Plus One

Gold Rush

Ethan moved Anna gently from on top of him without waking her. He made his way downstairs with his phone to the living room and dialed the one number he always did when he felt like this. "You've reached Ezra Crane. Leave a bomb ass message or else you're not getting a call back." Ethan had been paying for Ezra's phone bill for the last year and a half. It was the only way outside of home videos where he could hear his voice.

"Hey, bro, I miss you. You should've been at the event tonight. Tiffany showed her ugly face and tried to start something with Anna, but I shut it down. It makes me really happy that she met you and spent time with you. I really like her, E. She's good and pure, but I'm afraid I'll ruin it. I'll mess up her life like I did yours. I'm so fucking sorry, E. It should've been me that night. It should've been me." Ethan cried into his hand.

Anna tipped toed around the front of the couch and put her arm around him startling him. He quickly hung up the phone and wiped his eyes. "Hey, what are you doing awake? You need your rest." He tried to sound happier than he looked. "Ethan, babe, tell me what's wrong." He saw the worry etched on her face and sighed. "Nothing, baby, just go back to sleep." Anna frowned. "I can't go back to sleep knowing you're downstairs crying. Let me in, babe. Tell me what's wrong."

He stood up and reached for her hand and led them back to bed. Anna lay on his chest knowing that he wasn't ready to open up to her and it saddened her. She laid like that until his breathing leveled out. She made sure he was asleep before she tipped toed to her makeshift studio before locking the door. The townhouse came with two bathrooms and two and half bedrooms. She wasn't sure what a half bedroom would look like, but it was perfect for her painting hobby.

She sat in front of the large canvas that she was painting for the Crane family and smiled. It was a painting of the photo from Jamley's Joint. She knew they would love it and was thankful she could give them something to cherish. She spent three hours painting and was almost done. She smiled down at it before going back to bed. She looked at the clock it was 4 am and she would pay for it. Anna was exhausted but she couldn't shake her feelings about Ethan. Something was eating at him. Something had been eating at him for a while it seemed. Anna just wanted to help him. She wanted to comfort him any way possible, but he had to let her in. He had to trust her enough with the weight he carried.

Ethan woke up at 9 am and knew Anna hadn't fallen asleep when he did. She seemed exhausted and deep in slumber. He left her to sleep in as he got dressed and made his way to his car. Garth looked at him as if peering into his soul. "I guess I can always talk to you, can't I boy?" He meowed causing Ethan to laugh. The cat understood them he was sure of it. He left Anna a note on her fridge that he was going to run errands and then head to his parents' early and would call her later. He hated that she walked in on him. He didn't want to explain. He didn't want to share the stupidest thing he ever did. The thing that ruined the lives of his family members and got his baby brother killed.

As he drove to the high-end boutiques in North Portland, he smiled at the gifts he had in mind for Anna's family. They were spending Christmas Eve with the Anderson's and Christmas Day with his family. As he made his way to Hermes to buy Arielle a Birkin bag, he noticed the stares from some young women and grinned. He would have normally introduced himself and flirted his way into a foursome, but that wasn't him anymore.

He made quick work of buying a bag and wallet set for Arielle before heading to get front row tickets to every home game of the Portland Trail Blazers for Aiden and whatever flavor of the week he was into. His family's travel agent already booked an all-expense paid trip for Adaline and Andrew to Turks and Caicos. He figured out what to get Noah at the event for Andrew. He was a man that was proud of his shoes. He had expressed saving up for the Alexander McQueen derby shoe in confidence, so Ethan was going to grant him his wish.

The last person he needed to buy for was Anna. He wanted to buy her a plethora of things and just show her how much she meant to him regardless of the amount of time they'd been together. He walked past a few stores before he happened on a boutique and stopped. They had the most interesting looking diamond ring. It was mostly made of five strands white gold rope with a diamond band going across it. He bought it immediately. She had to have it.

He picked up some Yves St. Laurent sunglasses, as well as, some dresses and chic suits that he knew she'd love to wear to work. He finally stopped at the Cartier store and found the most perfect watch for her. He knew she would hate how much he spent on her, but she was his girlfriend and if he couldn't spoil her who could he spoil.

He made his way home and wrapped the gifts with the ridiculously expensive wrapping paper from a paper boutique. He placed the gifts in his trunk so he didn't have to worry about forgetting them. His family was easy to buy for. His mother always got a Master Class gift card to learn from the greats. His father got new clubs. Eliza and Jo loved taking trips, but hated planning them, so Ethan took care of that for them. He wondered what Anna was going to get his family. He knew she was probably anxious about buying gifts for millionaires, but he knew they'd love anything she got them.