Alps ✰ Ethma

THIRTY FIVE

    I suddenly felt his lips fully press against mine & I sighed into the kiss, tangling my free hand into his hair in order to pull him closer. He let out a deep huff through his nose as I tugged on a few strands of hair & tilted his head in order to deepen the kiss. I moved my lips harder against his, feeling his tongue slipping into my own mouth. It felt like pure bliss as I felt his soft eyelashes gently flutter against my skin, causing me to smile into the kiss.

    I pulled away at the same time as him after a few seconds, catching my breath as I licked my lips & cleared my throat.

    “It’s actually not that bad.” Ethan decided, referring to the taste of my ice cream & I felt a blush paint my cheeks.

    I took bite out of the soft serve, the almond flavor flooding my tastebuds. I felt a pair of eyes on me as I took another lick & I looked up to see Ethan staring at me with an unreadable expression, a dark eyebrow cocked.

    “What?!” I blurted out, not being able to hold in my small laugh as I covered my mouth with my hand. He let another shrug ripple through him as another smirk appeared onto his lips.

    “Just the way you eat your ice cream.” He spoke, rubbing his lips together before he smiled while aligning his teeth perfectly in a playful way.

    “What about the ‘way I eat my ice cream’?” I asked as he continued to stare at me lick the cold dessert again.

    “Jus’ makes me think of something else.” He stated, slowly dragging his eyes away from my face. A blush slowly creeped onto my face as I thought about what he meant & I slapped his bare arm, causing a hysterical laugh to escape his lips that were flushed pink from the cold custard.

    “Shut the hell up you pervert.” I spoke shortly, trying to hold in a laugh of my own to save myself some dignity. He ran a hand through his hair, ruffling the black mess slightly as he flicked his eyes to meet mine again.

    “I’m not a pervert, I’m not an adult yet.” He stated, his lips splitting apart into a sly grin. I frowned sarcastically at him.

    “I’m not a pervert, I’m not an–nah, nah, nah.” I mocked him, taking a bite of my slowly melting soft serve. He rolled his eyes as a small laugh left him, his shoulders bouncing up a little.

    “I’m gonna take a piss.” He announced, pointing his thumb behind him as he raised his arm up. My eyes moved to look past his head, seeing a small community bathroom to the left of the ice cream parlor. I nodded & held a thumbs up as I was too busy eating my ice cream to speak. He smiled down at me.

    “What?” I asked for the second time this afternoon, the word slurring as soft serve covered my tongue.

    “You’re just cute.” He replied, then turning around & walking towards the outdoor bathroom before I could say anything. I rolled my eyes at him, shaking my head as I finished the rest of my ice cream. I threw the rest of the waffle cone into the waste bin, not feeling like eating anymore as I wiped my hands on my skinny jeans.

    It might just be me, but lately Ethan has been a lot more useful of his words & his actions. For instance, he keeps staring at me lately & whenever I ask him why, he just tells me I’m cute or something. Also, he seems to always gravitate near me wherever we are, ever since we left the hospital. Maybe he’s just going through a phase right now...between losing his abusive dad due to a restraining order his mom put against Sean, & almost losing his own twin brother. He might just have attachment issues at the moment, not wanting to lose/almost lose anybody close to him that he cares about.