22. CHAPTER 22
CHAPTER 22
ARI
I wake with a start, and it takes me a minute to get my bearings before I remember Ethan bringing me to bed. Rolling onto my stomach, I stretch my limbs—well, my arms, at least—and my face smushes into the pillow.
What the hell is that smell?!
I push myself up so my face is away from the bed, then slowly lower it back toward the pillow in disbelief. I sniff twice and am assaulted by the smell of sweat and dirty gym socks, but dare I say I am also comforted by the familiarity of it.
Shimmying to the edge of the bed and throwing my legs over the side, I see my crutches resting against the nightstand and smile, knowing Ethan must have put them there for me. Using them to get myself to the door, I reach for the knob but see it turn. The door slowly creaks open, and I see Fonz’s forehead and eyeballs as he peers in.
“Fonz,” I start, but he throws a finger in front of his lips and whispers, “Shhhh …” then points down the hallway.
He takes my elbow and slowly leads me down the hall and through the small dining space. A Luke Bryan song plays loudly as we approach the kitchen, and when we get to the entryway, Fonz and I peek around the corner and giggle as we see a shirtless, barefoot Adonis with his back to us, standing in front of the stove, singing into a spatula. We spy as Ethan goes into full dance mode, swinging his hips and shimmying his shoulders.
My laughter subsides as I take in his form. His shoulder blades, back, and sides are taut and rippled with defined muscle. And I’d bet a year’s salary that underneath those sweats is the tightest ass on the face of the planet.
Ethan sings even louder and gyrates his hips some more. “Good to see some things haven’t changed,” I whisper to Fonz, who is hunched over me in the doorway, looking on.
“I actually haven’t seen him like this in a long time.”
We continue to watch as Ethan scoops up some pancakes and adds them to a plate that already has a tower of flapjacks piled up. “Is he expecting company?” I ask. “How many pancakes is he going to make?”
“Nah, he just eats like a monster.”
“There’s no way a man who looks like that eats carbs,” I challenge. “I’m guessing he drinks protein shakes and the blood of baby snakes.”
Fonz snorts. “Maybe.”
Ethan circles his hips as he sings out and does a jump-spin so he’s facing us. “I can hear you guys, you know!” He points the spatula at us.
Fonz and I break into laughter as we shuffle into the kitchen. “Sorry, man.” Fonz slaps Ethan on the back and heads toward the fridge. “That was too good to miss out on.” I hobble my way toward the island on shaky legs, arms nestled into my crutches, to where Fonz pulls out a stool and pats it before crossing over to the cabinets on the other side and pulling out a couple of plates and glasses.
Ethan turns from the stove and places the plate with the tower of pancakes on the center of the island. “Morning, Red.” He bends and kisses me on the top of the head—as if it’s something he’s done a million times—then returns to the last of the pancakes cooking on the griddle.
“Uh, morning, Ethan.”
“Sleep OK?” he asks over his shoulder as Fonz puts a jug of orange juice on the countertop.
“Like a rock.” I pick up a pancake with my fingers and start ripping pieces from it and eating it dry. “Although, I woke to the horrific, putrid smell that is your bed. Or, more specifically, your pillow.”
“HA!” Fonz barks out. “I told you, man! You stink after you work out. You can’t just flop in bed like that.”
“I like to shower in the morning!” Ethan argues back, pulling out a stool next to me. He grabs the bottle of syrup and squeezes a big puddle onto his plate, reaches over, and takes a pancake off the top of the stack. He folds it in half like a taco, dunks it aggressively into the syrup, and rips half of it off with his teeth. Around a mouthful, he continues, “What’s the point in showering at night if I’m just gonna shower again in the morning anyway?” He tosses the second half of the pancake in his mouth and reaches for another.
“The point,” Fonz starts in, pointing a fork at Ethan, “is so your room doesn’t stink like a fucking cheese shop.”
“Yes!” I throw my hand up to my mouth as I practically spit out pancake. “That’s the smell! Stinky cheese. It smells like stinky cheese!”
Ethan looks at me with horror and, if I’m not mistaken, embarrassment. “Oh, cut it. It’s not that bad.” Fonz and I make wide eyes at each other. “OK, you know what?” Ethan takes another pancake and again eats it in two bites. “I’m a little bit pissed that the two of you are like two peas in a pod, and I’ve been in the dark all this time.”
Fonz scoffs. “Please, you have not been in the dark . You both”—he points between the two of us with his fork—“have been acting like idiots. I was just trying to toe the line.” He puts three pancakes on his plate and cuts into them like a civilized human.
“Fine,” Ethan concedes as he goes for what could very well be his fifth pancake—I’ve lost count—then grabs the last one left and flops it on my plate.
“Enough!” I shout, giving the guys a startle. “Enough dredging up the past. Let’s just have some fun.” I throw my arms up and start to move on my stool to a Miranda Lambert song that starts playing over the Bluetooth speaker.
“Heck yeah!” Ethan pulls his phone out and ups the volume.
“Awe shit, our girl is back.” Fonz singsongs, coming around the island, bending down and hoisting me over his shoulder like a rag doll.
“Hey!” I squeal through laughter.
Fonz turns a few times, then slides me down the front of him and I find myself plastered between him and Ethan as the three of us sing along to the lyrics, grinding and swaying to the music.
And just like that, I’m home.
ETHAN
This is so surreal. I can’t stop stealing glances at Ari just to make sure she’s really here. We’re in the Jeep as I drive her home. Well, to the Millers’ house. Does she call it home?
We had a little tiff getting into the Jeep. It’s a much bigger step to get up into it, and I wanted to just pick her up and put her in the damn seat, but she fought me. When I mumbled under my breath something about her being stubborn and not accepting help, she fired back that she’s not an invalid. Our fate was sealed when she pulled the visor mirror down, shrieked, then yelled at me for not pointing out that her hair “looks like a rat’s nest on fire”—her words, not mine. It looks goddamn adorable, but she apparently doesn’t like walking around with bedhead.
The GPS notifies me we have arrived at our destination, and I pull into the driveway of a beautiful raised ranch home with a formal walkway up the front and a detached two-story garage. The yard is lush and green. “Nice digs.”
“Yeah,” she says as she unbuckles her seat belt. “I do really like it here. I just feel bad Sophie also had to move back after everything.”
“Could she not afford rent on her own?”
“Umm …” Ari chews her lip as she looks out the window. “That and, well, she couldn’t stay at the apartment we had any longer since Axel used to stop by and raise hell.”
Before I can ask what that means, a side door on the garage building swings open and a round young woman comes barreling out, headed straight for us. She’s wearing a pair of black leggings that stop midway down her thick calves and a snug V-neck T-shirt with the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles on it, which shows off her rolls and ample breasts.
Ari giggles as she opens her door. “Soph—” she starts but is interrupted.
“You have got a lot of explaining to do,” the young woman says as she approaches, pushing her black-rimmed glasses up her nose. “You stay out all night and just roll back here the next morning like it’s no big deal. I get no phone call, no text telling me you haven’t been abducted by a serial killer. And don’t think I don’t know these are the clothes you wore out last night.”
As if routine, the young woman reaches her arms out and Ari grabs them as she slides out of the Jeep. “Soph, you’re the one who set me up with Ethan. You know I wasn’t out with a serial killer.”
“I’ve never met Ethan! He could be a serial killer.” She leans past Ari to look at me in the Jeep. “No offense,” she says with a wave.
I grin at her, unbuckling my seat belt. “None taken.” I open my door and climb out, making my way around the vehicle. “I’m glad Ari has such a good friend.”
“Yeah, well,” the young woman says as she places her hands on her hips and blows a lock of dark hair out of her eyes, “she’s a pain in my ass.”
“Oh good, then it’s not just me.” I lean against the side of the Jeep.
Ari laughs out loud at our exchange. “Sophie, this is my oldest friend, Ethan. And Ethan, this is my best friend, Sophie.”
I take the young woman’s hand in mine. “It’s very nice to meet you, Sophie.”
She smiles and gives me a once over, then turns to Ari. “So, it turns out I don’t have to work today. I was headed over to see Meg and Lars. You heading inside?”
“Yeah, I want to say good morning. Then I have to plug in for a bit.” She turns to me. “I, uh, guess I’ll let you get going.”
I nod and push away from the Jeep. “Yeah, sure. I have to go into work a little later, so I’m gonna get a workout in and whatnot.”
“I thought you work out in the evening.”
I smile sheepishly. “I do. Sometimes I get in two workouts.” Sophie makes a noise in the back of her throat, and Ari just stares at me like I have two heads.
The three of us are awkwardly quiet before Sophie speaks up. “You want a lift?” she asks Ari, who darts her eyes to me and then rolls them.
“You’re really going to love this,” Ari says to me, as Sophie steps in front of her and hunches over into a half-squat. Ari leans forward and wraps her arms around Sophie’s shoulders, and Sophie grabs Ari’s legs and hoists her up into a piggyback.
I can’t help the laugh that escapes.
“Can you give me my crutches, asshole?” Ari asks, and I reach into the Jeep, pull them out, and hand them to her one at a time. She keeps one arm around Sophie’s neck as she holds both crutches in the other. “Thanks.”
“Anytime,” I reply with a wink.
“Sorry, gotta walk,” Sophie grunts out as she starts to walk up the path to the house. “She’s not as light as she looks.”
I laugh, then call out, “Wait, Ari, I need your new number!”
Her head shakes. “Is your number the same as it always was?” I nod. “Then I’ve got it memorized. Also, Fonz has it.”