A Prior Engagement

by S. L. Scott

  He was overanalyzing his thoughts on Evie because her opinion of him now mattered. And instead of wanting her approval, he now needed it. He liked her too much and it would hurt him if she didn’t accept him or his life. He realized he was showing his hand by bringing her to his place and she would either like it or not. He couldn’t predict how she would react to his way of life, but took the risk.

  “It’s nice.” She turned to face him and noticed his expression was more tense than usual.

  Feeling relieved and accepted, his eyes brightened as he walked closer to her. He took her bag and set it on the floor near a small table in the corner. “Thanks. It’s been home for a few years now. If your pizza’s cold, there’s a microwave. Can I get you something to drink?”

  She remained standing in the middle of the room, and asked, “Yes. What do you have?”

  “I have water, soda, or beer.”

  “I’ll have what you’re having. I don’t want to be any trouble, especially since I kind of barged into your night.” She hated feeling like a burden.

  “I think I’ll have a beer with my pizza.” He reached into the fridge and pulled a can out, opened it, and handed it to her. “Make yourself at home. If you don’t mind, I’d like to take a shower before I eat.”

  “Yes, yes of course. Go right ahead.”

  William walked into the bathroom and started the shower. His body was worn from the day and long walk, his muscles aching. He undressed, piling his dirty clothes into the corner then stepped under the warm water and drenched his face. As he cleaned up, his heart raced knowing she was in such close proximity to him. He was standing naked in the shower and thinking about her. His hand wrapped around his erection, but wanting to hurry back to spend time with her, he washed and willed any deeper thoughts of her away.

  Evie sat down on the only dining room chair in the room. She went about setting the table with napkins and plastic ware the restaurant had provided. She put her box in front of her and his across the table though there was no chair for him. She looked around thinking maybe he was using it somewhere else, but didn’t see one. So she waited by leaning back and sipping her beer before being reminded why she never drank beer. It tasted awful. But feeling like she needed the liquid courage, she drank some more before resting her hands in her lap and looking around the apartment. It was small—really small. She didn’t know apartments could legally be this tiny.

  William popped the door open, startling Evie. “My clean clothes are out here,” he said.

  She directed her eyes downward as he rushed into the room covered only in a towel. Wanting to peek, she pressed her forehead on her hand with her elbow resting on the table to try and control herself. He glanced over at her once and then shuffled through the small dresser that supported his hotpot and microwave. Evie was feeling sneaky and curious. Lowering her hand in front of her eyes, using her fingers as protection, she made a shield before she parted her fingers just a smidge, enough to see him.

  His body and hair were still wet and her eyes followed a trail of water as it ran down his defined back. His tan skin was beautiful and smooth over his muscular physique. She wanted to touch him, but kept her hand against her forehead and fisted the other one in her lap so she wouldn’t. She felt out of sorts as her heart raced, but in a good way, actually, in a great way. Her mouth dropped open as her eyes drank him in.

  He turned back to the bathroom and she quickly closed her fingers, holding them together and hoping he didn’t see her ogling him.

  As he shut the door behind him, he couldn’t believe he caught her not-so-sneaky spying eyes on him. She was too cute and this side of her surprised him. It was little revelations like this that made her so fascinating, her free flying bird pendant coming to mind. It’s more fitting than he expected by her guarded and very proper appearance.

  He walked back in, and smiled. “You waited?”

  “I waited for you,” she said, referring to her uneaten pizza.

  William walked to the fridge, grabbed a beer, and pulled his desk chair over to the small table in the corner. “Would you like me to heat yours up?”

  “No. It’s fine.” She put a napkin under her slice and took a bite. He did the same, but finished his entire slice in five bites while half of hers remained.

  He stood and walked to the television. “Do you mind if I turn on some background noise?”

  “Not at all, it’s your place, after all.” She felt awkward as she drank more beer to help clear the pizza from her throat. “I feel like I’m intruding. I mean it is Saturday night, you might have plans or something better to do.”

  He stopped searching through the channels, and said, “No, no, no. I don’t have anything better to do. Wait! That didn’t come out right. I want to be here with you.” He mumbled the last part, but she still heard him.

  “Thanks, and thanks for having me over.”

  After eating, she finished her beer and vowed to not to drink that stuff again. Yuck!

  “Want another beer?”

  “Sure, why not?” she responded while wondering who took over her body and when they started liking beer so much? Deep down, as usual by never admitting it to herself, she knew it wasn’t about the beer, but being with him here.

  She stood up, wanting to explore—technically to snoop around. She walked to his desk, which was very organized, and then burst out laughing when she spotted a coffee mug filled with various yellow highlighters.

  “What?” he asked with a nervous edge to his tone.

  “I’m laughing at your collection of highlighters. You might want to seek help for that. You definitely have a problem.” She was teasing him.

  “I have a problem? What about your blue and black ink obsession? You want to share that one with me or seek a professional’s opinion first?” He laughed.

  She stood there and crossed her arms across her chest, feeling defensive. “I have a very justifiable reason for my ink preferences.” Distracted by a car’s horn, she turned and looked out the window at the lights, traffic, and the people below. She was surprised how much street noise she heard from his apartment. “Do you hear everything here?”

  “Pretty much. I could never live in the country. I think the silence would drive me mad.” He stood back up and started cleaning the mess by throwing away the trash.

  When she looked around again, she noticed his tidiness throughout the space. “You are very neat.”

  “I try to be clean.” He tried to hide the dirty dishes that remained from yesterday by stashing them in the small oven that had broken over a month ago and the landlord kept putting off to fix. “With a place this small, one mess can wreak havoc. It’s taken me many years to become better organized.”

  The bed was the last remaining corner of the room unexplored. She saw an old tattered book on his night table and his bed was neat, made up with his pillow tucked under the blanket and hidden from view. She turned back to the television not sure if she was allowed to sit in this area. An old black and white movie was starting and she said, “I love this movie. I haven’t seen it in ages.”

  “Let’s watch it then.” He liked her enthusiasm and jumped at the opportunity.

  She started to sit on the floor in front of the bed, but William quickly grabbed Evie’s arm and pulled her up. “You can sit on the bed if you’d like. It will be more comfortable up here.”

  The gesture made her smile. “Thanks.” Leaning down, she took her shoes off, and scooted until her back rested against the wall. He slid onto the bed next to her, but kept a safe distance between them. During the movie, he watched her, without her knowledge, of course, as she drank from the beer can then looked around to find a place to set it. It was times like these he wished he had a full kitchen and not this make shift kitchenette. He would have rather offered her a clean glass instead of having her drink from a dirty can, but the few he had were dirty, making him feel bad.

  He reached over and took the beer from her. “I’ll keep it over here.” He set it
on the little table sort of surprised at how full it was still. She obviously didn’t care for the beer. Wine, yes, I should keep wine on hand, but then that would require me to store wine glasses and where would those go? He rolled his eyes and focused back on the movie.

  Evie’s body was relaxed after the carb-loading, beer, and the comfy bed she was now resting on. She glanced over at William and adjusted her body with her hand dipping into the divided space.

  He felt her presence as the gap between them tightened and it made him want to touch her hand, to hold it, and maybe if he was so bold, to kiss it. If he followed his heart, he would kiss her on her mouth as he pulled her into his arms and flipped her under his body. A loud gulp sounded from him. She cleared her throat not aware of his sordid thoughts as he settled his attention back on the movie.

  Another hour passed before she moved her body forward and stood up. “I should get going. I’m sure you’re tired from work and—”

  “You don’t have to go. We could do something else?” The words rushed from his mouth as he tried to think of a way to keep her there.

  She didn’t want to go, but knew she should. Evie took a deep breath, slowly releasing it before speaking again. “Thanks, but I do need to get home.

  “I’ll walk you back. It’s getting late.”

  “No, it’s fine. I can catch a cab.”

  “It’s a nice night. I’d like to walk you home, Evie,” he said in a lowered, sexier than usual voice, and her body weakened a little with her knees succumbing to the difference in tone.

  “Well, since . . . you . . . put it like that.” Her words were staggered and a bit breathless. “I’d like that, too.” She reached for her bag, but William hurried over and picked it up before she had a chance. “Thank you.”

  He followed her out the door and locked it before heading down the stairs and out the building’s main entrance to the street. Shoving his hands in his pockets, he asked, “Which way?”

  “Umm.” She thought, trying to figure out her location in the city. “I think it’s this way, back closer to the way we came.” She looked over at him for confirmation though he didn’t have any idea where she lived. When she began walking, she gave him a shy smile when he walked close to her. “So, William Ryder, tell me about yourself.”

  She scooted even closer to him, their arms now touching, to let a couple pass on her left. His hand automatically pressed against her lower back to direct her to the safety of his side.

  “There’s a loaded question. What do I want to tell you versus what is the right thing to tell you? Very tricky indeed.” He smirked, attempting to keep his eyes forward.

  “Wow, this sounds promising.” She contemplated the options by rubbing her chin playfully. “Let me decide. Okay, I want you to tell me something you’d tell me if I’d known you longer.”

  “All right. Let me seeeee.” He laughed quietly and shook his head. “I’m definitely not telling you that!” He saw her sincere, happy eyes waiting, wanting to be in on his secret. “Okay, I’ll share.” It didn’t take much for him to confess to her. “I like when girls wear skirts,” he said, eyeing hers and seeing a blush wash across her face as she caught his meaning. “But, I also like when girls can wear jeans and a T-shirt and feel confident.” He knew that was a cop-out answer, but she responded well to his insight, and decided to really open up, hoping he didn’t scare her off with his honesty. “Sometimes my local bartender gives me free drinks when I’m too broke to buy one. And, sometimes when I get lonely, I escape into my books.”

  “I do that,” she said softly, cutting in. “Sometimes, I’ll be at a party surrounded by friends and family and I feel completely alone, like I blend into the furniture and disappear.” She pulled her cardigan tighter to her body and looked at the ground while she walked.

  William nudged her with his arm. “I don’t know how you could ever blend into a crowd much less the furniture. I think you’re the most beautiful girl I’ve ever seen.” He picked up his pace, embarrassed he said that out loud for her to hear.

  She stopped in astonishment and her lips parted at the sweetest words she had ever heard.

  He realized she wasn’t next to him and turned around. She was standing five or more feet behind him on the sidewalk. Smiling, he said, “Come on. Don’t make me feel more embarrassed than I already do.”

  She caught up to him, smiling from ear to ear, laughing and prodding. “So you think I’m beautiful?”

  Rolling his eyes, he laughed again. “I knew I shouldn’t have said that the second after I said it.”

  “Isn’t the phrase ‘the second I said it?’ ” she asked, cocking her head to the side still enjoying his admission.

  “Yes, but I didn’t regret it when I said it. I regretted saying it the second I realized I’d said too much.”

  Evie took his hand without thinking. “It wasn’t too much! It was very sweet and I think the nicest thing someone’s ever said to me. Thank you for sharing that. Never regret a true emotion.” She held onto his hand, realizing how good it felt against hers and continued walking.

  Her words struck his heart as he repeated them in his head, ‘Never regret a true emotion.’ Living by her words and being honest with himself, he knew that was the moment he started falling in love with her.

  William’s hands were warm and large, a little rough, but his grasp on hers was tender. When they turned the corner to her block and saw the street sign, he hesitated.

  “What?” she asked, not sure why he stopped.

  He shook his head while closing his eyes as reality sank in.

  She dropped his hand in concern, worried about what happened to change his mood so unexpectedly. “What is it, William?”

  They moved closer to the nearest building to talk. Once they were out of the pedestrian traffic, he explained. “I was hoping you lived on another street, like one or two down from this one.”

  Evie didn’t understand why he would wish this. The street she grew up on was beautiful compared to most in the city. The large trees sparkled with tiny white lights lining the avenue for five or more blocks. All the doormen looked regal in their uniforms and the sidewalks and street were clean compared to most Manhattan streets. She was baffled by his reaction as if these weren’t good things.

  He looked over his shoulder then leaned toward her and whispered, “I was hoping you were more middle class, that’s all.”

  “Oh.” This, she didn’t expect. He didn’t like that she came from money, but she wanted to know why. “Um, is this all right?

  “I just confessed to you that sometimes I bum drinks because I can’t afford them. I . . . I know a million things to do on the cheap in Manhattan out of survival, not just for kicks. I wish I could say I can afford nice restaurants and opera tickets, but I can’t. You should know this now.” He hated feeling this way. He wished he could give the city to her on a silver platter, but he couldn’t and by looking around her street, that’s what she’s used to.

  Uncomfortable, he leaned back against the wall waiting for her to tell him their friendship, whatever this was they were to each other, was over. He expected as much. He didn’t know rich people, but he knew they tended to stick to their own kind. He watched as Evie shifted in front of him looking down at her shoes and as she tucked her hair behind her ear in quiet contemplation, he wished she would say something. He also wished he could hold her hand again like they did a few minutes ago before fate deemed it necessary to interfere. Suddenly, he was very aware of all the things he’d wished he had done before this moment, before the realities of their different worlds collided.

  Her voice broke into his pity party, and she lifted her chin, and said, “I don’t like the opera and you can afford nice restaurants. I like Pizzeria La Cucina and you introduced me to it.”

  “It’s just a pizza place—” he said.

  “I don’t care about that stuff!” Evie professed more than she was comfortable doing because she didn’t want their friendship to end over money. Mo
ney seemed to control every other aspect of her life, but it had never played a part in their relationship. Little things had led them to where they were, what they were in this moment, and she loved that too much to let it go. “I like you, William. I can’t take away my parents—my family’s money, but I’ve done all those things you say you can’t afford and I don’t need those things. I’ve enjoyed the time we’ve spent together.”

  He stepped forward, pulling her against his chest and buried his nose into her hair again, something he couldn’t get enough of. His strong arms slid around her body and held her close. His first thought was she smelled delectable. His second was that she wanted to spend more time with him despite their differences. Holding her tight, he hoped it showed her how much he wanted to be with her as well.

  Enjoying the smell of him, she rested her cheek on his chest. As she wrapped her arms around his body, she worked on the adjectives that best described his smell to her, but the only one she could think of was delicious. She rolled her eyes at her thoughts, knowing she sounded silly, but it was true; maybe delectable worked also, but either way, he smelled really good.

  He pulled back, breaking their embrace, but took her hands and clasped them together with his. “Do you still want to slum it with me on Monday?”

  “I definitely want to slum it with you on Monday if you won’t hold all of this . . .” She pointed behind her. “. . . against me?”

  “You can’t help that you’re rich, so I won’t hold it against you.” They both laughed, and then he said, “I’m gonna go from here if that’s all right. I think you’ve learned more about me than you should have at this stage in our relationship.” He handed her bag back to her and shoved his hands into his pockets as she pulled her sweater closer to her body once again for warmth. “Goodnight, Evie.”

  “Goodnight, William.”