Irresistible Love

Chapter Ten// Player & Piece

Ethan Suave~

It was not simple for me. Without Elle's daily presence, I noticed how drained I endured, how flushed I must have appeared. But at the time, I did not think of my weariness that way; I simply blamed it on the flu. Before I had chosen Elle, life seemed so smooth. After all, they did not call me Suave for nothing.

But after getting a small sample of life with Elle, it was difficult to live without it. Similar to her laugh, Elle overall was like a drug to me--I craved for another lavish injection of her not-so-playful punches and chronic lectures on what I was doing wrong with my life. Stubborn but sweet. Rude but with her best intentions.

I knew exactly why she was furious with me, and I would not blame her. The words that I exchanged were pretty harsh and insensitive for her fragile temper. Right before my eyes, I saw her break. I should have known she would blow up on me. I should have known I was going to lose the bet against Devon.

Devon. My brother had been taking his time with Elle, different from his usually hostile handling. He typically got them over with in a week tops. Let me remind you that three weeks had passed since all of this madness emerged from the stupid game. The last time I remember Devon talking to Elle was at my house roughly two weeks ago. Since then, I had no knowledge of them ever making contact again.

Devon either did not care about the bet, or he had a finesse, strategic game plan. I was hoping that he just did not care. But, like with what happened with Elle, I was wrong. Terribly, terribly wrong.

Elle Summerall~

He gave me the impression that I was an object, like I was his possession. The words kept soaring through my mind like a flock of birds. "Sort of like a remembrance," he said. "Like a souvenir." I had never been so pissed in my life. Who says that? Or even things that kind of logic, for the matter?

It had been two days since we last spoke. We ignored each other in school, and for a moment, I felt as if he had finally left me alone. Maybe he moved on to his next victim. However, I constantly felt his stares slice through my back from across the cafeteria. Ethan could not have moved on without getting what he wanted from me. He wouldn't leave empty-handed without a trophy...without a drawing of me...without having sex with me...

~~~~~

Strolling through the school corridors, I finally reunited with Nicole. (She had been away on vacation in Florida to attend her cousin's wedding.) After explaining all of the previous events in great detail to fill her in on what was happening, I was pleased with myself for finally relieving some stress off my shoulders.

"Let me get this straight," Nicole declared, taking a pit stop to her locker. "You have been rendezvousing with Ethan? I'm sorry, I mean studying. What happened to avoiding him? Elle, I thought that we both settled on a game plan."

I sighed, "That was what I thought, too. But... Stuff happened, and it seemed to occur too quickly for me to realize what was going on. Ethan just came on to me. He bought me flowers and left me a surprise teddy bear in my locker one day. He also helped me pass my Romeo and Juliet essay. Ethan was not bullshiting any of it. He couldn't have been. I even met his family. When he was around his sister, Ethan was so genuine that it was too good to believe."

Nicole's locker flew open, and she began to grab books. "Elle," Nicole breathed, "can't you see what's going on? Ethan is just playing you. He probably did the exact same process to the rest. Trust me, I would know. Devon did a similar thing to me. He gave me flowers, and one day he brought me to a carnival and won me a stuffed animal. You're falling for it just like the other girls."