"Yeah, me, the mailman and half the block stood around laughing our butts off, not lifting a finger to help her and not feeling badly about it." I wasn't surprised. She'd been nasty to everyone who crossed her path for years.
"That mangy mutt thought it was a game and just ran faster. Not that it was probably very hard to dodge her. She's gained about 200 pounds since you moved out, and she had about that much to lose when you lived here."
I can't help it, I'm laughing so hard I have to clutch my stomach even though I know it's mean. "What was under there?" I finally ask, eyes wide.
"Oh, Evie, darlin', wouldn't burden you with the description. I'm still rinsing my eyes out with acid nightly to try to burn the image from my retinas." Now we're both laughing.
We visit for a while longer and when it's time for me to go, Mr. Cooper takes my hand and kisses it. "Lady Evelyn," he says, smiling. "Until next time. You be safe."
I give him another big hug and walk down his steps, smiling as I walk away.
**********
When I get home, I take a shower and change into a pair of polka dot shorts and a white t-shirt with a sparkly owl on it. I brush my teeth and then I climb into bed, pulling my phone out and dialing Jake's number. I smile slightly as I anticipate his voice picking up. Instead, I'm surprised when a woman answers his phone, so surprised that I'm silent for a second as she repeats, "Hello?"
"Um, hi," I stammer. "Is Jake there?" I furrow my brow, a lump forming in my throat.
"He's in the shower," she clips out, clearly irritated. "Who is this?"
"Uh, no message. I'll call him back later." I hang up quickly.
What the hell?
I sink back onto my pillows, a feeling of emptiness washing over me. There's a woman in his hotel room while he's showering? I don't know what to think or what to do. Should I call back in half an hour? Or should I just leave it?
Finally, I turn off the light and attempt to fall asleep. I toss and turn for hours but Jake never calls.
**********
In the morning, I'm woken by the ringing of my cell phone. I open my eyes slowly, groggy and disoriented. I didn't fall asleep until well after one a.m. and it's only six a.m. now.
"Hello," I mumble into my phone.
"Evie." It's Jake.
I pause. "Hey," I say, coming more awake.
"Hey, you never called me last night. I Would have called you myself but I fell asleep waiting for you. I just woke up. I was worried."
"Jake, I did call you. A woman answered your phone. She said you were in the shower." There is accusation and hurt in my tone.
There's silence on the phone and I think I hear him swear, but it sounds as if he's covered the mouthpiece with his hand. "Christ. Evie. I'm sorry. I had a couple friends from the office back here for after dinner drinks and I think my co-worker's wife must have answered my phone. I got in the shower because I had an early meeting this morning and I was trying to give them the hint to leave. Why she would answer my cell, I'm not sure. I'll talk to her. Are you upset?"
I'm silent for a second. "If that's the truth, Jake, then no, I'm not upset. I just don't see why she would pick up your cell phone and then not leave you the message."
"I don't know either, but they were drinking so that's my only guess. I'm sorry, baby. You must have been hurt."
I don't answer him for a second but then I say, "I was confused, Jake. It's okay. If that's what happened then it's not your fault."
He lets out a shaky breath. "I miss you. I can't wait to see you. Am I still picking you up after work tonight?" He sounds worried.
"Yes," I say, "I'll see you then, okay?"
"Okay. Evie, I've… I've really missed you. I know it's just been a couple days, but I, I'm just really looking forward to seeing you."
I melt a little. "Me too, Jake. See you tonight."
I hang up and roll over. I'm not sure what to feel. I wish I was more experienced at this. I take a deep breath. I either have to decide to trust him or not. I sit up, swinging my legs over the bed and standing up. Might as well start the day. I'm sure as hell not falling back to sleep now.
**********
When I walk out of work later that night, Jake is waiting for me, leaning against his car, wearing a dark gray suit and a pair of aviator sunglasses. He grins when he sees me, flashing those perfect, white teeth. Good God he's sexy.
"Hi," I say, smiling as I approach him.
"Hi." he says back, still grinning.
We stand there smiling at each other goofily for a couple seconds and then we both burst out laughing and he swoops me up in his arms saying, "God, I missed you. I missed your smile and," he sticks his nose in my neck and inhales, "your smell, your body against mine at night."
"I missed you too," I say quietly.
"You hungry?" he asks.
"Yeah, starving."
"Do you like sushi? There's this great place a couple blocks from my place."
"I do like sushi, but I can't go out dressed in my uniform."
"How about if we pick it up to go and bring it home?"
"Sounds great."
He lets me into his car and then walks around and slides into the drivers seat. We drive to a little hole in the wall looking restaurant and he pulls up in front. "I know it looks questionable, but it really does have the best sushi in town," he grins.
"I trust you," I say, smiling.
"What do you like?" he asks.
"Surprise me. There's not really anything I won't eat. I can even do the raw stuff." I smile.
"Brave." he winks, "Okay, I'll be back in a few."
He locks the car behind him and as he walks into the restaurant, I dial Nicole.
"Evie!" she sings into the phone. God, she should really bottle that cheer of hers.
"Hey, how's it going?"
"Oh good, you know, doing laundry, mopping the floor, the glamorous life I lead is ridiculous. What's going on with you?"
I laugh. "Jake just ran in to order take out for dinner. I'm waiting in the car. Listen, I probably don't have long but I wanted to ask you about something."
"Of course. Shoot!"
"Well, Jake went to San Diego on business Tuesday through Wednesday. We had plans for me to call him Tuesday night and when I did a woman answered and said he was in the shower." I hear her draw in a sharp breath.
"I know, right?" I say. "He called me at six this morning and explained it, but I just, I don't know, I wanted to run it by you to make sure that I'm not being a fool here."
"How'd he explain it?" she asks quietly.
I tell her what he told me this morning.
"Hmmm… well, that doesn't sound far fetched. I guess you just have to ask yourself what your gut feeling is."
"My gut feeling is that he's a really good guy and that he's really into me and that he really cares about me. I guess I also kind of feel like he was lying about the woman."
Nicole's silent for a minute and then says, "I don't know if those two things can both be true, Evie."
I sigh, "I know. I'm confused. My heart is telling me to trust him but… "
"I don't think you can ever go wrong listening to your heart, honey. I always like to think that even if you're wrong in the end, you're not wrong in the end. Does that make sense?"
"Yeah. Wise woman that you are," I smile.
"With that being said, I don't ever want to see you hurt. Go with your gut, but if something happens that you question, take some space to do that. Don't let him muddle your brain up with his pheromones."
I laugh, but then I see Jake coming towards the glass door exiting the restaurant. "Oh, hey, he's on his way back. Thank you, Nic. I love you!"
"Love you, Evie!" she whispers back.
Jake slides into the car, handing a brown paper bag to me that smells delicious and he pulls onto the road. It only takes five minutes before we're pulling into his garage.
We walk up to his condo hand in hand and as we enter, I immediately spot a white MacBook op
en on his dining table, a red bow on top. I look at him and he’s smiling an uncertain smile as he looks between me and the computer.
"Jake, you didn't - " I start to say.
"Evie," he says, putting his hand up in a 'keep quiet' gesture, "Don't say anything until you hear me out. I know your first thought is going to be to say no to accepting this gift but please, just listen."
I put my hands on my hips and raise one eyebrow.
"I want to do this but not because it's just for you but because I think you're amazing and I think that making your dreams come true will spread far and wide and not only affect you, but would affect me, too, and many, many people beyond that. Please let me do this for you, Evie, and all those people out there who will be changed when they read the beautiful words that are in your soul."
My eyes tear up and I take a deep shaky breath. "No pressure, right?" I say to Jake, laughing a little though. I walk over to the computer and start examining it, lifting the top, turning it on and watching the screen light up. Then I look at Jake and say, "You make it really, really hard to say no to you, do you know that Jake Madsen?"
He grins at me and I stare at him for a few seconds before saying simply, "Thank you."
**********
Later, after we've eaten and Jake's made love to me slowly and sweetly in front of the fire in his living room, I get up and turn on my computer to check it out further. I grin over at Jake who has moved to the couch and is watching the news on television. He smiles back and asks, "Checking it out? Ever used a Mac?"
"No, but I've always been pretty good with computers. I'll probably get the hang of it pretty quickly."
I explore it for ten or fifteen minutes as Jake continues to watch the news show that's on. Eventually, I turn on the internet and go to my email (which I rarely ever check). As expected, there's nothing there except some spam. I look over at Jake quickly. He's immersed in the show and so I go to Google and type in his name.
I note quickly that many of the stories are about Jake taking over his company. I don't focus on those though, I focus on the story at the top which is about a dinner benefit that was held in San Diego on Tuesday evening, the night the woman answered his phone. There are pictures of Jake there, talking to several older men, looking casual and gorgeous. I scroll to the last picture in the article and I freeze. It's Jake and Gwen, looking more beautiful than any couple has the right to, looking like they were made to be together. Gwen is laughing and Jake is leaned towards her, smiling and obviously saying something funny and intimate.
I snap my computer closed, and Jake looks over. When he notes the expression on my face, he stands up. "What's wrong, baby?" he asks.
I walk over to the door and start pulling my coat on.
"Evie!" he says, sounding confused and frantic, "What happened? Why are you leaving?"
"That woman in your hotel room was Gwen, wasn't it, Jake?"
"What?" he furrows his brow. "No. Of course it wasn't. Do you think I would invite Gwen to my hotel room for drinks after the way she treated you?"
"Well, I wasn't exactly thinking you brought her to your hotel room for drinks, Jake. All I know is that you sure did look cozy whispering in her ear in the pictures from the benefit you were at Tuesday night."
He looks confused for a minute and then he runs his hand through his hair saying, "Evie, that was a company benefit. Gwen was there with her father. She tried to talk to me several times and I wouldn't have much to do with her. When she cornered me in front of a photographer, I leaned in and told her she was lucky that I wasn't the type to want to aire my dislike for someone on film. She laughed as if I was joking, which I wasn't. That was that. I didn't talk to her again all evening."
I stare at him, my jacket half on and half off. I take a deep breath. "I want to believe you, Jake, I just… I don't want to… "
"Evie, listen, God, if you only knew… " He trails off, laughing a humorless laugh.
"If I only knew what?"
"If you only knew how ridiculous it is for you to think that I would ever betray you, much less with Gwen. Really, if you could get inside my brain, you'd be laughing, too."
"Jake - "
"Please, just trust me, please don't go."
I look at him closely to judge his sincerity and I sense that he's telling the truth. So I let him lead me away from his foyer area, taking off my coat and throwing it back on the bench near his door, following Jake and following my heart once again. But hoping deep inside, that that doesn’t make me a fool.
CHAPTER 20
I work another catering job on Thursday, returning home late. I'm exhausted as I crawl into bed but the money is good, and I appreciate the feeling of safety being ahead financially makes.
On Friday, Jake asks me to stay with him and when I walk into his condo at seven thirty, having been dropped off by a co-worker since Jake had an errand to run, he scoops me up and kisses me and says, "I'm running a bath for you so you can get a second wind because I'm taking you out dancing tonight."
"Dancing?" I sputter. "I don't know how to dance."
"Yes you do. You just don't know it. Have you ever been to a nightclub?"
"No, I've been to bars, but - "
"It's not right that a 22 year old girl has never been out dancing. I want to be the first to take you. I want to have as many firsts with you as possible." He grins at me.
"You do realize that I have to work tomorrow, right?"
"I won't have you out too late."
"Hmmm… Okay, well then there's only one flaw in your plan. I have nothing to wear to a nightclub."
He grins a sneaky grin. "Go look on the bed."
"Jake," I put my hands on my hips. "You don't need to buy me clothes."
"Indulge me, Evie. I bought you one dress and some shoes. It means something to me to do that. Please accept it."
I raise an eyebrow at him but head towards the bedroom to check it out anyway. What in the world would Jake pick out for me to wear to a nightclub?
I walk in his room and lying on the bed is a one shoulder, sexy little peacock blue number, with an edgy black belted waist and a pair of stiletto black heels that Nicole would drool over. I finger the silky material and I have to admit, I love it all.
I turn around and Jake is leaning casually in the doorway, one hip resting on the frame, arms crossed, a small smile on his face.
I smile. "I love it. Thank you. Did you really pick this out?"
He grins. "Well, I had some help from a saleswoman at Nieman's. But I did give her the color scheme I wanted, and I looked at the clothes you left here for your size."
"Peacock blue, huh?" I raise an eyebrow.
He shrugs. "I like the color. Just don't ask me to take you anywhere near the zoo."
I laugh and then kiss him quickly, before I head to the bathroom to peel off my dirty work clothes. Jake runs me a bath and then heads to the kitchen to throw together a quick dinner for me since he's already eaten.
I soak in the lavender scented bubble bath Jake bought for me, turning on the jets to high. After about twenty minutes, my body and my mind feel rejuvenated and I pull myself out of the cooling water and start getting ready.
I pull on a black thong and then dress in the outfit Jake bought for me. The dress fits perfectly, although it's very sexy, clinging to every curve I have. I'm not that big on top, a good b cup, but I have a small waist and long legs and even I can see that this dress flatters me.
I blow dry my hair and curl it in loose waves. I up the drama of my usual makeup with a darker, smokier eye and some nude lipgloss.
When I walk out to the kitchen, Jake turns around and his body stills as his eyes roam over me, filling with heat. "You're stunning."
I smile, fidgeting a little. "Thank you. I have a personal shopper who's well acquainted with my figure."
He grins at me and places a bowl on the counter. "Pasta Primavera with shrimp," he says.
I sit down and dig in saying through the first mouthful, "Oh Go
d, this is delicious. Did you make this from scratch?"
"There's nothing to that dish. Chopping some vegetables and boiling some pasta."
I don't buy it. It's way too delicious. "I'm going to cook for you next. You've spoiled me enough already."
"Get used to it. I like spoiling you."
Then he takes off the long sleeved, cotton pullover he's wearing and I freeze as I see that the white t-shirt he's wearing underneath has a big stamp across the front that says, World's Greatest in bold, black print.
I almost choke on my food, snorting and bringing my napkin up to my mouth so I don't spew pasta all over him.
"What?" he says innocently.
I point at his shirt. "World's Greatest what?" I ask, trying to rein in my laughter.
"Oh, this?" he asks, pointing to his chest. "It's all inclusive. World's Greatest Guy, World's Greatest Lover, World's Greatest Cook," he motions to my pasta when he says this last part. "You name it, I'm the greatest."
"Ah. Well, I do appreciate your confidence. But you know, you've left yourself wide open now for your critics to test you."
"I only care about one critic. And I'm looking forward to being tested. The more testing, the better. Lots of testing would be good." He winks.
I grin. "You're completely ridiculous, you do realize that, right?"
He laughs out loud. "Finish up. I'm going to go change while you're eating and then we'll get going."
"You're not going to wear your World's Greatest shirt to the club?" I yell down the hall.
"You don't really want me to advertise all over town, do you?" He calls back and I can hear the smile in his voice.
He emerges ten minutes later in a pair of black slacks and a pale gray button down shirt, a black belt and shoes. Yum.