“Down boy. Don’t be jealous.” I kissed my hand and blew the air at Jace, then fixed my gaze back on Drew. “This is my faithful sidekick, Jace, and he’s happy to make your acquaintance. Aren’t you, love?” I cocked an eyebrow at Jace.
Jace blew him a kiss and licked his lips. I think my new suitor might have almost just fainted.
Swallowing hard, he tried to save the moment. “Okay . . . well, since you’re boyfriendless—”
“Well, now, I didn’t say that,” I interrupted.
“Oh.” He shook his head and blinked, clearly rattled.
From the corner of my eye, I noticed Sandra and Jessie do almost the same thing. This was their first experience with the Eva/Jace show as well. Jace and I made a good team. We didn’t even have to speak. We were in each other’s heads and knew exactly what we needed from the other. He was my Will, and I his Grace.
Staring down at his feet, Drew’s hands fell to his sides. “So, you are taken? I should’ve known someone as gorgeous as you would have a boyfriend.” It worked. He had that deflated look I’d come to know so well.
No, I’m damaged. “Yes, I do. But I am flattered. Who knows, Drew, maybe sometime down the road . . .” I let the insinuation linger there. I didn’t like to hurt their egos too badly, but I couldn’t let them find out how tainted I was. At least this was one aspect of my life I knew I could control.
Looking into my eyes, he was hopeful again. “Now that’s one road I’m going to try my best to find. I’ll be seeing you, Evangelina.”
“I look forward to it, Drew,” I said through a plastic smile.
He returned, a little less confident, to his table of friends who were clearly laughing at his expense.
“Aw. He was such a cutie, Eva!” Sandra whined.
Jessie chimed in. “Seriously, girl. You made him look like a fallen warrior. This must be one hot guy you keep refusing people for.”
Jace spoke up, doing his thing. “Don’t you worry those pretty little ringlets. Her man is one sweet piece of candy.” He took his legs down, came over to my side of the table, and sat on my lap. Wrapping his arms around my neck, he kissed me on the temple.
I looked up at him. “Love you.”
“Love you more, munchkin.”
We continued to sit there, joking and going over our days of syllabi after syllabi. The sun had now completely set and I’d started to get a chill when Jace politely informed me I needed some beauty rest.
“Gee thanks.” I screwed my face in a pout.
“I only speak the truth.” He pulled me up by my hand, and we started in the direction of our apartment building, leaving the girls to make their way to the dorms.
“Thanks for having my back, love.” I rested my head on Jace’s shoulder as we walked, intertwining our hands.
“You know I always do.” He kissed the top of my head. “But, you need to rub some shit on your face or something and make my job a little easier.”
We laughed in unison as we walked up the steps to our apartments.
“Love,” he recited our standard parting endearment.
“Love,” I replied.
I gave him a kiss on the lips, and he was gone. Time for my much needed beauty rest.
Yeah, right. I should be so lucky.
Day two.
Sunlight peeked through my window, flooding the room with scattered rays. A small smile formed on my face. My mood usually mirrored the weather, so days like this made me want to take extra care with my appearance.
I rubbed my eyes and gave a good stretch. Swinging my legs off the side of the bed, I caught sight of my pretty little toes. Wiggling them, I made a mental note to get them done more often. I needed things to feel good about.
After shooting my mom the quick, weekly email I’d promised, I went straight for my go-to jeans that hugged all the right curves and had holes in all the right places. I probably should have retired them years ago, but they were my favorite, so I planned on keeping them until they were nothing but threads. I opted for a fitted white tee and, since I’d gone to the trouble of doing my toes, I decided to show them off a little and chose a pair of brown strappy sandals.
Back in the bathroom, I went to work on my mane, pulling the top half into four intricate knots. They lined the top of my head, each bunch falling loose over the rest of my hair. All of the different shades of blonde melded together like woven gold. Carefully, I applied mascara strand by strand. My eyes were my own personal arsenal, and I needed those babies at attention.
When I caught a glimpse of the alarm clock on my bedside table, I started to panic. Shit. I had to hurry. I sprinted to the living room and hung my satchel over my shoulder, then popped the collar of my leather jacket, and ran out the door. Hopefully the gods would be kind and get me there on time.
Breathe, Eva. You’re good.