Twenty | Eva
Twenty
Eva
“I don’t know much about him. Ethan said that he’s one of the best family law attorneys in Manhattan, and he owes him a favor,” I said, trying to hold my phone in between my ear and shoulder while I folded the laundry that was scattered across my bed. I was good at getting my work attire hung right away so it didn’t wrinkle, but the clothes I wore to go running were a whole different story.
“That’s really nice of him to do that,” Lucy replied, and I could hear the hesitation in her voice.
I sighed and set the pair of yoga pants that I was about to fold on the bed. I reached up and held the phone, giving my neck a break from the uncomfortable position it had been in.
“What’s wrong? Why do you sound so unsure about this?” I asked.
“It’s nothing. I’m sure he’s a great attorney.”
“But...” I pressed.
“But there has to be a catch. Men aren’t nice to women for no reason, Eva. You know that as well as I do.”
I let my mind wander for a minute, thinking about Ethan and how I really did think he was a great guy until I found out about Cora. While it was childish of me to judge him for something that I didn’t know anything about, I couldn’t help but feel betrayed that he hadn’t bothered to tell me. Things had moved so quickly between us, and there was constantly this gray area that made it hard to know where we stood. The only thing certain was that we were coworkers who had slept together several times. Other than that, I wasn’t sure if we were even friends outside of work or if there was a possibility that our fucking would lead to something more.
“Ethan was very sympathetic with what you’re going through, and honestly, I think he offered to help more because of his first impression of Jeremy.”
She was quiet on the other line for a few minutes, pausing to tell Jackson to finish his dinner before she came back.
“So, are you guys officially seeing each other now? Was he jealous of Jeremy, and that’s what made him want to help?”
“We’re not seeing each other. Things are just...” I sighed heavily.
“Complicated?” she offered.
“How did you know?”
“Things are always complicated with you,” she replied with a laugh.
“Gee, thanks,” I said sarcastically.
“I don’t mean that in a bad way. I’m sorry. I just meant that you don’t let your guard down easily, so it tends to make things more complicated than they are.”
“No, trust me—with Ethan, things are definitely complicated, and it’s not because of me. He constantly flirts with me, and then there’s the office sex that we can’t seem to stop having. But outside of work, I don’t hear anything from him. Add in the former employee who recently showed up at the office, pregnant and claiming that he tried to pay her off so she would leave him alone and things are super complicated.”
“Did you ask him about her and if the baby was his? Why would he pay her to leave him alone?”
“I asked him if she was telling the truth, and he said that it wasn’t what it looked like or some stupid shit like that.”
“And?”
“And I walked away. I’m tired of the whole it’s not what it looks like game. I’m almost forty and don’t have the time or patience for these games. I left those behind with—”
“Jeremy,” she finished for me.
“Exactly.”
“But Eva, don’t you think you owe it to Ethan to allow him to explain what happened? If you guys aren’t in a relationship, then it might have been hard for him to open up and talk to you about it. You forget that not many guys like to talk about past relationships or whatever she might have been. Even fewer are willing to do it with a girl they’re not technically dating. And you’re failing to realize the most important thing here.”
“And what’s that?”
“That he’s not Jeremy. You’re punishing him for what your ex did to you instead of giving him a chance to tell you what really happened.”
“I’ve given him the opportunity to talk to me about it, and he hasn’t bothered.” I tilted my chin up, even though she couldn’t see me.
“Have you, though?” I could hear the judgmental tone in her voice.
I stalled, trying to answer her as I struggled to find a way to prove that I was right. The problem was that I hadn’t allowed him to talk to me after I walked out Monday night. Tuesday, he had been in meetings all day, and when his afternoon appointment with Brent got rescheduled, I closed my door and pretended that I was on a phone call to avoid him. I had been acting childish all along and couldn’t keep blaming him for not talking to me about what happened.
“Well, I know that the silence means that you know that I’m right. I’m gonna let you go so I can throw Jackson in a bath before bed,” she said with a hint of sarcasm. “I’ll call the lawyer in the morning and let you know how it goes, but I doubt I’ll get to meet with him this week since tomorrow is already Thursday.”
“Sounds good. Please keep me posted.”
“I will,” she assured me. “Oh, I almost forgot. Gabi wanted to see about getting together for a few drinks Friday night. Are you free?”
“I’ll have to check my schedule and get back to you,” I joked. She knew I didn’t have a life on Friday nights.
“I’m sure you can catch up on your TV shows on Saturday,” she teased.
“Hey, I could have plans on Saturday, too. You never know.”
“Yes, as long as they end by four so you can have an early supper...”
I could hear her laughing on the other end as she pulled the phone away to try to hide it.
“You’re such a little shit. I’ll talk to you tomorrow. Go give my stinky nephew a bath.”
“Ugh,” she groaned. “He is stinky.”
“I was kidding.”
“I’m not. I swear, no matter how clean I get him, he finds a way to undo it within minutes. But anyways, I will talk to you tomorrow.”
“Sounds good. I love you.”
“Love you too.”
I was reluctant to admit it, but I felt better after talking to my sister. Probably because I knew she was right; I just hadn’t wanted to admit it before now. I folded the rest of the laundry and put it away. It was still early, and I was tired of eating takeout, so I grabbed my keys to run out to buy some groceries. And by groceries, I meant frozen pizza and wine.