"Look, I wasn't personally affected, but some people were. I don't know if it's my place to talk about it,"Ethan sighed.
I shot him a glare. "Fine."
"You sound unhappy!" Ethan laughed.
"I'm a curious person!" I cried.
"I'm sure that blonde fangirl friend of yours could tell you about it."
I sighed heavily. "Fine! Deprive me of a story!"
Just then someone approached us; a boy about my brother's age with a dirty t-shirt, cargo pants, and boots like Ethan's.
"Ethan, what do I do next?" The boy asked.
Ethan scowled. "I guess I do have work to do," he sighed, turning to me.
"No worries. Thanks for showing me around. I appreciate it!" I answered.
"Are you that Embryian girl?" the gardener boy suddenly asked me. I noticed his accent and cadence was more similar to that of Ethan's than, say, Luke's or Prince Coleman's.
"Um, I am an Embryian girl..." I started.
"I could tell! You sound like one!" He smiled. "I'm Charlie!"
"Cassie." I reached out and shook his gloved hand.
"You must be the one everyone is talking about!" Charlie babbled enthusiastically.
"Shut up, Charlie. You've got work to do," Ethan snapped.
"Charlie, would you mind showing me out?" I asked. "I'm afraid I don't know the way."
"Of course, Miss Cassie!"
"Charlie, you have work to do! I'll show you out, Cassie," Ethan broke in.
"I wouldn't want to bother you anymore," I smirked.
"It's no bother!" Ethan said.
"Don't worry, Ethan, we'll be fast! Follow me, Miss Cassie!" Charlie waved me over.
I followed Charlie and left Ethan grumbling.
"So, how had you heard of me?" I questioned, eager for answers.
"Everyone talks about you, Miss."
"Oh really?"
"Yes. Most of the young men here can't stop talking about you, and most of the young women hate you."
"Really?"
"Yep. The women folk are awful jealous that you get to work with the Prince so closely, and the men have heard rumors that you don't even like him. It makes them real excited." Charlie laughed.
"Very interesting."
"Ethan's our best-looking guy here in the gardens. When the other gardeners realize he was interested, most of them decided to back off, though you may catch them looking at you longingly from a distance," Charlie babbled.
I laughed incredulously. "Really?"
"Yes, though, now that I think of it, Ethan will be awful mad if he finds out I told you that." He shrugged. "Oh well. Now you know. Oh, and here's your exit."
We had stopped in front of the golden doors.
"It was a pleasure to meet you, Charlie." I shook his hand once more. "I hope to see you around."
"Me too!" He gave a toothy grin. "You have to know, you're real pretty and your accent's real cute, though you don't have to worry with me because I think you're too old for me in the end."
I laughed. "Good to know! And thank you."
It was decided in my mind. Ethan was currently the forerunner in the apparent competition for my heart. He was handsome, charming, bold, flirtatious, and exciting. What wasn't there to like? Besides, he was just salty enough to make a complainer like me comfortable.
Bzzt! I opened up the new text on my phone.
It was Luke.
Oh come on! I've just decided that I like Ethan best!
Also, I really needed to remove the heart next to his name. How embarrassing would that be if someone saw.
I opened up the text.
Luke ❤: Did you run into Prince Coleman while on your tour?
Me: Yeah...I did. :P More like he ran into me.
I had to wait longer than I wanted to for a response.
Luke ❤: I thought so! Haha
Me: Why? Lol
Again, it took him a few minutes to respond.
Luke ❤: He left for an hour (and he never leaves on tour day) and came back grumbling. I put two and two together.
Me: I...may or may not have ditched him when he got surrounded by people. O.o
I watched those three little dots move back and forth for way too long as I waited for his reply. I sunk back heavily in my chair and fidgeted around. Why was he taking so long?!
Bzzt!
Luke ❤: haha
I nearly threw my phone across the room.
"I'm sorry, since when does it take five minutes to type 'ha-ha.' It's literally one word! And only four letters!" I yelled at my phone. "That's it," I told myself, shaking my head. "Luke is adorable, but Ethan is flirtier and probably wouldn't take a million years to type ha-ha. In fact, Luke is entirely slow at texting!"
As great as Luke was, for once I wasn't completely desperate, and Ethan had even held my hand. Of course, I would be friendly to Luke, but I wouldn't continue fantasizing about him. I went into his contact info and took out the heart by his name.
Bzzt!
Luke: So will I get to see you at dinner? :-)
Dangit.
There goes my resolve.