Part 19

By Pat

Eva then walked back to her apartment and walked in to a dark lonely place. As she turned the lights on, she was surprised to find Leo sitting there with a stack of movies and a rose on his hand.

“Hey gorgeous, I was getting a little worried; you took long enough today,” said Leo as he handed her the rose and gave a delicate kiss on her mouth.

Eva intensified the kiss to a more passionate one, clinging to him for dear life. Finally stopping for a breath, he smiled to her. “I missed you too. How’s your sis doing?” he asked her as he sat back down and pulled her to sit on his lap.

“She’s the same, or worse; I don’t know, but it really sucks,” said Eva as she stood up quickly from Leo’s grip. She didn’t want to be near him because she knew nothing could happen; she had a date with a stupid Backstreet Boy. She took a deep breath and said, “Listen, Leo, we need to talk.”

“Oh, oh I don’t like the sound of that statement,” admitted Leo to her as he got up and went to hug her and give her another kiss. But Eva evaded him and walked to the kitchen and grabbed a bottled water from the fridge.

“Look Leo, I’ve been thinking a lot that I don’t know how long my sister is going to be like this, and it’s putting a lot of pressure on me and our relationship. I’m not sure if I feel the same for you anymore. Maybe it’s better if we give each other some space for now,” said Eva as she felt her heart beat faster. This was harder than she thought. She really did love Leo with all her heart, and she was lying to him about her feelings.

“WH…WHAT?? Okay, look Eva, you can’t possibly be saying this. Just a few minutes ago, you kissed me with so much passion, I could feel your love for me just like I love you!” said Leo with a little anger in his tone of voice. He couldn’t believe it; he was here to propose to the love of his life so he could be with her forever, and she was breaking up with him. “I don’t know what to feel, Eva; I feel angry and disappointed. I told you I would be there for you and Bri; now out of nowhere, you’re breaking up with me. Look, you’re right. You’re under pressure, but think about it - you and me are meant for each other, baby,” said Leo, holding back tears. This would be his first time crying since he could remember; hearing her say that was just too painful for his heart.

“Yes, I remember you told me that, Leo but I can’t. I’m sorry I was taking things too fast; I just wanted someone to distract myself from my problems, and I found that in you, I guess,” said Eva, now also trying hard to fight her tears from pouring out. He really did love her; he was crying for HER. She felt awful; she had to get him out of there now. “Look, you have to go, Leo. I need to rest; I have a long day tomorrow,” said Eva, opening the door for him.

“So much for me proposing to you tonight,” said Leo as he put a small red velvet box on the counter before exiting. “I… I just thought you had the same feelings for me. I thought me and you should be together. You’re my other half, Eva, and even though it’s killing me that you don’t feel the same, I am going to give you some time to snap out of it because I know that deep down inside, you do love me,” said Leo as he walked out her door step.

Eva slammed the door shut and ran to get the velvet box from the counter. She opened it, and inside, there was the most beautiful engagement ring ever, with the nice diamond and two little onyx rocks on each side. She gasped and started to cry. She loved him too. She put it away in her room and looked at the clock; she had 45 minutes to get ready for AJ’s arrival. She needed to get ready…

***

55 minutes later

Eva was getting frustrated. She was ready on time; rushing, she really didn’t care how she looked. What she really wanted to do was run after Leo and tell him ‘yes,’ that she did love him and that she would gladly be his wife. Eva was brought back from her mind when she heard a knock on her door. She looked around, made sure her apartment looked nice, and then opened the door.

“Hey… Wow, you look NICE. Sorry I’m late, but I just couldn’t decide on what to wear for this lovely occasion,” said AJ, handing her a white rose. He still couldn’t believe he had received a call from her. He had been at his hotel room, trying to come up with a way to call her up and ask HER on a date that didn’t sound too desperate - you know, play it cool. But, God, she was cute. There was something about her that really attracted him.

Great, thought Eva, a guy who is going to take longer than me to get ready. “It’s okay, and thanks for the rose; it’s pretty. So let’s go. I know about this great Mexican restaurant a few miles from here; it the best most authentic food I found here, so how about we go there?” said Eva, grabbing her purse and shutting the door to her apartment.

“Sounds good to me,” said AJ as he opened the gate of the apartment complex for Eva. They hopped into the car rental AJ had and started on their so-called date. Both were quiet until finally AJ had had enough and decided to start a conversation. "So, what do you do for a living, Eva?” asked AJ as he stopped on a red light.

Eva sighed and surrendered to this date so she forced herself to take her mind of Leo and the engagement ring. “I am an insurance agent and I also have a license for massage therapy, but I never really got into it. I kind of stayed with the insurance part. You know, it pays good, and I need that for my sis’s therapy,” answered Eva as she finally turned and looked at him. He had taken off his glasses; he had the most intense brown eyes, and what was up with his curly eyelashes? Or was she just hallucinating? “What else do you do for fun, I mean, besides sing to all these crazy young girls? What else does AJ do?” asked Eva, trying to also make the mood more pleasant.

“Well, there isn’t much I can do, since everywhere I go, someone recognizes me and I have run out of there before they clobber me. I know they don’t mean it, but it does hurt. I do enjoy writing music, and I like to chill at my house too - you know, be alone, not having someone know who I am!!” said AJ as he finally parked into the restaurant’s parking lot.

During the rest of the night, Eva got to know the real AJ, and he wasn’t that bad after all. He, in other circumstances, could have been a great friend. She thought he was fun to hang around with. As she walked into her apartment once again, she knew this was going to be much harder. She was starting to like AJ, not like Leo, but as a friend. She decided she needed to get some rest and put everything out of her mind for now.