by Holly Hood
My mother was in a deep depression over the loss of my brother, she had even been hospitalized over it, which is, of course, a normal response to losing a son. She also had a horrible relationship with her father who brought a great deal of trouble to our family. Things that no one wanted to have in his or her life. My father, on the other hand, was a great man, but even he had made mistakes. These were things that would be even more of a problem later on in life, I was sure of it. So I will leave that where it lies for the time being.
Evan came in the room. I could hear his feet moving across the wooden floor, the bed moved and sunk so I knew he was sitting. His house was so dark at night- somewhat relaxing and a little eerie. He lay down-I could feel the warmth of his body next to mine-not saying anything. Maybe he thought I was sleeping.
“I’m awake,” I whispered.
He turned on his side, touching my arm.
“I thought you would have fallen back asleep.” He ran his fingers through my hair.
“I was waiting for you.” I moved closer to him, finding his chest to rest my head on like always. I loved to feel him breathe.
“Anything you want to say to me?” he asked me in a tired, barely there voice.
“What happened and who was that guy?” I asked quickly. It had been bugging me. And if he was willing to answer me, then I was asking.
“That man that you saw was a family friend. He borrows money and my dad has me deal with him. I didn’t know he would be here tonight and I’m sorry that scared you.”
“I’m fine. I’m even better because you’re honest.”
“No reason not to be. The other guy, that was my brother and roommate, Kenny,” he said, sighing and pulling me close. “Can we go to sleep?”
“Of course,” I said. He kissed my cheek and never spoke again that night. He was out like a light.
Chapter 11
Obvious
The water was so refreshing in the shower that morning and I was feeling amazing. I didn’t wake up at home and I was in a great mood. As I made my way out, I could smell food. Was he cooking breakfast? I found the idea amusing.
“What’s that smell, Evan?” I teased, coming into the kitchen.
Evan was standing over the stove. His brother, the guy that I had seen last night, stood next to him scrambling eggs. He looked up, smiling, then went back to what he was doing.
“I am making you breakfast and then we are going somewhere,” he said cheerfully.
Kenny turned to face me clutching the bowl. He eyed me up and down. I grasped the towel on my head making sure it hadn’t fallen. He had a huge smirk on his face.
“I’m sorry, we haven’t met officially. I’m Kenny.” He extended his hand; I shook it, heading over to sit at the island.
“It’s nice to meet you. I didn’t know guys cooked.”
“Oh yeah, in our family we do. I think Evan is trying to impress you, though,” he laughed, punching Evan in his arm. Evan grabbed plates from the cabinet setting them on the Island. He smiled as he leaned across it to kiss me.
“It’s just too bad it’s not something you can get used to. And good morning,” he said, going back to the stove. Kenny watched me closely making me start to feel uneasy.
“If it’s edible, I could get used to it,” I joked, looking away from his glances.
“No, I meant we don’t usually stay the night so it’s not something I could do a lot for you.”
He turned the burner off, and started transferring the food into serving dishes, everything from bacon to eggs and pancakes. And it really looked good.
“Oh, yeah. “
Kenny sat on the stool next to me making his plate.
Evan swatted his hand. “Dude, be a gentleman for once and let her get her food first.”
Kenny stopped, handing me a plate.
“Thanks,” I said, uncomfortable. Evan made my plate and we all ate quietly at first. It was surprisingly good.
“So how did you end up hanging out with this guy?” Kenny set his fork down already finished. I could tell he was a cocky type and, judging by his looks, I could tell he thought a great deal about himself. He probably was the type to think every girl was into him. He had a joker-like smile and bright blue eyes that conveyed a hint of wildness. And he was tan, with dark, almost black hair.
“I guess it just happened. We met and I liked his charm.” I smiled at Evan.
Kenny was looking at Evan now. “You think he is charming?”
“Yes, I do.”
“Well, you must be into boring.” He started laughing out loud at that one and Evan let out a chuckle or two as well.
I wasn’t as amused. “Not in the least.” I pushed my pancake across my plate. “I don’t think anything about him is boring.”
Kenny stood up, taking his plate to the sink. “That’s awesome, I’m happy for the two of you. Evan, I think she seems like a legit girl. And I’ll see you sometime next week, or at Dad’s.”
They did the manly high-five type thing and Kenny headed out, squealing whatever car he was driving.
Evan started cleaning up the dishes. I watched him intently just so pleased at everything that was happening. It was an awesome feeling that was going on, he impressed me.
“Was the food okay?” he asked, catching my daydream look.
I got up stacking the plates on top of each other, and grabbing up the cups. “It was actually really good. Have you always known how to cook?”
“My dad has always made us pay attention to those sorts of things. Food is very important in our family.”
“That’s awesome, makes me like you even more.”
He loaded the dishwasher in a flash and started cleaning the counter up.
“So, you said we were going somewhere. Where’s that?”
“I wanted to take you to my family’s house; it’s outside of town a way, in Erie Ridge.”’
Erie Ridge was a gated community in what was known as the high class part of the city- you only lived there if you could afford it.
“Evan, are you sure?” The thought of meeting his family made me nervous. I wasn’t the best at first impressions. What if they didn’t like me?
“Yes, I’m sure. I think you should meet my dad and see where I come from.” He headed to his room pulling some clothes out of a closet; going about his business like this was just an ordinary thing. I felt panicked. I had no change of clothes and no idea how it would turn out.
“I don’t have anything to wear, and I really don’t get why you want to do this,” I said harshly. When I felt over stimulated my brain went into defense like always- it was something I never could hold back. And it probably sounded bad, but that was me.
Evan sat down on the bed; his expression wasn’t annoyed from what I could tell. “I’m going to be honest. It wasn’t something I would have thought I would want to do, but I really feel like it’s the right thing now.”
“Why now?” I stood in the doorway leaning against the frame.
“It’s what I feel is right. It just feels right. Why all the questions? Can’t you just go with this?”
“I feel odd, I don’t know. I mean, what do I say or do?”
He laughed at me. And just kept laughing. I brought my hands to my hips, not amused. “Evan, it’s not funny at all.”
“It’s hilarious. You think way too much into stuff.”
“I think you’re being a jerk. Why is this something we have to do today?”
“Look, either you want to do this for me, or you don’t. Don’t make it so complicated for once. Can’t I just do something without all your questions or insecure behavior?” he snapped, heading to the bathroom. He caught the door before it shut giving me a hard glare. “I have a gift in the closet in the red bag. Put it on and try to appreciate how much I care about you for the day. I’m taking you to meet my parent. That’s a good sign, Crazy.”
He shut the door with a bang. The water started up, and I gave in. Opening up the closet doors, I went inside the b
ig walk-in closet with his array of high-priced jeans, sneakers and shirts- all organized, tons of hats and even a couple suits. In a corner, a small red bag that barely looked like it could fit clothes, was sitting out easy to see.
I opened the bag, pulling out a light peach cotton gauze-type summer dress; it was just my style, sort of bohemian-like, so airy and light. I tried it on, going to a mirror to study my figure. It fit just right- snug from my shoulders to my waist and billowed out just right above the knee. I found a brush in my purse and brushed my hair out. Sometimes I hated my hair, but the loose curl to it fell nicely for once. I pulled part of it up with a pearl clip I had with me, letting a thin wisp of bang fall.
I wasn’t a fan of much makeup, lip gloss and blush was the most I would wear. My mother told me natural wasn’t her thing, but she always told me I had the best of her heritage- a splash of Greek. It gave me a natural olive complexion. Finally, I felt like I was decent enough. I never had been that satisfied with myself. I was used to that though. Sitting down on the bed, I wondered if I could do this, but I was going to try my hardest because it seemed very important to Evan.
Evan came out of the bathroom toweling himself off as he made his way into the room; he was in boxers and nothing else. I couldn’t help but feel overly awkward as he carried on doing what he was doing. His body was just beautiful. Muscular and flawless, he wasn’t hairy or anything. Maybe he waxed or something, I thought to myself. Gray and my dad had more hair on their body than he did. Or maybe he just had better genes; hair on men was not attractive to me. So once again, he was getting points.
“You look amazingly beautiful,” he said, pulling his jeans on with a huge smile on his face that made me blush.
“Thanks, never heard beautiful before.”
“Never what? You’re joking me. You’re, like, an exotic goddess,” he laughed, putting on a gray T-shirt with metallic embellishments that looked sort of like graffiti. His body showed nicely in the shirt, his whole appearance always looked so good I could have sworn it took him hours to look that nice, but apparently, he could just throw it together and look flawless.
“Exotic goddess. Oh, grow up. You don’t need to flatter me.” I poked his chest.
He grabbed my arm, spinning me in a circle with way too much amusement, and my dress swirled with it. “I’m not joking, you’re amazing. I’m not trying to flatter you, just telling you the truth. Now, kiss me so we can get on the road.” He roughly grabbed my face, his mouth finding mine. I steadied myself by grabbing onto his back. He guided me to his bed and we both fell so fast I tensed, thinking we were going to miss it and land on the floor.
I wasn’t sure what had gotten into him, but I wasn’t fighting any of it. Evan rolled on his side so not to crush me, and continued to kiss me, and I was enjoying every bit of it. My hands made their way from his hair to his shirt and then under, feeling every muscle of his abs, up to his chest. Evan worked his way down my neck. I sat up, pulling his shirt off and throwing it on the floor; he stared into my eyes before we met up again, kissing longer and longer each time. I started to pull my dress strap off my shoulders. It felt right, no matter how soon it was happening. Evan stopped almost immediately. He pulled my straps up, kissing me one last time.
“What?” I was puzzled and rather flustered.
He sighed, pulling his shirt over his head. “No, this is not good.”
“What? Why?”
“We really don’t need to get into this right now. I mean, it’s horribly tempting, but I can’t do that.” He fumbled for words, highly agitated.
“I don’t get it, it just feels right.” I grabbed his hand, trying my hardest to get him back to the bed with me; I was not offended at all.
“It does feel right, and I’m sure it would feel right during and after. I just don’t want to get into all that right now. There is a time for that, and this is not it.”
“Fine, but you’re a tease, just remember that,” I said, getting off the bed.
“I’m not saying it has to be planned or anything corny like that, but it will be better if we just hold out longer.”
“I’m glad you have endurance,” I laughed.
“I don’t want to sound rude so punch me if you want, but have you, uh….”
“Have I had sex before? No. I never have. Not trying to save myself for marriage or anything, I just haven’t felt like anyone deserved getting that from me.” I headed to the door as he stared at my exit.
“Are you saying I deserve?” he called from his room.
“Yes, Evan, don’t get too cocky though.” I sat down on the couch waiting for him to come out. Hopefully his head would make it out the door after that ego boost.
Sex was never a big thing to me. It was a natural means of expression between people who cared about each other and, honestly, no guy had made me want to open up that part of my life. Until now, I thought to myself. It was obvious he was feeling more like the guy that was going to take my heart. I just prayed that he wasn’t careless with it.
Chapter 12
Decision
We pulled into Erie Ridge gates; I took in each and every huge mansion. The lawns were perfectly green and manicured. It was all way too amazing to actually be there. The houses were something you saw on television- bigger than schools. My parent’s house was minute compared to the size of each and every one. I was starting to feel rather shabby even before I stepped out of the truck. I could see crystal chandeliers hanging from just about every window I peered into.
We pulled up to an all tan home with windows so large that it barely looked as if it had any walls at all and it glowed from all the light on in it. I stared in awe as I waited for Evan to get out of the truck. Pillars and balconies lined every side of it; an endless pool sat sparkling beautifully. Everything was so remarkable and expensive looking. And it was so clean and concrete it didn’t even seem like anyone could live in the place.
Evan took my hand as we started walking up to the house. My knees felt wobbly and I suddenly was not sure if I could go through with this. I squeezed his hand tightly as we made our way to the entrance of the yard, my heart was racing. I searched for someone who could be his father.
There were a few groups of men in various parts of the yard chatting with fancy looking drinks in their hands. They were well-dressed and very stern. Lawn furniture was in various parts of the yard, but no one seemed to notice or sit in them.
“Are you alright?” Evan said low, coming up to the patio before we went inside.
“I don’t know. I’m really nervous. I didn’t know it was going to be this nice,” I said as he smoothed my hair.
“Don’t even worry about it. My family is not stuffy or about money. They’re just like anyone else.” He gave me a second glance, probably to make sure I wasn’t passed out, and opened up the big glass doors.
Everything inside was just as lovely as the outside: beautiful oil paintings, museum-like sculptures, which probably had been in a museum at one time, the most elegant furniture, and tons of family portraits on the wall. Evan pulled me by so fast I didn’t have time to figure out where or if he was in any of them.
He started up the stairs to about a million doors lining the hallway, but he knew right where he was going. Opening what seemed to be about the sixth wooden door, we entered an office-like lounge room, wooden bookshelves from one wall to the next. Dark maroon curtains from the ceiling to the floor, dark red wood furnishings and a huge desk with a very intimidating looking man sitting with his arms crossed smoking a cigar.
He was an older man, but not old. I would have guessed early fifties, dark hair with hints of gray throughout. His skin almost dark brown. He had the darkest eyes and his brows seemed furrowed at all times. I could tell he had been handsome when he was younger, but now you could see the age in every part of him. He stood up, coming over to both of us, cigar smoke trailing behind him.
“What do we have here?” he asked, breaking into a hearty smile, patting Evan hard on the
back and embracing him as if he hadn’t seen him in years. He held onto the back of Evan’s head looking into his face. Evan stared right back with a small smile on his face. He kissed Evan’s cheek, holding the cigar in his hand as he did so. Then he finally backed off and let him breathe.
“Dad, this is Eve. Eve, this is the old man I was telling you about.”
