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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.
