21. Evelyn
EVELYN
“ W hat’s with that dreamy look in your eyes?” Madison asked as she flopped down at the lunch table across from me.
I shook my head clear of the memory I had been reliving. “Hey. I was spacing out. What’s up with you?” I picked up my bottle of water and took a sip.
She opened her salad container. “It feels like I haven’t seen you in days. What have you been up to?”
I shrugged. “Same old. Studying, working, class, and sleep. Nothing new.”
“I haven’t even seen you between classes. It’s like you’re avoiding me or something.” Her blonde brows were knitted together as she tucked her curls behind her ear.
“I haven’t been avoiding you,” I told her, softening my tone. “I mean, I haven’t been trying to, anyway. I’ve been stressed lately, so I’ve been putting all of my free time toward studying, and it’s paying off. You know how I am. I’ve always prioritized my work. That hasn’t changed.”
“I heard you did go out with Chase, though. How was it?”
I offered a small smile as I nodded. “It was nice. He’s really sweet, kind, considerate, all the things.”
“Did you kiss?” She smiled widely.
I nodded. “We did.”
“And?”
“And…” I didn’t know what to say. Sure, it was nice, but it was nothing compared to how Elliot made me feel.
I couldn’t say that, though. Not only did things with him have to stay secret to protect us both, but I still didn’t understand it completely myself.
I had a crush on him when we were younger—that I understood because he was much softer back then.
But then I hated him because of the person he’d become.
How was it possible to hate someone yet still be all weak in the knees for them?
“It was nice,” I told her.
She rolled her eyes. “Is that all you have to say? The date was nice. He was nice. The kiss was nice? Come on, Eve. Give me some details.”
“I’m sorry. I just don’t know what to say. He’s a great guy. I enjoyed our date, and the kiss was good.”
“But?”
“But…” I worried my bottom lip. “I’m just not ready to go there with him. I have to focus on my grades so I don’t lose my scholarship. Any free time I have goes to working to pay my bills. And I just took the PA position for Professor West.”
Her eyes doubled in size. “What?”
“He needed help grading papers, and he said instead of paying me with cash, he’d pay me with bonus points that would help raise my grade. I couldn’t pass it up. Not with the grade I had in his class.”
Her expression softened, as if she completely understood. “Well, I’m glad you’re able to get your grades up, but I miss hanging out with you.”
“I miss hanging out with you, too.” I squeezed her hand. “I promise we’ll hang out the first chance we get.”
She rolled her eyes and laughed. “Okay, fine. I guess I can settle for the random lunch here and there.”
“So, how are things with you and Chase’s friend? What was his name?”
She wrinkled her nose. “Ew, that was so last week. I’m over him. I’m moving on to someone better.”
I wasn’t surprised to see how fast she’d moved on. “Oh, yeah? Who?”
She grinned and batted her lashes. “Just this guy who sits next to me in my Econ class. His name is Brantley. He’s from Florida, so he has bronze skin, brown hair with these natural highlights, and the bluest eyes you’ve ever seen. Seriously, Eve, this might be the guy I marry.”
I snorted. “I’ve heard you say that way too many times to take it seriously.”
She stuck her tongue out at me. “I’m serious this time.”
“You always are,” I teased.
“Anyway… What are you going to do about Chase?”
I shrugged as I moved the pasta around my plate. “I don’t know. I don’t want to hurt him. He really is a nice guy. Just… bad timing, I guess.”
She nodded. “Just tell him that then. If he’s a nice guy, he won’t take offense at it. He’ll wait. Trust me, you’re worth waiting for.” She gave me her sweetest smile.
I grinned, feeling a little bit of relief.
After lunch, I was walking toward my next class when Chase made his way to my side. “Hey, what’s up?”
I glanced over at him and shook my head. “Nothing, how have you been?”
He moved his head from side to side like he was unsure. “I’ve been a little confused. I thought our date was great.”
“It was.”
“Then why do I feel like you’ve been dodging me?”
I looked over at him, and the defeat on his face brought me to a stop.
“I’m not avoiding you, Chase.”
“You’re not?”
I shook my head. “No, I’ve just been busy.
Between class, homework, studying, and my job, I don’t have time to date and hang out with friends.
Especially with as low as my grades have been.
” I met his gaze and held it. “I know you didn’t know me before this year, but the girl you see before you isn’t who I’m used to being.
I was valedictorian of my senior class. I was always at the top.
Then I came here, and I don’t know what happened.
I don’t like being on the verge of failing.
I’ve been spending more time in the library and less time socializing with friends.
Thank you for the date. I had a great time.
And thank you for being so nice to me, but I’m afraid that I just don’t have time for this right now. It wouldn’t be fair to you.”
He reached for my arm, trailing his fingers down until he grabbed my wrist and lifted my hand. He pressed a kiss to the back. “Thank you for being honest with me. Just know that I’m here whenever you’re ready.” With that, he released my hand and turned, walking away with his head down.
I was stunned by how mature he was and how understanding he was.
I felt stupid for letting a guy like that slip through my fingers.
On paper, he was everything I should’ve wanted.
But I already knew that being with someone required more than just being able to check off boxes.
It was about the way your stomach dropped when you caught the attention of that one special person.
It was how your heart raced, how the butterflies came alive in your body and made every nerve ending sing.
It was the goosebumps that prickled your skin just from having his breath blow across your neck.
For the longest time, I felt dead. Like I was just a zombie who was mindlessly walking through life. Elliot was the only one who had made me feel alive, and I knew there was a reason behind it. I just didn’t know what it all meant.
Once Chase was out of sight, I continued to class. The afternoon seemed to drag on and on that day.
I was leaving campus for the day when I got a text. I pulled out my phone and read the message as I walked down the sidewalk.
ELLIOT: Where are you? We need to talk.
EVE: I’m walking home. What do you need to talk about?
ELLIOT: Exact location?
I frowned in confusion, but I typed out exactly where I was on my walk home.
After a few seconds, when I didn’t get a message back, I slid the phone into my pocket.
I was just about to step off the curb when a car stopped directly in front of me.
The window rolled down just enough for me to see his eyes. “Get in.”
I didn’t hesitate. I opened the door and slid into the passenger seat. The moment I closed the door behind me, he was zooming forward once again.
“What are you doing?” I asked, pulling on my seatbelt as he sped down the street, moving in and out of traffic.
“I needed to talk to you.”
“And suddenly a text wasn’t good enough?” My right hand gripped the door as I attempted to keep from swaying left to right as he weaved in and out of the cars he was passing.
“No. Texts can be missed or ignored, and this can’t wait.” He kept his eyes on the road.
“OK, then what is this about?”
“I’m going out of town this weekend.”
“Oh?”
“I have a wedding to attend in the Bahamas.”
“Wow, lucky. With this weather, I’d give anything to spend the weekend on a sunny beach.” It was almost like the universe heard me because fat raindrops started falling from the sky.
“I’m happy to hear that, because I want you to come with me. You have a passport, don’t you?”
My mouth fell open as I looked over at him. Suddenly, I wasn’t worried about how fast he was driving or the heavy traffic he was speeding through. All I could think about was getting to spend a weekend away with him. “Yeah—Yes, I have a passport,” I managed to get out.
“Good. I’ll pick you up tomorrow morning, and we’ll be back Sunday.
Pack enough clothes for the entire weekend, and get your excuses in place.
If I were you, I’d reach out to professors for the classes you’ll be missing and get those assignments so you can work on them over the weekend.
It’s just a reminder, but I can’t do shit about other classes if you happen to fail them.
I can only help you out when it comes to my class.
” He slowed the car abruptly, and then we came to a stop.
When I looked around, I found him parked outside my apartment building. “Any questions?”
I shook my head. “No. I’ll see you in the morning.”
He nodded and watched as I climbed out. He was pulling away from the curb the second I slammed the door.
The motor of his car roared as he pulled away, leaving me to head inside, full of excitement.
I had no idea what to tell Madison. I couldn’t tell her that I was going home for the weekend because she knew where home was, and if she went looking and didn’t find me, I’d have even bigger problems. I wasn’t worried that Gabe would notice me missing.
Since I wasn’t living with him, we rarely spoke or saw one another these days.
Our schedules didn’t mesh well, and he had a whole life now, with a new family on the way.
The most we ever did was send one another a check-in text, and I could do that from anywhere.
When I arrived at my apartment, I sprang into action, packing for the trip.
I packed all my favorite bikinis, plus a couple of different options in dresses, shorts, and skirts.
He said he was going to a wedding, but he didn’t tell me if I would be attending the event as well, so I made sure I had something nice to wear just in case.
I spent the whole evening packing and getting things ready to go.
I sent Madison a text, telling her that I was going to be driving to my grandparents’ place this weekend, and I promised her I’d be back by Sunday evening.
I usually went to visit my grandparents once a year anyway.
Even if she was surprised by the sudden trip, she wasn’t suspicious.
She just told me to have fun and be safe.
With a single text, I cleared my whole weekend.
Before turning in for the night, I emailed my professors to let them know that I’d be missing class the following day, but I planned to take my laptop with me so I could submit any assignments on time.
With everything out of the way, I lay down for the night.
I had a hard time falling asleep due to my excitement, but I managed to get a couple of hours of sleep anyway. I wasn’t ready to get up when my alarm went off, but the excitement pushed me to keep moving. I was dressed and ready to go by the time Elliot arrived to pick me up at eight A.M.
He texted me from the street, so I grabbed my things and headed down. I was a little surprised to see a cab parked against the curb, but the driver took my bag to pack it away in the trunk, leaving me to crawl into the backseat with Elliot.
“Good morning,” he said, not pulling his eyes away from the morning paper.
“Good morning. I wasn’t expecting to see you in a taxi.”
“I have no intention of leaving my car parked in the parking garage all weekend for someone to break into.”
I pursed my lips together and nodded in understanding. The driver took his place behind the wheel and, without a word, pulled out into traffic. Nobody talked as we made our way to the airport.
As Elliot and I made our way to our terminal, he spoke only when necessary.
Things felt forced between us, and I wasn’t sure why.
I thought he was happy with me. I’d been listening and following all of his rules, but the cold shoulder he was giving me was very off-putting.
I wrote it off by telling myself it was just the stress of traveling.
I even assumed that once we arrived at our destination, things would be easier.
I mostly slept on the flight. I was tired from not getting much sleep the night before, and with nobody to talk to and nothing to do to entertain myself, sleep found me easily.
Within five hours of leaving my apartment, I was in a totally different country.
The rain, cool weather, and crunchy leaves were gone.
Blue skies and heat replaced it all, and I couldn’t wait to put on a bikini and hit the beach.
Elliott rented a car from the airport and drove us to the hotel.
I was in the passenger seat, not caring that he was being so quiet because I was too occupied by taking it all in.
I hadn’t ever been further than two hours outside of Chicago, so a place like the Bahamas was heaven.
Of course, he picked the nicest hotel for us to stay in.
The valet parked the car for us, and the bellhop took our bags.
We were shown to our room, which was spacious, airy, and bright, featuring floor-to-ceiling windows.
The guy who was around my age left our bags on the floor, and Elliot slipped him a tip as he showed him the door.
Once we were alone, I turned to him with a smile that immediately fell.
It was as if Professor West had returned. His brow was furrowed, and his eyes were cold when he looked at me.
“I’m taking the master suite. You can have the bedroom down the hall.” Without another word, he grabbed his bag and left me alone in the room.