Chapter Thirty-Six
Cole
It’s been a week now, and I’m nowhere close to where I want to be. Evangeline has been coming to class, and we’ve talked but nothing more. I’m kicking myself for canceling my membership to Bridge, and you can bet yourself that I sat outside, so thankful when she never showed up last night.
I don’t know why, though. There’s nothing I could have done, and it would have killed me knowing she was in someone else’s arms with me sitting right outside. Maybe I like self-torture because I seem to be putting myself through it a lot lately.
Tonight I’m finally getting my chance to make my case. I know he has her past, but I need to remind her that she left him for a reason.
Saturday night can be crazy everywhere you go. I was reminded of our time at the taco truck, and I knew where to take her. It was so simple, yet that’s when I felt we were really us for the first time.
She’s a small town girl, and I can tell she’s more comfortable at a hole-in-the-wall place rather than a five-star restaurant.
We cross the Golden Gate and pull off the freeway in Larkspur to a small place I know on the water.
Her knee bounces slightly next to me, and I’m sad to see her nerves on display. She’s never been this way before when we were together.
I place my hand on her, steadying her movements. “Nothing’s different here. It’s still me.”
Our eyes meet, and I see the slight smile I was hoping for. She nods then opens the door after I put the car in park.
I reach for her hand and love that she holds mine like she wants to, not like she feels she has to.
We sit, order our drinks, and I lean back in my chair, smiling at the way her face is lit up by the light shining around her like she’s the angel I’ve dreamed of.
“Tell me about your week?” I ask, hoping to start a normal conversation to prove this is still us and nothing has changed.
She shrugs. “Pretty uneventful. How about you?”
“I’m working on a crazy case right now that’s nowhere near as fun as my last one where I got to spend all day getting to know this amazing woman.”
She rolls her eyes and laughs at my comment. “Sorry, not all of your co-workers can be so amazing.”
“Ain’t that the truth? Now I’m working with Karl, and he smells nowhere near as good as you.”
She smirks and picks up her menu, obviously done with that part of our conversation.
The rest of our night pretty much goes the same way. Something’s different. She’s different.
The easiness of our relationship before just flowed, and now I feel like I’m pulling teeth to get the girl I knew back. She’s being friendly, and our conversation is there but not like it was.
I appreciate that she’s trying, and I can tell she is, but God I want her to try harder.
What else can I do to show her I’m the one, not him?
A fear I’ve never felt starts to take me over when thoughts of her going back to him enter my mind.
If we’re having trouble connecting the same way as before in conversation, then I need an opportunity to show her how we were sexually. The last time I was with her, in my bed, it was magical.
That’s what we need again. Then she’ll see that what we were starting was something special.
The rain has lightly started to come down, so we run to the car after dinner and head back to her place. I definitely haven’t gotten the vibe that the date is coming to an end, and I pray she gives me a shot to prove to her once more who we are when we’re together.
I park and turn her way, waiting, praying, for an invite inside. When she smiles, my heart melts, and I know I’m in.
“Would you like to come inside?” she asks, tilting her head slightly toward her place.
“You know I would. Wait, stay there.” I wink and open the door to my car.
