by L. K. Rayne
Ethan Thorne was dressed in a very dark navy tux. People either paid out of their nose to look that good or had the magical fashion touch like April. As I watched him work the room, I tried to pinpoint what it was that made him so entrancing to watch. Finally, as the crowd around him dispersed, I figured it out.
In the weeks leading up to the event, I’d seen my fair share of pictures of Ethan, but none of the still images had been able to capture the grace of his movement. Seeing it in person was a sight to behold. Power, barely restrained by taut control.
He’d come a long way from the gangly, scrawny kid I remembered. But honestly, what did I expect?
Sometimes hormones could chisel a god out of a man.
With a start, I realized that while I’d been ogling him, trying to picture the firm muscles flexing beneath his tux, Ethan Thorne had started walking toward my direction.
Okay, Sierra. You got a good satisfying look, time to hightail it outta here before he sees you.
No reason to tempt fate.
Even though things hadn't played out like April predicted, her fantasies still had me spooked. I stepped out from behind the flowers, careful to avoid tracking Ethan in my peripheral vision. It’s like they tell you when you’re learning how to drive, don’t stare into the oncoming headlights, or you’ll end up drifting across the double yellow lines.
I turned my attention to searching for April. She wasn’t at the tables across the room where I’d seen her last. Had she circled around to the other side of the hall while I was too busy gawking at Ethan? I checked the other side of the hall, every table already had flowers on them, but April was nowhere to be found. Where the hell was she?
I heard her footsteps on my right.
“April,” I said, turning...
...to see dark, intelligent eyes, capturing me in their gaze.
That was definitely not April.
Ethan Thorne was nearly on top of me and he was still approaching, his shoulders shifting smoothly like he was stalking prey.
His eyes never once moved from my face. It had been a false alarm earlier, but this time he definitely saw me.
He saw me.
My mind stuttered like an old movie running out of film. No way. No way, no how. This wasn’t happening.
Go now, Sierra! MOVE IT!
But my body was paralyzed, pinned to the spot.
My breath caught in my throat. My head swam. Heat ached between my thighs like I was drowning in a pool of liquid sex. I could hear my blood pounding through my ears in rhythm with April’s sing-song words, “your heart goes pitter-pat.” Though faintly, I noted that this wasn't a romantic sort of pitter-pat, more of a "I'm going to need an ambulance after I pass out and hit my head on the marble floor pitter-pat."
Ethan stared at me, an inscrutable expression on his face as he circled around the cocktail table, closing the rapidly decreasing distance between us.
The room lurched sideways for a dizzying moment and I stumbled backward. In a blind panic, I reached out and grabbed a fistful of tablecloth, taking the cloth and the vase and the flowers down with me.
Stale flower water streaked across Ethan Thorne’s freshly creased pants.
The vase smashed on the floor, scattering into a million pieces as the flowers jounced lightly, before coming to a limp rest.
A hush fell over the room, a sharp contrast to the ringing echoes of ceramic crashing against marble.
Ethan took a single step back and frowned.
I was in deep shit.
Heat rose to my cheeks and I averted my eyes downward. It was way too embarrassing to keep gazing into his face while an entire room full of people watched the fiasco unfold in front of them like it was the evening’s main entertainment.
A dark wet spot spread through the fabric of his pants. From the look of the fine Italian threads, his pants looked like they cost more than the flower shop pulled in, in a month. A good month.
I replayed the moment over and over in my head like a broken tape, wishing I could rewind time.
“I’m so so sorry, sir,” I finally managed to stammer, “would you like a towel?"
Ethan stared at the folded white towel I'd produced from my work apron as if he'd never seen such an alien artifact. No anger. No histrionics. Given how wet his pants were, he was acting surprisingly reserved. Or maybe he was seething in rage, waiting for the right moment to blacklist our flower shop in front of all the guests.
“Um, it’s here if you need it.” I said, quickly setting it on top of the table for him. I ducked to the floor so I wouldn't have to keep looking at him.
Thankfully, as soon as I crouched down, the rest of the room returned to its previous murmur. They must’ve moved on to something more interesting. Either that, or they felt that enough time had passed to start discussing it amongst themselves. Speaking of time, where the hell was April anyway?
On my hands and knees, I searched for the shattered pieces of the broken vase, while moving the flowers to one side. I stacked the larger pieces of ceramic, lifting the side of the tablecloth, now hanging almost all the way to the floor, to check for stray shards underneath.
For a brief moment, I considered crawling underneath the tablecloth and hiding until everyone in the room disappeared. But before I could embarrass myself even further, Ethan bent down on one knee next to me, until his face was just above my head.
I tried my best to ignore his proximity and redoubled my efforts to clean up.
Ethan leaned in, making me feel as if there was a strange intimacy between us, as if we were the only children in a room full of adults, playing our own secret game.
A memory came then, unbidden. The two of us, by the lake shore, crouching next to an ant hill, a skinny twig in Ethan's hand.
Do you think ants ever leave their colony? For good?
Maybe if you keep poking them. Give me that stick already.
Why did I always think of the dumbest stuff whenever I was nervous?
I had picked up almost all the pieces of broken vase when I noticed the crimson ribbon on the floor next to Ethan’s knee. It had been tied around the arrangement in a decorative bow, but now lay in a sad puddle of water. Had April tied this particular bow yesterday, or had I? They all looked the same to me.
I reached for the silk ribbon, but Ethan snatched it first. I immediately withdrew, careful to avoid any sort of physical contact. He caressed the silk between his slender fingers as if he was memorizing the feel of it.
"Thank you so much," I said, my palm outstretched, feeling peevish that I was afraid to even touch him. "I can take that for you."
Ethan’s eyes glittered and he pulled his hand back quickly—almost possessively—tightening his fist around the ribbon.
A voice came from above us. "Damn it, you are not getting out of this, Ethan. Come on, we need to take care of those pants."
Ethan rose, finally breaking the connection between us.
I craned my neck up. The voice had come from a stunning blonde woman, about my age, wearing a charcoal sheath dress. The blonde woman’s black ankle strap heels clacked purposefully as she led Ethan away.
April appeared suddenly by my side and I almost fell on my butt. Not seeming to notice this, she started helping me pick up the stacked pieces of the unfortunate vase, putting them into one of our crates after removing an equivalent backup vase for the table.
Great timing, barely a moment too late to save me.
“Oh. My. God...” she sang, “The universe is sending you a message!”
“April...” I said through clenched teeth.
She smiled happily, her eyelashes batting at me. “Mmhm?”
I let out a long breath as I watched Ethan and the blonde woman disappear around the corner. “Did you even see what just happened?”
In The Cards
“Got any Jacks?” April asked. She leaned over, pretending to peek at my cards.
I didn’t bother covering my hand from April’s obvious attempt to cheat and
mumbled a “nope, go fish,” rather unenthusiastically.
The utility stairwell echoed softly, the rumblings of the remaining vendors contained to the area beyond the exit doors. The stairs were tucked away, behind the staff areas, hidden from the hotel guests.
The two of us were sitting on one of the steps leading up to the next floor. We included breakdown at this event, and planned to wait for the event to be over before collecting and taking away the flowers the hotel didn’t want to keep. There wasn’t any harm in indulging in April's fun in the meantime.
April, humming an upbeat tune, drew another card from the deck sitting between us and added it into her hand. She was probably hoping her cheerful disposition would rub off on me with enough exposure.
“I know exactly what you’re doing, April.”
"What do you mean?" She gave me an innocent look, but I could see past that charade.
Accidents were par the course for a busy setup, but I was so stupid to draw Ethan’s attention. Now, not only were the chances of him recognizing me higher, but instead of perhaps bumping into each other normally, the “universe” had to go and let that happen. My cheeks felt hot thinking about that embarrassing exchange. I wanted to forget that it happened and never see Ethan again. Ever.
"You're trying to distract me from the fact that I completely humiliated myself, not just in front of the one important man out there tonight, but another fifty of L.A.'s most ritzy."
"Aww, I'm pretty sure it wasn't fifty." April opened her arms to me, not realizing she was simultaneously revealing her cards. "Hug?"
I sighed.
April went in for the hug anyway. Her petite arms somehow always managed to feel warm and engulfing.
I leaned into April and sighed again, wishing to drown in her comfort. “I’m going to find a time machine and jump forward a hundred years into the future until everyone who witnessed that is dead.”
April pulled back and made her signature puppy eyes at me. "But, what about me?"
"You can come with. Ethan though...definitely not."
"Well, you can't really blame him for what happened."
I shrugged, then huffed. "Let him grow old and wrinkled. What kind of cruel universe turns a little scrawny kid I used to play tag with into some kind of Greek god?"
"Girl, you got a strange definition of cruel..." She was dishing out a side-eye, and I could see a small smirk curled at the corner of her mouth.
"What else would you call it? And don't start with me on fate."
April busied herself by reorganizing her cards, accepting that I just wanted to vent and wallow in my misery. I couldn’t help feeling a little guilty for being a sourpuss.
"Got any fours in there?" I asked hopefully.
"Nope, go fish.”
I drew another card.
"You have to admit though,” April started, letting a mischievous smile spread across her face before continuing, “it makes for a pretty good meet cute." Her eyebrows jumped suggestively.
"Okay, now you've got a strange definition of cute. Puppies are cute. Kittens are cute. Even baby possums are cute. But what happened out there was not cute," I said, shuddering. "More like downright cringey."
"When it's happening to you, it probably feels that way, but hey, you know...‘the cringier the meet, the hotter the sex.’”
"No one has ever said that. Besides sex is the last thing I want from him."
“Mmhm…” April peeked over her cards. "Got an ace?"
I searched my hand.
"Well, what do you want from him?" April asked.
I handed the ace of hearts over. "Never to see him again."
April took the ace and seemed to ponder this. After a moment her eyes went wide. "You are so right,” she said, punctuating each word.
I nodded, satisfied that April and I were finally on the same page. "Mmhm," I mirrored her usual tone.
“I would have never come up with that plan.”
"What?"
“Ethan isn’t some regular guy you can pick up at a bar. He's a titan of industry with loads of sexy socialites throwing themselves at him."
I crossed my arms. "What does that have to do with—"
April smushed her index finger against my mouth. “Sierra, you are a bona fide genius. What's more enticing to a man like that than a real challenge?” She swiped her hand like a claw and made a strangely accurate meow. "Kitty needs to hunt."
Of course April would think that.
"Well, that is definitely not my plan, but you're welcome to give it a shot if you like," I said.
April shook her head. "There is no way I'm standing between the universe and its goal. This is Ethan and your story."
I rolled my eyes. "Spilling some water on his pants doesn’t mean that there’s going to be a heartwarming reunion story. Besides, I bet you Ethan doesn't even remember that I exist."
April suddenly grabbed my hand and pumped it up and down, face lit up like a Christmas tree. “I’ll take that bet! Loser pays for Korean Barbeque.”
I looked at her funny. Was this another way to try and make me feel better?
"Why leave all the fun for L.A.'s most ritzy?” She tilted her head in the direction of the Banquet Center. “We can have a little action of our own.”
I shrugged. "Uh huh...I guess."
April grinned and pumped her fist. "You're on."
"Shouldn't you be getting business cards at some point?" I asked, nervous that an April with too much time on her hands might decide to intervene on behalf of the universe.
April bounced to her feet. "You're right!"
April made like she was about to walk away with the cards still in her hands.
"Wait, we can still finish our game."
"Oh, right," April looked around like she just remembered where she was. "Um..."
I waved my hand dismissively. "Actually, don't worry about it. I'll be okay."
"Are you sure?"
"Yeah, crappy luck tonight anyway.” I placed my cards onto the remaining deck. “I’ll get myself some air. I won’t be long."
Mr. Thorne
Finding a private space to get some air turned out to be more challenging than I expected. After getting lost and circling the same floor twice, I finally came to the conclusion that I should ask the front desk downstairs. Fortunately, once reception gave me the directions, it didn’t take me too long to find a cozy tea garden, tucked out of the way in the south hall.
Stepping up to the swinging glass doors, I could already feel my shoulders relaxing. It was time to decompress and put tonight into the jar of embarrassing moments that I would never again revisit.
As I put my hand on the handle, I heard a distinct masculine voice behind me say, “It’s you.”
It didn’t take too much imagination to figure out whose voice it was. I instinctively froze, trying to run through my options, but they were severely limited after I made eye contact with the reflection in the glass door.
“Nev, right?” Ethan Thorne asked.
There was only one person who called me Nev. How the hell did he know that was April’s nickname for me? Had she sold me out? It hadn’t been that long since I last saw her. Could she have made a beeline from the stairwell right to Ethan? And how the hell had he found me here?
Think about it Sierra, how many quiet balconies can there possibly be in this hotel? if April spilled the beans on where you were headed, it would’ve been a doozy to track you down.
I got a hold of myself and turned as calmly as possible. I’d deal with April later, right now I had another problem on my hands.
Ethan held my gaze when I came to face him. There was a curious smirk on his face.
Act surprised Sierra, you don't remember who he is, you don't want it to seem like you remember him from somewhere other than earlier today. He's calling you Nev, so he probably doesn't know who you are. Be professional!
"Oh, Mr. Thorne!” My voice had caught a little too high-pitched, but I went with it. “If there
is something you need, you can speak with the event coordinator. Her name is Giselle, I would be more than happy to fetch her for you."
Without waiting for a reply I took a step toward the nearest escalator, but Ethan stopped me, his hand pressed lightly against the inside of my elbow.
I nearly jumped into the air, but his touch made me spin into him, until we were in each other’s personal space. His face was close enough that I could smell something that reminded me of high backed leather armchairs and bourbon. Heat rushed to my cheeks and I hesitated for a moment too long.
"No, you misunderstand,” Ethan said, his deep voice rumbling through my body.
My eyes inadvertently dropped to his pants. They were the exact same shade of blue that I'd remembered earlier in the Banquet Center, but the wet splash was gone. Of course, the blonde woman must’ve taken him to change. He probably had an extra pair of pants specifically for occasions where klutzy flower girls fell all over his chest. With a jolt, I realized that I was staring at his crotch and quickly darted my eyes back to his face.
Ethan watched me without acknowledging my interest in his groin region. A strange look passed across his face. Had that been a flash of recognition or did I imagine it? The only thing worse than spilling stinky flower water on the most recognizable guest at a charity event was having him remember all the embarrassing stuff you two did as kids.
Pull it together Sierra! Of course he doesn't recognize you, he's just upset about having his pants ruined.
Donning my professional smile, I nodded politely then took a careful step back to put some distance between us.
"Please accept my deepest apologies for the accident earlier," I said.
A smile crinkled the corner of Ethan’s eyes. I was on the right track. He’d been unhappy with the treatment he received, wanted to set things straight, and was finally satisfied with my change in attitude.
"I'm glad to see you've found a fresh pair of pants," I said, "I will be more than happy to cover the dry cleaning costs for the other pair."
