Closing Books (8 page)

His thoughts were interrupted by the doorbell rang. He groaned, then chose to ignore it.
 

But whoever was outside wasn’t cooperating. Whoever it was, he or she wasn’t giving up.

With an annoyed sigh, he got off the couch and opened the door, ready to unleash some of his peevishness.

“Hey!”

“What are you doing here?” Dan asked as he peered over Ryan’s shoulder. “You came here alone? How did you get up the steps?”

Looping his hand over Dan’s shoulder and using him as a crutch, Ryan leaned onto Dan and half-hopped his way in.
 

“Tyler dropped me off, then I got up the steps on my own. He thinks I’m Superman. That guy didn’t even bother to help me get out of the car. The whole ‘new Tyler’ thing only exists when Kate is around.”

Dan laughed at Ryan’s ramble. “Did he kick you out? You should’ve asked Marianne or Mr. Sawyer to drive you over,” he said while helping Ryan to the couch.

“Kate went over to Evelyn’s house. Though he was too idiotic to bother with helping me up the stairs, he’s smart enough to know that he isn’t the perfect candidate to come and talk to you. So, here I am.”

“Don’t be so proud of yourself. I’m sure you got assigned the task due to the lack of other available candidates.”

Ryan gave him a mock punch, picked up the remote, and proceeded to change the channel. He sighed as he lazed against the couch. Lifting one of his legs onto the coffee table, he asked, “Beer?”

“You treat every one of our house as your own, don’t you?”

Ryan gave him a quick brow raise and went back to scanning the channels.

Dan went into the kitchen and came back with two beers in his hands, handing one to Ryan.

They sat and watched the television quietly until Ryan said, “So what happened with Evelyn?”

“It’s over.”

“When did it start?” Ryan asked with a smirk.
 

Dan made a sound between a grunt and a laugh.

“Look, I never understood what’s with you and Evelyn. Why are you playing this merry-go-round with her?”

Dan sighed and took a mouthful of beer. Ryan was the last person he wanted to discuss the topic of love with. Relationship wise, Ryan was a complete opposite of him.

“I know she’s hot and all.”

Dan rolled his eyes and continued before he had to punch Ryan. “She’s different from everyone I know.”

“If you’re talking about Joanne and your parents, then yeah, of course she’s different.”

“It isn’t just that. I just want her to get over whatever happened in the past, I want to make things better for her. She’s more than the person she lets the world see.”

“So, it’s a damsel in distress situation?”

“No. She doesn’t need me to take care of her, but I
want
to. I don’t know, we’re…we’re good together. When she lets her guard down, we have so much fun,” Dan said, thinking back on the times they’d spent together.
 

He remembered the silly jokes they made, how she’d laugh over everything he talked about; a genuine laughter, unlike the polite smile she always had on her face. Sometimes when they were together, he’d look into her eyes, and he could see beyond the dark brown eyes and feel the pain she had buried within.
 

Though he didn’t know the details of what happened in her past, all he could think about was to protect her and tell her that he would never leave her alone to deal with anything.
 

“If it helps, I think she feels the same. Her eyes always light up when she’s talking to you. With Kate, she seems comfortable. With you, she seems happy.”

“So it’s not just me who thinks that.”

“What is she afraid of?”

“The damn secret that Evelyn refuses to tell. The same damn secret that Kate is guarding for her.”

“Hmmm, maybe I can help you charm it out of Kate.”

Dan had to laugh. “I’m pretty sure that unless Evelyn allows it, Kate is going to carry the secret to her grave.”

“But she loves me.”
 

Dan continued laughing, and after struggling for a while, he finally managed to reply. “Someday, Ty will kill you over this Kate-loves-me thing.”

“So, it’s really over now?” Ryan asked.

“Yes.” The same determination he had felt when walking out of Evelyn’s house rose again. “Yes,” Dan repeated, though this time, even as the word left his lips, he wondered how Evelyn was doing. “Kate is over at Evelyn’s?”

“Tell you what,” Ryan said with a pat on Dan’s back. “As your friend, I’m going to pretend that you never asked that question. It’s my way of helping you get over her.”

Ryan was right. Kate would be with her anyway. It was high time he stopped worrying about her. She was the one who wanted nothing to do with him.

The next morning, the atmosphere at breakfast was awkward. Besides Marianne, all the ladies were missing that morning.

Dan could feel Marianne’s gaze flickering onto him every couple of minutes, seemingly waiting for him to say something.

It wasn’t possible to keep anything a secret from the group; everyone knew what had happened and no one knew what to say about it.

Even Marianne was being more subdued than usual, giving him a break, and not bugging him about what was going on.

Maybe this time, everyone could sense that things between Evelyn and him were truly over.

“Kate! Good morning!” Ryan exclaimed.

Tyler swiveled around. “I thought you said you’d call me to pick you up?”

“She finally fell asleep and I was tired, so I just called a cab.” She pulled out the chair next to Tyler’s and sat.

Dan hadn’t realized he was staring at Kate until her eyes met his.

“You were at Evelyn’s?” he asked before remembering that he wasn’t supposed to care.

Kate pursed her lips into a thin line and twirled the pendant around her fingers. “I can’t. I can’t be on both your sides at the same time. I’m all she has.”

Trying to be understanding of Evelyn’s closely guarded secret was vexing enough, but not being able to get an answer to his simple question compounded his frustrations further. “I just wanted to make sure she was okay. Do you have to be so difficult about it?”

The uncomfortable silence that was lingering got heavier and everyone had a sudden newfound interest in the food on their plates.

“Remember whose house you’re in,” Tyler stated with as much annoyance as Dan had expressed with his question. “Vent your frustrations on someone else.”

“I tried to be patient, I tried to be understanding. But seriously, does everything about her have to be a secret? What the hell is so scary that she can’t get over after so many years?” Dan said, louder than necessary.
 

Kate got to her feet and turned away from them, moving to leave the kitchen.

Immediately, Tyler got up alongside her. He reached over and grabbed her arm. His head shook slightly. “This is your house; you don’t have to leave.”

“I’m leaving because I don’t want to fight with him.”

“Have you lost your ability to speak your mind, too?” Dan uttered under his breath and shook his head.

Tyler turned his head toward him and said, “Dan, get out.”

Though the words were spoken in an even tone, Dan knew it was a command. He placed his utensils down and was ready to leave, when Kate turned back to face him.

“No, it’s fine. You want me to speak my mind? You judge her based on
your
experience. All you have to deal with in life is manipulative women. Eve would’ve given her soul to the devil to exchange her childhood with yours. You can make the decision to end things with her, but you have no right to judge her.”

Dan stared blankly at Kate. The usually sweet, amiable Kate morphed into a mother hen in an instant. Though her words were harsh, it was nothing compared to the seriousness he saw in Kate’s eyes.
 

He’d never seen her fly into such rage, not even when Lydia almost killed her.
 

He had been frustrated with Evelyn for keeping her secret, for behaving the way she did. But seeing how worked up Kate was at the mention of what had happened to Evelyn was making him wonder if he’d taken for granted his childhood and expected too much of Evelyn.

This wasn’t how he’d intended to start his day. He couldn’t believe he let himself get out of control like this.

He got up and stepped away from the table. “I should go, or Ty will throw me out anyway.” The last thing Dan had wanted was to upset Kate. He should have just kept his mouth shut.
So much for being done with Evelyn.

Over the next few days, Dan found himself having too much free time on his hand. Without the long dinners at the mansion, he found himself thinking too much about everything.

Initially, he distracted himself by fussing over Joanne, checking and double-checking that she had everything she needed for her studies in Paris. Then, he had to deal with his over-dramatic mother when she found out about the news.

After sending Joanne to the airport, he turned his attention to work; working harder than ever, both at work and at his current gym.
 

He’d thought he was succeeding in putting Evelyn out of his mind until he found himself rushing to pick up every call, hoping it was Evelyn. Of course, he was sorely disappointed.

One of those calls, however, was from Ryan, asking him out for lunch.

As he made his way into the restaurant for lunch with Ryan and Joseph, Dan could see the apprehension on their faces. “I’m fine. Is Kate still angry?”

“She regretted it almost as soon as you left, but we all backed her up. You shouldn’t have vented your anger on her,” Joseph stated matter-of-factly.
 

“But we get it. This thing with you and Evelyn is eating at you,” Ryan added. “At least, it’s over.”

Yes, at least it is over.
 

The past week had been quiet. He didn’t offer any news of himself, and neither did he receive any news of Evelyn. It was a good thing that the chapter with her had finally ended.

“So you guys are really over?” Joseph asked.

“Yeah,” Dan answered.

“So anyway, we’ve signed the lease for the gym. Thanks again for helping us find the place,” Joseph said.

“And, I’ve got a friend joining us for lunch. I’m thinking of getting her to teach some yoga classes at the gym,” Ryan said.

Dan shrugged. “Sure.”

Just as they were about to order, a long-legged, tanned, and extremely well-toned brunette walked toward their table.

Ryan waved his hand to get her attention. “Hey, Chris! I’d get up to give you a hug, but it would be a long and difficult affair.”

She waved him off, then took a quick glance at Joseph and Dan. With a broad smile, she took the guys’ hands as Ryan introduced her.

Dan then pulled out the chair for her, bringing about a look of surprise from Christine.
 

“Thanks,” she said and sat. “Not many guys pull out the chair for women anymore.”

“That’s because I don’t want to insult you. I’m sure you’re more than capable of pulling out your own chair,” Ryan said.

“Yeah, right.”

After ordering their food, Ryan immediately dove into the discussion of the plan for the new gym.

While Ryan, Joseph, and Christine discussed work, Dan immediately saw the similarity between Christine and Evelyn. She was candid and frank, speaking things as they were. This, in turn, allowed Ryan to get straight to the point, settling their cooperation before lunch was over.
 

“So, Dan, will you be there at the gym as well?” Christine asked when her discussion with Ryan and Joseph ended.

“Yeah, I think I’m in line to be the first customer.”

“Good, so I’ll see you around.”
 

He smiled politely, saying nothing else.

For the rest of lunch, Christine continued flirting with him. Though she would serve as a good distraction, the last thing Dan needed right now was another woman. So, he continued behaving like a courteous gentleman.

When they were leaving the restaurant, Christine suddenly asked, “So, Dan, are you doing anything tonight?”

“I think I’ll be having dinner with them,” Dan said, tilting his head toward Ryan and Joseph.

“If you’re tired of seeing them all the time, I don’t mind accompanying you for dinner.”

He blinked and found himself at a loss for words. “Are you asking me out?”

Christine laughed and nodded. “You mean I’m not obvious enough?”

“No, I’m just not used to…”

“Being asked out? You don’t expect me to believe that.” She smiled, then continued. “So, dinner?”

He tried to come up with an excuse to let her down gently.

“Yes, he’s sick of seeing us, and he’ll pick you up at seven tonight,” Ryan interjected. “Dan, open the door for her before she changes her mind.”

He smiled awkwardly at Christine and opened the door. While Christine strode through the door, he turned around and glared at Ryan.

“It’s all right, you don’t have to—”

“No, he’s right. I am sick of them. I’ll pick you up at seven?”

Christine’s smile grew wider. “All right, give me your phone.” She gave Dan her number and address then returned the phone to him. “See you tonight.”

Dan shifted the flowers to his left hand and knocked on Christine’s door.

“Right on time,” Christine said as she opened the door.
 

He nodded and took another look at the bright red, strapless dress that fitted her toned body so snugly.

“Like what you see?” Christine asked while she put on her earrings.

“You look great.”
 

She grinned and took the flowers from Dan’s outstretched hand. “Aw…you shouldn’t have. Come in, take a seat. I’ll be ready in five minutes.” Christine smiled, then disappeared into her room.

Dan moved toward the couch, stepping over the yoga mat that lay opened right beside it. The house was clean and though it wasn’t large, the minimal furniture she had created a sense of spaciousness.

Across from the couch was a plasma TV hanging on the wall, and a plain, uncluttered TV console holding a photo frame and a remote. Instead of a coffee table, a white furry rug took up the space between the rug and TV, opening up more space in the living room.