My Best Friend's Brother

Chapter 18

Pulling on comfortable pyjamas and a sweatshirt, I left my room and peeked down in the living room. Mr. and Mrs. Wilson were sitting on the couch, talking to Erica and Ethan. I debated if I should go down or not for a minute. Every time I joined them, I felt like I was interrupting their personal conversations. After all, they do need their privacy. The fact that they let me stay in their house for three weeks is a big deal. Ethan was laughing about something while Erica shot him a disgusted look. Laughing, Ethan rested his head on the headrest and looked up. His eyes met mine and I felt the insides of my stomach do a little flip. Okay, what the hell was that? His laugh faded and he gave me a bright smile. I smiled back at him and walked down the stairs.

Mr. Wilson turned behind and said, "Ashley! Come, come, join us. We were just talking about the play. It was wonderful, don't you think so?"

I nodded enthusiastically and sat down next to Erica.

"I don't understand why Erica won't participate in such things," Mrs. Wilson said, shaking her head.

Erica rolled her eyes.

"Yes Erica, why won't you participate in such things?" Ethan asked innocently, resting his elbows on his knees and clasping his hands together.

"It's lame," Erica said, shooting him a look.

"Excuse me," I barged in. "What do you mean by 'it's lame'?"

Erica shrugged, "It's just lame."

"Oh please, you were the one who said that I was good on stage," I countered.

"That doesn't mean I want to be up there," she said with another one of her eye rolls.

"So, you're saying that the cool play we put up there is lame?" Ethan asked, raising his eyebrows.

"No," Erica said. "Can we just forget that I said that?"

I laughed as Mr. and Mrs. Wilson shook their head, chuckling.

"Anyway, the play was absolutely lovely," Mrs. Wilson said, getting back to the topic.

"Thank you," I said with a smile.

"You know, the two of you have great chemistry," Mr. Wilson said.

For some reason, my mind just floated off to the first conversation I had had with Ethan.

"Do you like Chemistry?"

"You mean this boring Chemistry with words?" He had continued before I could answer. "Or this sizzling chemistry between us?"

"I mean, the kiss felt very real, it wasn't like you were acting," Mr. Wilson added after a moment of silence.

I bit the insides of my lip and peeked at Ethan through my lashes. He was staring at me and he smiled. I felt myself blush a little.

"Thanks dad," he said, not taking his eyes of me.

Erica noticed this and raised her eyebrows at me. I shrugged and looked away.

"I'm going to go upstairs," Erica said, getting up. "I have some work to finish."

Erica gave a hug to Mrs. Wilson and started walking up.

I cleared my throat, "I'm going to go as well. Very tired."

"Sure, sweety. Good night," Mrs. Wilson said with a sweet smile.

"Night," I replied and started walking up.

I could feel Ethan's steady gaze on me. Looking at him, I gave him one last smile as he mouthed 'sweet dreams.'