Chapter 8 #2
He sat forward and smiled, brushing her arm with his hand. “You told me you had a shitty day at work. What happened?”
“Oh,” she muttered, shaking her head. Without thinking, she stroked the top of his hand that was touching her left one.
His presence soothed her. It made her feel stable.
“I didn’t know I was supposed to have three marketing campaign designs done, and I only did one. My boss wants me to embrace AI and—”
“Fuck AI.”
“Right? Like, I get that it has a place for some things like enemy motion in video games or even like tailored learning on apps, but damn. I felt so expendable.”
“It’s because you are in your boss’s eyes. Somewhere else there’ll be another pretty woman like you strolling along to make her next big move, but you have a brain and can think for yourself.”
Evie ruminated on the remark.
“Maybe you can do freelance work and build yourself up as a freelance designer? Fuck those people who tell you to use AI. It literally eradicates your decades of hard work and building your own style.”
“I wouldn’t even know where to begin.”
“You’re well-known in the community now with all your little charitable acts and candid posts. And I know Joey is looking for a new design for her menu at the café.”
“She is?” Evie said with a piqued look. “I just saw her new menu on Facebook the other day.”
“Yeah, and it looks like shit. She needs a new design.” He smiled spiritedly.
Evie busted out laughing and he chuckled with her.
She nodded slowly in agreement, trying to come out of the laugh but it wasn’t easy to do. Evie loved his blatant honesty.
Then Caleb gave his dimpled smile. “You’re the professional. Tell me what you think of her new digital menu. If you’re going to ask me about my profession, I’m going to ask about yours.”
Evie smirked. “Yeah, but you haven’t told me anything about your profession.”
“Okay, I shoot guns and fix houses. Your move.” He smiled again, knowing he was a rascal.
It was unimaginable how many times he got her to laugh. She sat back and put the back of her hand to her mouth, feeling tears of laughter coming to her eyes. Through her laughter, she said, “I already know that. Tell me something I don’t know.”
He shrugged, smiled, and played along. “Alright. I shoot many different guns, and I fix many different houses. Your move.”
“You’re an asshole, you know that?” she said through their robust laughter.
The food finally came, and they began eating. Evie ordered a grilled chicken salad with an unsweetened iced tea, and Caleb ordered the avocado bacon burger with fries. She watched him eat like nothing. “Ugh, if I ate like that, I’d be all the way back up to 250 in no time.”
“If I had a desk job too, I’d have to eat like you.”
She shrugged with a grin, stabbing her salad. “You know, that’s a fair point.”
People came in and dined. Families left, and tables were wiped down.
Occasionally Caleb would glance up at the TVs around to see what the scores were for the games, and he would make comments about them.
Evie never understood the obsession with sports, but then again, she knew people didn’t really understand her obsession with her cat or flowers.
Even though small talk was made, Evie grew frustrated with still not knowing much about him, despite being in contact with him for several months.
Was it even logical to be upset with that?
Was that a reasonable amount of time? That was a question she had no answer for.
She tried again, but this time she was far more direct. “I know you’re probably going to get upset with me, and I’m sorry, but…”
He looked at her.
“I really wish you would talk about yourself more.”
He sighed. “Evie, I don’t think it’s appropriate to do this right now.”
“Do what? I thought dates were supposed to be about getting to know about each other.” She smiled to reassure him and opened her hands. “You can tell me anything at all you’d like.”
“What’s so important for you to know? You know I’m divorced. I have two kids. I’m in the Navy. And I run my own contracting business.”
She shook her head out and narrowed her eyes. “Yeah, but I’m sure there’s more to you than that. Like, what’s your favorite food? How did you meet Ashley? What are some of your favorite memories? Ever get hurt on a horse?”
He groaned in agitation then leaned his elbows on the table. “Just be honest, Evie. You want to know why we got divorced.”
She stared at him in shock. “But that’s not the case at all. It’s really none of my business.”
“But how she and I met is?”
She was pissed. She could no longer hide it. She had been nothing but nice to him since she had met him, and if all he was going to do was be condescending, then she would get up and forget it. Angrily, she grabbed her purse, and Caleb looked as she stood up.
“You’re leaving, I take it?”
Oh, his tone was vile! What was she supposed to do?
She answered, “Yes, I am leaving, because—”
She hesitated. The room felt like it froze, and she glanced at the floor, looking at her soft beige suede boots.
Then she turned and looked at him. All she saw was him sitting casually at the table, with his elbows on the table, hands folded, and him rubbing his mouth against his hands looking at her.
I will tear down those walls brick by brick with my bare hands if I have to.
She let herself sink in the idiocy of what she was about to do.
Was she really going to leave over the fact he didn’t open up to her after only truly knowing her for only a few days?
The seasons had come and gone, yes, but not only were they just getting to know each other, he wasn’t obligated to her. And she decided to remember that.
Her purse strap slowly slid off her shoulder as if she was going to hold it but never did.
As their eyes met, the nasty and undeniable truth came into her heart.
Caleb Wright had to be hiding something absolutely dreadful to be pushing her out of his private life like that.
But how was she going to be involved with someone who wouldn’t let her in?
Was she being too pushy? Was she trying to move too fast, too soon?
How the hell was she supposed to know what to do?
The cluelessness of handling a situation like that left her with nothing but a frustrated heart and a confused purpose.
“I’m sorry I got up so quickly. I think I, um, it’s a woman thing. So, I need to go to the bathroom.”
“Will you…be back?” he asked slowly.
She turned and paused with a weak smile. “Yes, I will always come back.”
But in the bathroom once more, Evie found her solace and cried.
This was going to be significantly harder than she thought.
Love was not the thing she had imagined growing up.
She dreamed about her valiant knight as a child, and it was supposed to be perfect.
Her hero was supposed to be perfect, not hard to decipher.
Military men were different than fairytales. Real life was different.
Everything was wrong. It wasn’t like how it was in movies or books, where a service member swept the lady off her feet and was all heroic and shit.
No. Their trust had to be earned and earned patiently.
It wouldn’t take any effort at all for her to tell him anything he wanted to know.
Why did it have to be so hard for him? Her chest felt clenched from the sadness and despair, and as another woman came in, she silenced her cries.
Love was supposed to be effortless, at least in her eyes.
Evie never understood why people made things so complicated.
For her, you either loved somebody or didn’t. And if you loved somebody, it shouldn’t be hard to open up to them. Little did she know she was too childish to realize the very thought indicated she wanted him to love her already.
That was stupid.
She had to get her racing thoughts under control before they crashed into one another and she did something stupid.
He had texted her so many times saying she had no idea what she did to him, how he couldn’t wait to see her, and all these other sweet things. Wasn’t that love? Or was it?
Caleb paid the bill, and when she came out, she picked up the flowers, and together they walked to her car.
He carried her little box of chocolate cake.
But she was slow and resistant in her motions.
The sunset was coming in the busy shopping district, and once more she pulled her hair from her face as the wind blew. She shivered.
Their eyes met.
Their hearts yearned for something neither one of them could confess.
Evie softly asked in worry, “Will I hear from you again?”
Caleb grinned and lifted her chin to kiss her.
Slowly she took his kiss in, basking in the beauty of his lips and his body against hers.
Caleb put the box on top of her car, grabbed her hips and pushed her against the car, making her gasp.
The crispness of his Oxford shirt was pure luxury against the soft skin of her hands and chest, and even on her throat when he leaned over to kiss her neck.
“Caleb,” she moaned.
He grabbed her hair and let her perfume destroy the wrecked feeling he had.
“Caleb,” she groaned again a bit louder, trying to get his attention.
And then she pushed him off.
He stepped back, completely stunned. “What the hell? What’s this all about?”
“Listen, don’t be mad at me, okay? But if you’re not going to open up to me about anything, then I’m sorry, but I can’t do this.”
“So, you were pissed off about what I said earlier. And you were going to leave. Why couldn’t you be honest?”
A deep-seeded hurt rooted in her heart, and she snapped back, “It wouldn’t’ve mattered anyway! Besides, I can’t go on with this feeling like all I’m going to be is a booty call!”