8. Cohen #2
Drake flashed me a sympathetic smile before a group of girls made their way into our section. I ran a hand through my hair, trying to figure a way out of this.
The girls were pretty enough, as they usually were.
I didn’t know if being a dad to a little girl had changed my perspective on sleeping around or what, but my interest in leaving tonight with one of those girls was at an all-time low.
The pretty blonde of the group zeroed in on me. She settled on the couch, slipping in between Beckham and me. Beckham had his attention on her friend, who was currently in his lap.
The blonde flashed me a smile. "Hey. I'm Evelyn."
I smiled back. "Hey. Cohen." I glanced at Drake, trying to send an SOS message with my eyes.
He didn't notice.
My friends, being the dicks they were, decided to interfere.
"Our buddy, Cohen here, hasn't been out on a date in a long time and is a bit rusty," Beckham threw out while Shane and Maddox snickered.
Over it, I decided to send my friends a fuck you.
"Hmm I wouldn't say I'm rusty. I just recently had a daughter, so I've been busy. Single dad and all."
Evelyn's brows pulled up, and she let out a sigh. "Aww, that’s so amazing. Can I see a picture?"
All the guys rolled their eyes. They knew how much I loved showing pictures of Ellie.
"Sure." I began scrolling through my phone to find a picture that wasn't with Ava. I turned my phone towards Evelyn.
Her eyes lit up. “She is adorable!” The other three girls abandoned my friends to crowd around my phone—completely enamored by pictures of Ellie.
I leaned back against the couch. My friends were visibly annoyed.
The girls were no longer paying them any attention, so naturally I flashed them a smug, satisfied smile.
Maybe I could do this. Ask a girl out. Evelyn seemed nice enough.
What’s wrong with me? I used to do this shit all the damn time.
Evelyn handed me back my phone, and I stuffed it into my pocket before draping my arm across the back of the couch. "So, I have the day off tomorrow. Would you want to grab some dinner with me tomorrow night?"
I didn’t even think about Ava as I said it. Which felt like proof… or maybe I was just delusional.
She grinned. "I'd love that."
See. I can do this.
Ava was just the mother of my daughter. I was not at all fixated on her, and she was definitely not the reason for my dry spell.
The date was going well, or at least I thought it was.
Evelyn looked beautiful. She had her blonde hair slightly curled into waves and wore a dress that showed a whole lot of leg and an impressive amount of cleavage.
I’m not complaining.
The conversation flowed easily enough. She didn’t know much about baseball—which was actually refreshing—and she was an elementary school teacher. On paper, she was a great option… for a guy who wanted a relationship. I didn't do serious. I didn't do love. But she was good company for now.
By the time we got our first course, I was feeling pretty proud of myself for not checking my phone—not at all looking for texts from Ava.
She had only entered my brain twice, and only because Evelyn had mentioned her father was a lawyer and that her family owned a ranch with horses. So, could you really blame me?
I felt my phone vibrate in my pocket. The grip on my fork tightened, trying to resist the urge to grab it. It vibrated again.
Evelyn noticed my discomfort. "Cohen, I can hear your phone vibrating. You can check it. You have a daughter, after all," she laughed softly.
I flashed her an apologetic smile. "Sorry. Thanks," I quickly grabbed my phone and saw a text from Ava—the sight of her name definitely not sending a little thrill straight through my body.
Trouble: I had to send you this video. Ellie giggled!
Completely forgetting Evelyn was in front of me, I clicked on the video and nearly died from the cuteness. I melted into a puddle at the image of my daughter giggling as Ava tickled her chubby neck rolls. I laughed to myself.
Pulling my attention from the video, Evelyn cleared her throat. "Cute video of your daughter? I can hear her giggling." She smiled.
I nodded and turned the phone to show her.
Her brown eyes softened at the sight of my daughter. "Oh my goodness, she is so cute, Cohen!"
I looked down at my phone again and started flipping through several of the pictures Ava had sent. "I know. She's the best." I couldn't wipe the smile from my face.
Evelyn began to talk about—actually, I wasn’t sure what, because I was still completely focused on my phone and the text conversation Ava and I were in the middle of.
She tapped the table in front of me. "Hello? Cohen? Did you hear me?"
"W-what? Oh. Sorry. What did you say?" I still didn't look up from my phone.
"Cohen. I've been talking for ten minutes." There was now a slight edge to her voice.
I put my phone down. "I'm sorry. I'm done. Go on."
She was about to start talking again, until my phone vibrated—causing me to immediately pick it up again and read the text from Ava. I began typing out a reply when Evelyn placed her hand over my phone.
Okay, rude.
"Hey. I think I'm going to head out." She began to push out of her chair.
I looked up, confused. "What? Wait. Why? We haven't even gotten our entrées yet."
She sighed. "I don't think you really want to be here, and I don't think you're ready to date. You can take my entrée home to whoever you’re texting." Evelyn flashed me a sad smile before turning and heading out the door.
And the sad part was—I didn’t even care.