ANGELO
I found Evadne in the park and she was sitting under the willow tree typing on her phone. The sun had already set an hour ago, the park was empty. The sound made by crickets traveled through the silence, it was the only noise that was there.
The lake looked like black oil but the moon reflected on its surface, shadows of other willow trees reflected on it too.
I quietly approached the tree Evadne was sitting under. She was barely visible in the dark because of the color of her skin perhaps.
She wasn't that dark skinned but she didn't have light skin either. What highlighted her presence in the dark was the yellow outfit she wore and the light illuminated on her face by her phone.
"Am I late princess?"
She looked away from her phone and lifted her head and shook it slightly. I offered her my hand for help. She put her phone in her pocket and placed her hand on mine. Her hand was so small in mine it could disappear. I pulled her up and her body clashed against mine. I wanted to feel her skin again but I knew best to keep my hands to myself.
Evadne, "thank you."
"Are you hungry Pinky?"
Evadne, "no, I'm not hungry."
I reached for her face hoping she wouldn't pull away. My palm gently held her cheek and stroked it. She leaned into my touch and closed her eyes, her lips slightly parted.
"I don't mind providing for you Pinky. Give me a chance to take care of you. I know you're my brother's close friend but I can take care of you too. If you're hungry you don't have to hide it, if you need something and feel like there's no one else to call I'm just a phone call away. Don't lie to me please. I saw the text you sent me before you even deleted it."
Evadne, "It was inappropriate of me to ask for cash from you."
"Don't ever think you have no right to ask for anything from me. Let's go."
We walked through the park to get to my car. I stole glances at her when she wasn't looking.
She looked cute today. Cute and childish. My car was parked right outside the park next to the entrance. I opened the passenger door for her and she got in. I got in the driver's seat after her.
"There's food in the backseat, I got it for you."
She looked at me hesitantly and I nodded to assure her to take the food. She smiled and took the takeaways that were on the backseat. She opened the bag and placed each packed box on the dashboard.
"I'm not sure if you like seafood but I wanted you to try the lobster."
Evadne, "I'd love to. Thank you"
She did in fact love seafood. I got to know that when she went out with Alex one year ago. Alex had told me all about the day, also mentioning that she loved seafood a lot. She'd wanted to try lobster but couldn't afford it, that's what she had told one of her friends. I started the car and the engine roared to life.I let her eat to her heart's content. Lobster, chicken pasta, corn dog, mango juice, the Indian sweets that had just been added to the menu in the L'moire de restaurant. She didn't waste any of the food and I was glad she liked it. When she was done she put all the boxes in the bag and put it back in the back seat.
Evadne, "thank you so much. I'm sorry you had to go through all that trouble."
I ignored her statement. I caught how she curled her hand into a fist and looked out the window.
I wish I wasn't the one driving, if only I had taken a driver then I'd spend one hour just staring at her and savoring her presence. I needed to find a way to get close enough to her to be able to come see her. I could be a friend perhaps or her boyfriend.
Being her boyfriend was out of the question. Alex told me she was in love with the son of Mrs Zyraelle. If Saint Clarence Zyraelle was the type of guy she was into I doubt I fitted into the equation. He was the son of one of the top 3 wealthiest persons on earth and I was just a CEO of what, a film industry.
Not that we weren't wealthy, mom's company was doing very well, in fact it was one of the best film making industries and mom has won multiple awards for her directory and story writing skills. Mom was good at what she did, in fact she loved it. Alexander was more into shady stuff but he and Elena took over dad's company. They were not interested in the film industry.
Evadne, "Is there any particular feature that you have that your brother doesn't?"
I thought about her question for a second.
"not that I can think of."
Evadne, "if I annoy you so much then you shouldn't have come for me. I'd have skated home."
"unless you want my cock to end up down your throat tonight, shut up!"
Evadne, "sorry."
Fuck. Fuck. Fuck.
I ran my fingers through my hair regretting what I had just said to her. She was only asking an innocent question and I shut her up.
"I'm sorry Pinky. I just lost my cool."
Silence.
"How can I make it up to you princess?"
Evadne, "it's fine I'm not mad."
Right now I wanted to ask for a chance. For her to be with me, for me to tell her that I loved her, I always had and I always will. I could give it a shot, confess and take my chances, maybe she'd give me a chance or I could just watch her from afar. She wouldn't tell anyone about it if I asked her not to. I checked the rear view mirror for any cars behind and there was none.
I pulled over on a sidewalk and her attention went from the view of the trees back to me. Was I even making the right decision?
"I want to tell you something really important. Please promise me you won't pull away from me as soon as I do. Promise you'll let us be friends, you'll let me take care of you, you'll let me be there for you even after I tell you."
Her brows furrowed and she averted her gaze. My heart pounded fiercely in my chest. It felt like it would jump right out of my chest. Could I turn back, tell her that it's nothing and drive her back home in silence. Would it be worth it telling her how I felt about her?
Evadne, "I promise."I froze when she promised I wouldn't lose anything. How would I even begin to tell her how I felt? Should I start with old fashioned, I've always loved you, no it was too cliche, too unreal, too unbelievable.
"Actually, I just wanted to ask you to be my girlfriend."
The words flew out of my lips without my consent, my permission nor my brain processing.
Fuck! I'd already fucked up.
Evadne, "I'm sorry, I… I can't… I can't. It's too unfair I can't. "
Angelo, "unfair? What do you mean by unfair?"
Evadne, "I'm in love with someone else, I can't let you go through such injustice so I'm sorry."
"Give me a chance Pinky please. I'm willing to work for your love. I don't mind. I'll win your heart, I'll love you right Pinky. Please."
Evadne, "making you earn my love is too cruel."
"I'll be whatever you want me to be Pinky. I'll change if you have a specific preference just give me a chance."
Evadne, "I don't want to hurt you."
"You can hurt me if that's all I can get from you as long as it's from you, as long as I have you."
Evadne, "I need time to think."
I nodded my head in understanding and started the car again. We were just 37 minutes away from her apartment, the only time I could possibly have left.