She smiles.Thank you, Viktor.I’m Evie.
A unique name and one I’d certainly remember.I lean closer.You know, I feel like we’ve met somewhere before.Have we?
No!I mean, no, I would have—She takes a step back, bumps into someone, and then jerks forward, spilling ice and water onto me.
Oh my gosh, I’m so sorry.She reaches out to brush the water off my shirt.Her words, her motion, are so familiar.My balls retract in response, and I back up a step.
I remember you now.You’re the ball-buster from the library.I examine her more closely.Evie looks like a completely different person, more slick and sophisticated.It’s hard to align her with the bookish woman from the Schultz.
At the library, I found her attractive, but she was clearly uninterested in me.I was almost insulted by how easily she slipped back into reading, completely oblivious to my presence.Yet now she’s definitely interested.
Did she find out that I’m captain of the Mustangs in the meantime?No, at the library she was indifferent to hockey.And it can’t be my looks, which she sloughed off when we met.
Yet now she seems almost desperate to get to know me, and that makes me suspicious.
What’s really going on here?I ask.
Nothing,she replies with zero conviction.Fine.That was me at the library.But I don’t think you should hold it against me.It was an accident.
I’m not holding anything against you…yet.Despite the warning bells, I still find her extremely attractive.
Are you…okay now?Down there?Her glance drops to my balls, then jerks away.All the flirty confidence from before is gone.Exactly who is she?I decide to test her.
Why don’t we go upstairs to my room and you can see for yourself?I suggest.
A flaming blush begins on her cheeks and moves down her throat and presumably over the breasts I was just imagining.But to my surprise, she’s considering my offer.Maybe she’s not the innocent I assumed.
Finally, she stammers,I, uh…it’s a bit soon, isn’t it?
Her flirty bravado is completely gone now, and the real person stands before me: someone shy and inexperienced.Definitely not anyone I’d be interested in.
I put a finger under her chin and lift her face.Her eyes are wide and the tip of a pink tongue moistens her lips.She really is lovely.What a shame.
How old are you, Evie?
Me?Um, nineteen?She replies like someone guessing in a multiple-choice quiz, hoping it’s the right answer.My suspicions coalesce.
Yeah.I’m not sure what game you’re playing at here, but I’m bad news for someone like you.You should find someone more your speed.
She tosses her dark hair back with a scowl.My speed?You don’t even know me.And you can’t be that much older than me.
Hockey players can be older than most college students.But regardless, you’re too young for me.
Now there’s an expression on her face that I can’t read at all.Panic?Fear?But that makes no sense.She’s full of contradictions and inconsistencies, and that’s the last thing I need.I turn to leave, but she puts a restraining hand on my arm.Her soft touch shouldn’t feel so searing.
I don’t understand.A minute ago you were interested.You were coming on really strong.And you must have known I was a freshman.What changed?
I like to datewomen,I emphasize the word,who know what they want.Who understand what they’re getting into.Besides, some women are nineteen going on twenty-nine.You’re a very young nineteen.
Her brow creases, and she bites a plump lower lip that looks delicious.But I have dating principles, and I’m not going ruin some innocent.Before she can protest again, I push away her hand and turn to leave.
Bye-bye, little girl.
6
GO AWAY LITTLE GIRL
EVIE
