Of all of the things that he had been thinking of when the lady in red, had come to sit across from him, never in a million years had Eric thought that she would be asking him out.
"What did you just say?!"The words came out sharper than he had intended them to, something that he instantly regretted when she flinched a bit.
"Sorry, sorry...that came out harsher than I intended," Eric raised his hands in a placating manner and she calmed almost instantly. Grabbing his drink, he took a sip before putting it down and staring at her again.
"Did you just ask me to date you Evelyn?" Eric found himself asking, still not quite able to believe it. Perhaps he had misheard, though it was flattering, they barely knew each other. There was no way he'd heard correctly. He glanced around, trying to see if he was hallucinating, but all that greeted him was people who were a little too focused on their meals. After everything that had gone on, he and Evelyn were the social pariahs of the restaurant.
If people were pointedly ignoring his table, then most likely he was not seeing, or hearing things.
When he turned to Evelyn, she looked as real as anything, and when she elaborated on her earlier statement, things began to make a twisted kind of sense.
"I want us to date but not, in the actual sense. You have been on blind dates almost as much as I have." She smiled nervously at him, her fingers gripping her glass a bit too tight.
'You noticed me too all of those other times, right? Eric could have lied and said he had barely seen her, but that would have been especially cruel of him. He had just witnessed somebody serenading their ex while sitting across from her. Granted, it was only a minor embarrassment compared to having a naked date on the table. But if there was anyone in the restaurant who understood his level of mortification, then it was her. He owed her the truth.
"Yes, I have noticed you from time to time," He admitted and she let outa sigh, her eyes losing a bit of their desperation.
It was as though he had taken an entire mountain off her back by owning up to the fact that he knew she existed.
"Good, good. You get where I'm coming from then. I am sick and tired of being on horrible dates, and I am certain that you are too. So how about this? The two of us tell our families and friends that we're dating. Use it as a cover to continue on with our lives without having to endure this torture anymore,"
Before Eric could even think to reply. She was reaching into her bag and pulling out a very colorful notepad. He had never seen rainbow colored sticky notes before. She took out the sticky notes and a pen and began scribbling something down furiously. Then she finished and slid it across the table over to him.
"Here's my number. Can I have yours so that the two of us can plan everything,"
"It will only be a fake relationship but I'm pretty certain that we need to get our story straight first. After all, there have to be things that we need to consider. For example, let's say knowing each other's favorite colors...our favorite books...movies...cars...foods..." She would have carried on, but Eric held up a hand, feeling slightly bad when she stopped, the spark in her eyes dimming.
"Evelyn, I am certain that whatever it is you are going through is pretty horrible. I witnessed the display earlier, just as I am certain you saw my date strip naked," The two of them looked at each other in understanding before Eric saw it fit to continue.
"But either way, I have no interest in dating somebody or pretending to date somebody just to get my family off my back,"
"I am not the kind who runs from situations, I face them head on," With each word he said, Evelyn seemed to grow smaller and smaller before him, but Eric found that his mouth just could not stop.
"I am sorry to see that you are struggling in such a way, but I am not you. I will not be lying to my family just for the sake of my own comfort,"
Okay, the last one, he had gone a bit too far. He should not have added that. And seeing the visible hurt in her eyes made him want to take the words back, but he could not. His sister had always told him that sometimes he was a bit too blunt for his own good, and though Eric did not agree with her on that front, he had to admit that now he had crossed a line. Softening his voice, he picked up the note from the table.
He wanted to tear it up right then and there, but he decided against it. That would have been way too awful.
"It is not that you are an unattractive woman, Evelyn, and as far as I can tell, you are also very kind. It is simply because I am against the notion of doing something underhanded. I take relationships very seriously, and I would not be able to live comfortably while carrying such a big lie," She bit her bottom lip, looking seconds away from crying, and Eric tried to soften the blow.
"I hope that you will find some other more honest way to deal with your issues, good luck, Evelyn," She might have said something more after that, or maybe she had stayed completely silent. But Eric, if he were pressed, would not be able to remember, because the next thing he knew, he found himself in his car, feeling as though he had switched onto autopilot mode to get himself out of the restaurant.
For the rest of the following week, Eric did his best to ignore how the memory of Evelyn's heartbroken face had made something deep within his chest ache.
What she had been proposing was something that was bound to end up messy. He did not do messy, and he did not enjoy lying. It just was not in him. It was not worth all of that trouble. That was what he consoled himself with as he went to work each day.
He had no time to concern himself with a woman who was so desperate that she had been willing to fake a relationship with him. Eric had actual real-life problems, like the fact that his students were struggling. A situation made worse by the fact that things like budget cuts made it hard to get them some of the materials that they needed.
Lacking resources meant that he had to find new ways to teach concepts and make them stick.
And so focusing on that, Eric went about his days.
He kept up his mini rivalry with the physical education teacher, as well as making sure that his students got the best that he could give them in under circumstances. And for a while it was enough to push back all thoughts of Evelyn. That lasted until the dreaded call from his sister came.
"Hey, so I know that the whole stripping naked thing with Anne-Marie must have really scarred you, but this time I believe it will really work out. She's a dentist..."Rather than his sister's words making him feel relieved. Eric actually felt beads of sweat flowing down the side of his head.
With his luck, it would turn out that his date was somebody who took her job seriously, to the point of wanting to give him an exam in the middle of dinner. He could just imagine himself strapped down while she reached into his mouth and inspected his molars. It was not a good mental image, and given his luck so far, there was a huge chance that such a thing would happen.
So far every date that his sister had sent him on had been a disaster. He could not keep going on more.
She often told him that he was too honest. Now was the time for him to just use that honesty on her.
"Beth, I am not going," There, he'd said it, done and dusted...easy. it should have ended there...but unfortunately for him, it did not.
"Eric, no, you can't," He could hear the tears in her voice. And before he knew what he was saying, the words had already escaped him.
"I can't go on a date because I already have a date. I asked someone out and she said yes,"
"What?!" Eric was as shocked as Beth sounded.
Just as he was about to take the words back, his sister's ability to channel complete disbelief into that one phrase had Eric feeling offended.
"What do you mean, what? Do you think I cannot get a date?" The silence from his sister spoke volumes, and it made Eric feel defensive.
I can get a date without you, you know, and her name is Evelyn, in case you were wondering. We're starting off slow, but we're definitely going on dates," He hung up soon after that, ending the call. Only once he'd calmed down.
Did it fully dawn on him what he'd just done? Oh no, oh no. What was he going to do? Remembering the piece of paper that Evelyn had written her number on, Eric found himself going through the trash, grateful that it had yet to be collected that week. It took him close to an hour to find the rainbow coloured note, and when he did he would have kissed it had it not been covered in so much grime.
Eric settled for studying the number instead. Feeling relieved that the digit was still visible. With shaky fingers he typed it into his phone and dialled, shame making his neck heat up. He really hoped that she would answer.