step daddy 2 - e.d

ELEVEN

  part two

  warning: sexual content

  luckily there are only four of them. i was briefly introduced while they took of their shoes at the doorway. harvey, devin, aidan and joshua. i already know joseph and aidan. we're all sat in the kitchen and it's a little too loud for my liking. joshua is on his phone scrolling through instagram and i'm pretending to be on mine, looking at it for a split second every now and then when what i'm actually focussed on is ethan.

i love seeing him so happy. he seems to be so comfortable and looks as if he's having a lot of fun with his friends. they're all laughing and they've already opened up beer bottles which — if i'm being completely honest — i'm not entirely enthusiastic about. i hate it when ethan drinks alcohol. i zone out on him and him only. the way his eyes crinkle slightly when he laughs and the sound of his laugh too. i do this intently for so long that i forget to keep looking back at my phone and joseph catches me staring.

"obsessed much?"

i can tell by the tone of his voice that he's joking but if he wasn't his little comment would've really cut deep.

ethan and i are getting along well after so long and it feels like i'm falling in love with him all over again. i'm glad that joseph was obviously joking since he's laughing now otherwise my whole mood would've been off for the rest of the night.

i look back at ethan, weirdly missing him already and he looks back at me this time. strangely, i feel as if i've been caught out on something i'm not supposed to be doing and so i turn back to joseph, leaning over to him.

"say something that'll make me laugh."

i sit back on my seat at the table. he leans over to me this time.

"why?"

i giggle obnoxiously and he looks confused. i roll my eyes and lean back over to him.

"because ethan looked at me when i was staring at him and i-"

i feel myself being gently — but firmly — pulled back.

"that's enough of that. rose, why don't you come and speak to my friends. they want to meet you properly."

i drop my hair from it's bun and tuck it behind my ears. ethan cups my face for a second, just staring at me which does make me slightly uncomfortable and so i extend my hand, which he uses to pull me up off of my chair. i sadly have to leave joseph behind.

awkwardly, i take a seat on one of the chairs on the kitchen island.

"hi."

i make an attempt to speak but do so rather quietly. ethan laughs at my pathetic attempt and i can tell he feels bad that nobody heard me. everyone's had a little to drink now and the noise levels are gradually rising, all the deep voices of his friends mixing together.

i begin to feel very self aware of the fact that i'm the only girl in the room but i brush it off.

ethan's here. nothing bad will happen.

he nudges harvey who stops talking and turns to him, causing a ripple effect on devin and joshua. ethan looks at me, then joshua, then harvey and then devin and aidan.

nobody speaks. devin takes a sip of his beer, which is his last sip and so he pops the lid off of another bottle. there's still silence apart from a small murmur coming from joseph's phone since he's watching a video quietly in the corner. devin turns around, going into the cupboard for something and i grin, reaching forward and snatching his drink.