Back then 18 years old #2
“She asked me if I liked her dress better than yours,” he said. “But before I could answer that, she asked me—verbatim, if I thought that she looked better than Rachel Dawson tonight.”
“Sure, she did.” I laughed. “You told her yes, right?”
“I would’ve,” he said, looking into my eyes. “But she told me to be one hundred percent honest.”
Silence.
My heart suddenly raced in my chest, and I tried to quickly change the subject—to lighten the mood, but I couldn’t get a single word to fall from my lips.
“Can we have a truce for a few minutes, Rachel?” he asked.
I nodded, still speechless.
“Between you and me, pretty much every fucking guy who was at the prom tonight had his eyes on you. You were hands down, the most beautiful girl there. You were also the best dressed.”
“Don’t try to flatter me.” I felt my cheeks heating. “If that’s even halfway true, how do you explain the fact that no guy asked me to dance? Not one.”
He laughed. “Maybe it was too big of a risk to do so. Maybe they didn’t want to get yelled at by their jealous dates. Take my word for it,” he said. “I got numerous text messages the moment you stepped into that ballroom. Everyone was looking at you.”
I shook my head, not wanting to believe him, but the look in his eyes told me that he wasn’t lying.
“What did the text messages say?” I asked. “And don’t you think that if they were looking at me, that at least one guy would’ve offered to dance with me?”
He didn’t answer my questions. Instead, he moved to his car and turned on the speaker system. Within seconds, a slow song began to play.
Walking over to me, he extended his hand. “I’ll dance with you. Out of extreme pity, of course.”
“Of course.” I rolled my eyes. “I’ll pass.”
“Okay, not pity. Maybe it’s so my prom night doesn’t end without a dance either.”
“You can go back and dance with Shelby.”
“I’d rather wait a while before even thinking about that.” He held out his hand again. “Are you going to dance with me, or not?”
I hesitated, and he laughed.
He slipped his arms around my waist and pulled me close, before I could reject his offer. Then he started swaying me to the slow beat of the music, and I followed his lead.
Song after song, we stared at each other—never losing rhythm as we matched step for step. In the middle of my favorite song, he slid his right hand from around me and gently clasped my fingers—allowing me to twirl and spin back into him.
“You know that this dance never happened, right?” I asked, as a new song started.
“Of course.” He smiled. “I have no idea what dance you’re talking about.”
“Good. You should also know that I’m not sleeping with you afterward.”
“I’ve told you that I don’t fuck virgins.” He suddenly dipped me, holding me low for several seconds. “Seeing as though you’ll probably be one until you’re eighty years old, I don’t think we’ll ever have to worry about that.”
We both laughed, and he brought me back up.
He held me close for the next two songs, stopping at every chorus to spin me away and bring me back into him. He kept his eyes on mine, and I couldn’t look away from him if I tried.
For some strange reason, I wanted him to kiss me right here and now. To take me down against the pier and own my mouth with his.
Snap out of it, Rachel. It’s Ethan. Just Ethan.
The sounds of the latest song softened, and I cleared my throat. “You know, I’m starting to wonder how Shelby feels about you leaving her at the prom alone. I’m sure she’ll find a way to make a bunch of drama about it the moment you go back.”
He stopped swaying me, completely letting me go. “Shelby is literally the last thing on my mind right now.”
“Really? Then what are you thinking about?”
He didn’t answer, he just stared at me.
Before I knew it, his lips were pressed against mine, and my arms were wrapped around his neck.
With our mouths greedily fighting for control, he stumbled backward onto the hood of his car—pulling me right on top of him. He was kissing me like he needed me, like this was the last kiss he’d ever get, and I melted into him.
Letting him take the lead, I moaned as he caressed my hips, as he slowly tugged at the zipper on the side of my dress. I tightened my grip on his hair as he sucked my bottom lip into his mouth, as he gently bit down on it.
“Ethan…” I whispered.
As he was deepening our kiss, I felt his cock hardening against my thigh. My skin was heating under the command of his delicate touches, and I couldn’t help but moan against his lips.
I felt more turned on than ever, more turned on than when I’d been with anyone else.
I didn’t want him to ever stop kissing me, to ever stop showing me that I had this type of effect on him.
Moving his hand up to my head, he loosened the elastic band from around my bun and let my hair fall to my shoulders.
“Rachel…” he said softly.
“Yes?”
He didn’t answer. He started kissing me again, but it didn’t last as long this time.
It was cut short by an abrupt stop of the music. Then the sound of the most annoying bell chime ringtone I’d ever heard cut through the air. The ringtone he’d selected for Shelby.
Ethan slowly let me go, and I stumbled backward—stunned at what the hell had just happened. At how, in that one moment, if he’d attempted to take things a bit further, I might’ve let him.
What the hell was that? And where the hell did that come from?
Keeping his eyes on mine, he sat up a bit and answered his phone. Then I heard a raspy female voice coming through his speakers.
“Where the hell are you, Ethan?” Shelby shouted.
“And why the hell aren’t you running back to apologize for what you said?
Like, I’ve given you a full hour to get your shit together, and you have yet to say sorry for making me so fucking mad!
Do I need to go home with someone else after tonight’s prom? Is that what you want?”
He stared at me as she continued to rant. Then he slowly moved closer—pressing his forehead against mine and running his fingers through my hair.
I felt my heart racing a mile a minute, felt the sudden urge to press my lips against his again. I was confused and aroused all at once, and I didn’t want to think about any potential consequences; I just wanted to go back to where we were sixty seconds ago.
“Ethan!” Shelby’s voice came through his phone’s speaker again. “Ethan, give me the apology I deserve right now, and tell me when you’re coming back to pick me up. Ethan?”
Without answering any of her questions, he ended the call and turned off his phone.
“Since this night never happened…” he said, still running his fingers through my hair. “Do you want to spend the rest of it with me?”
“Ethan Wyatt…” I swallowed. “Are you seriously insinuating sex right now?”
“No.” His lips curved into a smile. “I’m seriously insinuating dinner.”
“Oh.” I nodded. “That’d be nice. What about letting me drive us there?”
“Hell no,” he said, laughing—breaking whatever spell we were previously under. He stepped back, and I couldn’t help but laugh with him.
Walking over to my side of the car, he opened the door and waited for me to take a seat. “I’ll let you pick the restaurant. Nothing too nice, though.”
“Why not?” I buckled my seatbelt. “If you were planning to take Shelby to someplace amazing, I think you can afford to take me.”
“I was planning to take her to a cheap pancake spot,” he said. “That, or a fast food place. Even though she’s throwing a fit right now, you know damn well that we really don’t care about each other like that. She just wants me to play along and act like I do.”
“Of course.” I laughed. “I don’t think you really care about anyone.”
“I do care about someone.” He shut my door and walked over to his side. Putting the car in gear, he drove onto the road.
“Oh yeah?” I said, not wanting to let that subject go. “Who is this ‘anyone’ you care about all of a sudden?”
He looked over at me and shrugged. “You wouldn’t believe me if I told you.”
“Are you sure?” I playfully punched his shoulder. “Try me.”
“I just tried to…” he said under his breath, and then he turned up the radio. “Which restaurant are we going to?”