Chapter 12 An Unexpected Visitor #2
“Let’s go.” I cocked my head toward my bedroom and without needing further instruction, Gabe smiled down at me and walked us back to it. An ache began in my cheeks, my smile was dented so wide, and I couldn’t help but hug him again.
With my heart pulsing in joy with every beat, my eyes fluttered open just before Gabe rounded the corner to my bedroom.
That happy pulsing tripped over the next few beats of my heart as I locked eyes with Ethan for only a moment. He looked as confused as he did earlier staring at the counter as he watched Gabe carry me away from him.
The rounding wall sliced my gaze from Ethan’s as Gabe turned and opened my bedroom door and took us both inside. The odd look in Ethan’s eyes moved to the back of my mind as I shimmied down Gabe’s long body until my feet touched the ground.
“Not really New York, is it?” I asked as Gabe took in my new room.
His face bunched up. “It’s so… square.”
“Like the shape or the old-fashioned, boring kind of square?”
“Both.”
I barked out a stiff laugh. “Gee, thanks.”
“So,” Gabe walked in front of me, plunking himself on my bed. He shot me a curious smirk. “Who’s the man meat in the living room?”
Breathing out a soft laugh, I answered, “ That would be my brother-in-law. Or, soon to be.”
Gabe’s eyes about came out of his head. “You’re going to be related to that thing out there?”
“Did you just call him a thing ?”
“Uh, yeah . Something that beautiful is obviously not human.”
“Oh my god,” I laughed, rolling my eyes at him. “Speaking of beautiful men, how’s Sal?”
His cheeks turned rosy with even the mention of the name, and his eyes lit up. “He’s still gorgeous and wonderful. We had our one year anniversary last week.”
“You did? You didn’t say anything to me about it! That’s a big deal!”
Gabe brushed me off, shaking his head. “It’s not that big a deal. Plus, I didn’t wanna bring it up with everything going on.”
AKA. My love life implosion.
“Still,” I pressed. “I can celebrate your successful relationship and not be reminded of my lack thereof.”
Did I believe a word of what I was saying? Nope. Was I a good best friend for saying them? Fingers crossed Gabe thought so because I could not lose him.
“Fine, fine, fine.”
Gabe laid himself back on my bed, making himself right at home. “Can we please talk about how much I’ve had to restrain myself from hitting a woman these last few weeks without you there? Hannah is driving everyone fucking nuts.”
“Yes, absolutely. Just let me go grab my tea first and then you can fill me in on all the dumb stuff she’s said.”
Walking towards my door was strangely difficult as my entire body felt like it was humming, vibrating with such a pure happiness that it was almost too much at once. I couldn’t seem to knock the smile off my face as I pulled the door open, nor did I want to.
Yet, my smile fell rather quickly as I stepped outside of my room and right in front of Ethan. Our eyes met and I witnessed the momentary flash of surprise skip through his stare before he moved back, distancing himself from me and my bedroom door.
“Sorry, I—” He was clearly flustered, blustering in this unnatural state. “I was just going to use the bathroom.” He gestured to the bathroom next to us—my bathroom—which also had a door connecting to the outside hallway.
“Why don’t you just use the bathroom in your room?”
His eyebrows popped up, lips parting slowly.
“Oh, yeah. That makes more sense, doesn’t it?”
I just nodded, feigning laughter in an attempt to make this interaction less uncomfortable.
Going to side-step Ethan, I took one step to his left, only to have him take one step to his right. My eyes shot up to his as he blocked me—purposefully.
“What are you doing?”
He opened his mouth, pausing for a moment to think. “What are you doing?”
“Going to get my tea?”
What the hell is going on?
“Oh.” Ethan nodded, raising his gaze up and off to the side. He still wasn’t letting me by. A few more seconds of confounding silence went on before he dropped his stare down to mine, and I noted a peculiar edge around his eyes.
“So, I’m just expected to let this stranger stay in my house without asking any questions about him?”
Stunned at his question, and a little hurt too, I lowered my voice. “You can ask any questions you want.”
Ethan rolled his lips together, his stare floating anywhere and everywhere but right at me. “So, he’s from New York?”
“Yeah, he’s from my old dance studio.”
“How long have you known him?”
“Uh, six years I think?”
Ethan swallowed hard, and I could see him biting the insides of his cheeks as both sides of his mouth hollowed out some on the outside. He still refused to look at me, agitating my curiosity of why he seemed so put off by Gabe.
“So, is he like a Friends with Benefits sort of deal?” The muscles in my neck jerked my head back at the hard edge impossible to miss in his voice. “Is he here to end your five month streak?”
“What?” I nearly spat.
At last, Ethan stopped his eyes wandering as they found me below him, sitting on top of my stare with mounds of unexpected judgement. “ What ?”
I couldn’t decide if his assumption offended or astounded me. Deciding it was best to lean towards the less aggressive emotion, I answered him as simply as I could.
“Gabe is gay. I thought that was pretty obvious.”
Ethan blinked once, then twice, and then all judgement vanished from his expression. At first his eyes widened, and then they narrowed as I watched him file through thought after thought before giving up and only being left with scepticism.
“But he said that he was going to do something about being the first guy to sleep in your room. That was clearly sexual.”
“That was clearly a joke. Gabe and I joke around all the time like that.”
Ethan opened his mouth but looked like he honestly didn’t know what to say. He was totally and thoroughly lost for words. What a first.
“You don’t have to worry about me getting any tonight. Or any night in the coming future.” I tried to laugh it off, lighten the air a little, and it appeared to be working.
There was a visible change over in Ethan’s posture from ten seconds ago till now. His shoulders eased up, the cords in his neck loosened and no longer looked strained against his skin. He wasn’t gnawing on the insides of his cheeks either.
In fact, he joined me in my pitiable laughter and closed his eyes, shaking his head.
“Sorry, I guess I’m just experiencing the whole… protective brother thing a little early on.”
“Yeah, I can see that,” I chuckled.
Ethan took in a great breath, running his hand over his face before letting it drop to settle his eyes on mine. I felt my smile from before coming back as he looked at me as he was now. Lighter. Happier.
“Sorry again.”
“It’s okay.”
We stood there for a few more seconds, standing in the quiet together with smiles in our eyes and on our lips.
Something about the moment was oddly peaceful.
Though, as if we both sensed the moment the quiet lingered on too long to be considered normal, we both made the move to continue on with our days.
“I’ll let you go get your tea now.” Ethan’s voice was back to playful and ocean deep as he let me skirt around him.
“Why, thank you for your permission,” I joked.
Just before I passed him completely, his voice stopped me. “Alice?”
I turned around to him. “Yes?”
“Are we okay now?”
A soft curve spread across my lips just for him. “Yeah, we’re okay.”