"Oh we know," Johnny laughed. "We've heard a lot about you."

"Oh," I looked over at Ethan with an amused grin. "Like what?"

"I think it's time we get going!" Ethan cut in and nervously smiled, "Let's go meet Rutger."

"Have fun, love birds!" Johnny cooed as we both walked away. That's weird, I thought as we got further away from them. They seemed nice, but they were also really loud and probably really drunk.

Ethan cupped his hands around his mouth and yelled, "McGroarty!"

A brunette guy's head perked in the direction Ethan and I were in as a smile grew on his face. "Ethan!" He pushed through the small crowd around him and hugged him. "What's up, man?" His attention turned to me as a smile grew on his face. "Yo, is this Esme?" He asked while pointing at me.

"Yeah, hi!" I responded back.

"Hey, I'm Rutger," he said. The host of the party was also fairly tall. "You guys want any drinks? We have beer, seltzer, water, and soda."

"I'll take a Coke." Ethan smiled.

"I'll have a seltzer, it doesn't matter what flavor." I smiled as well. Rutger snapped his fingers and rushed off to the kitchen. I looked up at Ethan and rested my hands on my hips. "He's a good host."

"Only the best," he looked down at me and smiled back.

I smirked, "Is that why he took up your offer for the couples to wear matching sweaters?"

His cheeks turned bright red as his eyebrows raised. "Who, uh," he stuttered. "Who told you that?"

I giggled, "Brooklyn." He stared at me a puzzled expression. "Mark told her."

"Oh," he looked down.

Rutger came back shortly with drinks while smiling. "Here you two go," he said as he handed the drinks to us. "So, what made you want to date this sly devil?" He asked while wrapping his arm around him.

I looked at Ethan before quickly looking back at Rutger with a nervous smile on my face. The first real test. Get approval from his friends. "Well at a party when I accidentally ran into him and spilled his drink all over himself, I looked into his beautiful brown eyes and instantly fell in love."

Ethan's head perked up, clearly caught off guard by what I had said. "That's so sweet, I didn't know if he would ever find love." He ruffled Ethan's hair while laughing. "Have you met the rest of the team yet?"

"Only Luke and Johnny. I already know Mark because he's dating my best friend," I said.

"You're best friends with Brooklyn?" He asked.

"Yeah, I live with her too. It's a nightmare with her and Mark at night," I laughed. He laughed at my joke as well, Ethan chuckling a bit.

"Well, I'm gonna go find the rest of the team. Catch ya later," he smirked while letting go of Ethan. "By the way, I love the matching sweaters. Great idea, Ethan." He winked at him before walking away.

I looked over at Ethan with a wide grin on my face. "Shut up," he shook his head. He immediately opened his drink and began chugging his Coke.

🏒🥅

Brooklyn and I danced on the floor because Mark and Ethan went to find their hockey buddies. I could hear Her Way by PARTYNEXTDOOR playing on the speakers. I decided to get a beer when I finished my 2nd seltzer and I was already halfway done.

Brooklyn spun me around and let go of me, causing me to laugh. I looked over and saw Ethan in the distance. I raised my hand to wave at him, but when the person in front of me moved over, I saw him talking to the brunette girl from the hockey game who said he liked her. They laughed together, she even placed her hand on his arm.

I must've been standing there for a while because Ethan turned his attention over to me and smiled wide. "Esme!" He left her in the dust and wrapped his arm around me. He led me back to her and gestured to her, "This is Michelle, she went to high school with me."

She looked at me, her look becoming more sinister. "So, you're the one who wore Ethan's jersey. Are you actually dating him or are you just crushing on him?"

"Uh, yeah." I looked up at Ethan while smiling. "I'm dating him." Ethan nodded his head.

"Oh," she eyed me up and down. "Well, Ethan never told me that."

"Yeah," I nodded my head with my eyes narrowed. "I think it made it pretty clear when he blew a kiss at me."

She just grunted and looked up at Ethan, "I'll see you around." She walked away while still eyeing him.

I glared at her as she walked away, then looked at Ethan. "You could've fake dated her."

"I don't want to fake date her," he began. "She's annoying and I like you, not her." He let go of me and defended himself.

I shook my head, "it sure seems like you like her." I turned away and began pushing through the crowd.

"Esme!" he yelled. "Esme, stop!" He grabbed my arm and swiveled me around before I could get through the kitchen door. "I promise, I would rather be in a fake relationship with you."

"Uh oh," Johnny yelled. "Looks like someone found themselves under the mistletoe! You know what that means?" His yelling was able to grab the attention from everyone around us.

"I'm not doing this," I frowned, turning away again. Before I could walk away, Ethan grabbed a hold of my wrist and spun me around. He grabbed a hold of my face and pulled me into a kiss. My eyes widened before they fluttered shut.

It was only for a second, but it felt like the kiss was longer. When we pulled away, my eyes slowly opened while staring in his eyes. "Did you just... kiss me?" I asked.

Ethan's eyes widened like he didn't think he'd do it either. "Uh, yeah. I did," a smile grew on his face. "You wanna do it again?"

I rolled my eyes, "rule 2." I walked away from him before his hockey buddies made us the center of attention again. But, I wanted to say yes.

I looked back at him while walking away. Him and I held eye contact while the group around him yelled. He smirked and winked at me, I felt my heart flutter and my face redden.

Shit, I thought. "Rule 1," I muttered to myself. I broke Rule mother fucking 1.

One Month || Ethan EdwardsWhere stories live. Discover now