by Jami Wagner
Chapter Nineteen
Ethan
I really don’t have to pick Kelsey up considering she’s right across the street, but I pull my bike into her driveway anyway and swing my leg over, a bouquet full of lilies in my hand. My nerves are running through my body in a hurry. I stop in front of her door, attempting to collect myself. I hold the flowers tightly as I smooth out the nonexistent wrinkles on my light blue button-down shirt.
I can do this. It’s no different than anyone else. Except, it is different. This means something. Kelsey means something.
I knock twice on the door and she opens it right away as if she were waiting on the other side.
“Hi.” She smiles at me and I’m at a loss for words. She’s breathtaking. “Are those for me?” She points to the flowers in my hand.
“Yes,” I say, almost shoving them in her face.
“Come in,” she says, stepping inside. “I just need to put them in water before we go.”
I wait in the doorway.
“You don’t have to just stand there,” she hollers, and I hear her laugh fade as she steps into the kitchen.
Kelsey reaches for a vase on the top shelf of a cabinet, the same one from the first time I bought her flowers. Her arms are stretched high and she’s on her tiptoes. Her shirt hangs just above her hip, giving me a glimpse of her smooth skin.
“Do you think you could reach this for me?” she asks, her head cocked to the side. I step around the counter, reaching for the vase and never taking my eyes off of her. I grab it, setting it on the counter.
“Here,” I say, but she just stares at me. Her hand touches my chest and she curls her fingers against it. Then she pulls me in and kisses me.
I kiss her back, grabbing her hips and moving her between me and the counter. I pin her there as I bring our bodies closer together. Her tongue slips into my mouth and she deepens the kiss. At this rate, we’ll never make it to dinner.
“We should probably get going,” she says between kisses, and I regrettably step away. She puts the flowers in water and I take her hand, pulling her next to me as we walk to my bike. “We’re not seriously riding that, are we?” she asks with a panicked look on her face.
“We are. Is this okay?”
“Yeah, I just – I’ve never been on the back of one of these before,” she says and I catch the small blush that fills her cheeks. I hand her a helmet and then help her put it on before doing the same for myself.
“Just hold on tight,” I say as I back the bike out of her driveway.
I made plans for us to go to Italios Pasta House for dinner and then walk downtown and talk. I’m following Sara’s advice to get to know her. It’s a little late, but we’re going to have plenty of time together to make up for that. I haven’t told Kelsey any of this, but I have a feeling she will enjoy it.
“Don’t you want to know where I’m taking you for our date?” I ask.
“Nope. I trust you.” She says it like it’s that simple. If she only knew what I came here to do for my father. I would lose her trust the moment I earned it.
I start the bike, its engine roaring as we pull out of the driveway. The last girl I had on my bike tried to talk the entire time. It was hard to hear her, and by the time we got off she was mad and claimed I was ignoring her. With Kelsey it’s nothing but peaceful. Her arms are wrapped around me and I can feel her chest against my back as she rests against me. Everything with Kelsey is easy and feels perfect.
I pull into the parking lot and hear her clapping behind me. When I glance back she has a giant grin on her face.
“How did you know this was my favorite place?”
I shrug and turn off the engine. “When I would visit in the summers, we always came here for your birthday.”
“You remember that?”
“I remember everything. Even the part where I was only invited because Sara’s mom made her invite me.” I laugh. “But I was happy either way. I got to see you. That was the only reason I kept coming back.”
“Oh,” she says and looks away as her cheeks turn a light shade of pink. She blushes more than anyone I know, but she looks damn adorable every time.
I hold the bike steady as she gets off and then I hold her hand as we walk inside. The smell of pasta and fresh bread fill the restaurant and my stomach growls.
“Two?” the young boy behind the wooden stand asks.
“Yes. It should be under Connelly.” He scans the paper in front of him with his index finger and then taps it against the stand.
“Yep. Please follow me.”
I place my hand at the small of Kelsey’s back as we follow the kid. He shows us to a corner booth and sets the menus down, leaving us alone. Kelsey scoots inside the booth and I scoot in right next to her.
“It’s smells so good in here,” she says.
“Yeah, I’m starving,” I reply, opening a menu. “Are you going to order the four cheese stuffed ravioli in Alfredo sauce?”
She smiles at me, nods, and looks back to her menu. “I can’t believe you remember that. I was impressed enough that you remembered my favorite restaurant.”
“I probably remember a lot more than you think.”
“Hmm, okay, name three things,” she challenges me in a flirty tone.
“Only three?”
“Yep.” She wiggles three fingers in the air.
“Alright, I remember how every Fourth of July you were crazy into those red, white, blue firecracker popsicles. I swear you ate one every day for a month every summer.”
She laughs but nods.
“When Sara’s parents would throw her birthday barbeque, you spent more time helping her mother make sure everything was ready than hanging out with your girlfriends. Making other people happy made you happy. You’ve always been selfless like that and it’s a beautiful trait to have.”
Her eyes meet mine, but she doesn’t say anything.
“And I also remember when I kissed you behind Sara’s house that day—from that moment on I knew you would always be special to me.”
A gloss takes over her golden eyes, causing them to shine bright. She leans over and gently presses her lips to mine.
The waiter clears his throat and Kelsey pulls away. She blushes but doesn’t try to hide it the way she does every other time it happens. He takes our drink order, leaving us alone again, and like love-struck fools, we just smile at each other.
I’m nailing this date thing. Being with Kelsey is so easy and if I can get her to smile that way every time she sees me, I’ll be one happy man.
Kelsey
Our date is going amazingly. The food was great, but the company is the best I could’ve asked for. We finished eating about an hour ago, but we’ve been sitting here talking about the things we’ve missed over the years.
I told him about my parents and their dream to travel. I told him about my little brother who left the day after he graduated and who I’ve only spoken with on the phone since that day. I told him about school and all the pointless details that got me to where I am now. I don’t tell him about my ex, because during those summers Ethan visited, Tyler was his friend. I don’t want to ruin things if they still are. Still, I feel as though we’re far enough into the conversation I can ask him the one question I’ve been dying to know.
“Your dad owns a lot of his own businesses, so why did you come to the BA instead of working for him?”
Ethan plays with the fork still left on the table as he debates his answer.
“He never offered me a spot to work with him.” His voice is low, and from the way his face wrinkles as he says it, I can tell it’s something that bothers him. “I thought if I could come here and things went…as planned, he would be proud and maybe change his mind.”
His last words hit close to home. I know I’m an accounting major only to get my father’s attention, but I’m not letting that take over. I’m still writing and I’m applying for jobs that involve writing. But something in his voice alarms me. Like he’s let
ting his father decide how things will turn out for him instead of making that decision on his own.
“Have you talked to him about it?” I ask, hesitantly.
“No. Have you talked to your dad about what bothers you?”
I shake my head. “We may not see eye to eye and he isn’t very active in my life, but I know he loves me and one day things will be different.”
“Yeah, I don’t think my dad will ever change. My mom’s been trying to change him for years and the man won’t budge. He’s got a one-track mind. His way or no way.”
My heart breaks a little seeing this vulnerable side to Ethan. I want to change the subject because I don’t like him being upset, but I want him to know he can talk to me about these sort of things.
“Maybe—”
“How about we talk about something else?” he says in a much cheerier tone. “My family drama isn’t going to ruin the rest of the night.”
“Okay, but you can always—”
“I know,” he cuts me off and kisses my temple. “And thank you, but another night would be better.”
After Ethan pays the bill, he slowly laces his fingers with mine as I rise from my seat and in that moment the very person I wanted to avoid tonight walks past our table. Tyler. He stops in front of us, shock written all over his face. His eyes bounce back and forth between us.
“Ethan, I thought you were going to hit me up when you had a night off.” Tyler offers his hand and Ethan accepts it with a quick, firm shake that makes Tyler cringe. “We could grab a drink now; my dad would probably enjoy catching up with you too.”
“I’d love that,” Officer Maron says, walking up behind Tyler. “Kelsey, it’s great to see you again.”
“Whoa, man, strong grip,” Tyler says, prying his hand away from Ethan. I hadn’t even realized they were still shaking hands. Weird.
“We were just leaving,” Ethan says. “Maybe next time.”
He rushes us to his bike, giving me my helmet before putting his on, too, and quickly pulls out the parking lot heading for home. Our date just went from good to bad in seconds, and now Tyler’s responsible for ruining something else that I wanted.
Ethan pulls the bike into his driveway and just sits there. The September air is growing colder and Ethan probably won’t be able to ride his bike much longer. His mood has taken a complete 180 since we left the restaurant, and after Logan told me how much this bike means to Ethan, I sit on the back, not rushing him.
“I’m sorry about that. I wanted to beat his face in, no questions asked.” He lets out a breath. “Logan told me what Tyler did and with who … I swear I didn’t know, and if I had I would have never shown up with her. I swear.”
“Ethan, stop, everything is fine.” I lift my leg over the bike, handing him my helmet so I can stand and face him. “Everyone makes mistakes—it’s how you handle them that defines who you are. Besides, we weren’t dating then, so I don’t really have a reason to be mad.”
“Still, I should have just asked why you couldn’t be with me before you caved and told me. It was a dick move.”
“Yeah, but at least you know it, and if Tyler hadn’t cheated on me, I wouldn’t be here right now, with you,” I flirt with him, noting the exact moment he relaxes. “So technically, we should thank Tyler for getting us here.”
He kicks the stand on the bike as he gets up. The look in his eyes twists my stomach as I lean forward over the bike. His lips press against mine.
“Did you say we were dating now?” he asks, pulling away only until the words are out. He kisses me again, but before I can answer, the sound of screeching tires skidding to a stop makes me jump back.
A truck the exact image of Ethan’s, only black, parks in front of his house. The dome light comes on at the same time Ethan whispers “fuck” behind me. I watch as the light fades and the driver’s door closes after someone gets out. Then a man, probably a few years older than Ethan, steps around the truck.
“Baby brother.” The man smiles coyly. “Looks like I’m crashing with you for a few days.”
Ethan groans and rubs his hands over his face. That’s not the reaction I would have if my brother showed up. I’d be thrilled and even hug him. Ethan might not be a hugging person, but he sure doesn’t look happy.
“Hey there,” the blonde man says to me. He reaches his hand out. “I’m Lance.”
I shake his hand. “Hi.”
He chuckles. “And you are?”
“I’m—”
“Leaving.” Ethan cuts in, walking around his bike to nudge me toward my house. “I’ll call you tomorrow. We can talk about that shift change then.”
What the—?
“Please,” he whispers so only I can hear him. His eyes are pleading as he darts them between me and his brother.
I get that he might not want his family to know he has something going on with me just yet, but it still stings that he is referring to me as just an employee right now. At least he could have told his brother I was a friend or a neighbor. Either way, this reaction is bullshit.
“Yeah, sure thing.” The sentence is nothing but sarcasm, and from the worried expression Ethan just gave me, he knows he just ruined our first date.
I walk away hearing a faint “she’s feisty” from his brother. I’d really like to turn around and flip him the bird, but I can be more mature about this. Instead, with all this run of new emotion I have, I think I’ll work on my essay. The life of a twenty-something girl and her failed attempts to make a relationship work with the same guy might make for interesting story. In fact, since this is going to be a column about my personal life, this would be a great opening piece and might just be the one to win me this job.
