Tempting Eve

Chapter 26

"OH MY GOD EVE, this is insane."

Sarah and Amy were parked in front of the TV as I ran around looking for my psych notes. Thankfully, as the news goes, the story had died down a bit, but there I was in anonymous profile, being dragged across the screen again. Every fiber of my being was thankful that this was the only photo that had emerged, and not a photo of a steamed up Volvo that read ETHAN YORK AND MYSTERY WOMAN BANG LIKE BUNNIES AT THEODORE WOLFBURG'S MEMORIAL.

Sarah was dressed in a skin tight pant suit, telling me she was getting ready to head over to the men's club, as she liked to call the sports journalist department, and Amy sat cross legged next to her in her pajamas. She was in between shows now that her last broadway performance ended and she would undoubtably use this time to say she was resting, but secretly redecorate the house... at least, that's what she normally did.

It felt surreal walking around, doing normalish things - like two souls hadn't been bared, and the weight of - at least our small part of the country - wasn't barring down on us. Mostly Ethan, but I was beginning to feel like what affected him, affected me also.

"Honestly," I told them, as I finally found the stack of papers I was searching for half shoved under my favorite chair. "I'm trying not to think of it at all right now."

Sarah stood, sighing. "That's a good idea. Just ride this out for a few more days and the story will practically disappear. I should know. I'm one of the heartless journalists," she winked.

Sarah could never be heartless, not in a million years, but I nodded. I'm sure the story would eventually go away, but try as he may, I don't think Ethan was going to be as lucky when it came to distancing himself from this new life he didn't want.

I WAS PAINFULLY AWARE that the guy shuffling papers in front of the classroom - while being a younger and fairly good looking TA - was not my tattooed, dark angel. And I wasn't the only one thinking about him, because I heard my Ethan's name buzzing nearly everywhere.

My Ethan? My unfiltered mind seemed to think so.

"So," Mason said slipping into his usual spot next to me. Class was almost over, and I don't think he had ever been late before, let alone missed an entire class. He sat his backpack on the floor between us and pushed up the sleeves on a long sleeved shirt with the schools logo splashed across the front. "You And York, huh?"

My heart stopped for a second as I shrugged, pushing my hair back behind my ears on both sides while scanning the students near us to make sure our conversation was as private as possible. I shouldn't tell anyone right now, but lying seemed futile in the face of his certainty, plus Mason was my friend. My only friend. "Y-Yes... How did you know?"

He smiled, but it wasn't happy. "I had a feeling after class last week. You took off and it looked like it was taking all York's willpower to keep from running after you."

I sucked in a small breath. I almost forgot about that little temper tantrum of mine. Not my best moment.

His hand ran through his slightly curling hair. "He hates me you know?"

"He's a bit... territorial, but I'd hardly say he hates you," I hushed.

He looked at me for a long moment. His eyebrows pinching together. He looked like he was warring with himself over something, then came to a decision. "I thought he would have told you."

My heart sped up a bit. Something about the way he was looking at me, told me I wasn't going to like whatever it was. "Told me what?" I asked quietly.

The TA's voice made me jump. "Alright guys. Please pick up a copy of your old syllabus before heading out, and focus on the week 9 reading assignment.

We automatically began packing up our things, but I looked back at Mason expectantly.

He glanced around. "Are you free later? I'll tell you everything... but not here."

I was curious to know what sort of history Mason and Ethan had. A shared Ex maybe? "Yeah. I can get a coffee after my next class if you want."

He stood, lifting both of our bags and handing me mine. "Sure," he said looking forlorn as we made our way up the steps and out the door. I stopped for a second to shrug Ethans jacket on over a t-shirt that read simply, BOOKMARKS ARE FOR QUITTERS. It was one of the first book shirts my mom got me and it was soft to the point of going holey.

The hallways seemed to be buzzing more than normal, and crazy as it seemed, it felt like everyone was staring at me. We continued to the outer doors and Masons jaw hardened as he looked around. He noticed it too.

"You don't think -"

We stepped outside and a burst of light erupted in my face. "Eve Bailey! Over here!" A group of strangers surged around us like a human wave and more lights went off, momentarily blinding me as I struggled to make sense of the scene before me. They shouted and pushed into each other until their words blended together and all I could do was stand there, frozen in place, until someone grabbed me, shoving me under their arm and began pushing me through the crowd.

In my panicked brain, It took me a moment to realize it was Mason. He held a hand in front of me, blocking my face as much as possible as he yelled for them to back the hell up. Once we broke through the crowd, he took off, tugging me behind him until we reached his white SUV parked in the student athlete lot.

"Get in!" He yelled as he pushed me into the passenger seat, climbed in on his side tore out of the parking lot.

**********

Hey!!! I feel like I haven't updated in forever, even though it's only been 3 days, but thank you so much for your patience loves!

I hope you all had a great weekend. I finally got out on a date with my husband, so mine was pretty great!

I'm so thankful for all of your reads, comments and votes. It means the world to me!!!!!

If you would like to help in one more way, I would be thrilled if you could recommend TEMPTING EVE to your friends!

Thank you a million times over. Have a great night.

With love always,
xxxBre