Quick Switch

The last time that Eve had sat across from Eric Fisher. Things had not gone well for her. She had asked him to fake date her, and he had turned her down so swiftly, that she had barely found the strength to get out of the restaurant. 

Now Eve found herself sitting across from Eric once again. But this time, he was the one asking her to be his fake girlfriend.

In another world, in another time, she would have been delighted to have him sitting in front of her talking about the possibility of the two of them dating. But that time had come and gone.

When she had worked up the courage to ask him the first time, she had done so out of desperation. But now, seeing him in front of her, Eve no longer felt as desperate, as she had that night. Not only that, she was also asking herself questions than she had ignored when she had first talked to him.

Was she really willing to date a man that she barely knew?

In the brief time that Eve had known him, she had not gotten any red flags from him. But still-a man not being weird-was a pretty low standard to go by. She did not want to fall so low that she would actually have somebody by her side, who she knew was only pretending to like her.

Why was she even wasting time thinking things over.

Had she gotten that desperate that fast? Had she really sunk to that level of desperation. Could she seriously not find a bit of endurance deep within her and finish what she had started?

It was her own answer to the last question that sealed the deal for her.

It was going to take everything in her. But she would just endure all of the dates that were left, and then go on with her life as a single person. Just the mere thought of what was to come made her feel ill.

Fiddling with the edges of her poncho, she looked at him. He was trying very hard to keep his face neutral. But Eve could see the desperation in his eyes as clear as day. Had she looked the same at Chardays?

"Evelyn?" His questioning tone made her realize that she had been staring at him without saying a word.

Were she a vindictive person, she would have stayed quiet. Or maybe toyed with him a bit before crushing his hopes. But Eve was not like that, and as scathing as he had been. Eric had also not wasted time putting her out of her misery, so she returned the favor.

Leaning back in her seat, she took him in. Dark brown eyes were fixed on her, the hope there was hard to look at, so she looked at a point over his shoulder.

"A few days ago, if I'd heard those words, I would have been over the moon," His shoulders slumped, eyes dimming at her words.

"But now?" There was still a bit of hope in him, and Eve hated being the one to end it.

"I am sorry, I can't do this. When I came to you at the restaurant, I thought I could, but I really cant. I have decided to just go through my dates, and get it over with,"

He looked like she had just killed a litter of puppies in front of him. Seeing him so devastated almost made Eve want to take it all back, but she could not.

"I am sorry, Eric, good luck with everything," With that, she stood and left, not waiting for him to recover from his disappointment and try to convince her to change her mind.

Saying no to Eric had not been on the cards for her when she had walked into the diner. But by the time that she had left, that had been the answer that she had given him.

She'd gone on to have an entire hour to herself after that. An hour in which she had congratulated herself on doing the right thing. But then, at the end of the hour, Stella had called, asking to meet up and talk about her upcoming date, and Eve's good mood had vanished.

Now, on the very same day that she had told Eric that she could not be his fake girlfriend. She was in Stella's kitchen telling her friend that she had a date with a guy named Eric.

Life really was something else.

Proving that she was not an idiot, Stella did not believe Eve, and she was not shy about voicing her disbelief.

"How convenient is it, that this Eric of yours, suddenly exists all because I have found you a date with someone who happens to be a cat lover?" Eve had no idea how Stella had not seen the same things she had when it came to cat guy, there was something off about the man.

"That man is not a cat lover, he is someone with a cat obsession. And he has nothing to do with me going out with Eric," 

"I like Eric enough to want to see where things go between us," Stella still did not look convinced, so Eve brought out the big guns.

"You started setting me up on dates to get me out in the world again. It worked, I am going on a date with someone...can't you just be happy for me?" There had to be a special punishment set aside for people who lied like Eve did, she just knew it.

"Does that Eric have a last name? Does he do anything for a living? What is his family like? What do you like about him? Is he-" Her friend switching from outright suspicion to asking questions about Eric meant that she was beginning to buy the story.

It made Eve feel both awful, and relieved.

"Stella. He literally just asked me out. I do not have a full encyclopedia on all things about him, give me a break. Let me get to know the man first and then we can talk about him," Stella shrugged.

"It seems highly convenient that I set you up on yet another blind date, and all of a sudden you have somebody who has asked you on a date. How am I to know that Eric is even real?" Eve blew out her breath and stared at her childhood friend. Lying to her felt horrible. 

Stella was the closest thing to family that she had( given how awful Eve's blood relatives were). Lying to her never felt good. But Eve knew that she had to do this. So she kept all hesitation out of her voice when she answered her friend.

'Stella, he is real. We are going to see how things work out for us, and just carry on from there,"

Stella still didn't seem to believe her, but Eve did not focus too much on that, instead she shifted her friend's attention to something else.

"You said that Ryan was taking you out this evening right?" Stella's eyes lit up instantly.

"Well, he hasn't said anything, but I happened to overhear him making reservations for the two of us to go on a coach ride," She practically squealed the word 'coach' and Eve could not help but smile at her friend. Stella had been talking about wanting to go on a ride for months. And it seemed that her boyfriend had been paying attention.

Ryan was just one of those guys who did not say much but he was so thoughtful, and he cared so deeply for Stella that it was hard to not be anything but happy for the two of them. They'd finally found their person and were not shy in showing their love for one another.

Eve was happy for them, but at the same time, she could not help but feel a bit jealous. She was not really envious of their relationship. But of the fact that she would never have anyone who cared about her as much as the two of them cared about each other. It was not a good feeling to have, and in that moment, Eve was able to easily push it away. After all she had more important things to worry about...like begging Eric to take her back...thank goodness she had not deleted his number.