Wrong Quarterback | ✓

14 | kisses of water

        The warmth of the house embraces them as soon as they step over the threshold. Ethan closes the door behind them and turns the lights on, lamps flickering awake along the semi-hallway stretching in front of her, increasing the sense of warmth further.

Stood in her place just inside the door she lets her gaze wander over the space – the wide doorway opening up into a large living room to her left, the wooden bureau running along the wall of the semi-hallway and the staircase leading to the second floor across from it. Framed pictures hang all over the cream colored wall, another few frames stood atop the bureau alongside small decorative bowls and figures, a vase of fresh flowers in it's center.

Ethan drops his key into one of the drawers of the bureau, frowning as he turns around to look at her. "Are you cold?"

She shrugs as she flickers her eyes down to her arms where they're wrapped around her body, skin prickling with goosebumps along her arms and chest, the damp fabric of her dress having begun to dry up ever so slightly. The outdoor temperature itself isn't too cold, but having the rain completely pour over her – soaking every last inch of her clothes and her hair is enough to leave her shivering as the warmth of the house envelops her.

He rests his hand upon the wooden railing of the staircase, already climbing the first step. "Come on."

She frees herself of her soaked through tennis sneakers, leaving them by the door before following him up the stairs. She glances over to the opposite wall of photos but doesn't pause for a closer look, quick to not linger behind.

           The second floor, which has another staircase leading up to the top, seems smaller than the downstairs. Just above the landing an open space spreads before them and Avery feels her lips slip into a smile at the sight – on a fuzzy rug, a colorful set of lounge furniture take up the center of the room, three walls surrounding it lined with bookshelves stretching to ceilings, all painted in the same color as the walls. It's a reading nook – but a room. Ethan throws a glance over his shoulder as they walk across it, catching her mesmerized gaze as his lips quirk up.

"Yeah, I thought you'd might like this."

He continues down the hallway, where various toys and dress up clothes are scattered about, past a wide ajar door opening up to what has to be Ella's bedroom – a bookshelf of children's books lining the wall and the nightstand the shape of a soccer ball.

        Pushing the door open to the bedroom furthest down the hall, he steps aside to let her in first and she wanders into it with soft footsteps. Though she finds herself wanting to take her time examining every detail – from the battered newspaper cutting fastened to the wall atop his desk to the pile of five paperbacks on the floor next to his bed – she only lets her gaze flicker across it all as she walks over to the window.

Pulling the floor length weaved curtain to the side, the glass of the window fogged up by the humid whirl outside, the water running down it in uneven streams, she glances out at the ocean. The dark body of water reflects the gray of the sky on it's surface, laying surprisingly still, barely making waves despite being caught in a thunder storm.

"Quite a view."

Her words are drowned out by another roar of thunder but he hears her, the left corner of his lips lifting as she turns around and he feigns a nonchalant shrug. "It's okay."

Another cold shiver runs down her back, sending a visible shake to her body as she wraps her arms around herself. He shoots her a look before crossing the room to a bureau, pulling out the mid-drawer.

"What are you doing?"

"What does it look like? Lending you a sweater."

"Thank you."