Tara laughed. “Okay, girl. You go. I’ve got to get ready for my date, too. Have fun, and let me know if you need me tonight. I know I’m on a date, but I will drop everything if you need me.”
I had to smile again. I was lucky to have her. I wouldn’t disturb her tonight, no matter what the circumstances, but I felt treasured knowing she would be there for me at the drop of a hat.
“I’m a lucky bitch to have you.” I chuckled into the phone.
“Ah, well, that’s why ‘friends’ contains the word ‘end’. Because we stick together until the end.”
I gasped. “Tara, that was so poetic. I’m impressed and touched all at the same time.”
“Sometimes it’s hard work being me.”
We both started laughing, then I sighed. “You have a great night, Tara. And tell Jimmy to take care of my girl this evening.”
“I will.”
We both hung up and after another fifteen minutes of looking through my wardrobe, I finally found something I felt comfortable in. It was a long, black dress with a slit up the front of one of my legs. It looked chic and sexy all in one. I topped it off with a pair of matching heels and once I looked in the mirror, I sighed. My hair was long and straight, and my make-up was light and soft. I didn’t like putting too much on.
I was in the middle of looking through my handbag, making sure everything was there, when I heard a car horn outside. I peeked out and saw that it was Evan.
Grabbing my keys, I rushed outside and was greeted by Evan standing outside his car door. He looked me up and down and smiled. “You look absolutely stunning tonight, Jessica.”
I felt my cheeks redden. “Thank you.”
Evan motioned towards the car. “Are you ready?” I nodded and he opened my door for me. He stood right in front of me and inhaled. “You smell delicious.” He leaned in for a kiss and I immediately stiffened. I hated that Dean was the reason for this now. Why did he have to go and spoil everything?
So, despite my misgivings, I let Evan kiss me. I let his tongue explore my mouth and his hand ride up my back because I didn’t want to spoil this evening for him. I knew I had to give into this at some point, but I just felt now was the wrong time.
We got to the restaurant right on time for our eight-thirty reservation. Evan had arranged for a table outside, so we took the only available table that was left.
“Good evening. My name is Vincenzo and I’ll be your waiter for this evening. Would you like to order your drinks?”
Evan ordered a bottle of Prosecco because he knew I loved the stuff. It was my mum who got me into it. The waiter soon came back with the wine and we ordered our meals. We were then left to our own devices.
Evan grabbed my hand and held it in his. “How have you been? I’ve been worried about you. You must be missing Jeremy.”
Just hearing his name made that gut-wrenching, stabbing feeling happen in my stomach. “Yes, I do. I think about him all the time.”
Evan sighed. “I don’t like that he’s doing this to you. I don’t like the fact that he’s reduced you to this. I fucking hate it.”
My eyes widened as I looked at Evan. It was unlike him to use strong curse words. The thought of that made me feel even more guilty. He didn’t deserve someone like me.
“Evan, I’m fine. Please don’t worry yourself over me.”
He looked pained. “But I do. I worry about you all the time. I think about you all the time. All I want is for us to be together as a family. I’ve been wanting that for a couple of years now. I think you realize that.”
I closed my eyes and nodded. I knew this was kind of coming, but I didn’t think it would be so early into the evening. “I do, Evan. I know how you feel about me. About us. Let’s just enjoy the evening without thinking about that. I promise, we’ll talk when we get home. Okay?”
Evan nodded his head. “Okay.”
The meal came soon after that and we had light conversation about our time together and my exploits with Tara. I didn’t tell him about what happened last night. I think he would end up having a heart attack. I didn’t think that would look too good, considering he was a heart surgeon.
The evening was relaxing and it felt like there was no pressure. I knew it was going to be short-lived, but I took this time and let myself enjoy it.
That was, until our plates were cleared. We sat there drinking our wine when about five men, who looked to be in their early twenties, came up to our table. Two were holding guitars and all were smiling, looking in our direction.
All of a sudden, one of the guys strummed his guitar. “I have a special request for Evan tonight.”