Believe Me, It's You Read online

  “Right. And I see him maybe once a year,” she said.

  “You're from Sugar Grove, right? What were your parents like?” he asked.

  “Good. Really good people. My dad was a carpenter. He was a hard worker, and just a gentle, kind person. And everybody loved my mom. All my friends, growing up, called her 'mom',” she said, thinking about them. “My brother's gay. He has a partner. He's a good guy, but he doesn't like Paul. My husband. Ex-husband, whatever.”

  “Why?” he asked.

  “Hmm?” she looked up at him and he was watching her.

  “Why doesn't he like your husband?” he asked.

  “Oh, I don't know. No one liked Paul, but me,” she laughed. “Seriously, I think he just noticed something about my husband I couldn't see. And I blamed him for being not liking Paul. So we don't talk much, anymore.”

  “That's sad. So when is your divorce going to be final?” he asked.

  “I really don't know. Soon, I hope. The courts are waiting for some paperwork from Paul so I can get a court date,” she said. He looked at his beer and nodded.

  “That's good. You can have a fresh start,” he said.

  “That would be nice,” she said and really meant it. His phone rang, and she watched as he stood up and took it out of his back pocket.

  “Hey, what's up?” he listened. “Already? Okay, I'm coming down. Give me a minute.” he hung up and shoved the phone back into his pocket.

  “That was Teddy. It's almost 7,” he said. She looked around at the clock on the dining room wall. Time went so fast.

  “I can't believe it,” she said, realizing she hadn't learned much about him at all.

  “I know, right?” he said, looking down at her. “Well, I better go. Teddy's downstairs already. Do you want to meet again this Saturday? If you have plans, that's fine. But I have some business stuff lined up next week, so I probably wouldn't get to come back until the following week.”

  She thought a moment and said, “Sure, I can do that.”

  “Great. I'm going to Indianapolis to spend a couple days with my grandparents. I can drive up Saturday. We can hang out, talk some more.” he headed towards the door and she followed to let him out.

  “Well, see you soon, Eva,” he moved toward her and gave her a hug. She put her hand on his back. She could smell the light scent of his cologne, mixed with his own soft, musky scent. When he let go, he backed away and looked down, his brown eyes meeting hers.

  “I'll see you, Eva.” he turned and went out the door.

  Chapter Eleven

  Eva twisted the sheets up around her leg, turning onto her stomach and then onto her back. She stared up at the ceiling and watched the light filtered through the trees outside her window grow brighter and brighter. She turned onto her side and the clock said 5:00 am. She got maybe an hour's worth of good sleep. The rest of the night she spent thinking about her divorce, her book, and Dylan.

  I really don't need to be having these feelings right now, she thought. He's a client. He's twelve years younger than me. He might even see me as a mother figure! Oh god. She worried she would get too emotionally involved with him, and screw up her new career—her livelihood. But the worst part was imagining herself getting hurt. This kid could have any one of millions of women. What made her think he'd want her?

  But he seemed to like her. The way he looked at her. The way his hands burned her skin right through her shirt. He wanted to see her on the weekend. He's not just anybody, he's a really big deal. And if anyone gets their feelings hurt, it'll be her.

  And so it went all through the night. She thought of how potentially tragic things could get if she let herself like him too much, interspersed every so often with the swoony glee she felt when she remembered the unmistakable look in his brown eyes when he left.

  At 7, she gave up all pretenses of trying to sleep. She got up and did what she always did when her mind was going places she shouldn't let it go. She ran. Not her usual route, straight to the lake, but a winding, uncertain path through the streets she usually avoided, too crowded to run easily. She wanted the distraction and she wanted the difference. Today she refused to let be like yesterday, and the day before, and the day before.

  She ran for two hours, and when she got back home, she went to her phone before showering and checked it. No messages or missed calls.

  She scanned through her contacts, finding Calvin and dialed. Surprisingly, he answered.

  “Hello?”

  “Calvin? Hey, it's Eva Porter,” she said.

  “Eva! How's it going? What kind of progress are you and Dyl making on the book?” Always business.

  “Oh, it's going slow, to be honest,” she said. “He's not the most forthcoming person I've written for. Don't tell him I said that.”

  “He's twenty. He thinks he's got plenty of time,” he laughed. “I'll be happy if it's half as good as Cap's memoir.”

  “I think it'll be better,” she said, trying to sound confident.

  “Really? Great! Hey, are you coming to the party?”he asked.

  “What party?” she was confused.

  “His birthday party. Didn't he say anything? His twenty-first birthday's Saturday,” he said.

  “He didn't mention it...” she said.

  “We've got a big thing planned. I thought it would be a good idea for you to be there. We discussed it before he left for Chicago,” he said.

  “We're supposed to meet this weekend, here. He said he was going to Indianapolis.”

  “He's supposed to fly back Friday,” he said. “You're coming, right?”

  “I think I'd better talk to Dylan first,” she said, confused.

  “Listen, I'll talk to him,” he said. “and straighten it out.”

  “Okay... I was actually calling to let you know I signed the contract with my agent and she was going to send everything out to you. And I just wanted to thank you, Calvin. You've been generous to me,” she said.

  “I did get them, and you're welcome. You should thank Dylan. He negotiated for you like a real pro,” he laughed. “Unfortunately, he was negotiating against himself. Guess he likes you.”

  She got off the phone feeling confused. Why did Dylan ask to meet her Saturday if he was supposed to be having a big birthday party?

  She went into the bathroom and showered. She dried her hair and got dressed. By the time she was done, she had missed two calls, one from Dylan and one from Calvin. No messages.

  Two minutes later, it rang again. She looked at the phone. It was Calvin.

  “Hey, Calvin,” she answered.

  “Hi Eva,” he said. “Could you call Dylan and calm him down? He's pissed at me.”

  “What? Why?” she asked, sitting down.

  “I guess he was planning on missing his 21st birthday party. He was gonna flake out on me, all the press I've got coming, the guests, and hide out in Chicago with you.”

  “I—I don't know what to say, Calvin. I didn't know any of this,” she was confused and too tired to be dealing with a drama she didn't fully understand. “ I'm going to call him and see what's going on. I'll have to call you back.”

  “Thanks, Eva. Sorry you're in the middle of this,” he said. “I don't know what's going on with him anymore.”

  She hung up, promising to call him back. She dialed Dylan's number. No answer. She waited twenty minutes, still no answer. She left a message for him to call. She had errands to run, so she turned the ringer up, listening for the ring while she traveled around town.

  Eva finally called Calvin that evening, after not hearing anything from Dylan all day.

  “He's not returning my calls, either. If you hear anything, let me know,” he said, sounding tired.

  “Okay, I will. Does he do this often--go incommunicado, I mean?” She was a little worried.

  “No, not really. Maybe he's just out with some buddies,” he said. “After all, he's a grown man. He'll be twenty-one on Saturday.”

  Chapter Twelve

  Eva put o
n her pajamas and lay down on the sofa. She flipped through the channels once or twice, eventually settling on the news. She drifted off to sleep. She woke up from a dream, but she couldn't remember what it was about, to the sound of her phone ringing. She tried to see the screen through her bleary eyes. It was Dylan.

  “Hello?” she said, groggy.

  “Did I wake you up? I'm sorry it's so late,” he said. He sounded a little drunk.

  “That's okay,” she said. “I fell asleep on the couch, so I had to get up, eventually.”

  “You called me,” he said.

  “Yeah, Calvin's worried about you. He said you had an argument,” she said.

  “Is that why you called? Because Calvin told you to?” he asked, obviously aggravated.

  “No. Calvin told me your birthday was this Saturday. I was confused, because you said you were coming here Saturday,” she said. Now she sounded aggravated. He was definitely drunk.

  “Yeah, that's right, Eva. I'm coming to see you Saturday,” he said.

  “What about your party?”

  “That's Calvin's party, not mine. No, it's really a press junket. I told him I wasn't going,” he said. She was quiet for a few seconds, considering him.

  “Okay,” she didn't really know what else to say. This wasn't her fight, it was Calvin's.

  “Okay. Then I'll see you Saturday?” he sounded calm now.

  “Yeah, I'll be here,” she said.

  “Can I come around noon?”

  “Sure,” she said. “I'm going to make you a chocolate cake.” He laughed, surprised.

  “Eva,” he said. “I really like you.”

  “I like you, too Dylan. See you Saturday,” she said.

  When she finished talking to Dylan, she called Calvin.

  “Hi, Calvin. I just talked to Dylan,” she said. “He's fine.”

  “Great. Thanks, Eva. So are you coming Saturday?” he asked.

  “No, Dylan's still coming to Chicago Saturday. He doesn't want to come to the party,” she wondered why she had to tell him the news.

  “What? No. He has to come. I went to a lot of trouble...I thought you were going to talk him into coming to the party,” he said.

  “I never said that. I can't tell him what to do. I'm not his mother, Calvin,” she said.

  “He obviously likes you. You could be a parental influence in his life,” he said. She couldn't help but laugh.

  “Calvin, I may be 12...11 years older than Dylan, but I'm not his mom,” she was getting mad, now. “He's a grown man. I don't even know him well enough to give him friendly advice.”

  “And you didn't sway his opinion toward missing the party and spending the weekend with you?” he asked. Now she was really mad.

  “Calvin, do you really think I'm like that? If you do, why'd you refer me?” she asked, trying to control her anger. He sighed.

  “Listen, I deal with a lot of dingbat women where Dylan's concerned. At any given time there's a few hundred trying to be his new girlfriend. I—I know you're not like that, Eva,” he sighed again. “I'm sorry. I work my ass off promoting my people. I'm tired and I have a lot to deal with.”

  “I don't doubt it. But I wasn't hired to steer his career or influence him. I was hired to help him tell his story. That's all I can do.”

  “Okay, Eva. I'm sorry. You're right,” he said. “I'll talk to you later. If he comes there Saturday, tell him...I don't know. I'll talk to him myself. Goodnight, Eva.”

  “Goodnight, Calvin. Sorry you're having such a rough time,” she said.

  “Yeah, you and me both,” he said, and hung up.

  She put the phone down and went to bed, but she couldn't get back to sleep. I really like you, Eva. That's what he said. She knew Dylan had been drinking when he called, and she wondered if he'd really show up Saturday, or think better of it and go back to L.A. Either way, she had committed herself to baking a chocolate cake.

  Chapter Thirteen

  Sarah called the next morning and wanted Eva to go to lunch with her. She was looking forward to talking to Sarah. Everything seemed to be moving fast and in different directions than Eva had imagined, and Sarah was a great sounding board. She knew lunch with her would put Eva in a good mood again, and a bit more in control.

  She got dressed and left the house, hopping on the L and heading to Michigan Avenue. She saw Sarah sitting at an outside table, sipping a cup of coffee.

  “Aren't you freezing out here?” she bent down to hug Sarah.

  “It's not cold...not Chicago cold,” Sarah smiled and motioned for her to sit down. “Want to go inside?”

  “Nah, I'm glad I wore my jacket, though,” she said. “How's it going?”

  “Good, good,” Sarah said. “How are things going with America's sweetheart?”

  “Um, okay. Could be better,” she admitted, dying to talk about it.

  “What's that mean?” Sarah asked. Eva sighed, giving herself extra time to organize her thoughts.

  “Well, I'm having trouble getting anything useful out of him,” she said. The waiter came, and she ordered a coffee and a bowl of soup.

  “Isn't this where you get to use your special interviewer skills and get the good material out of him?”

  “I try, but....I don't know. He always manages to turn the questions on me,” she laughed. Sarah cocked her head and looked thoughtful for a moment.

  “Maybe he's holding back. Maybe it's difficult for him to talk about,” she wondered.

  “Maybe. He talked a little bit about his mother. That didn't seem too upsetting for him,” she said. “But that's been more or less it for anything book worthy. He's got a million questions for me, though.”

  “Well, maybe you're his favorite subject,” Sarah laughed.

  “I'm starting feel like it. I guess I'm going to start asking some hard questions, point blank,” she said.

  “So what's he like? In 'real life'”? Sarah asked. Eva sighed, looking up, searching for her words.

  “Well...he's fun..he's fun to be with. He's polite. He brought me some beer and soda,” she laughed.

  “Um hm, go on,” Sarah prodded.

  “I don't know....he got us dinner Wednesday. He hugs me and says he likes me.”

  “Wait, hold up. He hugs you and says he likes you?” Sarah was smiling.

  “Well, not at the same time,” Eva laughed, trying not to giggle like a 14 year old. “He hugs me goodbye. I think he's just one of those people, you know. And then there was this whole birthday thing.”

  “'Birthday thing'?”

  “Yes. I'm not going into details, because I'm under contract, but he basically blew off a birthday bash to come work with me on Saturday. And he said 'I like you, Eva'.”

  “Wait, how? How did he say 'I like you, Eva',” Sarah was leaning forward now. “Was it like 'You're a great gal. I like you, Eva' or was it more like.......'I like you, Eva'?”

  “I didn't get a difference,” she said.

  “Don't play dumb, Eva,” Sarah said.

  “Well, I think he was a little drunk when he said it...buzzed at least,” she considered. “Yeah, there was definitely a pause, because he'd already said 'see ya', or whatever then he said, 'I really like you, Eva'.”

  “Girl, he really likes you,” Sarah shook her head slowly, “He likes you, Eva.” Eva laughed.

  “Nah, maybe he has a little crush, or maybe he's putting the moves on, because he's Dylan Moore and that's what he does.”

  “Maybe. Time will tell,” Sarah said.

  “Time will tell,” Eva looked into her coffee.

  “So...how do you feel about him?” Sarah was smiling.

  “I...I think he's cute, I mean what kind of fool wouldn't? I like spending time with him. I really need this...distraction from Paul, and everything. I need to feel wanted for a few minutes, you know? I don't know if that's what he feels for me, but it feels good to think he might.”

  “Eva, you have to do what makes you feel good, for a while,” Sarah looked down at her lunch.
“I thought we'd lost you for a while.”

  When she finished lunch, she went to the grocery store and picked up cocoa powder, vanilla, sugar and the few other things she needed to make a chocolate cake. On a whim, she picked up a '2' and a '1' and thought, I've got a crush on a twenty-one year old...almost 21 year old. She thought where can this possibly go?

  Chapter Fourteen

  Eva got up at 6:00 on Saturday. There hadn't been any calls from Dylan yesterday, so she assumed he was still in Indianapolis and would be coming at noon.

  She spent the morning baking the chocolate cake. She had waited because she wanted it to be fresh, she told herself. But she had half expected him to call and say he was on his way back to L.A. The cake turned out well, so she got her shower and threw on a pair of jeans and a red v-neck sweater. She had spent the night before going over all the reasons it would be best to stay professional, and smother this attraction she was starting to feel. First, he's a mega-star--he could have anyone he wanted, any time he wanted. Second, he's 21. That was an eleven year age difference. Third, he's a client. By the time she got to the fourth reason, she'd drifted off to sleep and into a dream. She was in her mother's kitchen. Her mother was cooking or doing dishes-Eva couldn't remember, but her mother had her back to her.

  Her father appeared in the kitchen and said, “Eva, you better be careful.”

  Her mother turned and pointed at her father and said, “Leave her alone. She's in love.” Eva couldn't remember anymore of the dream.

  She did her hair and put on a little make-up. She picked up her favorite perfume, then put it down again without spraying it. She picked it up again, and put a tiny bit on her neck. She puttered around, straightening up the kitchen, arranging books on the coffee table. She had just sat down with one of the books she'd bought when she heard her phone ringing. She reached over and picked it up.

  “Hello?” she said.

  “Hi, it's Calvin,” he sounded less than happy.

  “What's up?” she asked.

  “Dylan called me this morning,” he said. “He's on his way to Chicago.”