Page 52 of Hard Lessons
My gift to you. I hope you get to enjoy them longer than I did.
-Your Evie
I smiled as I rubbed the thin material between my index and middle fingers.
Evelyn Ashford shouldn’t have had any power over me. She was just a girl I knew growing up, a girl I thought of as a kid sister for the longest time.
Then something changed.
I didn’t see that girl anymore when I looked at her. All I could see was a sexy as fuck woman who wanted to please me as much as I wanted her to please me. Getting what you want could be a good thing, but it could also be a bad thing. I wasn’t working her out of my system. I was working her in deeper. I could lie all Iwanted and justify it any which way, but the truth was she had me in a chokehold, and I had no way of escaping.
But fuck it.
The plan had to move on. Feelings be damned.
EVELYN
“What’s with that dreamy look in your eyes?” Madison asked as she flopped down at the lunch table across from me.
I shook my head clear of the memory I had been reliving. “Hey. I was spacing out. What’s up with you?” I picked up my bottle of water and took a sip.
She opened her salad container. “It feels like I haven’t seen you in days. What have you been up to?”
I shrugged. “Same old. Studying, working, class, and sleep. Nothing new.”
“I haven’t even seen you between classes. It’s like you’re avoiding me or something.” Her blonde brows were knitted together as she tucked her curls behind her ear.
“I haven’t been avoiding you,” I told her, softening my tone. “I mean, I haven’t been trying to, anyway. I’ve been stressed lately, so I’ve been putting all of my free time toward studying, and it’s paying off. You know how I am. I’ve always prioritized my work. That hasn’t changed.”
“I heard you did go out with Chase, though. How was it?”
I offered a small smile as I nodded. “It was nice. He’s really sweet, kind, considerate, all the things.”
“Did you kiss?” She smiled widely.
I nodded. “We did.”
“And?”
“And…” I didn’t know what to say. Sure, it was nice, but it was nothing compared to how Elliot made me feel. I couldn’t say that, though. Not only did things with him have to stay secret to protect us both, but I still didn’t understand it completely myself. I had a crush on him when we were younger—that I understood because he was much softer back then. But then I hated him because of the person he’d become. How was it possible to hate someone yet still be all weak in the knees for them?
“It was nice,” I told her.
She rolled her eyes. “Is that all you have to say? The date was nice. He was nice. The kiss was nice? Come on, Eve. Give me some details.”
“I’m sorry. I just don’t know what to say. He’s a great guy. I enjoyed our date, and the kiss was good.”
“But?”
“But…” I worried my bottom lip. “I’m just not ready to go there with him. I have to focus on my grades so I don’t lose my scholarship. Any free time I have goes to working to pay my bills. And I just took the PA position for Professor West.”
Her eyes doubled in size. “What?”
“He needed help grading papers, and he said instead of paying me with cash, he’d pay me with bonus points that would help raise my grade. I couldn’t pass it up. Not with the grade I had in his class.”
Her expression softened, as if she completely understood. “Well, I’m glad you’re able to get your grades up, but I miss hanging out with you.”
“I miss hanging out with you, too.” I squeezed her hand. “I promise we’ll hang out the first chance we get.”
