Without a Doubt (2 page)

“Is this your truck?” I'm surprised she sounds so nervous, but it's immediately followed by suspicion.

“Yeah, why?” I glance at my truck. At first, I see nothing wrong. Then, I see a car on the other side of the lane directly in the spot behind me in the last row with a damaged front. Oh, no. No, no, no. Not my truck. My feet start moving until I'm at the rear. “You rear-ended me? In a parking space! How the hell did you manage that?” I lift my head, looking at where she's standing next to me. There's some damage to my truck, but not too much, especially in comparison to her car.

“I'd rather not say because it's ridiculously embarrassing,” she admits. When I stare at her, waiting for her to say more, she props her hands on her hips, adding a fiery sass. “At least I stuck around to tell you! Are you going to complain about your poor truck or give me some contact and insurance information?”

Shaking my head, I slide by her to open my door and climb inside. I reach across to pull out my insurance card from the glove box.

“Here.”

I look back at the girl to see she's holding a pen and a sheet of paper. After taking it from her, I quickly write down all my information and tear off the top half. I hand her back the bottom half and the pen, so she can do the same, just in case.

“Is your truck too good for me to use as a table?” she smarts off.

“Go ahead.”

She doesn't though. Instead, she props her foot on my tire and uses her thigh. Why did she have to be so hot and why did she have to run into my truck? Once she's done, she hands over the paper and holds her hand out for mine. I glance down to see her girly handwriting.

“So, Eva,” I say her name. “How'd you rear-end me?”

“The how doesn't matter. It only matters that I did. Can you give me your info now?”

For some reason, I feel like I'm playing with fire and doing so a bit eagerly. “Tell me and you can have it.”

Her eyebrows rise with surprise. “Seriously?” I nod, and she sighs. “I
may
have left my windows cracked, and I
may
have freaked out when I felt an insect on my leg and accidentally pressed the gas to slam right into the back of your truck.” She glances down at the ground before looking back up at me, thoroughly embarrassed.

A laugh shakes my torso, the hilarity of what caused her to hit my truck sending me into a fit of laughter for a good minute. All the while, she watches me with narrowed eyes and a firm, flat mouth. She reaches out to snatch my paper from me. After looking down at it, she turns her icy eyes on me.

“You're an ass, Emerson.” Eva turns to storm back to her car.

“Wait!” I call out and stand next to my truck.

She turns, folding her arms over her chest. “
What
?” she asks with exasperation and annoyance.

With a lazy smile, I ask, “Are you hungry?” Eva tilts her head in confusion. “Do you want to go eat supper with me? I'll drive.” My chuckle can't be helped. Eva's hot, I'm hungry, and she's caught my interest with her hilarious mishap. Even though I have her cell phone number, this feels like my one and only chance.

“Is this some twisted way for you to laugh at me some more?”

“Nope. Are you coming or what?”

A car heads our way and since she's standing in the middle of the lane, she crosses back over, but she doesn't come any closer. “'Are you coming or what?'” she mocks. “Is that how you flirt?”

I grin, shaking my head. It's a bit of a risk, but I decide to take it. Closing the distance between us, I take her hand in mine and lead her to the passenger side of the truck, opening the door for her.

“I don't have my purse,” she objects.

“You don't need it.”

“I don't know you,” she tries again. “What if I want to take your picture and send your name and info to my best friend and my cousin in case I'm found murdered? You have motive.” She thumbs back to my mildly damaged truck bed.

“Then take the picture, send your text, and get in.”

She surprises me when she actually does it. Satisfied, she pulls herself into the passenger seat and I shut the door behind her. It's not until I've pulled onto the road that she speaks.

“I'm sorry about hitting your truck. I just realized I never apologized.”

“I'm sorry for why you did.” I chuckle again. “It's better than because you weren't paying attention, texting, or were drunk though.”

“Good point. You're not allowed to share that story with anyone either. For my sake,” she adds when I glance over at her. “Please?” she asks hopefully.

“I don't know if I can do that. If it comes up, I have to tell.”

Eva groans. “Where are you taking me anyway?”

“Smitty's. Ever been there?” Smitty's is the best place to go for BBQ sandwiches. My dorm-mate from freshman year introduced me to it and I come once every two weeks at least.

“No, but I've heard of it.” Her phone beeps and she checks it, laughing softly to herself. “My cousin thinks I'll be safe with you. Apparently, he knows you.”

“Who's your cousin?” I ask as I pull into the restaurant parking lot.

“Glen Harvey.”

When my truck is in park, I turn the key to shut off the engine. “Glen Harvey is your cousin?” He was my dorm-mate from last year. How was I around him for so long and had never met her? Not that I would have been in the mood to want to take her out to supper then, but still.

“That's what I said. How do you know him?”

“We were in the same dorm together last year.”

Her eyes widen. “You're that Emerson?”

“I guess. Why? What did he say about me?”

Instead of telling me, she says, “Are we going to get out of the truck or not?”

So, we make our way inside. We order sweet teas, and I watch her look over the menu since I always get the same thing. As usual, a slight twinge of weirdness at going out with a girl other than Kelly hits me. It's been a year, and I haven't spoken to her once. I've tried calling and texting, but she's never answered back. Whenever I've gone home, she's been conveniently off visiting family somewhere. I snagged a job my second semester here, which led me to renting an apartment over the summer, so I didn't go home then.

“Emerson!” Eva snaps, waving a hand in front of my face.

“Sorry,” I apologize. “What'd you say?”

“What do you usually get?” Eva repeats the question I'm assuming she asked when I was zoned out. “The BBQ sandwich?”

“Yeah, with cole slaw on it and a side of fries.”

She purses her lips and then lifts her head. “Vinegar-based or mayo-based cole slaw?”

“Mayo.”

“I think I'll get the same thing then.”

The waitress returns, so I order two sandwich combos. I wait until she walks away to bring up my earlier question again.

“What did Glen say about me?”

Eva shrugs. “Not much, really. He would just say when he was going to hang out with you.”

For some reason, I feel like she's not being entirely truthful, but I let it go. “What year are you?”

“Junior, and you're a sophomore, right?”

I nod. “Yeah. Was there an insect in the car or were you just imagining things?”

She slides her leg out into the aisle, keeping it close to my chair so it's out of the walkway. “It was a wasp.” On the inside of her calf, the wasp stung her twice by the looks of it. Her surrounding skin is bright red and I wonder how I missed it earlier. I reach down to gently stroke the soft skin around it. Eva sucks in a sharp intake of air.

“Well, now I feel bad about laughing,” I say softly, bringing my hand back as she moves her leg underneath our table.

“You should. It's okay though. I took some medicine to help and I'll put cream on the stings when I get back.” The waitress drops off our food. “Wow, that was fast.”

“They're speedy here.” My sandwich stays put while I watch Eva take her first bite.

“Mm,” she releases a small moan, her eyes closing. “This is delicious,” she adds as she opens them.

I grin. “I know.”

One sure fire way to tell how good the food is? How much talking goes on while it's being consumed? Eva and I don't talk at all while we eat. There's plenty of noises in here however. Besides the normal bustling of waitresses taking orders and bus boys cleaning up tables, there's a baby a few tables away. He keeps giggling and making loud baby noises while he intermittently plays with his food and eats.

“What's your major?” she finally asks once our plates grow empty.

“Engineering. Yours?”

“Well, I wanted to major in Veterinary Medicine and open my own practice one day because I love animals so much, but I don't do well with blood. Communications was my Plan B turned Plan A.”

“That's cool. What's your favorite animal?” I ask as the waitress drops off the bill. I go ahead and pull out my card, slipping it in the holder.

“Dogs and horses. I used to go horseback riding almost every weekend growing up, and we have the cutest golden retriever ever. Leaving her behind to come to college sucked. Did you have a pet?”

“No. My mom claims she's allergic to all pets, so I never had one.”

Eva frowns. “That's tragic,” she says seriously and I laugh.

“A bit dramatic, don't you think?”

“No. Pets bring so much to our lives and I think it's tragic you didn't grow up experiencing it.”

The waitress returns my card. After I sign the receipt, I stand and tell Eva, “Then maybe I'll get a pet one day and my life won't be so tragic.”

She stands and smiles and we walk out to my truck. “Thanks for supper,” she says once we're on the road.

“You're welcome. So, how is it that we've never run into each other before?”

“I don't go to Glen's dorm room and I guess one of us was just never there when we could have been hanging out together. Although, I have to say I'm glad we hadn't yet because you seem to like the fact that I rear-ended you. That's weird, you know that, right, Emerson?” She turns off my A/C and then rolls her window halfway down with the press of a button. “One of the best parts of summer is being able to roll the window down when you're riding,” she explains.

The swoosh of incoming air causes her perfume to glide over my senses. It's not something fruity, flowery, or overwhelming. I'm not sure what it is, but it's gentle and sweet. I like it.

“What's weird is that you're in someone else's vehicle and taking control of the air. What's next? Turning on the radio to your type of music?” I'm only teasing, but I can't lie that I'm a bit surprised by her.

Eva just shrugs. A few minutes later when she does turn up the radio and switch stations, I chuckle and catch her trying not to smile. We finish the ride back to campus with a country tune blaring from my speakers, thanks to Eva's adjustment to the sound. My previous parking space across from her car is still empty, so I pull into it. She reaches out to turn the radio down.

“Again, thanks for supper, and I'm sorry about the whole car thing,” she says.

“You're welcome and don't worry about it. She's tough.” I pat the dash at my reference to my truck.

Eva busts out laughing, a sound I know I'll want to hear again. “It's a she? Does she have a name? I feel like I should be formally introduced,” she manages to get out between giggles.

“Of course she has a name,” I lie. “Eva, this is Sweet Irene.” The name pops into my head out of nowhere.

She grabs her sides, her laughing nearly uncontrollable. A smile appears before I even realize it. Eva's laughter dies down, but one glance at me sends her over the edge again. “Irene,” she chuckles, shaking her head. “You're just full of surprises, Emerson.” God, I love the way her lips move when she says my name. Her hand moves to the door handle and she pulls. As she slips out of my truck, she adds with a smile, “If you ever want to take me out again, you have my number.”

The passenger door closes and I watch her through my rearview mirror. I'm a bit stunned. If I'm not mistaken, Sweet Irene just landed me a future date with Eva.

When I make it to my one bedroom apartment, I toss my book bag onto the floor, plop down onto the couch, and take a deep breath after a long day. My head is still swimming from my time with Eva. I haven't had that since Kelly. It's as if I went skydiving and I'm still high from the adrenaline rush. Does it mean something?

I've dated other girls since I've been here. Kelly wanted me to and I promised I would. Reluctantly, I can agree that she had a point with parts of her argument. I do feel like I know myself better, although I don't see why I couldn't have figured it out with her. I've certainly grown up more, too. While I've dated some great girls, there was never the potential of it turning into what I had with Kelly. Or is it
have
since there's only one year left until she lifts me from this ban? Because that's what it feels like; a ban on seeing or speaking to her. A ban on loving her.

Thinking about it is worthless because I run myself in circles. If I'm being honest with myself, I'm rattled because with the hour or so spent in Eva's company, I felt something that I haven't in a year. And with someone who is not Kelly. Shaking my head, I stop analyzing the situation because it's truly nothing to be so concerned about at this point. I need to keep moving forward at a safe distance and pace.