The Crying Bridge

The Crying Bridge--Chapter 12

 Evan and Dan sat across from each other at a small Mexican restaurant not far from the youth center where Dan worked full-time and Evan volunteered part-time. For the third time since they'd sat down just a few minutes ago, Evan yawned.

"This girl you're seeing must really be something," Dan said smiling. He'd been smiling a lot today because Evan had finally given him Jenny's phone number. "You've been yawning and dragging your ass all morning. She wearin' you out?"

"It's not like that," Evan said. "She's been having some trouble out on her property and I was out there pretty late last night trying to help out. And, yes, she is really something."

"What sort of trouble?" Dan asked.

Evan waved his hands in the air. "Hard to explain, sort of unexplainable really."

"What do you mean, like spooky unexplainable?" Dan asked. Dan was a total believer in all things spooky.

Evan laughed a little. "Yeah, I guess. She's been hearing some strange noises, having odd dreams, that kind of thing. I don't really know what to make of it."

"So you stayed with her last night?" Dan asked.

Evan shook his head. "I wanted to, wanted to make sure she was safe, that she'd be alright, but she sent me home."

"So...you haven't slept with her yet?"

"Well, it's only a week tomorrow since I met her," Evan reminded him.

"Yeah, but you've seen her almost everyday since, right?" Dan asked.

"Yeah, so?" Evan asked

Dan shrugged. "It's just a little out of character for you," Dan said. "You usually seal the deal pretty early on, don't you?"

"What?? No, I am not a womanizer, Dan." Evan told him.

Dan gave him a patient look. "I know you're not a womanizer, but I've know you now for a couple of years and you've dated four different women not counting this new one, and you usually get to the sex pretty quickly, right?"

Evan played with his napkin. "Not that quickly, I don't think," he replied a little sullenly.

"Okay let's review. First, there was Amy, that was about six weeks, right? And you saw her like twice a week if I remember correctly and by week two, you were sleeping with her."

"Amy was sweet, I liked her," Evan remembered. "But she was younger by a few years, and inexperienced. Not a virgin, but not far from it. She was totally willing and it just happened fast. But it didn't last because while she was willing, her inexperience got the better of her. I mean, she enjoyed it, I made sure she did, but she was almost embarrassed that she enjoyed it. For me, well, I enjoyed it, too but guys always enjoy it. But it wasn't exactly good sex for me. She had too many hang-ups and it just didn't work out."

"Then I believe Rachel came next," Dan said.

Evan smiled. "Rachel," he said and had there been a woman in earshot of that, the way he said it and the look on his face would have marked him a pig in her book.

"Let me see if I remember, correctly," Dan said. "After your first date with her, you came to work and said something to the effect that she was too dumb to fuck but you did anyway."

Evan reddened. "Okay, not my finest hour, I'll admit that. But in my defense, that's all she was after, no strings, just fun. She made that clear. So we had fun for a while. And, god the poor girl was dumb."

"Okay, what about Jessica?" Dan asked.

Evan had dated Jessica the longest, almost four months. "You know, Jessica and I really hit it off. We had a lot in common, a lot of fun together. I didn't sleep with her until we'd been dating for almost a month."