“Hey, while Nick walks Elaine to her car, want to pick out a movie?” Brian asks, starting to sort through the DVDs.

Eva slides up behind him, puts her chin on his shoulder and slips her arms around his waist. “I don’t think that’s necessary, unless you really want to watch one. Elaine just told me she’s having Nick stay the night with her.”

“Oh is that right?” he asks. “So, I guess that means we have the rest of the evening to ourselves. What would you like to do?”

Eva giggles and squeezes him as he put his hands over hers. “Do you really need to ask me that?”

Brian laughs, but he’s not uncomfortable with her anymore. He decides to try once more to get her to open up and trust him. Tweaking her nose, he says, “I’ll tell you what, let’s have a glass of wine, put on some music and talk. Sound good?”

Eva sighs. “Sounds like the second best thing we could do,” she laughs. “I’ll get the glasses and wine, you pick out the music. We’ll each stick to what we know best.”

They sit on the basement couch together, Eva sitting with her legs tucked under her facing him and asks, “So, what did you think of our friend Jax and his restaurant?”

“He seems like a great guy and you can tell he really loves his family. I admire that. Beanie sure seemed to like you. I was getting jealous that she got to sit on your lap all evening,” he teased.

Eva laughs. “Yeah, she’s as cute as a button. And, you know, we could make up for you feeling jealous now if you want,” she says with a seductive smile.

With that, he grabs her and spins her around until she’s sitting on his lap and says, “I thought you’d never ask!”

 He buries his face in her neck and trails little kisses from her shoulder to her earlobe. She plays with the hair at the nape of his neck and just leans back to enjoy the feel of his lips on her skin. Everywhere his lips touch makes her skin tingle. He places one hand on her back, moving in small, slow circles while his other hand rests on her thigh, his thumb mimicking the movements of his hand on her back. She turns to face him and they kiss slow, sexy, soul searching kisses. He smells so good, his body is warm and muscular and he tastes delicious.

The heat that is building between them stirs so many things for Eva. She is so turned on by him, even just the little things he’s doing. She’s not quite sure why they cause such a stir in her heart. She has had plenty of experience with men and most of them were quite talented in the lovemaking department, but none of them ever caused her heart to flip-flop the way Brian did. Maybe Elaine is right. Eva just needs to take that leap of faith. Brian even told her that he can’t move on with her until she breaks down her walls with him. She knows she can trust Brian. He is unlike any man she’s ever known. They part lips to catch their breath, resting their foreheads together. Eva decides to take the plunge.

“Ok, here it goes. Brian, I trust you with everything I am. I feel things for you I have never felt for anyone before,” she whispers. She pulls back to look into his beautiful blue eyes. His eyes soften and he tightens his grip on her slightly. “And I’m not just telling you this because I want to fuck you. I do want to have hot, wild sex with you, but it’s more than that. I want to be close with you. I want to trust you. But I’m so afraid to let you into my heart.”

“Why are you afraid to let me in, Eva? I promise you, I am not going to hurt you. I really like you and want to know you, the REAL you, not just the part you let people see.” He gently reached up and used his thumb to wipe away the tear that had slipped from her eye.

“This is so hard to explain. Elaine is the only person that I’m even remotely close to. It scares me to let someone else in. I’m afraid you won’t like what you see. Sometimes, I don’t like what I see in myself.”

“Come on Eva, you can’t mean that. You are so amazing – please talk to me,” he begs her.

She slides off his lap and sits next to him on the couch, keeping her legs on his thighs. She wants to be able to look him in the eyes as they talk, and frankly, sitting on his lap was too much at the moment.

“I guess it all goes back to when Elaine and I were 17. Elaine had always been so close with our parents. She was easy for them to love because she never got into trouble. She always did what was right and never talked back to them. Then there was me. I was not in a lot of trouble, but I would get into scraps now and then, or sass a teacher and end up having to ‘have a talk’ with Mom and Dad. Two weeks before they died in the auto accident, they had finally broken through to me. We had a long talk and we all ended up crying and hugging. They finally made me realize that they loved me as much as they loved Elaine. They told me they were proud of me and that in their eyes, I was not just half of a whole, but I was a complete person all on my own. That to them, being a twin didn’t mean I wasn’t a unique individual, but that I was so special that God had decided to give them two babies just alike. I had promised them that I was going to straighten up and quit giving them things to worry about.”

Eva stopped to take a big drink of her wine. She continued, “The next two weeks were wonderful. Every day was brighter, sunnier, happier. Elaine and I were as close as always, but my relationship with my parents was perfect. That night, they went out to celebrate not only their anniversary, but how happy the family had become since I had changed. That’s when they had the accident. It was my fault. All my fault. If I hadn’t been such a horrible rebel, they wouldn’t have gone out that night to celebrate my turning things around! They would have been home, with Elaine and me, where they belong and they would still be alive!” She was sobbing so hard at this point, but she had to finish, she had to make Brian understand. “I finally let them into my heart, and they died. The same thing happened when I was nine with my best friend, Ella. She died of Leukemia.”

She got up and walked around the pool table to look out the window.

“Don’t you see? Every person I let get close to me ends up dying. I want you in my life Brian, but I’m so afraid that something will happen to you, too. I like you too much to risk that. If we just have sex, then I don’t risk losing you that way.” She hangs her head and cries quietly.

Brian crosses the room quickly, spins her around and lifts her chin to force her to look him in the eye. “Eva. Listen to me. Your friend had Leukemia. There was nothing you could do to help her. Unfortunately, children die every day from that disease. And your parents? Oh Sweetie, your parents did not die because of you. You gave them a wonderful gift by accepting their love. The accident wasn’t your fault, it couldn’t have been. But you made them so happy; you made their last few weeks the best they could ask for.”

He places a tender kiss on her forehead and says, “I want to be in your life. I’m not afraid. There’s nothing that can hurt me just because you let me in. I’m going to be here for a long, long time, if you’ll just let me. What do you say, Eva? Will you let me get to know the real you? It’s what I want more than anything.”

She looks at him and sees the honesty on his face. He has tears in his eyes and she knows that this is it. This is the first step she needed to take. It feels amazing and suddenly, she feels as if the weight of the world had been lifted from her shoulders. Her heart feels lighter, bigger, and happier than she can ever remember it feeling. She starts to giggle.

As she wipes the tears from her cheeks, she whispers, “Yes. Yes Brian, I’m letting you in. If you’re willing to come into such a strange place, I’m willing to make room for you. I can’t guarantee I will do everything right, but I’m going to try. I want you in my life and my heart. But hold on, it might be a bumpy ride!” she continues to cry and giggle at the same time.

Brian breaks into a huge smile, picks her up and swings her around and starts yelling, “Whoo-hooo! Yes! Eva, I’m ready for whatever kind of ride this will be! I promise you won’t be sorry you let me in.”

He sits her down on the edge of the pool table and leans in to seal their deal with a kiss. As soon as their lips touch, he pulls her hips towards him until she’s at the edge of the pool table. He can feel the heat of her pussy burning him through his jeans. Suddenly, he can’t wait any longer to touch her, taste her, to have her completely. They both feel an urgency in getting each other’s clothes off. They part lips just long enough for him to slip her tank top off over her head, revealing her firm breasts. He cradles them in his hands and buries his mouth between them, placing delicate kisses and breathes in the sweet scent of her, making him harder than he thought possible.

Eva pulls his shirt out of his jeans and over his head and as his lips find hers again, she makes quick work of his belt buckle. She’s interrupted by her cell phone ringing in her pocket. She recognizes Elaine’s ringtone so she ignores it; she can call her back later. There is no way she’s stopping Brian now. She moans as his slides his hands inside her jeans and grabs her ass, lacing his fingers in her thong.

Her phone had stopped but started ringing with Elaine’s ringtone again. Shouldn’t Elaine be doing with Nick what she’s trying to do with Brian? Why is she persistent in trying to reach Eva? The more she thinks about it, the odder it is. She breaks their kiss to catch her breath and it quits ringing again. Brian is so into Eva’s body he hadn’t even heard the phone ring. “Everything ok?” he asks, out of breath himself.

“I don’t know. Elaine is trying to get a hold of me for something. I guess she’ll call back.” Placing her phone on the table, Eva smiles as she pulls Brian’s belt out of his jeans and says, “Now, where were we?” and pulls him back into a kiss. She knows this is the moment she’s been waiting for. Her phone rings again and her heart lurches. Something isn’t right. Brian can feel her body stiffen and hands her the phone from the pool table.

“What the hell do you want Elaine? Can’t this wait until morning?” she asks.

It’s not Elaine’s voice on the other end. “Miss James, this is John, I’m a paramedic. Your number is the only one listed as an emergency contact number for Miss Elaine James. I need to speak with you.”