ELIZA

CHAPTER TWELVE: SURPRISE

I couldn't believe it.

"What?" I managed to choke out.

I forgot about the apartment, about the snot, about Camila. I felt cheated, I just didn't know by whom, Cosma or maybe by Tom? Were they both toying with me?

The man pulled over to the side of the road and turned on the emergency lights. He could finally let go of the steering wheel, which he didn't do immediately. He looked at me after two long minutes.

"We're cousins. He came to work to me today to ask for your number, because someone supposedly stole his cell phone. We talked for a while and I wanted to be fair, so I told him that I'd like to go out with you if you two didn't work out."

I cleared my throat. I wouldn't put it that way. Our relationship simply... blurred. Until now, I thought neither of us had made an attempt to contact with one another after the trip.

"I wouldn't have anything to say to him because I don't feel anything for him," I muttered, although I was glad to know that Cosmo was trying to get my phone number. What I feared the last few days is that he thought of me as a bore.

"Of course, to put it mildly, Cosmo declared that I was a scoundrel, and because he was always hot-tempered, we quickly began to exchange blows.

It seemed to me that after such a message, I should sober up immediately. However, this cold water hadn't actually been poured over, so in fact my head was still spinning. I tried to get a grip, but I still didn't understand how, out of so many millions of people, I could actually meet the cousins?

I felt like a victim. A victim of a perverse fate and a woman who attracts misfortunes. A real femme fatale. If I hadn't met Cosmo, Tom would have never been beaten. However... If I hadn't met Cosmo, probably I would have never sat in the car with Tom. I could have still sat at Barb's apartment, drooling over her boyfriend and dreaming that he would confess his love to me one day. I almost smiled because my fantasies came true.

"I don't want to talk about him since he acted like an asshole," I mumbled, and suggested to tell me how his day was.

He accepted it with enthusiasm. He worked in the office as a manager and served clients all day long. He always talked about his work with excitement in his voice, so you could see that he cared about it. I was glad that he belonged to the small group of lucky people who loved what they did. I hope I also join this honorable group one day.

I didn't want to dwell on my relationship with Cosmo anymore. It may be strange, but I preferred to hear about Tom's work and his everyday problems than to analyze the actions of an ex-partner. I didn't care about him, at least not the way I should. All that mattered was Tom and the fact that I felt so at ease with him, as if I'd known him for years.

The way to the apartment went very quickly. We had a bit of a laugh at the HR department when Tom talked about little problem in the company, and then I suggested for him to go inside for a moment. I used the term for a moment on purpose - I didn't want him to think I was slutty. I felt weak whenever I remembered how easily Cosmo got me laid, and that he might tell Tom one day about it as a revenge.

The truth was, I didn't have too many guys. Well, Cosmo was second, because my first love was a boy with whom I went to the prom and by giving him my virginity I really deluded myself that I would become his wife in the future. We dated for four years, and our relationship went down in history after he forgot to log out of a social networking site. Out of curiosity I found out how often I was cheated.

Something like this stays in your psyche forever. Maybe that's why I'm not attracted to someone like Cosmo - boots, leather and parties until morning are something which I take as a threat. I still remember long, crying nights after my first break up.

Tom, on the other hand, seemed perfect - he repeatedly said that for him the most important things in a relationship were sincerity and loyalty. His parents have been together for thirty years and he wanted to follow this family pattern.

Lucky for me! Hope I won't destroy it.

I tried my best to go straight up the stairs because I knew that Tom didn't like alcohol. Not that he was abstinent or deliberately avoided him, but he was certainly not his connoisseur. I didn't think he would like me like that, staggering.

"I'm sorry you see me like this," I tried to explain as I stumbled on the last step leading to the apartment. I knew lying was useless, so I decided to be honest. I walked to the door and took the key out of my purse.

"I drank because I thought you weren't coming. That you probably said too much and you don't want me to get my hopes up or anything..."

I don't know why I was babbling like that, really. If I had been sober, I would have found of better words for the same sentence, but the alcohol clearly made me chatty.

"No," he said. He grabbed my hand, stopping me from going inside. "I have no regrets," he told me right to my eyes.

This was the moment. I saw him approach me and his lips touched mine. I wanted to stop this moment forever, melt into that kiss, but... someone stopped me:

"What are you...?!"

It was Barb.

She was standing pissed off at my apartment door. We broke apart as if we had been electrocuted.

"What are you doing here?"

Apparently, Tom wasn't lost for words.

It wasn't until the shock of the sudden turn of events was over that that I realized it was my fault. A long time ago I gave Barb the key to my apartment because we were going on vacation with Leon and Camila. And since I had plants on the windowsill, I asked Barb to look after them. I never took back her full set of keys.

Barb looked at me and her ex-boyfriend with tears in her eyes. It was the first time I saw her cry.