Chapter 30
Edward slammed his body into the front door of his flat as soon as he turned the key in the lock. He dropped his bag and threw his keys across the room embedding one of them into the wall. He watched as they dangled there as if a magician caused them to hover in mid-air. His first thought was to end it all. Walk away from Oxford University and go back to his own life. No call, no show, no explanation. That would show her. That would show them all. He wouldn’t have given a shit about the way Gerald salivated over Eva but when she responded to him the way she did, the thought of it angered him and he wanted to punch something.
She was mine. I worked so hard to make her mine. How could she betray me like this? She was different. So different.
He dropped down onto the couch and looked down at the coffee table. Leaning forward he ran his finger over a dark coffee ring where the two cups sat the first night she was there with him. She was so nervous to be near him. She told him she had dreams about him since the day they met. Her touch was so subtle yet electric. The way she looked at him could never have been faked. Her words were so genuine and the way they made love made him crazy. They fucked with such a fervor that it made him hard every time he thought about it.
She was mine? No. Damn it! She is mine. “I’ll fight that asshole for her. She’s worth it to me.”
He went to his laptop and opened it up. “Now, what to do.” His mind raced as he googled a few things, planning a strategy that would end any possibility he might have with her. “What is his weakness?”
He clicked from page to page trying to come up with something to get Gerald out of Eva’s life. “He keeps flaunting his money at her. Keeps trying to buy her things and she hates that.”
An advertisement came up on the side of his browser and it caught his eye. A woman’s diamond ring from De Beers Diamond jewelry store twinkled and got his mind working.
His weakness.
He clicked on the jewelry store.
“Of course! His weakness with Eva is what he believes makes him great. He has only been flaunting it every chance he gets. His money.”
Edward grinned and clicked through the website. He clicked on the menu and browsed through some of the jewelry they offered. When he was finished, he had purchased a £2,000 necklace to be overnighted anonymously to Eva’s address.
“If she thinks this is from him, it will turn her off from ever thinking he was worth her time.”
He read over the receipt that was emailed to him and smiled when everything looked to be in order.
He pulled up some other emails from Joseph and got into work mode when he noticed an email from Eva. He looked at her name and stewed on how he felt about her. Flashes of the way she laughed as he touched her back burned into his brain. A few moments later he opened it and read it.
Hey gorgeous. Just wanted to be sure we were still on for dinner.
Edward looked at the time. “Almost seven.”
He hesitated before hitting the reply button, wondering why she didn’t call him.
Yes. See you at eight.
He closed his computer down and called the local Chinese restaurant. By the time he had returned, Eva was sitting on his front stairs with her elbows resting on her knees and her hands folded together in front of her, her overnight bag resting at her feet. She looked so beautiful, so vulnerable sitting there alone.
He looked around remembering the guy who jumped him and remembering the vindictiveness in the man’s eyes.
“Eva. You are early. You shouldn’t be out here.” He set the food down next to her and helped her to her feet, groping for his keys at the same time.
“I’m fine,” she giggled. “Nothing is going to happen.”
He escorted her inside and went back for the food afterwards.
“You can’t be too safe,” he said, closing and locking the door.
“I can take care of myself. Really.”
“Yeah, that’s what I thought the other night too.”
She lost the smile she had and looked down at her feet.
“I’m famished,” she blurted out. She sat in front of the bags of take out and peeked into one of them. “What did you get?”
“Sesame chicken and wonton soup.” He pulled the items out and set them on the coffee table. “A couple of egg rolls and aubergines in spicy sauce.”
“Sounds wonderful.”
“I have red and white wine and I think I have some Calypso left.” His voice was flat.
“White wine would be great.”
She watched him walk into the kitchen, feeling a bit of the animosity between them. Trying to get comfortable on the couch, she couldn’t help but feel she did something wrong. When he returned, she sat up straight and faked a smile.
“You okay?” he asked.
“I’m fine. Just super hungry.”
They both picked at their food as the silence between them grew thicker. It was hard for him to stay mad at her, but at the same time he had nothing to say to her that would warrant a normal conversation.
“Eddie?”
He didn’t look up from his food.
“What’s wrong? What’s bothering you?”
“Just a little tired tonight I guess. Been working a lot of hours.”
“Ah, yes. I know how that is. I’ve been working a lot on my thesis. Excited to get it finished.”
Perfect opening, he thought. “It’s about Morocco, right?”
“Yes. You were listening,” she teased.
“How is your research going?”
“Really well. I’m learning a lot about their economy and lifestyle. It is truly fascinating.”
“Is Gerald helping you with that?”
“He has offered,” she said, nodding her head matter-of-factly.
“And have you accepted?”
She nodded again, not verbally admitting to anything. She knew he didn’t like Gerald, and she knew how Gerald felt about her but she didn’t feel she could tell Edward it meant nothing to her when it clearly flattered her that a man of such a magnitude showed interest in her.
“Very nice,” he said dryly. He scooped his wine up and filled his mouth with its sweetness.
“It doesn’t mean anything. He is just helping me with my thesis.”
He nodded and raised his eyebrows, holding his glass up in the air for a moment before finishing its contents. He just figured out that he could be mad at her.
“I’m serious, Eddie. He means nothing to me. I wish you would believe me.”
“It’s not something I can believe when I see the way you act when he is around.”
“How do I act?”
“Like a love-struck teenager.”
She stood up abruptly, ready to throw a fit and crossed her arms. “I do not.”
“Sit down and finish your dinner.”
She wanted to stand to rebel against his request, but she sat down and pouted until he glared at her with his head down.
She picked up her chopsticks and fed a piece of chicken into her mouth. They ate the rest of their dinner in silence. She didn’t know how to convince him that it was just research.
Before she was finished, Edward stood up and scooped up what was left of his dinner and carried it into the kitchen, discarding it into the trash. He stayed there, leaning up against the counter until she appeared with her leftovers. She set hers on the counter next to him and hesitated before stepping back.
“I don’t like it when you are mad,” she said.
“I wish I could say that flirting with other guys doesn’t bother me, but honestly Eva? It really does.”
“I didn’t though.” Her voice was demure and very small as he pushed off the counter and walked by her.
When Eva walked into his bedroom, Edward was already in bed. He didn’t wait to caress her as she undressed like he often did when she stayed. He didn’t tell her how badly his body ached for her or how difficult it was not to touch her when they were on campus together. This time was much different. She didn’t have the nervous butterflies in her stomach when she climbed into his bed and he didn’t turn over to look at her like he wanted to devour her when she lay next to him. His arms didn’t warm her body as she lay still, no matter how hard she mentally begged him to. He didn’t say another word to her until she spoke first.
“Eddie? Are we okay? What brought this on tonight?”
“We are fine. It’s nothing. I’m just tired. I’ll see you in the morning.”
He moved away from her and left a gap the size of the Thames River between them. Running through everything in her mind, she gasped when she came to the conclusion that he must have seen her with Gerald earlier that day. She rolled over to explain but the wall he had put up between them was so thick she knew it would do no good. She reached over and hovered her fingertips very close to his back, moving along the creases that his muscles made but not touching. She felt the heat of his body and craved to have his body press up against hers. She carefully rolled over and silently cried herself to sleep wishing she had gone home.
The next morning when Edward awoke, Eva was not in his bed. He got up and looked for her regretting the way he treated her, but she had already gone. Picking up his phone several times, he wanted to call her, but hung up every time he pulled her up. His thoughts kept flashing back to the way she laughed when she was with Gerald in that artifacts shop.
Should I be angry? Do I have anything to be truly angry about? “Jesus, I’m jealous!” He had just come to terms with the feeling. “I’ve never been jealous before.”
He grabbed his phone and pulled her up again when it rang.
“Hello. I was just about ready to call you.”
“I need to see you.” Her voice was curt and to the point.
“I agree. We should talk. I’m headed out in about half an hour.”
“I’m at the library.”
“Do you think the library is safe?”
“It’s fine. Come up to the fourth floor. I’ll be in the second conference room.”
“Okay. See you soon.”
As soon as Edward stepped into the room, Eva stood up and held a maroon jewelry box out toward him. She didn’t look happy.
“Is this from you?”
“What is it?” he asked, a smile on his face.
She opened it and held it out toward him again.
“Eddie.” She thrust her hip out and narrowed her eyes.
“Yes,” he admitted. “It’s from me.”
“I can’t accept this,” she said softly, lowering the box to her side.
“Why not? It’s perfect for you and I bet it looks gorgeous on you.” He moved closer to her to help her try it on and she stepped back.
“No, Eddie. How can you buy something like this? On your salary? I know the teachers here don’t make a lot.”
“Don’t worry about that. I just….” He moved closer again and she stepped back.
“I am worried about it. If you are going to do things like this….”
“I know the jeweler,” he blurted out. “He is a good friend of mine and he gave me a hell of a discount.”
She shook her head. “Why did you do this?”
“I wanted you to have it.”
“I don’t understand. It’s completely out of character for you,” she looked down at it “and why would you send it to me anonymously?”
As soon as the words came out of her mouth, it hit her. She gasped and looked at him, tilting her head. “Are you jealous of Gerald? Are you trying to compete with him?”
“What? No.” He looked away and immediately knew he looked riddled with jealousy.
“You sent this to me knowing I would think it came from him. Knowing I dislike things like this and hoping I would change my mind about him for doing so. Eddie. Why would you go to such elaborate lengths? He and I are just friends. He is helping me on my thesis. That is all.”
“It’s not all. I know his type. He brags about the things he does and pulls out all of the stops to impress you. Half of it is probably made up but even if it isn’t, he is fake, Eva. You have to see through that,” he said raising his voice.
“I’m not an idiot.”
“No, but you are taken by him. You cannot deny that.”
“We are just friends.”
“Can you honestly stand there and tell me you hadn’t thought about more than just your thesis with him?” He noticed her cheeks darken a few shades of pink and nodded. “That’s what I thought.”
She looked up at him with different eyes. She was sad, knowing he was right.
“I don’t blame you,” he continued, trying to rescue her. “Eva, he is a good-looking guy, rugged, experienced in the world, multilingual. I get all of that. But he isn’t going to make you happy.” He took her hands and pulled her into him. “Not like I can, and....” His confession was interrupted by his phone. He tried to ignore it. “I can make you….” Annoyed, he pulled it and looked at it. “Admissions office?” He answered the call, turning away from Eva. “Hello, Eddie Caldwell.”
“Mr. Caldwell. Would you please come down to the administration’s office, right away? It’s urgent,” said a woman’s voice.
“Is there something wrong?”
“The Dean will explain when you arrive.”
“Yes, of course. I’ll be right there.”