Page 33 of Without a Doubt

“You fixed breakfast?”

Eva glances over her shoulder before doing a double take. “Uh, yeah. Shouldn't you be getting dressed?”

“Am I making you uncomfortable?” I ask teasingly.

“As uncomfortable as you would be if I walked into the room wearing only a towel.” She picks up her sandwich, takes a bite, and then faces me. “You can't have yours until you put on clothes.”

> I laugh. “Okay, okay.”

By the time I change and make it back to the kitchen, Eva is walking past me to take her own shower. I eat my sandwich and then start getting my books together. I'm grabbing a pen from the end table in the living room when I hear, “Emerson.” I lift my head to see Eva leaning against the threshold of the hallway. A white towel is wrapped around her body and her hair. I swallow hard at the sight of her. Ample cleavage looks strained from underneath the towel, one of her legs is showing from the hip down thanks to her not having the towel completely wrapped around her, and her damp skin shines.

“Just wanted to prove a point,” she says before turning and walking to my bedroom.

“Feel free to prove points more often,” I call after her, causing her to laugh.

When we finally arrive on campus, we're cutting it close to being late. I give her a kiss and say, “Try to have a good day, but if not, let me know and I'll be your day-saver again.”

She grins. “Same to you.”

We part ways and go about our days. It's like after that my attention is divided between what I'm doing and checking my phone. All day, I obsessively check it for a text or a call from Kelly. The seconds turn to minutes and the minutes turn to hours. The only people who text me are Eva and Glen. The only person to call is my mother. The day comes and goes and Kelly doesn't contact me.

The guilt from hoping she would, of feeling like this is a betrayal to Eva, keeps me from calling her instead. Kelly doesn't want to get back together, and I don't want to be faced with the possibility of having to end things with Eva. Maybe it's for the best this way.

I never thought I'd face this day. It's always been Kelly; wanting her, loving her, and waiting for her. The possibility that there could be someone else never crossed my mind. I don't know where things might go with Eva, but I do know I want to find out.

Thursday, I work and do homework. Friday is much of the same. Eva is hanging out with Catherine tonight, so when Glen texts me about meeting at a restaurant and bar, I agree to go. It's a hot spot on Friday nights because they'll have live bands play and if there's a game on, it'll be playing in the background on the flat-screen TVs. It's been awhile since we last went.

When I arrive, Glen is flirting with the waitress at the small high-top table. I take a seat and order a sweet tea once she pays attention to me.

“Have you gotten her number yet?” I ask as she walks away.

Glen grins. “Right before you walked in.”

I laugh. Ever since Glen's girlfriend, Lori, broke up with him in February, he's been hopping from one girl to the next. He's torn up over it, which is completely understandable, all things considered, but I don't think going after every girl he meets is helping him. How he recovers and heals is his prerogative and unless it becomes harmful, I'm not saying a word. “How long have you been here?”

“Not even five minutes. I'm starting to impress myself.”

“I bet.”

We make small talk for a while, order some food and a couple of beers. The live band they have booked for tonight plays mostly rock music. They're taking a break when Glen takes a pull from his beer then asks a question.

“How's it going with Eva?”

“Shouldn't you already know?”

He shakes his head. “It's never good to answer a question with a question. What? Have you finally heard from Kelly or something?” When I glance down at my beer and don't answer right away, he shoves my shoulder. “What the fuck, Emerson? You do realize you're dating my cousin, right?”

“Don't get riled up until I explain. I don't have to tell you at all, you know.”

“Yeah, well, it'll be in your best interest to tell me before I kick your ass. Have you told Eva yet?”

“No.” I take a deep breath. “She called the other night, but I didn't talk to her long because Eva was with me, and she never called me back.”

“Wait, Eva was with you?”

“Yeah. She was having a bad day, so she was staying at my place. She was in the shower when Kelly called. Kelly said she missed me and wanted to see how I was doing. That's it. I told her I couldn't talk, but she could call me back the next day and she didn't.”

“And you didn't call her?” I shake my head. “Don't mess with me, Emerson. All you did freshman year was mope over this chick and you're telling me you didn't call her back? Why?”

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