Escaping Eden Read online

  I drove down Main Street before I turned onto Cedar Lane. I could see my apartment building from where we were and suddenly felt a little hostile. If this man could afford to toss sixty five dollars on a tip, no way in hell would he want to be caught dead in my place.

  I pulled into the parking lot, sighed, and turned the car off. When we got out, I watched Simon block the sun with his hands and glance up with a smile.

  “Looks cozy from out here,” he remarked.

  “Yeah. Cozy. Anyway, follow me,” I said, walking around to the front.

  I pushed cringed when I saw the now all too familiar note taped to my door. I was late on the rent, half of it anyway, and this was a note telling me to pay up or move out.

  I grabbed it and tried to tuck into my back pocket before Simon could see, but I missed and it fluttered to the ground.

  “How much are you missing?” he asked, as he handed it back to me after glancing at it.

  “It doesn’t matter. I’ll have it by the end of the week,” I replied.

  “How much?” he asked again.

  “Two hundred dollars,” I sighed.

  “Done.”

  “What? I wasn’t asking you for money. I don’t want your money,” I replied glaring at him.

  “Easy there lady,” he said, holding his hands up in mock surrender and laughing. “I figure it’s a down payment for the lessons you’ll be teaching me.”

  “Simon, I wasn’t going to charge you,” I said.

  “I know. But I couldn’t figure out how to pay you back and now I can,” he said with a smile.

  I weighed my options. I really didn’t want to take any money from him for this, but I could really use the halfsies right now.

  “Just this once, okay?” I said softly.

  Simon smiled and pulled his wallet out of his back pocket, presenting me with two one hundred dollar bills.

  “Eden!”

  Just in time too.

  I turned around and saw my landlord, mad as hell, making his way toward us.

  “Where’s the rest of my money?” he barked.

  “Here,” I said handing it to him.

  “I’m not taking next month late. If you’re gonna be late, just save it and move out. I’m tired of this,” he said, sticking a finger in my face.

  “Um, excuse me,” Simon said, “she gave you the money, there’s no need to point fingers and shout.”

  “I wasn’t talking to you,” my landlord spat at him.

  “No, you were yelling at my friend. Who just gave you the money. How much is due for next month, then?” he asked.

  I raised an eyebrow at him.

  “She pays four hundred fifteen dollars every month.”

  “You’ll have next month tomorrow. But only if you leave now and stop pointing fingers in her face,” Simon said calmly.

  My landlord stood there for a moment, glaring at him, but then turned and walked back to his car and left.

  “No,” I said to Simon.

  “Too late! Deal’s been made. Let’s go inside then,” he said cheerfully.

  “You’re going to be a pain in my ass, aren’t you?” I asked, unlocking the front door.

  He just smiled and walked in through the open door. I laughed and walked in behind him, tossing my bag onto the couch and putting my hands on my hips.

  “It may not be much, but it’s definitely home,” I said cheerfully.

  “I like it very much, actually.”

  “Thanks. Well let’s get down to business. That door right there? That one is off limits. That’s my bedroom and if you don’t know how to do that ... I can’t help you,” I said.

  Simon threw back his head and laughed.

  “I can assure you that I will not be requiring assistance in that aspect. I’m fine there; it’s just getting the ladies there that seems to be the problem.”

  “Do you want something to drink?” I asked Simon as he settled onto the couch.

  “No, thank you. I like that picture of you and Liora, though,” he said, nodding his head toward the picture I had on top of my media center.

  It was a great picture.

  Li was so much taller than me, that she would always shrink down to my height for pictures. This one was different though. I had convinced her to stay standing to her full height and we were mugging at each other. I was holding up my fists in a faux boxing motion and she was balancing herself on top of my head with her arm and grinning down at me.

  Yeah. It was definitely one of my favorites.

  “She can be a goofball given the right motivation,” I said, sitting down across from him. “Mind if I smoke by the way?” I asked reaching for my cigarettes.

  “Not at all. It is your apartment after all.”

  I lit a cigarette and inhaled deeply. The look on Simon’s face was odd; disapproving but smiling. I could tell it was gross to him that I smoked, so I grabbed my ashtray and headed toward the window in the kitchen and opened it up, settling myself onto the pane.

  “Okay, so rule number one; don’t ever get that look on your face again. I felt like a total tool just now because of it,” I said to him with a laugh.

  “Was it that obvious?” he asked.

  I inhaled and nodded, “Yep.”

  “I’ll work on that then,” he said, as he came into the kitchen with me.

  I looked Simon up and down. I really could do something great here, but I wasn’t sure if he would let me.

  Only one way to find out.

  “Simon, do you want to go out tonight? There’s an awesome club around the corner that we can go to,” I said.

  “Um, sure,” he said looking uncomfortable.

  I raised an eyebrow, “Did you have plans for tonight? If you did I can go alone and we can go out some other time. I need to see you in action to know what we have to work on.”

  “No, that’s fine. I just didn’t think we’d be going out to try it so soon,” he replied.

  I flicked my cigarette into my ashtray and inhaled deeply again.

  Suddenly I had an idea to break him out of his insecure shell.

  “Can you go into the fridge and hand me a soda please?” I said to him as I crushed out the rest of my smoke.

  Simon nodded and handed me a can of Cherry Coke. I opened it and took a couple of big swigs to get the taste of nicotine out of my mouth. I hopped down off the windowsill and leaned against it.

  “Kiss me, Simon,” I said.

  “What?” he asked.

  “Kiss me. I’m serious. I want to see what you’ve got,” I replied.

  “Um, okay,” he said as he approached me awkwardly.

  I stood up and waited.

  Simon looked down for a second before he came over to stand in front of me. I glanced up and he leaned down, stopping a few inches away from my face.

  “A tap or tongue?” he asked.

  “For the love of God,” I said in exasperation. “Come here.”

  I reached up and pulled him down toward me and kissed him on the lips. I knew he was shocked by the sudden movement because at first he didn’t move.

  “Really?” I asked, pulling back.

  “Sorry,” he replied in embarrassment.

  I shrugged and sat back down on the windowsill. This was going to be a bigger job than I thought. “Eden?” Simon asked, shyly.

  “Yeah?”

  “Let me try it again?”

  I looked up at him and sighed. I pushed myself off the sill and stood up, only this time Simon didn’t hesitate. He pulled me against him and kissed me softly at first. Then he used his tongue to gently part my lips, his mouth moving over mine. I knew this was only supposed to be a test but this had to be the best kiss I was ever a part of. I forgot that this was supposed to be a test and I reached up, putting my arms around his neck. While we stood there, wrapped up in each other’s arms and kissing like long lost lovers, I ran my hands through his messy hair, giving it gentle tugs every now and then. I almost wound up knocking his glasses off of his face
, with as much as I was playing with his hair and that’s when Simon stopped the kiss. But not before biting my lower lip as he pulled away.

  “How did I do?” he asked, breathing heavily.

  “Not bad,” I teased, settling back on the windowsill. “I need another cigarette. Would you mind?”

  Simon laughed and went to retrieve my smokes, handing me the box and lighter.

  “You’re pretty good too,” he said, with a grin.

  “Thanks, but we’re not here to judge me, Simon. We’re here to judge you,” I replied, shaking a fist at him. “Anyway, now you know where I live. Why don’t you go home and get cleaned up or whatever then meet me back here at eight.”

  He smiled and nodded.

  “Here, take my car. I’m not going anywhere,” I said, reaching into my pocket and handing him the keys.

  “Thanks,” he said with a smile.

  “You’re welcome. Now get the hell out so I can take a nap and get ready for later. We’re gonna be out late tonight,” I replied pointing at the door.

  Simon laughed; his good-natured laughed and walked out of my apartment. I watched him from the window and saw him shaking his head, with a smile on his face still, before he turned on the car and left.

  I got up from where I was sitting and dumped the ashes and butts into the garbage can. I set the crystal ashtray by the sink and walked back into the living room where I kicked off my chucks by the door and went into the bedroom, flopping myself down on my small bed, face first.

  Just a short nap, then I can take the hot nerd king out and see what I have to work with.

  My short nap must’ve lapsed into hours because I was woken up by the sound of knocking on the door.

  “Coming!” I yelled out groggily.

  I pushed myself up to my knees on the bed and stretched. I rubbed my neck, trying to work out the cramped muscle from possibly sleeping at an odd angle.

  I sighed when I heard another knock and made my way out of my room toward the door.

  “What?” I asked, yanking it open angrily.

  Simon’s smile fell and he looked at me a bit shocked before he lips twitched. I could tell he was trying not to laugh.

  “It’s eight, Eden,” he said.

  “Oh. Shit. I guess I overslept. Come in,” I said, stepping back.

  Simon kept his eyes on me and I saw his lips twitch again.

  “What the hell is so funny?” I asked.

  “Where’s your bathroom?” he asked.

  I pointed and he put his hands on my shoulders, steering me inside of it. Once he stood me in front of the mirror, I felt absolutely mortified. My bright red lipstick was almost a dark pink now and half smeared up my face. My hair looked like a rat’s nest and I looked like I had been punched in both eyes.

  “Oh my God,” I said in embarrassment. “Out please.”

  “Oh come on, I think it’s adorable,” he said.

  “I look like the Little Heroin Addicted Hooker Clown That Did. Out, I need to take a shower and fix this mess,” I insisted giving him a gentle shove.

  I closed the door behind him and heard him laughing. In spite of my current appearance, I smiled. Simon’s laughter was never cruel so I knew he wasn’t laughing at me in a mean way.

  I spent twenty minutes in the shower scrubbing my face off and vowing silently to myself that I would never wear makeup again. I wrapped a towel around myself when I was done and used another one to dry out my hair as much as I could. Forgetting I had company, I walked out of the bathroom in my towel and headed into my bedroom to pick out an outfit for the evening.

  I decided on my black leather pants, and a light blue shirt with a shredded back. A silver necklace with a giant, chunky cross would pull the outfit together nicely, I decided as I laid out my choice of clothes on the bed.

  I turned and walked out of my room. I was almost to the bathroom again when I damn near screamed.

  Simon was sitting on the couch leafing through a magazine. I had completely blocked out the fact that he was here already here and that I had let him in.

  He looked up at me and smiled, but his smile faltered a bit when he saw that I was standing there in a towel, giving him a terrified look.

  “You okay there?”

  “Sorry. I just forgot you were here,” I said before disappearing into the bathroom again.

  God he looks good tonight. Not that he didn’t look good earlier, it’s just ... damn.

  Simon was wearing a dark gray and white plaid shirt that showed off his arms. How the hell he was able to hide those arms was beyond me, but the Nerd King was buff. I’m pretty sure he was wearing dark blue denim jeans and dark gray Converse shoes.

  Yum.

  I felt my lady parts perking up at how he looked tonight.

  “Don’t even think about it,” I whispered looking down. “He’s a project, not a conquest. Besides, one more disappointment and you’ll probably sew yourself up.”

  It took me another twenty minutes to blow dry my hair and straighten it. Then another ten to dry myself off and lotion my body so that I wouldn’t be sticky once I started to sweat tonight.

  When I walked out of the bathroom to go into my room to get dressed, I saw Simon had gone from flipping through the magazine to watching TV.

  Ten minutes later, I stepped out of my room dressed and ready to go. I had pulled my hair back into a high ponytail and decided that the no makeup rule I had given myself earlier would probably be a good idea for tonight.

  I still put on a little bit of light lip gloss so that I would look semi decent.

  “Ready?” I asked him.

  Simon glanced over at me and for a moment, his eyes got big. He recovered quickly and nodded.

  “I thought you might’ve fallen asleep again,” he teased.

  “Oh shut it,” I grumbled as I grabbed one of my smaller purses and walked out.

  We got into the car.

  “Wanna walk?” I asked him suddenly.

  “Um, sure,” he said.

  “Well the only reason I ask is because if I drink too much tonight I don’t want to drive and I don’t want you to not be able to have a good time because of it. It’s not too far. Come on,” I said, jumping out and leading the way down the block.

  The walk took about half an hour, but we made it to TAO. The line was long as usual and Simon looked completely nervous. I looked up at him and winked, taking his hand in mine, I walked us straight to the front of the line.

  “Eden! Long time no see, where you been?”

  Nick was huge, bald, and the stereotypical bouncer at a nightclub. He also had the final say on who entered and who didn’t. Luckily I had saved the day one night when he came into the Game Cave to get a video game his son had desperately wanted, and pulled some strings to get it for him in a couple of days. Ever since then I was guaranteed free access to TAO along with anyone that came with me.

  “Working mostly,” I replied with a laugh. “This is my friend Simon and we came to party!”

  Simon smiled nervously and Nick shook his hand, giving him a pat on the back.

  “Go on in guys!” he said, unclipping the velvet rope and we walked right in.

  “How do you know him?” Simon shouted over the pounding dance music.

  “Video game emergency!” I shouted back. “Come on!”

  I gripped his hand firmly and made my way to the bar. I wasn’t going to let him go anytime soon until I could tell he was completely comfortable with being here.

  Maybe this isn’t the best place to do this. I feel like I’ve shell-shocked him.

  The bartender came over with a big smile, “Hey Eden! What are you having?”

  I smiled at Jake, “The usual for me. Simon?”

  “Um, what’s the usual?” he asked me.

  “Screwdriver!”

  “Yeah, that definitely sounds good,” he replied with a big smile.

  I held up two fingers to Jake who nodded and took off down the bar to make our drinks.

  As
I stood there holding Simon’s hand, I started to shimmy a bit to the beat which made him laugh.

  I felt a tug on my arm and turned. Jake slid our drinks toward me and I smiled. I reached for one and handed it to Simon, then went into my wallet to pay for them, but he already had his arm behind me handing Jake cash and waving to let him know that he didn’t need change.

  Jake waved the bill to say thank you and I squinted trying to catch a glimpse of what he handed him but, it was already in the register with the tip being tossed into the silver bucket that sat in the middle of the bottles.

  I tugged Simon’s hand and led him one of the tables near the dance floor that I liked to hang out at until the drinks hit me and the “fun Eden”, as Liora once said, came out to play.

  I pulled myself up onto one of the high stools and turned to face him. He was standing there looking around a bit uncomfortable.

  That’s problem number one.

  “Stop looking like a scared child,” I leaned over and yelled to him.

  He nodded and took a deep breath, trying to relax. I tilted my head for a moment and scanned the group of people around us. There was a petite brunette who was standing there dancing with her friends and was stealing glances at Simon already. I looked up at him and saw that he was completely oblivious to it.

  With a wicked idea, I set my drink down on the table top, hopped down, and made my way over to them.

  I tapped the girl on her shoulder and she turned to face me with a raised eyebrow.

  “Hi! I’m Eden! Have you met my friend Simon over there?” I asked leaning in and shouting.

  “I’m Eliza, no I haven’t. He sure looks hot though,” she yelled back.

  “Come on, I’ll introduce you to him!”

  I smiled when I saw Simon looking around in confusion; he hadn’t even realized what I was doing until he saw me walking back toward him with Eliza on my heels.

  “Hey, this is Eliza and she wanted to meet you,” I shouted over the music.

  Simon looked down at her and gave her a curt nod.

  “Hi. Simon right?” I heard her ask with a wide smile.

  “Yes.”

  “Um do you want to dance?” she asked pointing to the dance floor.

  “Well - -”

  “Yes, he does,” I replied grabbing his drink and giving him a shove.