Evie left to go to the toilet, Rebecca said Evie didn’t like talking about them, that it upset her. I tried to leave it alone, but dammit, I want Evie to open up.
The dark cloud in Evie’s eyes disappears and she sits up straighter, excitement radiating from her. “The earth is floating in space, right?”
That is not what I saw her asking. If this is going to be one of those crazy theories about whether or not the earth is round or flat, I’m out of here. One of my last flings truly believed the earth was flat and would rant constantly about it. I’m not sure I could go through that kind of torment again, no matter how drawn I am to the person.
“Um, yeah?”
Her brows scrunch together. “You don’t sound so sure.”
Eli and Becca laugh, and I briefly narrow my gaze on them. “Yes, I’m sure.”
“So, we’re basically floating on the earth’s gravity?”
“Where are you going with this?” I ask, a smile teasing my lips, because she looks so damn cute when she’s being serious.
“So, what if every person in the world got together and jumped at the same time? Would the earth shake? Would it be like a spring and bounce before resetting?”
I’m stumped because as random as the question is, I’m intrigued to know the answer, but since we would never get the entire population to try it, we’ll never know.
“No idea,” I answer, still running over it in my mind.
Rebecca leans across the table, grabbing a handful of nuts out of the bag. “She loves ‘what if’ questions.”
“Yeah, because you should question everything,” Evie snaps, affronted. “I mean, if Cinderella’s shoe fit, why the fuck did it fall off? And what if the comet that killed all the dinosaurs was actually a UFO and we were aliens invading the earth?”
“You really have thought about this,” I state, sniggering.
She crosses her arms over her chest, letting out a yawn. “I have.”
“C’mon, I’ll call a taxi and I’ll get you home.”
“I don’t want to go home,” she whines.
“I think you’ve had enough to drink,” I declare, shifting my unfinished pint away from her when she goes to grab it.
“I’m not drunk.”
Not as drunk as she was, no, but still intoxicated. I lean in closer, my breath fanning across her face. “Then you won’t mind me taking you home.”
Scarlet heat caresses her cheeks as she lets out a breath. “You don’t want to take me home.” Her voice is barely a whisper.
I wrap my finger around a silky tendril of her hair. “And why is that, Evelyn?”
“Please don’t call me that,” she pleads, a shadow of sorrow and darkness filling the warmth of her eyes.
“Then tell me why you are fighting this so much, Evie,” I order gently, tugging on the strand of hair.
“I’ve called you a taxi,” Rebecca declares, sitting back down in her chair. I hadn’t realised she left. And going by the way she’s looking at my brother, she ordered them one too.
“I love you,” Evie suddenly yells, her gaze locked on Becca. “You’re awesome. I needed tonight.”
Becca high-fives her. “Right back at ya, bab.”
“Taxi for Evie?” is yelled by the door.
I grab her bag off the floor and help her to stand. “We’ll speak to you later.”
“Don’t hurt her,” Becca warns, and I feel something hidden behind the words. A threat. A promise. I’m not sure. I don’t stay to study her expression or question her. Instead, I give her a sharp nod, pull Evie into my arms, and head for the door.
“You know, Cinderella went to the ball, no doubt had a drink, and got piss poor drunk. Maybe that’s how the shoe slipped off,” Evie mumbles, making me chuckle.
I stop her outside the taxi, the door already open. “Or maybe she wanted to make sure her prince fought for her.”
Her nose twitches. “Well, I guess that could be true.”
I help her inside the taxi before shutting the door behind me. I open my mouth to tell him where to go when words fail me. I have no idea where she lives.
“Where are we going?”
“Home,” she answers, digging her phone out of her bag. Whatever she sees on the screen has her turning it off and shoving it back into her bag.
My lips twitch. “Yeah, but, babe, where’s home?”
“Oh,” she mutters, before rattling off the address to the taxi driver.
It doesn’t take us long to pull up outside some flats.
“You live here?”
The area isn’t great, but the people do their best to take