Carlos

I woke up to the sound of the door opening. My mind went to the last few hours with Eve and even though we were both tired, I wanted more when I heard her come in. I wasn’t thinking about anything else but getting her in my arms again.

Getting up from the bed, I moved to the door and opened it. I didn’t have anything on, a state of being that she was into and walked towards the front door. It took me several moments to realize a few things. The first thing was that she was not alone. There were a couple of people with her and one of them was an older woman that didn’t take much to guess was her mother. The resemblance was too much to discount and the way her eyes fell on me was enough to tell me that I had messed up big time.

“Carlos!”

I turned to Eve and I was stunned. Why didn’t she tell me that she was going to have company? As soon as I thought it though, I knew that something had been sprung on her. She was not the type of girl that wanted to get caught. When I heard the line of words that came from her mom, I knew why. Making my retreat to her bedroom to put my clothes on, I knew that I was in the middle of something that I didn’t want to be in. I didn’t have time for all of this drama.

“What are you doing Eve? Who is that? Is that why you didn’t answer your phone and haven’t done your work? He looks like a…”

I paused on the other side of the closed door and listened to what I was. It wasn’t very original but it felt like a barb from a woman like her.

“How could you do this? After everything we have taught you?”

I wasn’t sure what was going on, but I wanted to get out of there. It was clear that I wasn’t wanted there and the lack of comeback from Eve bothered me more than I would ever admit. She didn’t stand up for me in the least bit and worse than that, she actually apologized for me being there.

When I got out of the bedroom dressed, the leather jacket and earrings made the older woman look at me as if I was going to murder her right then and there. I made a step towards her to hear her make a sound and smiled at her. It was wrong, I know, but so was her judgment. She didn’t even know me. Eve did and she said nothing while it was all being said. I suddenly knew where I stood and I would be the first to admit that I wasn’t happy about it. The feelings that I had when I first woke up were gone, evaporated into nothing as I shut the door to leave.

I cursed under my breath as I made my way upstairs to my own apartment. The day didn’t look so bright anymore and if I was honest with myself, I just wanted to go back to sleep and see if it would get better. But I had work to do, so instead of wallowing, an act I had not perfected, I went to the kitchen and poured a half a glass. That was what I knew and I welcomed the burn to my throat. I would forget about her like I had forgotten about every other woman after I was with them. The only problem was that she was a neighbor and I would have to see her again.

***

“So what has been going on with you Carlos?”

I shrugged and told Joel that nothing was going on.

“Have you talked to Eve?”

My face changed and I looked away. I hadn’t seen or heard from her in well over a week and I wasn’t even sure if I would again. The first couple of days I had stayed away, sleeping at the bar and working at the shop when I could. I didn’t even go home and it was only when I wanted my actual bed that I made my way home. Turning the music on high, I had gone to sleep just like that, oblivious to the world around me.

“No, I haven’t seen her in a while. You were the one that liked her.”

Joel made a sound that I didn’t quite understand. I had a feeling that he wanted her as badly as I had. I couldn’t tell him that she wasn’t worth it, because even with everything that had happened, I still wanted her. Even though she had looked at me as if I was the criminal that her mother claimed I was, I still thought about her every night when I went to bed alone. I missed her, but I would never admit it to myself, let alone another person.

“I know that you had something with her Carlos. I’m not stupid. You took her home that night and everything changed. I haven’t gotten ahold of her since, so I know that you two were together.”

“It wasn’t then, but once. Don’t worry though. I am not her type. She made it clear that I wasn’t good enough for her when her parents showed up unannounced.”

“Her parents are very religious. Did you meet them?”

It made a little more sense when he said that. I kind of knew that there was a reason for the reaction, but I hadn’t considered that one. I was just thinking that I looked a little rough, but if it would have been anyone, I had to believe that the reactions would have been much of the same.

“Religious huh?”

Joel nodded his head. “Yeah, from what she told me they pretty much dictated her life. That is why she came to the city, to get away from them, but they have a hold on her. Family does that sometimes.”

I didn’t hear him much after that. My cousin kept talking, but I was no longer hearing him. It made me realize that I was the one that wasn’t making any sense. Why had I just given up so easily when I knew that there was something special about Eve, something right between us? I should have had more confidence, although with her it had always been a little different. I had never felt like myself fully with her. It was always held back some.

“How do you know all of this about her? I thought you only went out a couple of times?”

“We did, but I asked. She had a very interesting life. What did you guys talk about?”

Not a lot of anything and if I had had my way, we wouldn’t have talked as much as we did. I wanted nothing more than to put her face down and pound her from the moment I saw her. That was part of the reason that we hadn’t talked, that and the fact that it wasn’t my style.

“I don’t know now. I guess I didn’t ask her anything about her past cause I just didn’t care.”

Joel just shook his head like I was an idiot and maybe I was. “Man, she is different.”

I had to agree with him, if not for only in my head. There was definitely something different about Eve. She had always been special to me.

“I know. She is.”

Joel looked at me and then smiled. “I knew that she was something special and when I met her I knew that she would be for you. I wanted her, but I knew that I wasn’t going to be the one. I tried, but she wasn’t going for it.”

There was a moment of anger when Joel told me that he had tried with her, but it was surpassed by the feeling that she hadn’t wanted him. Had it really been that clear to him and so hard for me to understand? I didn’t like to think of it that way, but I had a feeling that it was the way that it was. I had been blinded when it came to Eve, to any woman. No one had ever made me feel before and now that I had, I didn’t want to stop it. I liked the way it felt when we were together. Now I wanted her back.

“She didn’t want to go for it either with me and then all of it changed. She made up her mind. I didn’t have to make it up for her.”

Joel just shook his head and I could see that he wanted to be the one. I felt different knowing that I had been chosen. Now all I wanted to do was get her back, I just wasn’t sure how I was going to. I was just going to have to convince her that I wasn’t that bad of a guy. If she wanted her family’s approval, then I was just going to have to figure out a way to get it, one way or another.