Now #2
We won’t need to run off to some shitty diner and have desserts instead. I could pay for everyone’s bill tonight, and it wouldn’t even make a dent in my bank account. Finally, I’ve made it to the top.
But she isn’t here anymore to reap the benefits of her investment.
I can still remember, so vividly, how I wanted to give her the entire world.
Becoming the best driver of my generation used to be a selfish goal, the egotistical dream of a teenager from a dirt-poor household.
But after meeting her, after we fell in love, my intent became more selfless.
I wanted to make it for her. Because she believed in me more than anyone else ever had.
I had to prove her right, had to make it to the top, had to get her the surf and turf and fucking snails.
Have to buy the house in Italy I promised her.
But I fucked it up along the way, and I’ll never get to give her all that.
My mood turns sour. Or it’s been that way since she ambushed me at that hotel weeks ago. She brought it all back with her hazel eyes and perfect little body.
It’s ten minutes past the time we agreed on when I see her enter the restaurant.
Beside her, the man wears a petrol-blue suit slightly too big for him.
As they wait for the ma?tre d’ to take care of them, she turns around and smooths the fabric of his jacket down his chest, then adjusts the lapels.
They’re both anxious, I can tell even from here.
But they have no reason to be, do they? They’re the happily engaged couple. I’m nothing but the discarded husband.
My gaze follows as a server brings them through the restaurant all the way to my table. The moment she notices me, Evie gives me one of her warning looks, telling me to behave or else.
Once they’re only a few steps away, I rise from my chair. “Sorry, we had a hard time finding a parking spot,” her fiancé explains with a wince.
“They offer valet service,” I counter, extending my hand to shake his.
He answers my silent greeting, and I squeeze his hand a little harder than necessary. “Evie didn’t want to pay fifty bucks for someone to park our car,” he justifies before sitting down.
Evangeline looks lovely in a cream dress that hides very little of her hourglass figure. I’d stare at her to my heart’s content, but I can’t help examining her fiancé instead. The man in the flesh.
“So, Nathan, we finally meet.”
“Yes. When Evie told me you insisted on meeting me, I was surprised, but who would pass up the opportunity to meet such a legend?”
When I look at her, she averts her gaze. “Evie and I used to be best friends,” I explain. “And then, well, we got married. No matter what trajectory our lives take, there’ll always be room for her in my heart. So, of course, I wanted to meet the man she wants to marry now.”
She keeps ignoring me, reading her menu instead. A server, who was instructed to wait for the rest of my party to arrive, comes to us with a bottle of wine.
“I took the liberty of ordering a Chateau Lafite Rothschild,” I explain as he busies himself with opening it. “I hope it’s alright.”
“It sounds expensive,” Nathan says with a tense chuckle.
“Oh, don’t worry. It’s on me. This whole evening is.”
“You’re not paying for our dinners,” Evie protests, still staring at her menu.
The waiter is done pouring a tasting amount into my glass, so I bring it to my lips and sip on the deep garnet liquid.
I keep the expensive, tangy wine in my mouth, shift it a couple of times, and then swallow.
I return the glass to the table and nod at the waiter, who then pours it into everyone’s glasses.
Once he’s gone, I tell Evie, “Don’t be ridiculous. I meant to pay for everything when I booked this place.”
“That’s—that won’t be necessary,” Nathan intervenes. “We’re being careful with money because we’re saving for a down payment on a house, but we can afford this. Right, honey?”
“We can,” she confirms, offering him a forced smile.
“You’re buying a house?”
“For now, we each have our respective places, but after the wedding, I’m cancelling my lease, Evie is selling her house, and we’re buying something together.”
“I see. Will it have a pool?”
Finally, she looks up from her menu and brings her eyes to mine. Again, it’s to issue a silent warning, but I don’t mind. Not if it means those rich, hazel irises are on me.
“Hm, we never talked about this,” Nathan hesitates, oblivious to our silent exchange. “It’ll depend on our budget, but why not? Though a pool is a lot of maintenance, and I’m not sure we want that kind of hassle.”
“Whatever we get, honey, it’ll be perfect,” Evie says, laying a hand over his on the table.
“I agree. All we need is a house big enough for kids. Anything beyond that is extra.”
The way my chest tightens at the mention of children makes it almost hard to breathe. Of course, they’ve talked about this. They’re getting married. They talked about their future. About children. About everything.
I’m not sure I can reply without sounding affected by what he just said, so it’s my turn to pick up my menu and read it. I’m halfway through the meats section when Nathan leans into her and says, “Should we each get something different and split?”
“Sure, honey.”
A few more beats, and he suggests, “What about the seven-hour braised leg of lamb? I hear it melts on your tongue.”
Before she can reply, I say, “Evie doesn’t eat baby animals.”
“Oh, right. Hmm … It looks very good, though. Would you split?” he asks me, clearly jesting.
Though this was only a joke that doesn’t warrant an answer, I still say, “I also don’t eat them.”
“Really?”
I nod. “She converted me.”
This time, when her gaze meets mine, there isn’t as much resentment in it.
When I see the dish listed in the appetizers, I ask, “Did you ever get to try snails?”
“It’s called escargots. And yes, I did.”
“And?”
“It wasn’t great.”
“It’s snails, Evie. What else were you expecting?”
“I thought the French knew what they were doing.”
“The French never know what they’re doing. Trust me, I work with a lot of them.”
“How is it, by the way?” Nathan chimes in, interrupting our private conversation.
“How’s what?”
“Your job. It’s a rather unique career, isn’t it? And I skimmed through your Wikipedia page, but it looks like you took a very different path than most of your colleagues.”
“You read my Wikipedia page?”
“I was intrigued. And a little intimidated, I won’t lie,” he admits with humility.
“Have you read it, as well, Evie?”
“Not in a very long time.”
Desirous to remind Nathan that he might have her now, but she was mine first, I casually say, “She’s the one who wrote that page, you know? At least, she was the one who started it.”
His surprise isn’t laced with jealousy, as I’d hoped. “Really? I had no idea.”
When he turns to her, Evie shrugs and explains, “He was just starting with his Formula 4 team. I thought it might help, in case some scouts looked into him. Probably none of what I wrote is still there.”
“The ‘Early life’ section is still mostly yours,” I counter. I shouldn’t keep poking the bear like that, but it’s the only way I can get her to look at me, it seems.
The shrill ring of a phone resonates before she can answer, and Nathan quickly takes it out of his pocket. “I’m sorry, we have a complicated case at the office, and I really have to take this.”
Evie nods as he stands up and walks away, picking up the call. As soon as we’re alone, Evie leans forward and whispers, “Of all the places you could have picked, you really decided to go for the most expensive restaurant you could find?”
She seems angry at me for it, even though I offered to pay for everything. “Princess, it’s Denver. It’s not like there was that much of a list to choose from, was there?”
“Literally anything else, Jax. The Chinese restaurant around the corner would have been perfectly fine.”
“For you, yes. Not for me.”
“When did you become such a snob?”
“You’d be impressed by how fast one gets used to luxury.”
She shakes her head and returns her attention to the listed dishes. It’s taking a while for her to pick, and I now understand why. She’s being mindful of the price tag, which is ridiculous.
“Evie, let me pay for tonight,” I insist.
“I don’t need your money. We don’t need it.”
Now she’s starting to piss me off. “I owe you a whole fucking house, Evangeline. Let me pay for this.”
She looks up again, jaw ticking with annoyance. “It was a silly pact two teenagers made a very long time ago,” she counters. “You owe me nothing, Jax.”