A Prior Engagement (9 page)

She had lied. She had other things on her mind. Other things like cute, disheveled guys from Brit Lit. She had also left her phone off most of the morning to avoid their calls to join them. They were known to guilt her.

She scanned the coffee shop before approaching the counter.

Pleased by Evie’s bad timing, Tracy smiled all smug and said, “He’s not here right now.”

“
Who?
” Evie feigned innocent.

“We’re going to play it like this, are we?” Tracy scoffed. “Okay, what can I get for you then?”

“A decaf mocha latte,
to-go,
please.”

The place was empty, so Tracy decided to make small talk with her only customer. “I’m Tracy.”

“Hi, I’m Evie.”

“Do you go to Hunter College?”

“Yes, I’m an English major.”

“Oh, that explains a lot.”

“What do you mean?” Evie felt like maybe she should be offended by the barista’s tone, but tried to hold off her assumption until she explained.

“You and William. He’s also an English major.” While Tracy was making the latte, she saw Evie smile at the mention of his name, so she probed further. “You have classes together?”

“Only one.”

“He’s cute, don’t you think?” Tracy placed the coffee on the counter and watched Evie’s reaction.

Evie blushed, looked down, and lied. “I hadn’t noticed.”

Tracy knew that look and there was no way anyone wouldn’t notice how attractive William was, but since she didn’t want to make things awkward by continuing to talk about him, she dropped the subject.

Evie set her money on the counter. “Thanks, I’ll see you soon.”

As Evie added a dash more sugar to her hot drink, Tracy, feeling nice, said, “He was in this morning, but got his coffee to go. He had to work today.”

Evie allowed an outward smile this time.

Right then her phone rang.
Tom
. Her happy bubble dissipated as reality sank in. She debated not answering it, but decided it was best to talk to him now. “Hello?”

“Why haven’t you been answering your phone?” he asked, not nicely, but a demand.

“I need some space from . . .” She looked at Tracy who smiled back at her. Evie knew she needed to have this conversation in private.

“From what?
From me?
”

She rushed out the door as he yelled into the phone.

All of her strength escaped and she wavered in her stance. “Tom, please listen to me,” she pleaded. “I apologize. I have finals and need to study. I’ve got too much on my mind right now and I don’t want to fight with you or anyone else.”

“I can be more understanding than you give me credit for. All you have to do is talk to me. I love you, Everleigh.”

“I know. I’m sorry.”

“You have today to yourself for your studies. I hope that eases some of your worries. I’ll see you tomorrow night.”

Evie had reviewed her obligations for the week in her planner, and although she didn’t want to upset him any further, she needed to remind him of her commitments. “Tom, I have the Latham fundraising meeting tomorrow night.”

“I fly out to Chicago for the expansion project on Monday, but I’ll be back on Tuesday.” She already knew about his trip. She always wrote down his events in her planner. She liked to be prepared. “I’ll see you Tuesday then. Let’s do lunch and change things up,” he said.

“Yeah, let’s go crazy and do lunch—” The words left her mouth before she could stop them.

“Everleigh, you know how I feel about sarcasm.” His reminder was firm.

She did know how he felt about sarcasm. As long as it was him and not her, he was good with it, but she held that sarcastic thought inside.

“Lunch on Tuesday, Tom.”

She hung up and dropped the phone back into her purse.

She was quick to shake the feelings Tom had instilled in her as she strolled along the busy avenue back toward her home, having trained herself to release the anger and fear and focus on the happy. It was the only way she could survive. There was no other option or she would lose everything and everyone that meant anything to her.

It was a beautiful evening and she felt hungry, not having eaten anything since the chef was given the weekend off. She now stood in front of Pizzeria La Cucina and decided she’d grab a pizza to take home with her. She knew William wanted to introduce her to the place, but she decided she’d be more relaxed on Monday if she knew what she was getting into.

When Evie approached, the hostess asked, “Table for one?”

She’d never eaten in a restaurant alone before, but fought against her nerves, and said, “Yes, table for one.” It felt good to make a decision all on her own and so spontaneous. She felt emboldened as she followed the hostess to a table in the front corner against the window.

As Evie read over the topping options, she decided on the Margherita pizza. She also ordered a glass of wine to go with it. After sipping, she smiled, savoring the taste of the rich, red wine as it settled into her body. Sitting back, she relaxed into her chair.

While waiting for her food, she enjoyed the people watching her table by the window afforded. This simple activity was exhilarating and she started to feel like her own person for the first time in a very long time.

It was early for most diners, just gone six o’clock, but a guy in a helmet and sunglasses walked in alarming Evie. His face was covered in dirt, but the hostess didn’t appear fazed at all by the man and greeted him. He must be a regular, so Evie turned to look out the window, not giving him anymore of her attention.

William removed his helmet and mask and ran his hands through his hair, lifting the flattened locks. Looking around, he saw Evie sitting there and smiled as he strode toward her with confidence.

When she glanced at the man, she recognized his smile in an instant. She had thought about it often enough and it made her smile in return realizing the fortune of seeing William here tonight. “Hello, what brings you here?”

She wanted to stand and hug him, but instead she sipped her wine for courage and replied, “A trusted friend’s recommendation. I hear it’s the best pizza in town.”

The waitress brought Evie’s pizza to the table at the same time the hostess handed William his box. They laughed at the coincidence. “If you’re not in a hurry, you can join me.” The wine had gone to her head. She was shocked by her behavior, yet didn’t feel bad for wanting to spend more time with him.

He looked down at his clothes, feeling dirty from his day on the streets and embarrassed. “I don’t think I’m really dressed appropriately for a restaurant. I was getting mine to take home.”

“Maybe I can get mine to go . . . and join you?” She really was speaking without thinking now.

William was surprised by the offer. “I’d like that very much.”

“It’s all settled then.” Evie’s sense of freedom from her family and Tom was growing stronger with each decision she made on her own.

Chapter 8

They walked out of the restaurant and stopped on the sidewalk. Evie was quiet as she waited for him to direct her, watching as he unlocked the chain around his bike. “Do you want to take a cab and meet me there?”

“No, I’m good walking with you unless you’d rather ride your bike back? Is it far?”

He strapped her bag and then the boxes to his bike and pushed it on foot. “I’d prefer to walk with you, but it’s a long walk. You sure you’re okay with that?”

They walked the first few blocks content to listen to the bustling noises of the street around them.

Evie started a conversation. “You worked all day?”

“Yes, ten hours.” He looked down at his dirty clothes. He wanted the attention off himself, so he asked, “What’ve you been up to?”

“I studied and ran some errands.” She didn’t mention stopping into Bean There in hopes of ‘running’ into him, and steered clear of the fact that she lied to her family to stay in the city alone for the weekend. But they did talk about their favorite authors and libraries they liked to study in.

“Here we are,” he announced, pointing at his building.

She looked up and saw the building. It was a bit rundown, but had some charm to the exterior. “Although we live in different parts of the city, it doesn’t feel that far from my house.”

“Really?”

“Well, it feels closer than I’m sure it is. I don’t walk as much as I’d like.”

“That’s the beauty of New York. It’s all these different worlds meshed together. But quite honestly, I can’t even afford to walk on the street two blocks from here,” he said, joking. He picked his bike up and led her through the building door and halfway up the first set of stairs. He stopped to warn her. “I’m sorry, my place is small and probably not up to your—”

“Don’t apologize. I’m glad you trust me enough to bring me here.” She gave him a reassuring smile as he led her to his second floor studio. He attached his bike to the railing outside his door, removed her bag and the pizza boxes, and then unlocked the deadbolt, gesturing for her to walk in first. She entered holding her handbag in front of her and stood in the middle of the room. William closed the door and watched her intently. He was in awe of her beauty and the vulnerability she showed almost as if she didn’t know what she should be doing or how she should react.

He was overanalyzing his thoughts on Evie because her opinion of him now mattered. And instead of wanting her approval, he now needed it. He liked her too much and it would hurt him if she didn’t accept him or his life. He realized he was showing his hand by bringing her to his place and she would either like it or not. He couldn’t predict how she would react to his way of life, but took the risk.

“It’s nice.” She turned to face him and noticed his expression was more tense than usual.

Feeling relieved and accepted, his eyes brightened as he walked closer to her. He took her bag and set it on the floor near a small table in the corner. “Thanks. It’s been home for a few years now. If your pizza’s cold, there’s a microwave. Can I get you something to drink?”

She remained standing in the middle of the room, and asked, “Yes. What do you have?”

“I have water, soda, or beer.”

“I’ll have what you’re having. I don’t want to be any trouble, especially since I kind of barged into your night.” She hated feeling like a burden.

“I think I’ll have a beer with my pizza.” He reached into the fridge and pulled a can out, opened it, and handed it to her. “Make yourself at home. If you don’t mind, I’d like to take a shower before I eat.”

“Yes, yes of course. Go right ahead.”

William walked into the bathroom and started the shower. His body was worn from the day and long walk, his muscles aching. He undressed, piling his dirty clothes into the corner then stepped under the warm water and drenched his face. As he cleaned up, his heart raced knowing she was in such close proximity to him. He was standing naked in the shower and thinking about her. His hand wrapped around his erection, but wanting to hurry back to spend time with her, he washed and willed any deeper thoughts of her away.

Evie sat down on the only dining room chair in the room. She went about setting the table with napkins and plastic ware the restaurant had provided. She put her box in front of her and his across the table though there was no chair for him. She looked around thinking maybe he was using it somewhere else, but didn’t see one. So she waited by leaning back and sipping her beer before being reminded why she never drank beer. It tasted awful. But feeling like she needed the liquid courage, she drank some more before resting her hands in her lap and looking around the apartment. It was small—really small. She didn’t know apartments could legally be this tiny.

William popped the door open, startling Evie. “My clean clothes are out here,” he said.

She directed her eyes downward as he rushed into the room covered only in a towel. Wanting to peek, she pressed her forehead on her hand with her elbow resting on the table to try and control herself. He glanced over at her once and then shuffled through the small dresser that supported his hotpot and microwave. Evie was feeling sneaky and curious. Lowering her hand in front of her eyes, using her fingers as protection, she made a shield before she parted her fingers just a smidge, enough to see him.