Page 9 of For Eva

Danny.

Oh God. Oh God, oh God, oh God.

I clasped my hand over my mouth and curled my knees to my chest. He sighed and shifted, then started snoring again.

What had I done?It was a rhetorical question, of course, because I remembered everything: my stupid plan, Dannysaying he was sorry and he missed me, me saying I missed him. Wasthat really all it had taken? A couple of meaningless lines? Did he really make me that fucking weak?

I could’ve laid there for hours contemplating what an idiot I was, but there was no time to think about it. I gently peeled off the covers and crawled to the end of the mattress, which was my only means of escape since I was trapped between Danny and the wall. Thanks to the sun that had begun to peek around the black sheet hanging over the window, I was able to locate my clothes. My purse and shoes had to be in the other room, so I’d grab those on the way out, find a pay phone to call Denise, and we’d be laughing about all of this over coffee in no time. It would all be fine.

Once my bra, tank, and underwear were on, I slid one leg into my jeans and let out a small sigh of relief. I was less than a minute from hitting the sidewalk and heading for the nearest 7-Eleven. But as I attempted to step into the other leg of my pants, I tripped, tumbling sideways until I landed on the floor with a thud that quite possibly registered on the Richter scale.

It did not help that I also involuntarily shouted something along the lines of “motherfucking Jesus why.”

“What the…” Danny mumbled as he propped himself up on his elbow, rubbing one eye with the base of his palm.

He looked over at me, a heap on the floor with only one-half of my jeans on. “What are you doing? Are you leaving?” There was a quietness to his voice, something that sounded almost like disappointment. It surprised me, but I quickly chalked it up to his wanting to enjoy my inability to resist him one last time before I left.

I rolled onto my back and tugged on the rest of my jeans, then blew out a breath as I stared at the ceiling.

“Denise and I have plans,” I said, pushing myself up to stand. “We’re, uh, going hiking. At one of those canyon places.”

He narrowed his sleepy eyes at me. “You hike?”

“Yeah, I, um, just started.” I bit my lip and crossed my arms over my chest, looking up, down, around the room—everywhere but at him. I despised hiking, but I would’ve done it naked all the way down Hollywood Boulevard if it would’ve gotten me the hell out of his apartment.

Danny sat up. “I thought you hated outdoor shit. You used to refuse to even pee in the woods at parties.”

I rolled my eyes and uncrossed my arms. “Well, I’ll make sure to take care of that before I go.”

He ran a hand through his messy black hair and sighed. “You’re telling me you guys went out drinking last night and planned a sunrise hike for this morning?”

My brows turned down, and I scoffed. “What, like that’s weird?”

“Eva, seriously, what’s going on?”

“Nothing’s going on. I just need to go. So, yeah.” I nodded and started toward the door.

He pushed himself up from the mattress, and I quickly averted my eyes while he pulled on his jeans. “Okay, but can I at least drive you home so you can make your…hike.”

“It’s fine, I’m gonna call Denise,” I said, opening the door. “Is the phone out there?”

“Eva, wait.” He dropped the shirt he was about to pull on and hurried over to me, placing his hand against the doorframe. “Can I see you again? You said you’re here for a week, right?”

I laughed sharply and pushed past him into the dingy living room-slash-kitchen. “You mean can we have sex again? I don’t think so.”

He followed behind me. “Listen, can you just sit for a second?”

“I told you I have plans,” I insisted, surveying the space for my purse and shoes.

“Eva, please.”

I closed my eyes momentarily and pressed my lips together, then whirled on him. “Fine. Here’s the deal. I’m not going hiking. I fucking hate hiking. But I also hate this,” I said, waving my hand back and forth between us. “So, I’m gonna leave, and then we can both forget what happened and go on with our lives.”

“But I don’t wanna forget what happened.” He reached out and placed his hand on my arm.

I glanced down at it before jerking away. “Look, Danny. You don’t have to say that. I know last night was a mistake, and I don’t need you to pretend you care or try to make me feel better. Because I’m fine. And I actuallydowant to forget about it.”

“I’m not trying to make you feel better about anything, Eva. I’m trying to get you to listen to me. I wasn’t lying when I said I missed you. Ihavemissed you. And I know you probably hate me, but if you’ll give me a chance to—”

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