Ethans Fal

by Dee Palmer

  “Making a little girl’s day.” She purses her lip in an overt challenge, but I have no inclination to fight her on this. As explanations go, I’m sure Gus would accept it, it’s unlikely we would get any complaints.

  “Fine.” I pull the folding chair out and push it firmly into the sand just beside her blanket looking out toward the outgoing tide. I pull my T-shirt over my head, and smile when I catch her pinch her lips tight and hold her breath, her mouth snapping shut. “All right, darling, you can watch me do my thing.” She raises a curious brow waiting for clarification. “Making many a big girl’s day.” I stride off to the water’s edge to do my first sweep of the beach.

  I don’t get to take a break until my shift is nearly over. It’s just after five before I make my way back to my chair and grunt when I flop down. My mistake to think there was some cushioning; I lean forward and rub the ache in my arse cheek. Ada is just finishing a tribal scroll pattern in henna down the spine of a teenage boy. I don’t see any money exchange but I’m off the clock, and really don’t give a crap. I close my eyes but jump when a solid ice cold weight hits my stomach. My hand instinctively snatches at it.

  “Thought you could use some rehydration.” Ada takes a swig from her own bottled water and I uncap mine; I drink it all down. I emptied my own bottle over an hour ago and it’s still sweltering with no shade and little breeze.

  “Thanks. Nice to know you’ve been thinking about me.” I tuck the empty bottle in her bag of rubbish and slowly wipe the drips from my mouth. Her eyes briefly fix on my lips before she looks away.

  “Yeah, well, rubbing all that sun lotion in must be thirsty work. I can’t believe you get paid for that shit.” She sniffs with a look of contempt and a glint in her eye of something else.

  “Aw baby, you jealous?” I laugh out loud at her thunderous expression. “What can I say, it’s a dirty job. Besides, I don’t get paid, I’m a volunteer, but I’m not going to lie, it’s nice work if you can get it.” Folding my arms behind my head, I close my eyes when she turns away. But not before her eyes have greedily soaked up the stretch of my bare V-line, exposed with my raised arms and the lift of my T-shirt. “It’s okay, you can look.” I tease, but she falls quiet and some minutes later, her voice is strangely contemplative.

  “It’s nice that you get to volunteer.” I peek one eye open to see if she is joking. Her voice is quiet, so I can’t be sure but she isn’t; she looks a little sad.

  “Don’t be fooled, Ada.” Jake, my surf buddy, drinking buddy, and good friend, drops his stick on the ground in a puff of dried sand. “He’s not all altruistic; he gets some seriously hot dates sporting that outfit.” He slaps my shoulder before taking a position way too close to Ada.

  “That I do, my timely friend.” There is irritation in my voice, but Jake is oblivious. I stand up and walk on to Ada’s blanket. I get an intimate twitch when she looks up from her kneeling position. Fuck, she looks good down there, but I too drop to my knees directly in front of her before my hard-on gets any worse. I tug the waistband of my shorts, and smile at her wide eyes and the sound she makes trying to swallow that thick lump in her throat. Ah fuck, there is no way this erection is going away any time soon. “I fancy one of those henna tatts; just here, if you can fit me in.” My eyes dip to the white tan mark below my shorts, an almost perfect line to draw on. “I’ve seen one somewhere and thought it looked pretty cool. Anyway, I know you don’t charge but I’m sure we can come to some sort of arrangement.”

  “Ha!” Jake sputters out a laugh. “Fuck, Ethan. I never thought I’d see the day you had to use a line like that…Fucking brilliant! There is hope for us all.” He puts a protective arm around Ada and she tips her head onto his shoulder with a wicked curl of her lips. “Besides I doubt Ada would touch a slut like you–no offence. You know, that’s a badge of honour as far as I’m concerned, but Ada here is a little special. Aint-ya, babe?” He roughly squeezes her and she shakes her head with a loud laugh.

  “Oh, I’m definitely special.” Ada rolls her eyes, but her cheeks darken to a deeper shade of red when her eyes graze my torso and dip a little lower. She checks herself. “All right then, surfer boy, what can I do for you?” She picks up a tiny stained glass pot and points a thin brush at my mid-section.

  “How about something deep and meaningful in Chinese?” I see she has a notebook of designs open, and a key of popular symbols.

  “That, I can do.” Her smile is full of mischief and pleasure. She inches forward and rests her palm flat on my thigh. The small paint pot is held against my skin with her thumb. She looks up and blinks slowly, long thick lashes, and God, those eyes. No mortal with hair that dark should have eyes so blue and piercing. “Hold still, you wouldn’t want me to slip and write something inappropriate.” Her wicked grin makes my cock swell. Her breath is right at the tip and I know she doesn’t have to be that close. “I usually do a patch test but you’re a big boy. I’m sure you will be just fine.” I groan when the brush touches my skin, feather-light and wet. I’m a bigger boy now.

  “Oooookay! I am outta here.” Jake mutters, gathering his things. “Later at yours, yeah?” He tips an acknowledgement at me and I agree with a nod. “You too, Ada. See you at Ethan’s party, they don’t start till late around eleven, so everyone working can come, and they usually go on all night…you gonna come?”

  “Hmm?” She replies, the vibrations ripple across the newly damp skin but Jake has gone before she can reply.

  “He is inviting you to my party.” I translate while she continues to trace the words on my body.

  “That is very nice of him.” I wait for her confirmation–anything. She finishes and blows a cool breath of air on her work. I am not going to be able to leave this beach without a long coat or an ice pack and now, I’m distracted because she keeps bending over to pack away her things. She is surprisingly efficient and has completely packed while I am still appraising her work. “You have to stay away from water or it will come off, and no friction.” She gives me a knowing look, which makes me ache at the base of my spine.

  “Can you pass me the brush? You seemed to have made a mistake.” I raise a brow at her expression–a mix of shock and faux innocence. She hands me the brush and I put a neat line through the word ‘am’ and replace with ‘have’. “There… that’s better ‘I have a massive cock’…as you well know.” I wink and feel a surge of happiness when she falls into herself with uncontrolled laughter. I did that.

  “Of course, you would know Chinese.” Her laughter infecting her speech.

  “I could say the same.” I point out.

  “I know a few helpful phrases to paint on idiots when necessary, that’s all.”

  “And I have travelled, so I know anything with the word cock in it wasn’t going to be terribly complementary. Especially from someone who hates me.” She carefully lifts the edges of her rug and tips the collected sand letting it slides like a river of sunlight.

  “Yeah, about that. I actually reserve my hatred for special occasions. I don’t hand it out willingly. It tends to devalue its potency, so I’m going to take it back.” She tells me flatly. I put my hand on my chest in an exaggerated sign of gratitude. She narrows one eye, like she might be changing her mind. “You’re still an arsehole, but I don’t hate you. I just don’t like you very much and I am never going to be one of the ‘I love Ethan’ fangirl group.”

  “We’ve gone from hate to not like in under a day. I think you shouldn’t go getting ahead of yourself with making wild accusations like that,” I quip.

  “No, I think I’m good with that one. Look, can you give me your keys so I can get started on your apartment?” She motions for me to hand them over with her curled fist.

  “Don’t you want me to show you what needs doing?”

  “Because it is rocket science, you mean? No, I got it; like riding a bike, apparently. Besides, if we have to wait for your hard-on to fade, we will be here till sunset.”

  I shift in my long shorts and with re
signed frustration realise she’s right. If I stride along the beach like this, I will poke someone’s eye out. I hand her the keys. “Fine, but don’t touch the washing. I don’t have much left but what I do have, isn’t pink and it still fits.” Her lips draw down with awkward embarrassment and a little hunch of her shoulders, but she shrugs it off. She gathers her things and works her way across the emptying beach.

  I return to my apartment three hours later not expecting Ada to still be there. I got caught up at the bar with Buddy and needed to get supplies for tonight. She has her arms immersed in a bowl of washing bubbles. She seems to have been washing every pan in my kitchen. Jesus, what exactly did Sky do in here?

  “You know, if Sky actually used any of that kitchen equipment for any sexual act, you are wasting your time washing it. I’ll dump the lot.” I ease the crate of beer I was holding onto the island.

  “Ew, gross!She didn’t.” She bites her lips and looks up to the sky recalling a memory. “At least, I don’t think…no definitely didn’t use the pans…But she did use your spare bed, so I have stripped and changed the sheets. You might not have noticed but I knew, so I did put them in the wash but it wasn’t an angry wash, so they will be fine. I didn’t know what you expected, so I’ve done a spring clean and these pans all had a thick layer of dust. Judging by the expensive ingredients you keep in the cupboard, you, or someone you know, loves to cook, so I thought I would give them a quick clean. But it turned out to be a much bigger job–sorry.” Her nose twitches like a rabbit and she twists to scratch it against her shoulder. I walk over.

  “Fuck, don’t apologise. It hasn’t looked this clean since I moved in.” I hold my finger up as an offer to help. She nods and I lightly scratch the end of her cute nose. “I feel bad you’ve done all this. I really didn’t mean for you to work so hard; just make it tidy.”

  “I don’t do half measures. It’s fine though because now I feel we are even–well, when I finish this little lot, we will be. I’ll be long gone before your guests get here.” She resumes her pan scrubbing.

  “Most won’t get here until the restaurants close. Are you coming with Buddy or Sky?”

  “I wasn’t–”

  “Ada, how are we going to move from ‘not like’ to ‘fuck me harder, Ethan’, if you don’t come out to play?” I keep my tone light and jokey, but I am deadly serious.

  “Thank you for giving me the perfect reason not to come right there, Ethan. Thanks, but no thanks.” She sniffs.

  “But you like to come, Ada; I know you do.” My voice drops and I see her struggle to swallow. “Besides do you really think Sky would let you bail on a party with free booze?” I coax and she sighs a light laugh of defeat.

  “She’d drag me kicking and screaming into Hell for free booze,” she quips.

  “Great, so my party will be Hell.” I challenge with a hint of hurt in my tone, and she looks instantly contrite; but, I was only teasing. “No. No, I’m sorry. I will come…um with Sky, I think…Buddy will be too late I believe. That is very kind.” She looks uncomfortable, like some ingrained manners make it wrong for her to refuse.

  “It’s just a party, Ada, you are not going to meet the in-laws. Don’t look so scared, you will know most of the people, I’m sure.”

  “I’m not scared; I just haven’t had to attend a party for someone I hate since I was in primary school and my parents made me go,” she informs me with a challenging raised brow.

  “Not hate, remember?” I wag my finger. “Look, I’m going to grab a shower. Fix yourself a drink…we can start this party early.” I wink over my shoulder and see her jaw clench at my assumption. It’s not an assumption–it’s inevitable.

  “Oh!” She gasps with a breathy exhale when she turns to hear me enter the room. I have a small towel barely holding on to my hips and I am sporting the erection from Hell that never really went away since her breath kissed my skin earlier. I deliberately grab myself and the shift in material causes the towel to fall open. It hangs loosely from my cupped hand. I squeeze the building pressure and fuck, if she doesn’t lick her lips. I take a moment to wonder how I am going to get those lips exactly where I want them, when she steps toward me. She walks right up to me and her gaze blazes a scorching trail from my hand to my eyes, and back again. I tip her chin; heavy lids and lust courses through her–it’s palpable and so fucking sexy.

  “You said you pay your debts?” My voice is level but hoarse with need.

  “I did.” Her breath is sweet, fresh mint and she is so softly spoken I lean a little closer. Our lips graze and tension sizzles across the contact.

  “Then what are you waiting for?” I drop the towel and she follows the descent, kneeling on the crumpled material. Her hand reaches around my cock, her fingers too tentative to secure the grip I need. I groan all the same because her touch is like nirvana. I swell more in her hand. She keeps her eyes looking up at me and her tongue slides along my length, base to tip. That is the fucking sexiest thing. Oh, Shit! Her lips cover my sensitive tip and she sucks me deep into her hot, wet mouth. Her lips pull me deeper, her hand grips me tighter and her tongue…Oh, fuck! Her tongue dances around my cock like a sensual snake, devouring the length, the rim, and tracing the pulsing veins that are fuelling the biggest hard-on I’ve ever had. My hips pick a rhythm and she hums from her chest and the vibrations make my balls contract. I thread my hands in her hair and pull her onto me–just a little deeper. Oh, holy shit! She just relaxes her throat and swallows me down, like I’m her last meal.

  One of her hands is absently massaging the tense muscle in my thigh, but she stops and threads her slim arm through my legs to cup my balls. I try to step back, not because it doesn’t feel great–it feels fucking amazing–but I won’t last much longer if she does what I think she’s going to do. I want to last. I want to cancel the party and fuck her all night. Her grip around my balls relaxes when I stop my retreat but she resumes this deep, rolling massage that sets a chain of events far beyond my mere mortal control. My arse cheeks clench and my thighs lock with tension; I fist her hair and pump harder into her throat. She started this and there is only one way to finish it. My hips jerk and thrust and by the look on her face, she relishes every bit, and deep moans emanate from her while never once breaks eyes contact. Liquid pools of deep desire send me over the edge. With Herculean effort I pause giving her just a second to opt out–I’m not an arsehole. When she uses one hand and digs her nails into the cheeks of my arse, I don’t hold back.

  The muscles up my spine contract and twist, my hips pumping relentlessly, driving every last part of me down her throat. She softly releases me–no shock, I’m still hard. That was fucking amazing. She smiles up at me and I want to pick her up and bury myself inside her for the rest of the night. If her mouth felt like Heaven–I really need to be inside her. She pulls herself up and steadies her balance by holding my hips with a firm grip. Not pulling me close, more like holding me at bay. I’m not having that. I slap one hand away enough to break her frame, and hook my arm around her waist. Stepping into her, I cover her mouth with mine. I can taste her beneath the musk of me, and I can’t get enough. Her body starts to soften and her chest is drawing in little pants along with mumbled words of protest.

  “Ethan–” Whatever excuse she is about to proffer, holds no interest. She needs this as much as I do. I can feel it radiating off her in waves.

  “Hey man, open the door; this is fucking heavy!” Jake is kicking my front door to emphasise his problem.

  “I’ll get that!” Ada races to the door in a blur. My reach to stop her just misses her arm; shit. She has the door open before I can secure the towel, just finishing the knot when she waves Jake inside. She looks flustered and I must look like thunder, because Jake freezes and whips his head between the two of us. He dumps another crate of beer on the kitchen island.

  “Am I interrupting?” His tone is full of insinuation and innuendo. We both reply, me, with an irritated yes and Ada, with an emphatic no. Good that cleared that
up.

  “Right.” He drawls. “So, are you gonna get dressed or frighten the neighbours when you drop towel while helping to bring all this shit in?” he asks. “I’m not carrying it all myself.”

  “I’ll help. I was just leaving but I can help bring up some. Is there much?” Ada is now gathering her bags.

  “You’ve done enough.” I snap, but I’m not sure who I’m talking to. “Ada, really, you’ve done enough. Go home, get ready…or not, you look perfect as is. Just make sure you come back.” My stern voice brooks no discussion.

  “You’d be crazy not to come back, Ada. Ethan’s parties are legendary.” Jakes assertion only causes Ada to give a derisive snort.

  “I don’t doubt that for a moment.” She pushes Jake out the door and flashes her bright, soul-stirring smile back my way. I want to keep that smile right there, on her face, looking at me.

  “YOU CAN STAY with me tonight, Ada.” Sky’s flirtatious tone is full of mischief as she sashays over to me. I have showered and borrowed one of her more modest dresses. It covers a lot of skin but it moulds to my body; a spaghetti-strapped, halter neck, black maxi dress. I don’t have a huge supply of party outfits and this is both comfortable and a little glam. Sky is wearing a nude mesh vest over a gold lamé slip; it’s almost a dress but very sexy. She looks stunning. “We could have a little cosy night with…well with whoever we can drag back.” She purrs sensually and then we both burst out laughing. “All right, maybe not. But you are welcome to crash here all the same, I just can’t guarantee you’ll get much sleep.” She tips her mass of tight natural blonde curls upside down and does a good impression of a fan at a metal concert. One final shake and it looks like we are ready to go. I grab my sleeping bag ruck sack.

  “You know, as kind as that offer is I’ll take a pass.”

  “Joking aside, I hate it that you sleep out there. I know I don’t have much room, but what I have is yours. You know that, right?” Her expression is filled with concern and it melts my heart.