Bittersweet Expectations (Hate at First Flight #0.5)

19. Being Unconcerned

"For your information, you guessed wrong. It wasn't an ex. It was a close friend." He chuckled dryly. "He once was at least."

I nodded slowly,  sensing there was more to the story that I didn't know or understand.

He downed another shot of rum.

I finished up my steak soon after. Then I got up and washed my plate. The entire time, I felt Ethan Clarke's eyes burning into the back of my head, but I acted as normally as I could.

After a couple of minutes, I wiped up and turned around.

Ethan Clarke stared at me with an unreadable expression.

"I never got to ask," he began, "why did you move to New York?"

My mind gaped open slightly, not expecting him to ask that question, before I started going through my answer.

I knew I couldn't exactly tell him the truth about Finn and I and what had happened so I opted for a textbook answer.

"I wanted to start a new life and experience the Big Apple."

He poured himself another glass but he didn't down it straight away. "And being a maid was the answer to that?"

I bit my lower lip before I shrugged. "I didn't expect to become a maid," I replied. "It just happened. I consider it a pit stop on the way to my dream, I guess."

"And what is your dream?"

For a couple of minutes, I just stared at him with incredulity and suspicion. He actually looked like he was curious to know but at the same time, I held this apprehension towards him because he was Ethan Clarke.

After concluding there wasn't any real harm in answering, I replied, "A manager."

"A manager? That's your dream?"

"What's wrong with it?" My voice filled with veiled anger.

"Nothing," he studied the bottle of rum again, tracing it with his fingers. "I just didn't take you as someone who did management?"

I arched a brow at him, my arms crossing together against my chest. "And what do I seen like? A maid?"

He shrugged. "I don't know," he said after a couple of minutes.

"Don't you think you should stop now?" I asked when I saw he was about to pour himself another glass.

"I thought you sai-

"You think I can afford to not care about your personal dealings right now when you're drinking yourself to death right in front of me right now?" I snapped.

He watched me, shock on his face at my outburst. After a couple of seconds, he spoke. "I'm not going to die from this."

"I'll take you to Building X," I said with finality in my voice.

Surprisingly, he corked the bottle again and nodded.

"Do you mind at least trying to carry your own weight?" I said a couple of minutes later as we made our way towards Building X.

I didn't fail to notice the irony of the situation. Almost a week ago, I was doing the same thing, lugging his unconscious body and here I was helping Ethan Clarke back to his house.

"I am," he said.

I sighed, knowing that he was leaning against me, his weight pushing me down.

After a couple minutes of us arguing, we entered Building X.

"You're the first woman to ever enter my room," he said as we entered his room. "You should feel honoured."

I rolled my eyes even though I knew he couldn't see me. "How about Diana then?"

He leaned down, his hot breath kissed my ears before he whispered almost conspiratorially, "She doesn't count."

I pushed down the urge to jump away. "Here you go," I said loudly enough to pull me away from how weird that had been.

He sat down on the bed, looking like he would faint as soon as his head touched the pillows.

"Do you need me to bring you something? Water?

"Yes please," he replied.

I stumbled back a bit. That was the first time he said please to me. I headed to the kitchen and grabbed water before I brought it back to him.

Ethan Clarke downed it in our gulp.

I took the cup and placed it on the table. "Now get some rest."

He nodded before he leaned back and layed down on the bed. He closed his eyes a second layer and I took that as my cue to exit.

I reached over to turn off the lights before his fingers closed around it and stopped me.

"Don't," he said, his eyes closed. "I don't like the lights off when I sleep."

"Okay," I said pulling my hand back. He doesn't let go and I stare at him for a second. "Let go."

He opened his eyes then and stare directly at me. "Don't leave me," he said, leaving me speechless.

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