AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Still, it couldn’t have been pleasant for you,” I say compassionately. He was downplaying things, I’d heard how he had gone without food and water and was hours from death, when Rigs got to where he and Mattie were being held. But everyone has different ways of dealing with trauma, and from all accounts he was coping well.
“The hunger and the thirst were terrible. The strange thing is after a while your body just stops telling you that you’re hungry. Being thirsty was a different matter. Going without water was unbelievably difficult. I don’t know how to describe it, but even now I always have to carry a bottle of water just so I know I can drink whenever I want to.”
This poor kid was breaking my heart. “Like a comfort blanket type of thing.”
“Yeah, that sums it up nicely.”
“I think in time, that issue will go away.” When he doesn’t immediately answer, I add lightly, “In the meanwhile I’ll just keep buying you caramel frappés. Does that sound like a plan?”
He responds shyly, “I should probably tell you that my dad gives me a good allowance and I get extra cash helping out at the club. I’m not rich by any stretch of the imagination but I can buy my own coffee.”
“You can buy whatever you want, but when you’re with me I’m buying your coffee.”
“I’ve been meaning to ask you why you do that,” he stammers.
I flash him a quick grin. “I enjoy having company on my walk to the coffee shop. You’re polite, a good conversationalist and we have thought-provoking conversations. That deserves a reward.”
He shoves his hair back out of his face with one hand that gives me a jerky shrug, “I suppose that makes sense. You’re kind of my first new friend since getting rescued. Did you know that?”
I glance up to look him in the eye. I have to admit he looks totally sincere. “What about your parents? Surely you consider Rigs and Mattie your friends. You let them adopt you after all.”
He replies quickly, “They’re my parents. That’s a little different from friends. I ain’t never had parents before. Mattie and Rigs are good to me, I love them both for taking me in. I hang around with Haze and Vapor when I’m at the clubhouse, they’re nice guys, they help me with my art, and when I’m older they’re gonna teach me tattooing. But I like having you for a friend because I never had a female friend and I’ve got questions about girls.” Glancing around nervously, “You know the kind of questions you don’t wanna ask your mom.”
I’m both stunned and delighted to find that Evan has latched onto me in a mentoring type of capacity. Knowing that he’s looking for someone to sound off ideas about dating, suddenly makes the situation with him make more sense. “Any questions you have, I’ll be happy to answer. You can rely on me to always give you accurate information. If I don’t know the answer, I’ll help you find it somehow.”
A look of genuine happiness spreads across his face. “I appreciate that.”
We enter the coffee shop and I place our orders.
“When did you start drinking decaf,” he asks with a frown.
Since I can’t tell him it’s because I’m pregnant, I just tell him, “It’s healthier for me.”
We grab a table and I sip my coffee as we talk.
“Alright if you have questions shoot,” I say gamely.
Once again Evan once again glances around before getting down to the business of talking about girls with me. “Do you think that girls like geeky guys or just jocks?”
“I think girls like both. Some girls might have a type, but mostly they go for qualities like niceness and your ability to have a conversation about things that interest them.”
Evan explains, “My experience has been that girls like jocks because they have big muscles and might end up being rich professional ballplayers.”
Taking a sip of my coffee, I let the hot liquid slide down my throat, warming me from the inside out. “I’m sure some girls do prefer athletes. However, there are a lot of girls who actively avoid athletes because of misperceptions about them being meatheads. I’m not saying any of that is true, I’m just saying that there are advantages and disadvantages to being an athlete.”
Evan thinks over my words for a moment before responding. “I’m glad to hear you say that because I was thinking about signing up for football in the fall, because I thought that’s what girls wanted.”
“I think your best bet is to simply be yourself. You’re an intelligent, personable guy. I don’t see any reason why girls wouldn’t warm up to you. Play football because you want to, not because you think it might make girls like you.”
Evan’s phone jingled. He pulls it out, reads a text message and then immediately comes to his feet. “Thank you for your advice, Miss Serena. I have to go. My mom just reminded me that I have a dental appointment at noon and it’s gonna take us a half an hour to get there. Maybe the next time we meet we can talk about conversation starters, cos I never really know what to say to a girl. Every time I just stand there trying hard to think of something to say and things get awkward fast.”
“I imagine that it does. I’ll be thinking over a few conversations starters and then we can brainstorm some more together. How does that sound?”
“It sounds pretty amazing. Even though you’re an old lady you’re still a good friend.”
I was about to take him to task about calling me old, but then I realize he probably means it in the biker way, and he sees me as Smoke’s old lady. Though I guess to him I probably am old anyway.
I wave goodbye. Evan seems like a good kid, having coffee with him every now and then is no big deal.
