Champagne Toast (31 page)

“
You are way too nice,
”
I say, shaking my head.

“
Was he not-so-nice?
”
Jason asks.

“
No, Evan is very nice. 
I
’
m
the one who isn
’
t nice
,”
I insist, looking him dead in the eye.

“
I disagree,
”
Jason says, crossing his arms right in front of his Cobra Kai sensei who
’
s been glaring at me all night from that ridiculous t-shirt.

“
That
’
s because you don
’
t know me.  Just ask my ex, he
’
ll give you a mouthful,
”
I say, putting my purse back on my chair. 

“
No, thanks.  I
’
d rather just hang out with you,
”
he says, raising an eyebrow playfully.

“
Okay,
” I sigh.
“B
ut, don
’
t say I didn
’
t warn you.
”

“
All right, I won
’
t
.” 
He smiles, taking another bite of dessert.

The rest of the night is calm, relaxed and almost therapeutic.  I don
’
t tell Jason anything about what I went through with Evan. He doesn
’
t need to know.  But, we do talk about his writing and my photos.
He encourages me to follow my passion, just as Evan did, and I realize that Evan wasn
’
t trying to make me good enough for him.  He was trying to make me good enough for
myself
.  All those times when he pushed me to do more with my photography, he was just pushing for me to be happy.  That
’
s all.

Jason walks me to my apartment and gives me a light peck on the cheek and I thank him for a really nice evening.  Just as I
’
m about to apologize, he reads my mind.

“
Nothing to be sorry about.  I had a really nice time with you.
”

“
Me too,
”
I agree.

“
Almost like catching up with an old friend,
”
Jason says, his voice trailing off. 
“
Is that a strange thing to say?
”
  His cheeks redden slightly as he shifts uncomfortably.

“
Not at all,
”
I reassure him.

“
I hope that I can still come by Molly
’
s and people watch from time-to-time,
”
he grins.

“
You
’
d better,
”
I smile, giving him a kiss on his cheek in return. We say goodnight, and I unlock the door to my building, thinking of Evan with every step I take up the stairs. 

And even though I know I must be out of my mind, I turn on my record player and place the needle on the record that
’
s been sitting on the turntable for years.  Dean Martin
’
s smooth voice fills my apartment and I
’
m surrounded by memories of Evan, of
us
.  I curl up on my couch, listening to song after song. And for the first time in
my life, I cry myself to sleep.

Evan

July 16, 2012

I hate Mondays.  Always have.  There
’
s just something about the start of a new week that feels like a hundred pound weight sitting on your shoulders.  All the work that you know needs to get done, the meetings on the calendar, the mountain of emails that sits inside of my computer.  It
’
s 9
A.M.
and I
’
m already exhausted.

The only perk
about starting a new week is that I get to see the cute button-nosed intern.  I made sure to order a sandwich from the deli that our company uses, knowing she
’
ll be the one to deliver it in just a few hours.  We
’
ve only had one date, but that
’
s enough for me to know that I
’
m not bored out of my mind when I
’
m around her.
We haven
’
t made any solid plans for another date, and that
’
s okay.  I know she
’
s into me and I
’
m into her.  The rest will work itself out.

Engrossed in the ridiculous amount of emails in my inbox, I almost don
’
t hear the phone ring in my cube.

“
Evan Maxwell,
”
I say, cradling the handset in between my ear and shoulder as I turn my attention back to the computer.

“
Hey there,
”
says a sweet voice on the other end of the line and instantly a smile crosses my lips.  It
’
s one of my very favorite people.

“
Hey, Daphne, how
’
s my favorite redhead?
”

“
I
’
m kinda bored
.” 
Daphne really needs the new school year to begin.  Or she needs a second job.

“
I wish I had your problems, my dear,
”
I tease, shutting down my email program and swiveling my chair away from the computer.

“
I know, sorry.  I
’
ve cleaned the house already and I
’
m looking for something to do.  I realized I hadn
’
t talked to you since your date with the intern, so I wanted to check in,
”
she says, digging for details.  At least she
’
s upfront about it.  Daphne desperately wants me to forget about Kate, find a nice girl and move on.  So, when I told her about Chelsea, she was elated.  I know she has high hopes sitting on this relationship.  It
’
s nice having a friend who wants me to be happy just as much as I want it for myself.

“
All right, what do you wanna know?
”
I ask, twisting a pencil around in my fingers as I talk.
Daph and I don
’
t talk all the time, but when we do, it makes me so grateful
that this is how we ended up —
friends.  There was a time when I wanted to be with her, but we
’
re much better off like this.

“
Well, I already know she
’
s cute and she likes music,
”
she begins.

“
Yep,
”
I smile.

“
Where did you take her for your first date?
”
I
’
m silent for a moment before answering, knowing my friend will not approve of the answer.

“
We went for sushi,
”
I reply.  Kate hates sushi, so I seem to take most of my dates for sushi.  Making up for the past?  I don
’
t know.  I
’
m tired of psychoanalyzing myself.  Lucky for me, Daphne will do it for me.

“
Again?
”
she asks, sounding slightly irritated.

“
Yeah, yeah, I know.  It
’
s my M.O.
”

“
Yo
u could say that, yes.  Did you at least
try a new place?
”
  Daphne
’
s question is answered with silence.
“
Ugh, seriously, Evan?  Aren
’
t you getting tired of doing the same thing?  It
’
s like you
’
re interviewing these girls instead of dating them.  Maybe that
’
s why most of them don
’
t get a second date with you.
”

“
Well, this one will,
”
I say, trying to sound intriguing.  It works.  Maybe if Daphne knows that I kinda like this girl, she
’
ll help me figure out how to purge Kate from my head.

“
Really?  Wow, she must
’
ve done something to get your attention.  I can
’
t remember the last time you went on a second date.
”

“
It
’
s been a while,
”
I say.

“
You
’
d better not take her for sushi again,
”
Daphne says, trying to sound firm, but her voice is too sweet for that. 
She
’
s
too sweet for that.

“
I won
’
t, I promise.  We have similar taste in music, so I
’
m thinking of taking her to see a band.
”

“
Ahh, dancing with Evan.  That
’
s a pretty good date.  I say that speaking from experience,
”
Daph says affectionately.

“
Yeah, right before you let me down easy,
”
I say, giving her a hard time.

“
I was hoping you wouldn
’
t remember that part,
”
she says.

“
So, you think it
’
s a good idea?  One of her favorite bands is coming to Chicago in about two weeks.
”

“
It sounds great, Evan.
Look, I
’
m sure you have a ton of work to do, so I
’
ll let you go.  Keep me posted on the girl.
”

“
Will do,
”
I say, hanging up the phone and reacquainting myself with the computer and my mountain of work.

The morning goes by pretty quickly.  About thirty emails answered, two meetings completed and I
’
m diving into one of my projects just as I hear the familiar sound of the sandwich cart stopping in front of my cube.

“
Hey, Evan,
”
Chelsea says, blushing.  I hop up from my seat and walk to her, smiling widely.

“
I was hoping to see you,
”
I say, lightly touching her forearm and kissing her on the cheek.  Luckily, just like my old employer, there are no policies against dating in the office or this relationship would be over by default.

“
Here
’
s your ham on rye
.” 
She hands me the sandwich and bag of chips, which I place on my desk.

“
How have you been?
”
I ask, trying to rid this conversation of uncomfortable awkwardness.  But, we
’
ve only had one date.  And I can tell by her lack of eye contact that she
’
s nervous to be near me again.  We haven
’
t even had a real kiss yet.

“
Fine, keeping busy
.” 
She smiles, running her fingers through her hair.

“
I had a great time with you on Saturday,
”
I say, closing the gap between us slightly.  I can hear her breathing picking up. I don
’
t meant to make her nervous, but it
’
s kind of hot that I do.

“
Me too,
”
she says sheepishly.

“
So, the other night you mentioned how much you like the Lovehammers.
”

She perks up and looks at me wide-eyed.
I have her attention.
“
I found out they
’
ll be at the House of Blues in a few weeks and tickets are still available.  Should we make it a date?
”