinks that. “I’m not trying to be.”
“I know you’re not. There’s something intriguing about you, and I bet you anything there’s a sense of humor hidden somewhere inside. We just need to find it. Secrets, too. You’ve got them.” He gives an unamused huff. “Don’t we all.”
I push back from the table, more than curious about that last comment. Indeed, what secrets does West have?
We grab the stuff that we left piled in the corner and make our way into the elevator.
“Anne said 302?” West asks, and I nod.
He presses three for me and five for him.
Glass-paneled doors slide to a close, and I stand confronted by my image.
I wiggle my toes in my Nikes and think of the dress shoes I’d been forced to wear my entire life.
I take in the tiny hole in the jeans covering my left knee.
No, there’s nothing delicate and perfect about me now.
Beside me, West shifts, and I flick my attention to his reflection.
“I think you’re beautiful, Eve. I also think you probably haven’t heard that very much in your life.”
He’s right. I’ve never heard that. Here, right now marks the first time.
“Don’t you think you’re beautiful?” he asks.
“Honestly, I’ve never given it much thought.”
“Well, you should. Because you are.”
“Thank you,” I softly say.
In response, he smiles at me before looking down to my duffel, messenger bag, and guitar. “That’s all you’ve got?”
I give the duffel a little kick. “That one’s full of makeup.” West laughs at that, and I love that I made him. Maybe he’s right. Maybe I do have a sense of humor hidden deep inside.
The elevator dings then and I step off onto my floor. “I’ll be in the lobby at six for that run,” he tells me as the doors slide closed again.
I think you’re beautiful, Eve.
His words almost make me skip down the hall. Being friends with West is definitely not going to be like being friends with Anne.
“Hey,” Anne says as I walk into our room.
“Hey, back.”
“You’ve been gone forever. What, did you guys consummate things?”
I roll my eyes, and she giggles.
She points the remote at the TV, muting it, and flips a few channels. “Seriously, though, went good?”
“Yeah, it was good.” I unzip my duffel and pull out what I need for a shower.
She flips another channel, pausing. “This man is amazing. He does so much good in this world. Though the dude must have more money than God. Seems like every time I hear about him he’s donated millions to this or that.”
My heart slows to a dull thud as I carefully turn and look at the muted TV, and there—spread across thirty-two inches of a flat screen—is the man who haunts my entire life.
“National Domestic Abuse Foundation,” Anne says.
“What?” I croak.
“That’s what he donated the money to.”
National Domestic Abuse Foundation. That’s laughable.
Then to my horror, a clip of me flashes onto the screen, and all the air around me pushes in on my lungs.
No! It’s me, but it’s not me. It’s the me I was with my long blond hair and my sweet, expected expression.
This is from last year when I accompanied Grayson to Arizona and specifically a reservation.
I’m standing beside him as he shakes hands with a Chief.
Grayson turns and smiles down at me, and I force a smile back.
“Eve?”
With what feels like every muscle knotted in place, I robotically walk over and hit the channel up button.
I dig the duct tape from my duffel, stick a piece over the peephole, and go straight into the bathroom.
Breathing heavily to fight the panic curdling my stomach, I take my shirt off and I stare at the lashes marring my back. I can’t let him find me. I won’t.