Chapter 16

Piper

“Have you seen the car keys, Jules?” I asked.

“I have,” she said. “They’re in my hand.”

I walked out of the bedroom, and a knock sounded at the door to the apartment. I looked at Jules, puzzled. I opened the door, and Evan stood there like a lost school kid.

I poked my head around the door and whispered, “Fuck, Evan, what now?”

“I couldn’t leave it the way it was,” he replied.

“Well, you picked an excellent time,” I said. “You better come in.”

“Who is it?” Jules called.

I walked into the lounge with Evan closely behind me. Jules looked shocked and bewildered.

“I see,” she said.

“Jules, this is Evan,” I said bashfully. “Evan, this is Jules.”

“You caught us just as we were going out,” I said. “Jules is working on something, and we were about to go shopping.”

I looked at Jules, and she glared at me as if she wanted to scream.

“Can you just wait in the kitchen for a couple of minutes, Evan?” I asked. “I won’t be long.”

“Sure, no problem,” he replied.

I waited for Evan to enter the kitchen and turned back to Jules.

Jules tugged on my sleeve. “That’s Evan, from your sob story?” she asked.

I nodded in confirmation. “Yeah, that’s him,” I replied, smitten again. “We’ve seen each other a couple of times recently.”

“You sly old thing,” Jules said, smiling. “You’ve been holding out on me, big time. And you can give me all the juicy details later.”

I whisper to Jules, “Just go and wait in the car. I’ll be down shortly.”

Jules smiled and winked at me before she left.

Crap! A fun afternoon of shopping and telling her all the tiny details.

Jules closed the door behind her loudly, and Evan exited from the kitchen. He smiled at me like a kid who’d been caught stealing for the second time.

“Jesus, Evan, what are you doing here again? I thought I was clear last night.”

“It was anything but clear. It was that stupid fucking Susan!”

Evan looked into my eyes. I could see he was slightly ashamed. He looked somewhat vacant and unsure of himself, which was very rare for him.

“So, what have you come to tell me this time?” I asked.

“I’m at a standstill, or should I say the business is at a standstill,” he said.

“So?” I asked. “What has that got to do with me? And how do I fit into all that?”

“As it stands, I have no clients apart from you,” he said plainly.

Don’t take any crap from him. Stand your ground girl.

I stood up. “And that’s supposed to make me feel better? Now you have no one, you come running with your tail between your legs?”

“I just want to see more of you, so I can give you more time if you like.”

I huffed. “As opposed to being just scheduled in, I suppose?”

“You seemed fine with the idea before. To go along with the service and fuck an internet stranger senseless, even knowing he had lots of other women.”

I shrugged my shoulders.

“And now you know it’s me,” he said. “It’s changed your entire outlook on the process!”

Piper, just tell him, put him out of his misery.

All my mind and all my body were screaming at me. Come on, tell him. Tell him what you’re really thinking.

I never loved a stranger the way I’ve always loved you.

I wanted to scream, but something held me back. All those other women out there, where does that place me? He’s not a magician that can make all the others vanish or leave me at the top of the pack. They were still there, just waiting to be plucked from the pack when he wanted them. Evan mentioned his work had slowed. Had it slowed to a stop where he could get off? Or was it slow but still moving?

“What happens when there is another like Susan Reynolds?” I snapped.

“There won’t be another,” he replied bluntly.

“How the hell do you know that? God, Evan, you can’t control people that way.”

“I’ll check them even more, make sure none slip through,” he said.

“But they will,” I said angrily. “They always do.”

Evan looked at me. I could see he was trying to believe in himself. His words may be right, but that’s all they are. Words. Actions spoke louder than words, so he needed to take some action and not just talk about it.

“They may not be a psycho nut job, but there will be other clients!” I growled, still pissed.

How can he stop? He said it had slowed. He’ll give you extra time if you want it? He never said he would quit his business. Did he?

The conversation was going nowhere. Evan said he’d ceased operations, albeit temporarily, but could he resist starting up again? I doubted it. These women were like a drug, and he was addicted.

“I’ll deal with all this when it happens, but for now,” Evan said.

Evan pulled me in close to his chest. My body pushed against his, and I melted into his arms. I shouldn’t let myself fall for his advances; he was just forcing himself back into my life.

Evan looked soulfully into my eyes, and I gazed back into his.

“I just want to put it all right and correct all my wrongs,” he murmured.

I pushed my hands against his chest. My struggle was all but fruitless.

“Evan, it just won’t—”

He cut me short. “Shush,” he said.

Evan dipped his head and held me in his strong, manly arms. My lips embraced his kiss, and I threw my arms around his waist. We locked our lips and our love for each other flowed. I couldn’t help myself. We embraced each other further.

I could feel my breath being drawn from my body. My breasts pushed against his rigid body, as if he was drawing me into his soul. My resistance had waned, and my defenses had fallen. I found I was unable to fight him anymore, and my body surrendered to his touch.

I had a vision of Jules sat waiting in the car. I placed my hands on his chest and pushed him away.

“No, I have to go!” I said.

“See me later,” he replied.

“I can’t, I just can’t,” I murmured.

“I would like to see you later, just come to my house,” he said. His words melted my heart.

“I have no idea where you live.”

“Here, I’ll write it down quickly,” he said.

“I’ll try, but no promises,” I said. I wanted him so bad.

Evan released me from his grip and wrote his address, and I slipped it into my bag.

“I really must be going, Jules is in the car,” I said adamantly.

We left the apartment and Evan went in his own direction. I climbed into the passenger seat. I sat in silence. Jules was looking at me with a smile.

“Here we go then, shopping and gossip,” she said.

“Yay!” I said, trying to act excited.

“Come on then,” Jules pressed. “Tell me all about it.”

I had no intention of telling Jules the whole story. She would find it too hard to comprehend. I would spin half the story, and the vital parts I would just simply omit.

“Where do you want me to begin?” I asked.

“At the beginning, the very beginning,” she replied.

I spent the first fifteen or twenty minutes explaining Evan and I when we were at school. We had been inseparable, like twin flames, as if we were made for one another.

“Yes, I’ve heard all that before,” she said. “The recent stuff. Tell me that.”

“I bumped into him in Gardenia, but I never recognized him, at all,” I said, lying whitely.

“But he recognized you?” Jules asked.

“Of course. How many times does a man date a woman with blue eyes and auburn hair? You do know how rare that is?”

So far, my story was holding its own. It made sense. The circumstances of our meeting had not become an issue.

“Well, in Gardenia, we had a slight disagreement about his situation from years ago. You know, when he dumped me. I walked off and left him there.”

“But, I thought you were madly in love with him?” Jules asked.

“Do you want to hear this story or not?” I asked bluntly.

Jules nodded for me to proceed and gestured as if to zip her lips.

“He later came to the apartment because he wanted to apologize to me for the lunch date,” I said.

“Did you? You know, did you do the business?” Jules asked.

“Hang on, it’s not all about the sex,” I replied.

Jules always managed to make everything about sex. She always wanted to know if sex was involved.

You spend too much time painting young girl!

“Actually, he was in the doorway of the apartment for a while, and I chatted over the security chain before I let him in,” I said.

“I would have dragged him in and thrown him on the bed. Wow, he is gorgeous, you never said he was that good looking.”

“I thought that would have been obvious all the times I told you the sob story,” I said giggling.

I thought artists had a good imagination… and interpretation skills?

“Well, once in the apartment, we chatted for a while on the couch,” I explained.

“Ah, so he banged you on the couch, did he?” Jules asked laughing.

“No! Don’t be so crude.”

I had thought of fucking him on the couch. I just thought the bedroom made more sense.

“At the end of our chat, I stood and held my hand out. Then he took it, and I led him to the bedroom.”

“So, you had a fuck, after ten years of being apart?” Jules asked.

“We did, and it was very nice,” I replied.

“So, after that, what happened? I’m sure there is more?”

“He requested to take me to dinner, and I accepted,” I said smiling.

Shall I tell her about Susan Reynolds?

“How sweet,” she said, laughing. “It’s like you’re finally dating.”

“Hang on, it’s not all smooth sailing,” I replied.

“Oh, mystery and suspense. He’s married?”

“No, of course not, he never got over me, I don’t think.”

I was sure this was what Evan had tried to tell me. That he had never gotten over me. He was either trying to convince me or he wanted to convince himself of something.

“As I was saying, we were at dinner, and then this real fucking crazy bitch came up and went off on him,” I explained.

“Girlfriend, or ex-girlfriend?” Jules asked, pulling into the parking lot of the mall.

“It was just someone who he’d been involved with. No one special.”

“I bet that was fun to watch!” Jules said, smirking.

“I was in the fucking middle of it, and it felt damn awkward. Not the best of situation to find yourself in.”

“It could be a blessing in disguise,” Jules said.

Jules found a parking space, turned in, and stopped the car. I turned to Jules. She unfastened her seat belt and faced me.

“So, explain yourself! Now, why could all of this mess be a blessing in disguise?”

What wisdom is Jules going to share with you this time?

“Have you not realized? I thought it was plainly obvious.” Jules was smiling.

“No, there is nothing obvious,” I said.

“Maybe you’ve found the father of the beautiful child you want to have,” Jules said grinning.

Oh, dear God. Have I?