the cup in hand, I make my way through the living room, making sure not to bump into anyone on my walk there.
I start thinking of a game plan for how this is going to go down. will I bump into him and then spill it? or pretend to trip? whatever I decide it can't be blatantly obvious. I need to remember that ethan knows how to play this game better than I do; he's the master.
he'll catch on to me trying to turn the tables on him if I'm not careful.
once I reach the table in the back where they're playing beer pong, I see jack on one end and then ethan on the other, with ethan currently aiming a ping pong ball in the air to make his shot. he's focused, his tongue sticking out just a little while he takes a moment to analyze which cup he's aiming for and then adjusts his arm accordingly before throwing the ball. he makes it in, and everyone who's watching cheers. well, except jack.
a bunch of girls are practically squealing for him, only feeding his confidence. ethan claps his hands together, licking the inside of his cheek while he gives jack a cocky grin. the stares between them are intense, the competition seemingly hefty.
I take a step closer. "ethan," I call out, distracting him from the game. his eyes wander over to me, surprised to see me standing there.
jack is getting ready to make his shot, but ethan holds up his index finger to him. "give me a sec," he calls out, and jack drops his arm and stands straight looking annoyed. people boo that he's pausing the game but ethan isn't phased nor does he give a shit.
everyone still adores him no matter what he may do. he knows that.
he looks back at me, walking closer until he's right in front of me. he's carrying himself more confidently after his performance just now, as if his ego wasn't already big enough.
"miss me already?" he asks in his arrogant way while raising an eyebrow at me, and I shake my head as if to humor him.
I'm still wondering how to make this whole spill situation look believable. and the more time passes the more I realize I may have missed my chance and spilling the drink now is going to look plain stupid.
before either of us can say anything more, someone comes running out of nowhere behind ethan and accidentally shoves him before running off and shoving more people in his path. everything happens very quickly, and next thing I know ethan's pressed up against me and a very cold liquid is pouring down the front of my shirt.
that worked out awfully well.
"what the fuck?" ethan shouts, his eyes darting behind him to see who just pushed him into me. the guy that did it is nowhere to be seen, having run off somewhere else in a rush by now. I notice jack smirking to himself in the back, enjoying that ethan just got shoved.
my entire upper body is freezing from the cold drink having spilled on me, and ethan doesn't notice until he turns to face me again and I'm practically shivering.
"oh shit, did I do that?" he asks, looking at my soaked shirt. "I'm sorry." he takes the cup from my hand, setting it down on a table nearby.
I wipe my arms, shaking my head at him. "don't worry about it, it was my fault." I give him a small smile in order to try and reassure him. but ethan seems to look upset about the whole thing.
"no, it was that fucking moron who wasn't watching where he was going." he finally takes a deep breath and looks at me, and I feel happy he seems to care so much. reese would be so proud at how well this is all going.
suddenly someone starts whistling, and I look up to see levi there eyeing me up and down. I'm confused for a moment until I realize you can practically see my nipples now through my thin and wet shirt.
"damn, wilson. when did you get so fine?" he asks me, licking his lips while he very obviously stares at my breasts. it seems like most of the guys here are.
I roll my eyes at him, but he just keeps walking closer to me. what the hell is he doing? before I can bring my arms up to cover my chest, I feel a hand grab my wrist firmly.
it's ethan, and I'm actually relieved it is him and not one of these pervs. he leans into me and his warm breath fans against my ear when he mumbles "come with me."
he starts tugging me in his direction so I follow behind him. levi's quick to place a hand firm against his chest though, stopping him. "where are you taking her?" levi asks, narrowing his eyes skeptically at him. this confuses me because I thought they were friends.
but ethan looks pissed from what I can tell since he's clenching his jaw so hard. "why the fuck is it your business?" people around us start 'oohing' while they begin to form a crowd to watch this go down. I just want to get the hell out of here being that I'm freezing and practically flaunting my nipples to the world.
two of levi's friends suddenly show up behind him, colt and ronin. which I think is completely unnecessary. why does he need backup? this isn't some overdone teen drama where they're about to all get in a fight over the girl.
levi grins at him, then lets his eyes find me again. he keeps looking at me like some tasty dish and it's repulsive. and ethan definitely doesn't like it—his hand tightening around my wrist reminds me that he still hasn't let go of me yet.
levi's eyes land back on ethan. "why don't I go help her clean up? you're in the middle of a game here." he refers to the game of beer pong ethan put on pause. "I can handle it."
I feel a pit in my stomach. I need ethan to take me, not him. either way, I'm not letting levi take me anywhere.
ethan scoffs, his eyebrows furrowed together in annoyance. "you think I care about the fucking game?"
this intrigues jack, who stops brooding in the back to listen now. "so you forfeit?" he crosses his arms, the ping pong ball still in his fist.
ethan shrugs in a careless way. "I guess so. but you and everyone else here knows I would've beat your ass." to this, jack laughs. but he knows it's true.
levi brings our attention back to him. "I just think you're being a little selfish," he explains. his buddies behind him nod, exaggerating how much they agree with him. "you know friends are supposed to share. what makes you so special that you get to have her, huh?"
have me?
"she's not a toy you sick fuck," ethan practically spits. levi looks angry that ethan's giving him a hard time and making him look bad in front of everyone, and when it seems like this really is going to start getting ugly like in those ridiculous teen movies, grayson suddenly shows up next to ethan in full on defense mode.
"leave them the fuck alone, yeah?" grayson commands, him and ethan's combined strength making levi seem small, even with his entourage.
it doesn't take more than that to make him back down. he'd be stupid to take it any further.
levi holds up his hands, as if to surrender. "woah woah woah, we didn't want any problems here. just having a conversation." his eyes dart between ethan and grayson, as if to look for them to back down now, too.
ethan finally steps back from levi, still giving him a despising look. then he turns to look at me, as if to check how I'm doing. his hand lets go of my wrist since it's no longer necessary, and I miss the warmth and security from him holding onto me. it surprises me how sad I feel. but then he grabs my hand instead, interlocking our fingers.
and for a moment, it feels... nice.
butterflies swarm in my stomach, but I swallow hard, actually feeling more uneasy than blissful. it gives me a whiplash how quickly my body changes in its feelings towards him.
but the uneasiness comes from it barely clicking with me that we're about to be alone together. for the first time.
while we start heading to the stairs, no one gives us any more trouble. mostly because grayson is still there like a watchdog ready to pounce if anyone tries anything again.
as we walk upstairs hand in hand, it feels as if we're making a statement. people keep looking and whispering, probably trying to understand what's going on between us since this is pretty sudden and new. I just want to tell them all to fuck off and stop being so involved in other people's lives but no good would come of that.
once we're upstairs, I can hear very faint moaning sounds coming from one of the rooms; maybe even multiple. I feel very uncomfortable. it becomes crystal clear right then what these rooms are used for if it wasn't obvious enough already.
we continue down the long hallway until ethan reaches a dark room with an open door, telling us it isn't occupied. he guides me inside and turns on the lamp on the nightstand next to the bed on his way in. it gives the room a warm glow, enough for us to see where we're going.
we finally let go of each other's hands and I sit on the bed, watching as ethan closes and locks the door we came in through. for some reason that small action—him locking the door—only makes me more anxious at what his intentions really are with me.
his hazel eyes land on me as he takes a deep breath. "are you, uh, okay?" he asks, referring to all the chaos that just went down. there's the slightest tinge of concern in his voice and it's enough to make me feel more comfortable being alone with him.
"yeah, I'm good." I nod to assure him of my answer. he's still just standing near the door, his body tense. he doesn't speak for a moment and I can tell he's still upset. "are you okay?" I ask him now, wondering what's on his mind.
he slightly shakes his head, threading a hand through his thick hair. "no," he states plainly. his eyes find mine. "it's just, some guys really weren't raised right."
I fight the urge to give a snarky response, wanting to point out he must've not been either with the way he treats girls. but it wouldn't be fair to compare him to levi when I honestly barely even know him.
"yeah," I sigh. my shirt sticking to my skin reminds me of how cold I am. and sticky. one thing I take notice of—ethan's eyes never wander below my eyes, at least while I'm looking. I appreciate that.
he gestures to my shirt, "there's a bathroom right over there in case you wanna dry off." I watch his eyes, seeing a hint of strain in them. I can tell he wants to look down, which I don't blame him for.
I've got nice boobs.
but he's holding himself back. I stand up now, only a few steps away from him, and turn around so my back is facing him. then I reach down and grab the bottom hem of my shirt, pulling it up and over my head slowly—so as to give him something to appreciate. this shirt wasn't supposed to be worn with a bra so I didn't wear one. I hear a sharp intake of air, my actions probably surprising him.
"so, let me know if you need any help," he quickly tells me, and I hear the slightest tremble in his voice. it's kind of cute to see him off his game for a moment. even by something as simple as me taking off my shirt in front of him.
wanting to take this a step further, I decide to take him up on his offer. "actually, can you help me take off my necklace?" I ask over my shoulder, my bare back still facing him.
it wasn't a totally obvious or unreasonable request. the chain is cold so I want to take it off.
he replies with a shaky "sure," and I can feel his presence come up close behind me. he moves my dark hair over my shoulder slowly, and his warm hands tickle me as he fondles with the clasp on my necklace. when he finally gets it undone, I take notice of the way his fingers slide down my shoulder for a moment before he seems to snap himself out of it.
he clears his throat. "here you go," he says as he places the necklace in the palm of my hand. I take it along with my shirt, then start walking towards the bathroom that's in the bedroom.
"thank you, ethan." I tell him sweetly before shutting the door behind me and finally letting out a heavy breath. that sure took a lot of energy.
but if there's one thing that'll for sure work throughout all this, it's teasing him until he can't handle it anymore. he needs to want me and only me.
and it's working perfectly.
ETHAN'S POV
once the door closes, I drop my shoulders in relief.
I don't even realize that I barely breathed that entire time. the way she took off her shirt with so much confidence is really affecting me. not to mention that she wasn't wearing a fucking bra this entire night. literally fuck me.
and touching her soft skin only made it so much worse. I never wanted to move away from her. and I wasn't expecting her to be so... seductive. it's like she's trying to give me a hard on.
but she's so difficult to read. all night she's been rigid and tough to get through, acting like she hates my guts. partially my fault since I was trying to provoke her by bringing up jack, just to see what she has with him. but now look at her. it's a completely different side.
the door suddenly opens, cutting my thoughts short. evie's standing there with an arm across her chest, and I lick the inside of my cheek in frustration, wishing she wasn't covering herself right now.
I decide then and there that I'm having sex tonight whether it be with evie or not.
"can you grab me a shirt to wear? mine's a lost cause." she laughs light-heartedly. I stand up and go over to one of the dressers, opening it to see what there is to work with.
"hm," I hum, searching through the stacks of mostly folded clothes. but everything is sized extra large and looks like it's male apparel. "unfortunately, this seems to be a guy's room. so looks like you're outta luck." I close the drawer, then meet her bummed eyes. then I surprise myself and reach for the neck of my black long-sleeve, pulling it off of me.
her eyes almost bug out at me. "what are you doing?" she asks sternly, watching me take off my shirt now.
I hand her the shirt. "wear this. it'll at least fit you better than anything in there." I refer to the dresser of oversized clothes. plus, I'd like to see her in my shirt.
she takes it hesitantly, then gives me a confused look. "but what will you wear?" her eyes find mine, concerned. "unless this is your way of being a signature fuckboy and you're gonna take this as an opportunity to not wear a shirt at all."
she already knows me too well. but I'm not going to let her win. "no," I defend myself. "I'm gonna wear this." I open the drawer again and grab the literal fucking loudest shirt I could've picked. it's some kind of retro shirt with every color to ever exist on it.
"oh really?" evie asks, knowing I'm bullshitting all this to cover up that she was right. "okay, well. thanks for the shirt. I'll go put this on while you'll be wearing... that."
"exactly," I give her an annoyed grin and she slips back into the bathroom. then I put on the shirt, already knowing I'm gonna get so much shit for it from the guys. I look into the mirror above the dresser, and it fits me loose. but it'll work.
the bathroom door opens again and evie comes back out finally fully dressed. needless to say, she looks fucking good in my shirt and it's doing things to me. it was tight-fitted on me so on her it's good.
she notices me staring but dismisses it. "too bad I still reek of alcohol. hopefully my mom believes that it was spilled on me and I won't get too much crap about it." she walks to the bed and sits down, letting her legs hang over the side.
"why wouldn't she believe you?" I ask, also sitting down next to her. the bed dips from my weight and her arm leans against mine for a sweet moment, but she unfortunately puts back the gap between us.
"my mom and I have a complicated relationship. there's just a lot of lost trust there... my fault. and we're just not as close as we used to be, also my fault. so it took a lot of trust in me for her to let me come to this party and now I'm gonna show up back home like I drank an entire bar dry."
I turn my head and meet her eyes, seeing the slightest bit of worry in them. "are you not allowed to drink?"
immediately she shakes her head. "not at all. I'm practically forbidden from it. obviously, I still do drink. but she has this fear that if I start drinking or doing drugs, I'll end up just like my dad. I guess because that sorta stuff runs in my blood so I'm more likely to become an addict." she looks at me, noticing me take it all in. "I know, that's some heavy stuff."
"yeah, to say the least." I exhale a deep breath, feeling her baggage weigh me down. I don't really know what else to say. so I don't. I suddenly don't feel like talking to her anymore. "um, do you wanna head back downstairs?"
she nods her head reluctantly, and I get this feeling that she really doesn't want to go back down but is only agreeing because I'm probably making her feel unwanted.
I decide to take it back. "we don't have to, we can just talk here if you w-"
"no," she stops me. "it's fine. let's go back down." she stands up then, waiting for me to do the same. I can tell she's upset or hurt by her sharp movements and cold voice.
"did I say something to get you upset?" I ask her. but of course, she closes herself off and is back to her rigid self.
"nope. I just wanna go find my friends and maybe call it a night." she reaches for the door handle and unlocks it. "you coming?"
"yeah." I stand up now and meet her at the door. she opens it and lets me walk through before her, which I find weird.
on my way past her, she mumbles, "that shirt really is hideous by the way." but the way she says it isn't meant to be a jab at me, it's more humorous—like she's joking around. and I'm surprised at how relieved I am that she is still joking with me.
I chuckle under my breath, looking down at my insane shirt.
"I know."
______
30 votes + 15 comments for next chapter
hope you enjoyed the looong chapter. I wrote it all at literally 3 in the morning so sorry if it sucked.
please keep commenting on the story and voting! I'm working really hard to write good chapters and would love your feedback <3
- lexi