Chapter Thirteen Evelyn #3
“It is… I suppose.” In her heart, Evelyn was thinking of getting back to church more on the regular, though she wondered how much safety a house of worship could provide if a man of God like Pastor Samuelson was supposedly possessed. The amulet, something she was sure many would deem Satanic.
Trevor tossed the amulet onto the table and gestured toward the garment bag still on her bed. “So, I’d planned for this to be our gods-and-goddesses time, but maybe the mood is, like… dead, with all of our emotional revelations and talk about demon eyes and getting the hell up outta the DMV.”
Evelyn drew her legs up on the couch, placed her head on his shoulder, placed her fingers in his beard. If just for another night, she needed to keep the world’s turmoil at bay. “I’d love to be your goddess for the night, Trevor Montague.”
Trevor picked up the garment bag from where he’d rested it on her bed, held it in his arms, and got on one knee as he presented it to Evelyn.
“This is for you,” he said. “I, uh, kind of explained to Jackie over at the station what I wanted. I showed her your picture, and she wanted to help me out immediately because you’re such a, and I quote, ‘pretty, accomplished woman.’ She grabbed something for me from this showroom she works with.”
Evelyn slowly unzipped the bag, revealing an iridescent linen dress. “Wow. Trev… this is too much…”
“No… no, not at all. On loan from the cosplayer. And since you prepared dinner the last couple of times, I’ve brought some food…”
Evelyn chuckled. “We’re going to eat like the ancient Greeks?”
“Think of it as culinary fare inspired by the era, with lots of items from Aphrodite’s Grill over on Seventeenth. As for the music, you ever heard of Yanni?”
Evelyn took the dress into the bathroom. Her makeup was indeed strewn all over her face. Two weeks ago, she would’ve pitched herself off a bridge before she’d let someone see her in such disarray. And yet here she was, jacked-up face, dude outside waiting with glee. Her dude.
When Evelyn came out of the bathroom twenty minutes later, she spun for Trevor in the flowing dress that grazed her feet.
She loved how the linen rested on her skin, how the braided midriff fabric snaked around her torso and back, how the skirt billowed at the slightest movement.
She didn’t know where Jackie had found the garment, but it was lovely.
Not too grand, not remotely close to a wedding dress. Just right.
“Oh, baby,” Trevor whispered as he drew her close.
“Look at you. And wait… I have an extra something.” He dipped into his bag, pulled out a crown made of olive leaves interlaced with lilies of the valley.
He placed the crown atop her curls. Evelyn didn’t know how to articulate the array of emotions she was experiencing…
smidgeons of embarrassment and surprise, but mostly awe.
They embraced for what must have been the millionth time that evening. And it still wasn’t enough.
The spread was grand. Sparkling water and agiorgitiko wine, tzatziki, dolmades, marouli salad, chicken souvlaki…
The return of dinner by candlelight. Trevor lit incense that he’d brought over, the smell of frankincense and myrrh soon filling the studio.
His playlist, a fusion of electronic jazz and synth-y new age sounds.
Evelyn, in fact, recognized one artist, the warbling Irish lady, Enya, who provided tunes for several lucrative advertising campaigns she’d studied in business school.
Did the music represent what Mediterranean folks listened to thousands of years ago?
Not by a long shot, but it fit the mood.
The two finished their meal and roamed her apartment in flowing white draped around their bodies, the color a heavenly contrast to their skin.
Trevor’s beefy gams a wonder. She hadn’t realized just how much his skirt barely concealed his boulder behind, which she touched over and over (and over) again.
He placed his hand over hers and planted it on his derriere, a silent confirmation. This is where I need your hand to be.
She and Trevor slow danced and rocked each other tight.
He rested his head on her shoulders, kissed her collarbone, her neck, the underside of her chin.
His beard, a lush forest that created tingles on her skin.
Pink-and-red rose petals lay underfoot, Evelyn finally able to use the packet of bathtub petals she’d kept under her sink for an at-home spa day that never materialized.
She imagined that she and her man were on a flower-laden field somewhere in Rock Creek Park.
The sun shone down upon them, a sign that they were favored.
Her home city was safe and there was nothing to fear.
Evelyn’s eyes glanced over at her coffee table as something sparkled, catching her eye. Trevor’s amulet glistened in the flickering shadows that only candlelight could create.
He was right. It was a beautiful piece of art, though something about it still creeped her out.
Time passed. Trevor got up, prepared a little plate of bits and pieces from the dinner spread, and placed it on the nightstand.
He removed his sash and chiton and stalked to her bed naked again, a round, husky panther who seemed to intuit that he should never keep his clothes on for long.
Being in his baby’s presence meant being free.
She took off the dress so as not to ruin it and remained in her slip.
They lay in silence, fingers interlaced.
“You scared?” Evelyn asked.
Trevor nestled his face by her shoulder. “About demon-eye shit?”
“Yes, about demon-eye shit.”
He grimaced. “Yeah, to be honest, I’m scared. I’m fuckin’ petrified. But I’m happy I’m here with you. That we’ve taken time out… for this.” He looked up at her. “We’ll get through demon-eye mess together. That okay with you?”
Evelyn nodded and kissed his wrist. “That’s okay with me.”