Eva Ch. 03

I moan as her soft, alabaster hands gently stroke my velvet thighs. The silk sheets are cool on my back, sliding across my skin so sensually. Her hair drapes across my legs, tickling my tender skin and heightening every touch.

Then, something snaps.

I hear a small gasp as I roughly pull her face to my opening.

She pushes her hands off my thighs and flies away from me, wiping her mouth.

"Stay away from me, you filthy dyke! You're nothing but a fat, smelly, filthy dyke! I hate you!"

The venom fills her face and distorts it, twisting into a grotesque caricature. In fact, it is becoming something new altogether.

I watch in horror as her willowy frame transforming into a gigantic, ugly creature. Spit flying from her wide, gaping mouth, she hisses at me.

"Filthy, fat, slobbery, slime! Get away from me, GET AWAY FROM ME!"

Bursting forth from her flimsy silk slip, her arms, now long and hairy, frantically scuttle backwards as she continues to spew depraved, noxious bile from her fanged maw.

Around me, the sensuous, sleek, candle-lit harem we had been lying in melts to the ground, leaving nothing but oozing piles of slime, scattered around the tattered pallet I am sprawled out on.

In revulsion and shock, I reach one hand out towards her, just as she begins to scream.

All of a sudden, I awake with a start. For a moment, I am still ensnared by my nightmare, and feverishly tear my bed apart looking for spiders.

It is still early, that I can see from the darkness outside my window. Wiping the cold sweat from my brow, I grab the alarm clock from my side table to check the time.

4:36 AM.

I groan out loud. Tonight I promised to have dinner with Eva and Jacob.

After tossing and turning for a few minutes, I decide to get up and start the day early.

I take a hot shower, scrubbing away all of the shameful remnants of my nightmare.

As much as I try to ignore it, my nightmare disturbs me. I know now that I have to reveal my true feelings to Eva. If I don't, I will live a lifetime of regret.

Walking back into my room, I spy a piece of white paper sticking out from underneath my dresser. I walk over and pick it up. It is an old birthday card.

On the front is a sparkly pink birthday cake. The glitter is scratchy as I run my fingertips over it, like sandpaper. I open up the card and read the words scribbled on the inside.

Dearest, darling Julie,

How do I love thee? Let me count the ways! Ha ha, just kidding. I am serious though. You're my best friend and I love you. You're the only one who was looking out for me when I needed you to most.

Anyway, enough with the mushy stuff. Happy 18th, kid!

Your partner in crime,

Eva

Teardrops roll off my cheeks and onto the careworn paper. After tonight, she won't love me anymore.

Tenderly, I put the card in my top drawer and get dressed.

My mind is a million miles away as I bump down the stairs. So far away, in fact, that I don't see the dark figure sitting on the bottom step until it's too late.

With a startled shout, I trip and we both go flying. I end up lying on my back on the hardwood floor, with a heavy form on top of me.

Quickly, Uncle Joe scrambles off of me and pulls me to my feet.

"Are you okay?"

The wind knocked out of me, it is all I can do to nod. I follow him into the shadowy kitchen, illuminated only by the faintest fingers of dawn peeking out over the horizon.

I sit down at the granite countertop as he opens the fridge. In the light spilling out of the door, I can see that he is weary, with dark circles prominent under his eyes.

"Do you want some juice?"

"I guess so. My throat is a little scratchy."

As he hands me the glass, I can see his eyes scan up and down my body, finally coming to rest on my face.

"What are you doing up so early?"

I shrug, unable to look at him in the face.

"Couldn't sleep."

When Uncle Joe doesn't respond, I glance over to see him crimson faced, staring at his feet. He shuffles embarrassedly before opening his mouth.

"Me neither. I feel really weird about the other day."

Somehow, his confession makes me feel better about the incident myself.

"No, it's okay, it was an accident," I assure him, "besides, we're related, so it doesn't really count."

"I know, it's just, well, you're all grown up, and, I don't know, I just got uncomfortable."

His shy awkwardness makes me smile. I don't know why I ever disliked him so.

I down the rest of my juice and put the glass in the sink, yawning.

"I think I'm going to go back to bed. I'm not feeling so well."

"Okay," Uncle Joe replies, "Shout if you need me."

I walk back up the stairs and throw myself down on the bed, falling asleep immediately.

Six hours later, my brother banging on my bedroom door awakens me.

"Hey, sis! Eva's on the phone for you!"

Grumbling, I drag my sore, aching body out of bed and open the door.

Standing in front of my door is my sixteen-year-old brother, holding out the cordless phone. His eyes widen as he takes in my bedraggled appearance.

"Shit, sis. You look like crap."

"Thanks," I say sarcastically, slamming the door.

Flopping down on my pink coverlet, I rasp into the phone, "Hey?"

"Hey, Julie! It's me!"

I chuckle nervously to myself.

"Yeah, I know. What did you want to talk about?"

"I just wanted to remind you about dinner tonight."

I groan quietly.

"Thanks, actually, I forgot. I just woke up."

"Seriously? Julie, it's noon!"

"About the dinner..." My thought is interrupted by an uncontrollable coughing fit.

"Hey, Julie, are you okay? Look, if you're sick, we can have dinner some other time."

"Yeah, sure. Thanks."

We chat idly for a few more minutes, discussing the finals we took last week, upcoming graduation, and college.

Finally, I hang up, breathe a sigh of relief, and fall back into my fever-induced coma.

I am awakened for the third time today, now by my mother gently shaking my shoulder.

"Honey, Eva's here for you," she whispers in my ear. "If you want me to send her away because you're sick, I can do that. I don't think it's a good idea for you to be seeing someone like her now."

Irritated, I snap back, "No, I'll go see her."

As I walk, zombie-like, down the stairs, I see Eva waiting in my front hall with a pizza. When she hears me coming down, she whirls around, a smile lighting up her face to rival a spotlight.

"Hey," she calls out, "are you feeling any better?"

Ignoring her question, I yawn and ask, "What time is it?"

"Almost eight-o-clock, silly! Have you been sleeping all day?"

"Yeah."

"Well, you look sick. You're so pale."

I roll my eyes as I grab the pizza.

A few hours later, I'm sitting on the couch, the pizza gone, watching Eva watch TV.

The flickering blue light of the screen makes her honey-red hair look green. That fair creamy skin I swear I could feel under my fingertips is washed out and pale. She is looking at the TV, but her eyes are glassy and unfocused.

Yawning, I nudge her knee gently with my foot.

"Eva?"

Without moving her eyes from the screen she murmurs, "Mm-hm?"

I take a deep breath. It's now or never.

"I just wanted to say I'm sorry."

She looks at me now, surprise written all over her face.

"For what?"

Not saying a word, I slip my feet under my legs, raising myself to my knees. The seconds tick by like hours as I slowly lean over Eva's lithe body.

When my face is a few inches from hers, her eyes flutter shut and a sigh escapes her supple lips. The feeling of her warm breath floating over my face is my undoing. My eyes sliding shut, I press my lips to hers.

I lay my body onto hers, settling in against her soft curves so perfectly.

It is exactly as how I had remembered, and yet so much more intense. The quiver of her lips, the silkiness of her skin, the comforting solidness of her hip in my hand, all spark a fire within me.

This is no gentle heat settling in the pit of my stomach, no, this was far different. It is searing, tingling, from my head to my toes, extending out to my fingertips and out the end of every hair on my scalp.

I run my hands between us, up and down her stomach, finally slipping beneath the hem of her shirt to stroke her bare ribs.

One of my thighs slips in between hers and nudges her in her most sensitive place.

With a gasp, her arms tighten around my shoulders and she breaks the kiss. As I stare into her moist blue eyes, I see so many emotions, too many to count. I see arousal and confusion, but most of all, fear.

Dipping my head once more, my tongue slides in between her cherry lips to the wetness of her mouth.

Abandoning her mouth, I trail soft kisses down her jaw line and to her neck. I suck gently on her collarbone as her hands stroke up and down my back.

I grab the hem of her shirt, about to pull it up, when I feel her hand on mine.

"No," she breathes, "stop."

I look up and see the horror and shock in her face.

"No, I can't do this," she says, shaking her head, "I can't do this."

Stunned, I can do nothing but watch as she slides out from underneath me and walks out the door.