Chapter 35
Edward flung the door open and walked into his flat. He had no recollection on how he got back there, nor did he care. His car parked awkwardly outside his flat told him he somehow managed to get there on his own. The vodka and whiskey shots he drank at the bar were supposed to erase the last few hours but all they did was give him a bad drunk and a headache. He had tried calling Eva several times to talk her out of going to Morocco but she ignored his attempts. He flopped down on the couch and let the room swirl around him.
A knock on the front door echoed in his mind. Was it real or part of a dream he was in?
“Eva,” he whispered. His body wouldn’t work the way he wanted it to so he lay his head back and closed his eyes. A second knock sounded.
“Who is it?” he called out.
He heard his door open but he was too drunk to scold himself for forgetting to lock it. He attempted to open his eyes and focus on who walked in, but the room was too dark and his head was too foggy.
“If you are a burglar, please, take everything. Put me out of my misery while you are at it.” He smiled when he saw Eva’s silhouette walking toward him.
“You forgive me?” he mumbled.
“Shhhhhhh.”
She pushed him back and sat next to him, her hand stroking his knee.
“Everything is such a mess,” he slurred, shaking his head.
“I’ll make it all better,” she whispered.
He lay his head back and closed his eyes, feeling her soft hands cascade across his chest.
“I miss this,” he said. “I didn’t think I would ever feel you again after what happened.” He loved the feel of her hands underneath his shirt, and her unexpected aggression set him on fire.
She pulled his shirt up over his head and discarded it onto the floor. As she concentrated on his pants, he tried focusing on her gorgeous locks of dark hair but gave up the attempt and closed his eyes again.
“I’m sorry, I’m a little intoxicated. I didn’t expect to….”
She slid up his body and covered his mouth with hers, shoving her tongue inside and shutting him up quickly. He moaned at the force she used and even though his thoughts were fuzzy, he couldn’t help but wonder where it all came from. He liked it, but it was a side of her he had never experienced before.
She worked at pulling his jeans down over his ass as she hungrily devoured his lips and pushed her pelvis into him.
“I want you,” she whispered. “I have never wanted anyone so badly.”
She yanked his pants down off his legs and quickly pulled her dress up over her head. She straddled him and pushed into him, grinding on him until he was about to take over.
“Eva,” he whispered. “Stop teasing me.”
She stopped as if his words froze her body.
“I don’t know where this is coming from but you are driving me crazy,” he said, grabbing her arms. He tried to pull her closer to him but she pushed back and started grinding on him again.
She pulled her panties to the side and lined herself up until she felt him easily slide inside of her. She pushed down on him forcefully and held him deep inside. Her head went back and with each push back down on him, she grunted.
His hands cascaded across her body wanting to feel more, but being denied access. “Come here,” he whispered trying to pull her to him.
She pushed away from him again and rode him like an animal until their bodies began to sweat. She shook her head from side to side growing more and more aroused until her orgasm seized her. She dug her nails into his chest and yelled until all the air in her lungs had been expelled. Collapsing on his chest, he felt her rapid breathing and tried pushing into her. She didn’t seem to want to participate any longer.
“Baby,” he whispered. “Fuck me.”
But she continued to breathe hard and fast while lying on his chest until she sat up and looked at him.
He tried to focus on her, but was still unable to do so.
“Eva?” he pleaded when she got up and picked up her dress. He watched her pull it back onto her body and walk toward the door. “Is this some sort of payback for what happened?”
She didn’t say a word when she opened his front door and walked out leaving it open.
“Eva!” He sat up, confused as ever. “This has got to be the most fucked up night I have ever experienced.” He looked down at his hard-on and then looked back up at the door.
The sunlight the next morning was not something Edward wanted in his face, but it did its job and got him up out of his bed. He looked around trying to recall what had happened. He didn’t remember going to bed. He did, however, remember Eva’s quick romp on the couch before she left so rudely. He shook his head.
It isn’t like her to want to get revenge like that. What is going on with you, Eva?
He got up and threw on some boxers from his dresser drawer. Looking for his phone, he walked into the living room and looked at the front door. It was closed and with a quick check of the door knob, he found it was locked.
“Well, at least I did that last night… I think.” He rubbed his head and tried to remember what happened. He spotted his phone on the coffee table and grabbed it on his way to the kitchen for some much-needed coffee.
A missed call and a voice mail displayed so he clicked it on and saw it was Eva. When he listened to her voice mail his heart sank. She was crying.
“Eddie, um. I sat down and thought really hard about everything that has happened. I understand why you did what you did and I know that you love me. I found myself falling for you too.” She cried harder and he heard her cover the phone until she was able to continue. “Eddie, I can’t do this. I wanted to talk to you before I went to Morocco, but I don’t think I can. I’m sorry I had to do this over your voice mail but I wanted to let you know that I don’t want to see you anymore. I’m sorry.” She hesitated before disconnecting the call, leaving Edward holding the phone, a numb feeling creeping up into his body. He tried to call her back but she didn’t answer.
“Eva, please. Let’s just meet somewhere and talk. Did you leave this message before or after you came to see me? Please, call me back.”
He hung up his phone and threw it on the counter. He needed to see her. He needed some answers and most importantly he needed to show her she was making a big mistake. He needed to convince her to give him another chance. He ran into the bathroom and quickly showered, dressed and booked out toward her place.
When he got there, he knocked several times but didn’t see or hear anyone from inside. He sat on the steps and contemplated what to do next. His stomach was sick and his head was spinning. He didn’t know if it was from the alcohol or from the idea that he may never see Eva again.
He spent the day trying to run into her between her classes, but she somehow managed to avoid him. She didn’t show up at the café where he expected her to eat and she didn’t show up to her afternoon class he decided to walk in on. She had skipped all of her classes and disappeared into thin air.
With a huff, he took off after looking up an address and pulled up in front of Gerald’s apartment. Without hesitation, he went up to the door and wrapped on it as hard as he could. The chance that he was there was minimal, unless he was with Eva. When the door opened, Edward felt something squeeze his chest. Gerald appeared, bare chested and bare footed. He wore a pair of shorts and nothing more that Edward could see.
“Where’s Eva?” he blurted out.
“Hello, again. Eddie, right?” he pointed and smiled.
Edward pushed past him and walked into the man’s house. “Where is she?”
“I’m sorry, but Eva isn’t here.” He leaned up against the wall, very melancholy and crossed his arms over his chest. “Is there a problem?”
“You are damned right there is a problem.” Edward looked around the room and spotted a closed door. He looked at Gerald and then bombarded across the room toward the door.
“Don’t go in there!” Gerald yelled. He tried to run after him to stop him, but Edward had gotten to the door first, turning the knob and flinging the door open. He was right, it was Gerald’s bedroom. He froze at the naked woman in his bed until she turned toward them with fear in her eyes. The young blond woman was hardly old enough to be a college student.
Edward took a big breath and nodded at her. “Sorry.” He closed the door and walked back toward the living room.
“How dare you come into my house and invade my life like that!” Gerald roared. “If you and your little girlfriend are having problems, is it safe to assume she would be here?”
Edward grabbed the man by his shoulders and slammed him up against the wall. He got in his face, his breathing hard and steady. He looked deep into Gerald’s eyes and knew the man found Edward’s situation quite humorous.
What good would it do to hit him? Edward thought and he walked out the door.
He tried calling Eva again, and again it went to her voice mail.
“Eva, this is killing me. You need to talk to me. Who sent you those pictures? I need to know. Please, will you at least call me?” He hung up and closed his eyes, his mind moving all over the place.
Focus, Edward. What the hell is wrong with you? You always work things out in your head. There is never a question.
He took a walk around town to clear his head and try to figure out what he was going to do. Usually, when he worked on focusing on something without interruption, he was always able to come up with solutions. Nothing came to him. He walked past a small book store and decided to go inside.
Maybe I can find one of her favorite books. She’d like that.
He walked through the aisles and came upon a picture frame made of the most delicate crystal. His eyes locked on it and the tinted color of green reminded him of the park where they made love. He smiled and pulled it down off the shelf.
“Excuse me,” he said to the sales associate. “Do you print pictures?”
“We don’t, but there is a small photo lab down the street on the corner. They are open for about another hour.”
“Thank you.”
He purchased the picture frame and had the picture he took of them at the park professionally printed and fitted to the frame. Standing in the post office, he stared at the picture of them lying head to head, their hands intertwined and so much love in their eyes.
“If that is a package, you have ten minutes before we close.” The postal worker seemed annoyed.
“Yes. Sorry.” He purchased a box with protective wrap and addressed it to Eva.
“Would you like insurance on the package?”
“Does it cover a broken heart?”
The guy behind the counter didn’t say anything.
“Yes, please.”
He handed the package to the attendant and paid him for the postage. As soon as he walked out of the post office he heard the guy lock the doors behind him.
Walking back to his flat, he went through the details of the last few days and as the puzzle pieces worked their way together in his mind, it slowly made perfect sense. He stopped in the middle of the street and turned back toward the campus, his body hardening under the anger that was building.
“Gracie.”