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Still, when he leaps to his feet as only a basketball player with years of training can, I take a healthy step away from him.
“You know what? Fuck you, Eva,” he grinds out before storming around to the driver’s side. “Not even your golden pussy is worth this bullshit.”
He tears away into the night, leaving me stranded on the side of a deserted back road. Tears slip down my cheeks, blurring my vision, as I tap the one number in my phone of the person who will answer and come get me without question or judgment.
Mike.
He answers on the third ring, panting for breath. “Yeah?”
“Um, are you busy?” My sniffle betrays me, but there’s no help for it. Even if I wasn’t crying, it’s freezing out here, and my nose is running double time from both.
Some muffled sounds in the background turn into silence.
“Evie? Where are you? What’s wrong?”
“Um, I’m not quite sure where I am. Can I text you my GPS location?”
“What the fuck do you mean, you don’t know where you are? Where’s Eddie? I thought you two had a date tonight?”
“We did, and now, we don’t. Can you please come get me, Mike? I know it’s late and you’re probably busy, but I’m really cold, and I didn’t…” My stupid voice breaks as the first sob escapes my throat.
There’s no point fighting it. He’ll know I’ve been crying when he sees me. Dammit, I wish I’d have thought to grab my coat before jumping out of Eddie’s truck.
“Are you outside?”
The sound of his engine turning over filters through the speaker.
“Yeah. We were parked…”
In spite of the bitter temperatures, my cheeks heat with embarrassment. This is not the type of conversation I ever pictured having with my friend who’s more like my brother.
“I’m on my way. Text me where you are. I’ll come to you. Stay back from the road. If any cars go by, hide in the brush until I get there. Don’t take a ride from anyone no matter how cold you feel, you hear me? If Eddie comes back, you call me.”
“Okay.”
He hangs up before I can get in another apology.
The only thing to do now is wait.
The longer I sit in the frozen gravel, the more guilt, shame, and embarrassment eat away at me. What the hell was I thinking by dating Eddie? I wasn’t, and that’s the truth of the matter. The idea that desperate times call for desperate measures is ludicrous and clearly not applicable to every situation in life. My desperation got me into this mess.
I tried everything I could think of to get Rob to notice me. To pay attention to me. I watched how the other girls did it. I made mental notes on what worked and what didn’t. And I adapted, creating a method of catching his eye that was carefully suited to Rob’s particular tastes and dislikes.
The only thing I couldn’t ever attain was being unobtainable or having enough experience with boys to make him think I’d be a good choice. That seemed to always make the other guys drool. For as much as they claim to love virgins, they always brag about girls who know what they’re doing, too. It doesn’t make any sense, but then again, the male brain is a total oxymoron. The grass is always greener, and boys tend to want what they can’t have.
We all do.
It was so foolish to think dating Eddie would affect Rob’s interest. Not only has he never seen me as anything more than an acquaintance, but it wasn’t fair to Eddie to use him that way. Not that an asshole like him should be dating anyone, but still.
I’m such a fuck-up.
Headlights gleam in the distance, accompanied by the faint sound of an engine and gravel being kicked up on the back road. Heeding Mike’s advice, I step back into the line of trees, hidden until the sight of his old, red Civic is unmistakable. Just to be sure, I wait until he pulls over to the side of the road and steps out of the car, frowning at his cell in his hand.
The moment I step into view, he’s on me faster than a freight train. His strong arms band around me, reminding me he’ll always be my rock.
“What the fuck happened? Did he hurt you?”
I shake my head and retreat from his embrace, wiping my snotty nose on my arm. No point trying to look cool and put together now. I’m falling apart. Mike would be able to sense it even if I didn’t show a thing.
