Pulling out of the kiss, she stopped to assess him…suspicious of some mischief going on.
"What did you do that for?"
"What do you mean?" He said, playing dumb.
"That's not very nice of you to do, Dunsin." She clocked him, "I know you did that to spite him." She exposed.
"No, I didn't. I wanted to kiss you." He lied.
Annoyed, she confronted him…
"Look here, Dunsin. I understand that you like me, as do I. But what I do not appreciate is being used as a tool to cope with one's jealousy. That wasn't cool at all, and you know it."
Just then, Benjamin Gates approached them.
"Can I have a moment with you?"
She and Dunsin exchanged glances at each other, and without any words spoken, she excused herself. Benjamin took her to one of the rooms…
"Why did you bring me here?"
He hesitated.
"I brought you here because I wanted to have a private conversation with you. But it's totally fine if you don't want to be here." He assured her.
Looking around, she smiled at him in approval.
"It's okay, we can stay here."
Gathering his thoughts, he heaved a sigh before proceeding…
"I like you, Eva." He began, "No, scratch that because you already know that." They both giggled. "I'm in love with you, Eva. My feelings for you have grown overtime— times shared together have really charged my emotions for you."
He stared at Eva, but she stood there speechless, amazed by the revelation.
"I, I…I don't know what to say, Benjamin."
"You don't have to say anything." He clarified. "I just wanted to let you know how I truly feel about you. You may not know this, but uhm…yeah, I got really jealous seeing you kiss that guy back there." He admitted.
Embarrassed, she held his hand, "I'm sorry you had to see that. Dunsin was just acting jealous."
"I wouldn't blame the young man. I mean, if I had a beautiful woman like you by my side, I'd definitely mark my territory to ward off other men."
They both laughed.
"I hope you don't mind, but uhm, are you two together?"
"No, we're not…It's kind of complicated."
"By complicated, you mean…like our kind of situation?"
"I guess. Something like that."
He moved closer to her to close the gap between them.
"Eva, I want more with you. I want more than this." He said, making direct eye contact with her, "I want you. Let's give us a chance."
Feeling overpowered by his aura, she stayed quiet. Gazing deeply into his eyes. Searching… she finally let her intrusive thoughts win, and she drew near and kissed him intensely— without reason, without second thoughts, she just went for it.
Consumed by a mutual desire, he held on tightly to her waist, in a "never-letting-go" position and basked in the kiss. She touched his hair, rubbing on it gently and pulling his face closer to hers, to deepen the kiss. Fueled by her longing for his touch, he trailed his fingers on her back, arousing every sensational part of her being…teleporting her to heaven…
Determined to take things to the next level, he lifted her up against the wall, spreading her thighs over his waist, until…
"What the fuck, dude??? Get away from her!"
Dunsin raged at him, attacking him violently from the back, with Eva falling down to the ground on her back, when Benjamin lost his grip.
"JESUS CHRIST! Eva, I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to…"
He exclaimed, racing toward her to assist in getting her up.
"Get the hell away from me, you monster!" She screamed at the top of her voice, visibly enraged at his unnecessary outburst. "I never want to see you again!"
Shocked at her resolve, he still attempted to move closer to her, hoping to calm her down, apologize and explain things to her…
"You heard her, man. LEAVE!" Benjamin ordered him, shoving him out with fury running through him.
"Yo what's your problem, man?!" Dunsin protested, fighting back.
Things quickly escalated as Benjamin kicked and punched him hard…
"Hey! You two, cut it out!" Eva cried out, begging.
But they paid no attention to her, and they continued to engage in the violent confrontation. She kept screaming and shouting for help, until the room became suddenly filled with people murmuring and cheering them on.
"Pleaseeee, do something before somebody dies!" Eva cried, and she continued pleading for an intervention.
Luckily, three guys stepped in to cut the boys off. There were side talks, whispers and murmurs among the crowd, and she could feel every eyes on her.
Devastated and embarrassed to be there, she stormed out of the room…she wanted to return to her hostel. While she continued to run without looking back, a voice called out to her…
"Hey Eva, wait!" A female voice called out.
But she continued to run, without stopping to look at who it was. The female ran back to the compound, got into her car, and drove to catch up with her.
"Eva, stop!" She cried up. "Get in, let me take you home."
She eventually stopped to look at the person trailing her in the car… It was Mabel.
"Mabel?"
"Yeah, it's me." Mabel said, "Now I know I'm the last person you would want to see or talk to, but I can't let you go home alone. It's too dangerous to be out here alone. Come on, hop in."
Standing still, unsure about taking up her offer, she shook her head in disapproval.
"No, thank you, but I'll be
fine."
"Come on, Eva, don't be stubborn. Look, I get it, okay? But please you need to trust me when I say that I have no intention of hurting you."
"Maybe not tonight." Eva said defiantly.
"Alright, fine, maybe not tonight." Mabel said in a sarcastic tone.
They both stared intently at each other before bursting out laughing.
"Now get in, will you?" Mabel said, smiling.
Eva got into the car and they drove off. It was a quiet, smooth ride back home, until Mabel parked in front of Eva's place.
"Thanks for the ride, Mabel. I really appreciate it."
"It's no biggie, it's actually the least I could do." She replied with a hint of sincerity in her tone.
Stepping out of the car, Eva stopped abruptly, reflecting a little before turning back to Mabel before she drove off…
"I wanted to apologize for that day…" She started, "You didn't deserve that. I'm truly sorry, Mabel. You're a good person."
"No need to apologize, Eva. If anyone should be apologizing right now, it should be me. I'm the one who's been in your business all these years, causing nothing but trouble. I feel so horrible for all that I've put you through. I totally deserved that, if you ask me." She acknowledged. "Will you ever forgive me?" She said, throwing puppy eyes at her.
"Of course! Of course I forgive you, Mabel."
"Thank you! From now on, let's just put the past behind us and move on, okay? Truce?"
"Truce." Eva agreed, "Now, off you go. It's really getting late and I wouldn't want anything happening to you for my sake."
"Sure thing. Have a goodnight, Eva Beckhams!"
"And you have a wonderful night, Mabel Chibowski!"
Mabel drove off, while Eva made her way into the building, regretful of how badly the night ended, but thankful to be back safely, and reconciling with her once-upon-a-time archenemy…