Jack:Honest coincidence.
I watch her smile at that response on her phone.
Everly:I like you looking at me.
Jack:Stop flirting with me and watch the movie.
The movie lasts about two more hours and just as I’m about to tell Benny I thought it was total shit, he leans over with a huge smile and says, “That was so good! Man, I want to see it again already. Can you believe it ended up being a parasite the whole time?”
I look at Everly and see the same huge smile on her face too. Well, there’s her fault: shit taste in movies. She chats with a few people next to her, some of whom I recognize from the office. As much as I want to wait for her, Benny needs to get home. It’s getting pretty late, and I know Kathryn might not want him out later than this, even if it’s a weekend night. I’m not able to catch Everly’s eye as we leave, so perhaps I’ll make sure to drop into the house before I call it a night when I get back. I’m eager to taste those lips again.
“I can’t believe those guys are into the same kinds of things I am. Aside from the movie, they’re all going climbing on Sunday, and I think I’m going to go with them.”
“I’m glad you’re making friends here. It’s hard to make a move and start over somewhere new. Proud of you, Ben.”
He looks at me. We’re almost eye to eye these days. I only have a few inches on him, and it just further reminds me how much older he’s gotten.
“I didn’t have a ton of friends back home, so I’m not missing much. I like it here. Everyone I’ve met seems cool. They just talk about what they’re into and most of it is stuff you can only do here, like snowboarding or hiking to the peak. It’s pretty dope.”
“The fact that you just said dope is making me think you’re way cooler than I give you credit for.”
“Shut it, old man. I’m insanely cool,” he laughs out sarcastically.
After I walk Benny back to the apartment and we make plans for a hike, I realize it’s well past one o’clock in the morning.
After seeing Everly today, all I’ve wanted to do is pick up where we left off in my studio at the office. She’s taken up space in my thoughts, and I’m a smart enough man not to question it and just feel my way through it. I usually don’t operate this way. I’m so rarely affected by the women I meet, so being left stunned by someone, hell, practically under the influence of her, the only thing I should do is cut my losses and go the other way, but there’s not a single part of me that wants that. Right now, I want to just lean into it and brace for the impact.
I’ve been trying to understand what it is about her that’s gotten me here. Wanting. Waiting. Practically changing into someone I don’t recognize. I’m mesmerized by her. I could watch her charm a room, rule an empire, and then kneel before her in bed and be a happy man. That concept isn’t lost on me. It’s just not something I’m equipped to do. I wasn’t prepared for it. I know my usual boundaries. The things I’m feeling toward her are well past them.
The women I tend to get involved with, it’s physical, surface level. It’s not that I’m against a relationship; I’ve had some that were great until they weren’t anymore. I make no apologies for it and most of the time, neither do they. Things run their course and then it’s time to move on. Scratching an itch for a warm bed or bringing someone sexy to show off at an event has been the majority of my encounters with women over the past few years. Less messy for them and more or less all that I can handle. I don’t do vulnerable very well. There’s too much opportunity for hurting someone, or worse, letting someone down. Surface-level, bird’s-eye-view, and glossy are just easier to maintain.
But here I am, staring at the text exchange between Everly and me, and I’m smiling like a damn fool. Nobody has ever caught me right in the gut before, not like this.
____________________________
After a gondola ride out of downtown and a quick cab ride from the station, I’m punching in the code for the fence to the Riggs’ house. I texted Everly on the way here just to see if she is still awake, but I haven’t heard back, so instead of detouring to the main house, I’ll head to the pool house and grab some much-needed sleep. I don’t mind helping my nephew and sister, but that was a full day with them, and it took time away from the photo editing I need to get done before the weekend is over.
As I walk up to the door of the pool house, I see a light on and a shadow near Everly’s drafting table. I’m instantly awake, excited to see her. I expect her to respond to the noise of the sliding door, but as I look closer, her arms are crossed in front of her on the table, her head face down. I can see her steady breathing as if it's keeping a tempo to a song I want to hum. Taking another step, I just look at her wavy hair draped beside her arms, colored pencils and charcoals dropped in various places on the oversized drafting table. It makes me smile. The sight of her.
There’s no way she’s comfortable. I move behind her to wake her gently, but before I can, a few items in front of her and tucked under her arms grab my attention. Clothing designs sketched on faceless figures are haphazardly displayed on the desk. Multiple sticky notes about materials and accessories hang across folders and the desk lamp as I look around further. I haven’t looked this closely until now. I took her warning about staying clear of her work seriously, and I’ve kept all of my things on the far side of the studio space. I pull a few papers out, and I realize quickly that these are the designs of the loungewear we’ve been photographing all week. This is what they’ve all been so hushed about. I didn’t put much thought into it when she told me she was reviewing or approving materials out here, but it’s obvious now that she lied. Their designer is not only in-house, but the second in line to run the entire company.Miss Riggs, you’ve been keeping this a secret.
She’s been designing one of the most sought-after sports and loungewear lines in secret for the past five years. How does she have time to do this and all of her visible roles in the business? No wonder she seems so organized and, if I’m honest, a bit uptight all the time.
“Jack?” Everly groggily whispers my name. Shit. This doesn’t look good. “What, what are you doing?” Her voice is rising now.
“You were asleep when I came in. I was going to wake you up and then all of this caught my attention.” I wave my hands at the artwork displayed around her desk. “Are you? Everly, are these all your designs?” I’m in a bit of disbelief. I didn’t suspect this at all. It would be such a huge asset for them to use. I don’t understand why it’s been so hush-hush. From one creative person to another, why would someone ever want to keep something like this so close to the vest? But before I can even begin to ask, Everly stands up so fast her chair knocks back to the floor.
She looks down at my hand and yanks the paper out of it. “Jack, this isn’t okay. I asked you to stay clear of my space here, and you didn’t just ignore it, you’re looking at my stuff now? Are you kidding me?!”
Okay, she’s pissed. Moving the sketches and swatches of materials in a temper tantrum-like state, she stuffs them into an oversized leather portfolio and hauls it onto her shoulder. She won’t look at me.
How can I make this right? “I wasn’t. I wasn’t purposely...”
“You weren’t what, looking at my sketches? Snooping through my stuff. This isn’t okay. You’re not supposed to…you have no right looking at any of this. I need you to leave.”
I just laugh. “You’re kicking me out? Are you serious?”
She stops what she’s doing and gives me a bone-chilling stare. The kind that makes grown men think twice about every choice they’ve ever made. “I’ve never been more serious. Now, get. The. Fuck. Out.” She looks down, gathering the rest of her bravado, I imagine. “And, Jack, if I hear even one whisper of what you found here, I’ll have no problem suing you for everything you have. Do you hear me?”