Page 48 of Secrets in Love
It was illogical, yet it was the only explanation. Yes, I’d read the man’s messages, and yes, I’d heard his flirtatious words. But until that very minute, until that man paid little to no attention to one of the hottest young women I’d ever seen because he refused to take his eyes off me, I honestly didn’t believe it.
I could feel the chunks rising. A panic chuck that could take down the Titanic was surging and about to crest when there was a knock on the door. “Evie, it’s Candice. Nate asked me to check on you. He said you looked as crook as a dog and ran off. I think he meant you didn’t look well.”
“Not gonna lie, Candice. I think I could be dying.” I heard her laugh. “Yep, that’s right. Laugh it up, lady. This could be it for Evie Austen. I could drop dead right here in your bathroom, and you’re laughing like it’s the best joke you’ve heard all day.”
“I’m sorry, Evie. I promise I won’t laugh any more. But could you please just let me in? At least then I will know if we need paramedics or if there’s no hope.” Candice was a damn liar. I could still hear her laughing as I crawled to the door, reached, and unlocked it. She lasted two seconds without laughing.
“Why are you on the floor? Evie. Oh gosh. You have to get up, sweetheart. My brother was on cleaning duty last night, and I can guarantee he did not mop this floor.” That did it. I was up in a flash. “Would this sudden drama episode have anything to do with that gorgeous man sitting out there, waiting for you like a lost little puppy?”
I shrugged. “Possibly. No one can say for sure. Maybe I overate…or it’s food poisoning from the pizza?”
“You haven’t eaten yet.”
“Yeah, but still.”
“What’s going on, Evie? This is the first time I have seen you here with anyone but your family in all the weeks you’ve been coming here, and it’s also the first time I’ve seen you smile the way you were at Nate. Did he say something horrible?”
“No! Not at all. He’s being really sweet. Too sweet. Suspiciously sweet, and it’s grossing me the hell out.” Laughy Laugh-A-Lot giggled again.
“Ahh, I get it. You like him, and you’re not grossed out. You’re freaked out.” I nodded, grabbed her hand, and clutched it to my stomach.
“What do I do, Candice? I’ve known him my whole life. He’s Finn’s best friend…Iris’s uncle…and I brought him here as a test. I used you like a fucking honey trap. I thought he would be all over you. I thought he would be hitting on you faster than I could say, ‘I knew it.’”
“But he didn’t.”
“No! He didn’t. He looked at you and smiled as a normal person would. He didn’t look at your boobs or stare at your perfect ass and make thatwhoaface he always does when a hot chick walks by. You know what he did? He went right back to looking at me, and then hewinkedand…and…what do I do?”
Candice used her free hand to brace my shoulder, then bobbed to my eye level. “First, you will breatheandlet go of my hand.”
“Shit, sorry.” I released the poor girl’s fingers and took a deep, shaky breath.
“Nate saying hello to me was the first time he took his eyes off you since you came in. You should have seen his face when you ran in here. He was so cute and worried sick. Who cares about Finn and your history? If anything, that makes it even more special. Look at me and my boyfriend, Anthony. I’ve known him my whole life too. Our dads are best buds. He always hangs out with my brothers, and it’s amazing. I know him. I know I am safe. He wouldn’t do anything to hurt me. And they would all kick his ass if he did.”
“But it’s different for me.”
“Why, Evie? Why is it different for you?”
“Because…I’m…me. I’m nothing and no one, andhe…he is everything. Look at him! He’s likegah, and I’m likeblah.” That was it. The waterworks started. “And he was sleeping with my friend Polly, and he is, like, super experienced, and I am a fucking…” I paused, looked around the bathroom I knew full well no one else was in, and then whispered, “I’m a virgin, Candice. A virgin.”
“So what? So am I.”
She said what now?
“You! But you’re so…so… And you have Anthony, and…I’m ooooollllldddd.” I lost it. I completely and utterly lost it. Poor Candice was supporting my body weight as I leaned limply against her.
“It’s okay, Evie. Shh. Don’t cry over this. I promise it will be okay. Come on. Come with me.” Candice took me by the hand and led me from the bathroom into a small staff room. The fact that this was the second time in a week I was escorted into the staff quarters, a blubbering mess, was not lost on me. “Here, sit down and let me fix you up.” I was then popped on a chair and cuddled until the weeping subsided. My face was then washed and dried, I applied a fresh coat of lip gloss, and my hair was smoothed and tied into a cute bun. “There, fresh as a daisy and twice as pretty.” My savior smiled. “I’m waiting for marriage, and I refuse to get married until I’m done with school. Trust me, we fool around a lot…a lot. But if you’re not ready like me or just not sure, Nate will have to wait. And judging by the puppy eyes, I’d say he would wait forever. You’re beautiful, Evie. And you’re smart and funny and such an amazing dancer. Cole has been dancing since he could walk, and you are his favorite teacher ever.”
“Was his favorite,” I mumbled.
“What, you’re not teaching his class anymore?”
“I’m not teaching any classes. Christian fired me.”
“Say again?”
I shared my tale of woe. Candice was livid and had her own to tell…on the phone…to Jody…Christian’s business partner,nothis second in charge. “She wants to talk to you, Evie.” The phone was thrust into my hand, and Jody’s booming voice nearly blew my head off.
“Evie. You have to believe me. I had no idea what had happened. He told me you had quit when you didn’t show up for your class today. Please, please come to see me tomorrow. You are one of our most promising teachers, and I am not losing you.”
