Little Games of Love: A Novel

by Gabriela Paz

  CHAPTER 11

  It’s Not Too

  Far Away

  Leo watched Eva as she ran further and further away until he couldn’t see her anymore. He couldn’t believe it; he had almost lost hope about seeing her again. She looked effortlessly beautiful, running freely on the beach without a care in the world. She was wearing a tight sports bra and was sweating a little bit, which made her look even more attractive than the first time he saw her. Her body was lean, and although she wasn’t very tan, her skin looked radiant. She was white as snow, which contrasted perfectly with her brunette hair and green eyes.

  “Dude, can you stop drooling now?” Stefano asked as Leo sat back down.

  “Shut up, bro. She’s cute, isn’t she?”

  “She sure is.”

  “She’s just a bit too young for me, you know? I don’t want to get my hopes up too much.” Leo lied, as he didn’t want to show too much excitement. Who am I kidding?

  “Yeah, well, you better make a move fast before she leaves for college and somebody else swoops in.”

  “Come on, bro. If it’s meant to be, it will be.”

  “Oh, wow, I didn’t know you were poetic and stuff.”

  “Shut up, you fool. You know me, I never get too excited about girls, but she is different. There’s something so intriguing about her and about who she is that draws me in. I’m going to see her here again next Saturday.”

  “Oh, jeez. You do have some moves.”

  Leo laughed. “Yes, you could learn a thing or two from your old bro.”

  “I already know you are smooth with the ladies, don’t worry.”

  Leo was happy to be having this conversation with his brother. Stefano seemed to have let his guard down, and he enjoyed his silliness.

  “But she is leaving for college, man, maybe you are right, and you shouldn’t get your hopes up yet,” Stefano blurted.

  Leo wished he hadn’t said that. Deep inside, he knew that his brother was going to be seeing her all the time, and he probably wasn’t. “I know, I know, I will take it day by day, it may lead to nothing, you know? But I want to give it a shot.”

  “Yeah, I get you.”

  ~~

  “Oh, my God. You are finally here! How did it go?” Eva said as she hugged her best friend and let her in the house. Cece was finally back, and she had so much to tell her.

  “Evs! I know. I’m happy to be back. I had a blast, actually. How about you? What have you been up to?” Cece asked.

  “You first. Anything exciting down in Miami? Oh my God, your tan looks amazing.”

  “Well, I went to the beach and the pool most days, so I hope I do look tan. Oh, and I met someone that made my vacation extra spicy.”

  Eva laughed. She was curious to know what crazy story her friend was going to tell her now. “No way. Seriously?”

  “Yep. I met him by the hotel pool. He was a divorcee and wanted some company. His name was Tom. We started hanging out, and one thing led to another. I felt like I was in some kind of erotic movie, I swear, it was so hot!”

  Typical Cece. “Oh, my God. You never waste time, do you? But wait, he was divorced? How old was he?”

  “Well, we never really discussed his age, but he must have been around thirty-five or so.”

  “You are insane! What about your parents? Did they not catch you? How did you pull it off?”

  Cece threw her hands in the air as expressive as usual. “Oh, it was too easy. They were out together most of the time. My dad loves the casinos, and my mom follows him around everywhere. I wanted to go, but even though I’m finally eighteen, I’m still not old enough to go into casinos, so I always stayed behind— and that’s how I had time,” Cece chuckled. “He was so hot. You wouldn’t believe it. I don’t know who was the fool who divorced him.”

  “Haha! Will you stay in touch with him?”

  “Definitely not. It was a fling, you know? A one-time thing. Only physical, and it was fun while it lasted, but that was it.”

  It was crazy to Eva how Cece could avoid developing feelings for people but have fun at the same time. She never felt guilty about it. Eva had too much of a conscience for that kind of thing. She couldn’t have flings here and there; it was either all or nothing, and that’s why she was going to have to be extremely cautious with her next move.

  She hadn’t told Cece anything about Leo yet, but she was dying to. They needed to address more important things now, however, like their future.

  “But enough about me!” Cece teased. “Please tell me what’s been going on?”

  “I’m so stressed out. I’m still processing the news, to be honest. I can’t believe you did this for me.”

  Cece shrugged playfully. “I had to. I couldn’t leave you behind.”

  “I know. You are crazy. I haven’t exactly told my mom about the dorm situation since it’s not for sure yet. We did apply for financial aid, though. I’m hoping we get some financial help, but truthfully, everything is kind of in the air right now. It’s been so stressful since there’s not much time left, and I have to meet the deadlines.”

  “Yeah, I hadn’t thought about that. Sorry. I guess surprising you came with its negatives. How can I help? I’m pretty set, so please use me.”

  “It’s okay. You’ve done plenty. I never even dreamed I would get accepted, which is probably why I didn’t apply in the first place. But I’m excited. What’s the dorm status, though?”

  “You stress out too much. My father already called and requested a dorm for the both of us.”

  You told me that last week Cece. I’m dying here. “Right. But when will we know for sure? And what if they don’t have a dorm available for the two of us and I’m assigned to stay with someone else? I rather stay at home if we can’t room together.”

  “Eva! I know. Stop stressing. It will be fine. Remember, I’ve been working on this whole college thing for a few months now. As soon as I hear back, I will confirm, okay?”

  Right. Right. Of course, it will be fine. “I just don’t want to tell my mom about moving away if it’s not necessary, you know? I don’t want to break her heart.” Eva said with remorse. Her mother had goodheartedly helped Cece give her a chance for a better future without knowing that she could possibly leave. I’m awful. How am I gonna tell her?

  “You have to tell her. She has to sign some papers, and the sooner, the better. I never mentioned the dorm situation to her before, so she’s definitely going to be surprised.”

  Thanks for the reminder, Cece. “Well…” she paused, “if I have no choice… Then I guess we can tell her together. She’s arriving soon.”

  They both stayed in the living room to wait for her mother to make her way through the door. Eva felt anxious and excited at the same time. She loved her mother dearly and didn’t want to cause her any pain. Will she hate me for this? Will she forgive me? I don’t want to leave her alone. The chances of her mother getting angry were pretty low, as she would probably encourage her to go without making her feel bad. But she also knew that her mother would miss her terribly—and so would she.

  This whole time she hadn’t been thinking about the studying part of college; she had only been thinking that she was going to be with her friend, which gave her all the reassurance in the world. It wouldn’t have been easy for Eva to be alone in college. She was very reserved and didn’t open up easily. She had some people at school she talked to, but Cece has her only real friend, and she preferred it that way. As soon as they both heard the knob turn on the front door, they both sat there petrified. Here we go.

  Her mother then opened the door and looked stunned to see Cece. “Oh, you are back, Cece. It’s good to see you.”

  Cece went to give her a warm hug. “Hi, Melissa! It’s good to see you too.”

  “You look great, sweetie. The tan suits you,” she said, smiling. “Hey honey, how are
you?”

  “Everything’s good, mom,” Eva said awkwardly, dreading what was about to come. Luckily Cece stepped in, “So there’s so much to talk about. Isn’t it exciting that Eva and I are going to college together after all?”

  Her mother smiled and took a seat near the both of them. “It truly is. I have to really thank you for what you’ve done for my daughter, Cece. You are a sweetheart,” she appreciatively expressed, placing her hand on Cece’s shoulder.

  “It’s nothing. I couldn’t let her miss out,” Cece grinned and then turned to wink at Eva.

  “Oh, this is so exciting. I’m so proud of you both. We must celebrate!”

  Cece clapped her hands together in excitement. “Yes, we should!”

  “I will make you girls something delicious to eat. What would you like?” her mother asked as she made her way back to the kitchen. “Eva, honey, you didn’t wash the dishes.”

  “Whoops, I forgot. I’m sorry. I was catching up with Cece, and I lost track of time. I will do it later, I promise.”

  This is when Cece saw an opening to drop the bomb. “Well, now that Eva and I will be living together, at least you won’t have to deal with her mess anymore.”

  Crap. Couldn’t she have done it a little smoother? Everyone stayed quiet a few seconds. Eva wasn’t sure if her mom had heard what Cece said, but she wasn’t about to ask her about it. The room got tense as her mother blurted, “You are moving out?”

  Yes. No. Yes. Eva could tell she hadn’t seen it coming. She looked astonished and a little pale. “It’s a possibility,” she stuttered. “It’s not for sure yet. That’s why I hadn’t told you. I’m so sorry, mom. I meant to talk to you about it privately. I think it could be a good idea to stay with Cece in a dorm at the university.”

  Her mother walked toward her and sat near her on the couch again. “Honey, is this really what you want? You know you can stay here too. It’s really not too far. I can take you, or you can take the car.”

  “I know, it’s not that I want to leave at all. I just want to live this experience, and I think that it would help me figure things out on my own, I mean…”

  Her mother dropped an unintentional tear as Eva finished her sentence. “I know, honey. I know this will be good for you. I’m sorry, this has just taken me by surprise.”

  “It’s okay. It’s my fault. I should have told you earlier. I don’t have to go, it was only an idea. I don’t want to leave you alone.” She said, resting her hand on her mother’s back.

  Her mother then hugged her tight, “You must go. If it’s what you want, you must do it, sweetie. You won’t regret it. I will be fine as I always am. Plus, the school is only twenty minutes away, and it’s not like I won’t be seeing you often.”

  “I will be here as much as I can. I promise,” Eva said, giving her mother a kiss on the cheek. Throughout all these years since her father left them, it had been only the two of them sharing all of the ups and downs life threw at them. It was a hard decision to leave her alone, but no matter how much it hurt her, somehow, she felt she was making the right move.

  The following days went by fast; college was only seven weeks away, and Eva had so much to get done. She had finally heard back from the financial aid office and was relieved to hear that they would cover a little bit over half of her tuition. Her mother was even more ecstatic to hear the news. “Oh Eva, I can’t tell you how glad I am. I’ve been worried sick that I would be the reason you couldn’t go to school. There’s no way I could have afforded the full payments on my own.”

  "I know. But mom, this doesn’t mean you have to spend your savings helping me. I want you to save money for yourself and your retirement. I will work every summer, and I will contribute all the money I earn for the remaining of my tuition. I don’t want to leave it all to you.”

  “Sweetie, it’s not necessary. You deserve to live your life freely, without having to worry about responsibilities yet.”

  No chance. I want to help. I’m already leaving you all alone. This will make me feel like a better human being. “I know, mom. But you have already taken care of the both of us all by yourself for a long time. I want to help, and I will. Please don’t fight me on this.”

  “Okay, Hun. If it makes you happy, then it’s alright.”

  Eva knew that whatever she earned wasn’t going to be much, but it would surely help.

  Finally, the time came for Eva to tell Cece about Leo. “By the way, I’m kind of meeting this guy on Saturday,” she blurted, pretending to keep writing. They were filling up other required college forms in her room.

  Of course, Cece blew everything out of proportion. “What? Really? Who is he? Oh my God, you were keeping it all to yourself, weren’t you? Tell me more. I’m dying to know,” she anxiously inquired as she pushed her college forms aside and went to sit close to Eva.

  Eva laughed. But it was a nervous laugh. Thinking about him made butterflies fly all over her stomach. “Well, his name is Leo. Oh, and by the way, he has a brother who is also going to Pensacola State like us.”

  Cece’s jaw dropped. “Wait, he has a brother? A hot brother who is coming to college with us? You are killing me!”

  “Well, he isn’t coming with us, but he will be there next semester. His name is Stefano. He’s cute as well.”

  “Okay. You focus all your energy on Leo, and I will keep Stefano all to myself.”

  Eva chuckled. “Whatever.”

  “Anyways, tell me about him. Are you nervous about your date?”

  More than I’ve ever been. “Extremely, I should have never put myself in this situation, though. I’m leaving for college, and even if it’s not too far away, I want to give myself the chance to truly enjoy it without having to worry about being in a relationship. It’s kind of pointless to start something now.”

  “Of course it isn’t. Things happen when they happen, and you should at least give it a shot. What have you got to lose?”

  Cece didn’t quite comprehend how deeply Eva felt about things and how much she didn’t want to get hurt again. She was excited to see him, but the fear of getting hurt was stronger. The way he made her feel was dangerous, and she knew it wasn’t a good idea to spend too much time around him if she wanted to keep her heart safe. “I will go on Saturday, but that will be the last time,” Eva assured her.

  “Well, you let me know how the date goes, and then we'll talk.”

  CHAPTER 12

  If It’s Meant to be, It Will be

  Eva brought a big bowl full of lucky charms back to her bedroom and sat on her bed. As she enjoyed each bite, she tried not to think about her upcoming date the following day. But it was inevitable. Friday morning had arrived too quickly, and she was already feeling a huge rush about seeing Leo again. She knew seeing him for the third time was probably not the brightest idea if she wanted to commit to staying away, but there was no going back in her mind. Her phone suddenly rang and interrupted her thoughts. “Hey, What’s up?” she answered.

  “Hey! Guess what?” Cece shouted.

  “What is it?”

  “It’s official! We will be rooming together in college!” she screamed to the top of her lungs.

  Eva pulled away from the phone to avoid any ear damage, but the moment Cece was done celebrating, she screamed back, “No way! That’s amazing news. I was actually starting to think it wasn’t going to happen.” Wow. I’m moving. It’s really happening.

  “I told you to chill out. Everything is done. My mom got a call from the school this morning, so we better start packing.”

  Eva’s pulse started to rise, thinking about packing all of her belongings and moving into a new place. All she had planned for the day was to go running to take her mind off Leo’s dimples and perfect smile. “I haven’t started at all. I better get to it.”

  “Me too. Talk later, roomie.”

  Eva laughed and hung up.
She quickly jumped out of bed, tied her hair up in a messy bun, and got to packing. Though leaving for school was still weeks away, it was official she would be staying with her best friend, and she was too excited.

  Plus, she wanted to plan ahead exactly what she was bringing. It wouldn’t be so hard since she didn’t own that many clothes. Through the years, her mother had encouraged her to go shopping, but no matter how hard she tried, Eva hated it. Most of the nicer looking dresses and jeans she owned were gifts from her mother for her birthday or Christmas. Sometimes she even made up occasions to buy her clothes since she often wore the same outfits.

  Eva laid her suitcase on top of her bed, and before she could finally start, her phone rang again. An unknown number was calling, and she considered it twice about picking up. But what if it’s him? He could have gotten my number somehow. Or maybe it’s something related to college? My student advisor was supposed to call; What if it’s her? She didn’t want to leave it to chance, so she decided to answer.

  “Hello?”

  “Yes, hi, can I speak to Eva Coleman?”

  This lady must have the wrong number. “Yes, this is her. Who is this?”

  “Oh, hi, Eva. I’m glad I got you on the phone. This is Elaine Perry from Sylvaine Dubois Gallery. I just wanted to let you know that we are considering you for the assistant job. Are you still interested?”

  Wait. What? Seriously? Eva couldn’t believe it; she had already forgotten all about her application. “Yes, yes, I’m interested. For the summer, I mean.”

  “Oh, okay. Well, we would love for you to still come in for an interview if you want. Our full-time assistant recently resigned, and we are looking for all the help we can get. Could you come in tomorrow at 1:00pm?”

  Eva didn’t even blink as she responded, “Absolutely. I will be there. I’m looking forward to meeting you.” It was strange to be receiving more good news—almost surreal. She already thought the college surprise was her big break. But this, this was the cherry on top.

  “Great, see you tomorrow,” the lady said before hanging up the phone.