Fighting (13 page)

At
lunch, after I made everyone's drinks and made my plate, I purposely plopped
down right beside of Ethan, close enough to brush my arm against his as I
reached across the table for the salt. 

Everyone
froze.  Even Gwen, and especially Ethan.  I acted like nothing was different,
but damn, I could almost taste the shock everyone was experiencing.  I knew
this would happen.  The dislike between us was almost tangible in the
beginning, and we pretty much avoided each other when possible, so of course
they wouldn't foresee me purposely sitting close to him.  But I knew that no
one else knew that we had been meeting in the studio at night, so I figured now
would be as good a time as any to announce that we were openly friendly with
each other.

"What?"
I snapped.  "Can't a girl make some changes in her life?"

They
looked away sheepishly and Gwen chuckled.

"So
it's Sunday," Spencer said, breaking the silence.  "What are we doing
today?"

"It's
the last day of an annual summer festival about forty five minutes away from
here," August piped up.  "It has rides and games and live
music."

"Have
you ever been before?" I asked.

"No,
but it sounds like fun.  It's only a few dollars for admission, and we don't
have to ride the rides.  We could just walk around and play the games,"
she said.

"I'm
in," Spencer said.

"Me,
too," Ollie added.

"That's
good with me," I said.  "And you?" I asked Ethan.

His
eyes came to mine and held them a moment.  "Sure."

I
smiled and looked at Gwen, who was watching me closely.  "I have to stay
here," she said.  "But you all go on.  Brooks would love to go, I'm
sure."

"We'll
bring you back a stuffed animal," I promised. 

Brooks
waltzed in and said, "What's this I hear about a summer festival?"

"How
do you
do
that?" I asked.

"Master
spy."  I squinted my eyes at him and he relented, "Spencer texted me
about it."

I
looked at Spencer, surprised.  We were still discussing it and he already
texted Brooks about it?  I didn't even see his phone out.

"What?"
he asked defensively, shrugging his shoulders.  "I really wanna go."

"Yeah,
we want to go.  Is that okay?" I asked Brooks.

"Well
I can't leave, but if you and Ethan both go, then that's fine.  Just don't get
them into a situation or killed," he said.  His eyes bounced between Ethan
and me curiously, but he didn't say anything about our seating position.

"Umm. 
I'm pretty sure if we got into a 'situation' at a festival, we would be able to
get ourselves out okay," Spencer said the same way he would have said
duh.
 

"Yes,
and you're welcome for that," Brooks countered.

"So
we can go?" August asked him hopefully.

"You
can go."

She
smiled sweetly at him and forked some of her salad into her mouth, munching
enthusiastically.

A
few hours later, all five of us packed into an SUV from the garage and we set
off for the festival.  Ethan typed in the address into the navigation system
and drove.  Even though it was five o'clock, the sun was still would still be
up for a few hours and it was still pretty bright out.  I watched the trees as
we passed them, noticing that the trees that were bare on my first drive up to
the compound were now cloaked in healthy, green leaves.

Ethan
used the money that Brooks gave him to pay our admittance and then he spent a
ridiculous amount of money on the tickets for the rides.  The others would be
fine if they didn't ride any, but I knew they really wanted to.  Ethan passed
out the tickets and Spencer actually vibrated with excitement. 

We
set off down a dirt lane with games on our left and right, and the rides farther
down the road.  August and Ollie fell into step beside of each other with
Spencer practically circling them in a frenzy.  They talked amongst themselves
as Ethan and I lapsed into a natural stroll a little ways behind them. 

"Did
you let Spencer drink fourteen cups of coffee when I wasn't looking?" I
asked Ethan.

"No,
he just gets like that when we let him out of his cage."

I
laughed out loud and Ethan's eyes flashed to mine.  His face warmed and his
posture relaxed before he smiled at me.  He
really
smiled, showing his
teeth and lighting his eyes.  Whoa.  It didn't matter what expression was on
his face, Ethan was hot.  But when he smiled at me like that, it was super
fucking hot.  Like, curl my toes attractive. 

I
ignored this as best I could.

"When's
the last time he was this spastic?" I asked.

"Hmmm. 
Probably when Brooks bought us a trampoline.  He used it so much he broke a few
of the springs on it.  Brooks hasn't had it fixed yet."

"And
I have a feeling that it's on purpose."

"He
said as much."

Spencer
dragged Ollie and August after him and into line for a ride, so Ethan and I
stopped and hung out away from the crowd. 

"So
have you ever gone out on any. . .
business
for Brooks, solo?" I
asked.

"Yeah. 
Once or twice.  Not full assignments, but I traveled far away to retrieve a
package once, and another time I had to meet a contact and exchange
information."

"Cool."

"What
would you be doing right now if you had never joined the team?" he asked.

"I'd
be downloading a new book for my Kindle app.  Or watching a romantic comedy or
a TV show marathon.  Actually, right this second I'd probably be finishing up
with tutoring a student, and then I'd be driving home debating what to cook
myself for supper.  And then I'd read or watch a movie," I said. 
"Pretty pathetic, I know.  It's part of why I followed Brooks.  He was
right.  I was bored with my life."

"And
now?"

"Are
you kidding?  I'm at a carnival with four other people, and I'm laughing at
things that aren't scripted in a book or a movie.  I wake up every day and eat
food with people I actually look forward to spending time with.  I'm encouraged
when I push myself."  I looked away from Spencer handing over his ticket
and into Ethan's watchful eyes, knowing he was one who encouraged me lately. 
"Do you know how long it's been since anyone encouraged me to do anything
other than make good grades and get into college?  Long time."  I turned
back to watch Ollie help August into the ride.  "I am the total opposite
of bored."

"What
did you do before you joined the team?" I asked him.

"I
had dropped out of college and was just starting out in cage fighting."

My
eyes bugged out.  "Cage fighting?  Like, the kind on TV or the kind where
there's a crazy guy on a leash and the handler lets him go and he ends up
killing his opponent?"

"The
kind where my coach cared more about the money than keeping his fighters safe. 
But I was good at it and I needed the money.  You know how you were bored
because you weren't in college?"  I nodded silently.  "Well, that's
the way I was because I
was
in college.  I made all right grades, but I
knew it wasn't for me.  It didn't take me long to realize cage fighting wasn't
for me, either.  Brooks found me and it didn't take much to convince me to
follow him."

I
shook my head in astonishment but then smiled a little. 

"What?"
he asked.

"That's
harsh, but I was just thinking that that's the most I've ever heard you say at
one time."

"That's
not true.  I've said as much when we're training."

"It's
not the same."

He
paused and just looked at me for a moment in consideration.  "No. It's
not," he said quietly.

The
kids made their way back toward us with huge smiles on their faces.

"That. 
Was.  Awesome!" Spencer cried out.

Ollie
and August nodded their heads in agreement and they all three skipped away
again to look for another ride.

"Maybe
we should stop by and pick up some cough medicine that will make him drowsy for
the ride home," I suggested to Ethan.

"Nah,
we'll just fill him full of fatty fried food.  It'll clog his arteries and slow
him down."

I
laughed so loudly that Ollie glanced back at me and flicked his eyes between
the two of us in bewilderment.  I winked at him and he smiled and turned back
around.

We
ended up staying at the festival for hours, and I spent nearly the entire time
talking with Ethan.  Every now and then we would stop and play a game with
August while Spencer and Ollie rode another ride, but mostly we focused on each
other.  I'd spent weeks and weeks in the same building as this guy and never
saw how funny he could be.  I didn't notice just how relaxed I really was until
I saw how relaxed he was.  He teased Spencer and Ollie and won a stuffed animal
for August and Gwen.  We made each other laugh and he really listened when I
answered his questions.

It
was awesome. 

Around
ten o'clock, nearing time to leave, the two of us sat down at a picnic table
and watched Spencer, Ollie and August race around in bumper cars.  He sat
across from me and we had to look sideways to watch them race around, shouting
at each other.

"So
I gotta know," he said, recapturing my attention, "why you hated me
almost instantly when you got along with the others so effortlessly."  I
stared at him for long enough that he raised his eyebrows and prompted me. 
"Alex?"

"You're
kidding."  He shook his head slowly and I had to wonder if he was screwing
with me.  Surely, he had to know.  I looked away from him and back toward the
go-carts, trying not to let my anger show on my face and failing.

He
definitely caught my mood swing.

"Alex."

"You
were there," I said.  I met his eyes and said, "At the book shop the
day of the robbery.  You were there.  You were the new guy who walked in
mid-assault."

"Yeah."

"I
heard you talking to the officer.  You said I got lucky," I accused him.

He
furrowed his brow in confusion and said, "No, I didn't."

No
way was I going to let him deny it just because we were friends now.

"Yes,
you did."

"No." 
His eyes cleared of confusion and he said, "No, I told him that
we
were lucky that
you
were there and did what you did.  I didn't say you
got lucky.  You must have misheard me."

That
wasn't possible.  I didn't mishear things.  I told him as much.

"I
was on the other side of the room and talking extremely quietly.  You must have
heard keywords and assumed the worst."

Well,
that seemed plausible and definitely like something I would do. 

"If
that's true, then why didn't you like me?" I asked.

"I
liked you just fine, but every time you walked into a room I was in, you would
glare at me.  I was just reacting to your anger.  I watched you joke and tease
the others but as soon as I walked in the room, your smile would slip.  It was
so frustrating because I didn't know
why
and I didn't know how to fix
it.  And then any time you had to talk to or be near me, you would stiffen and
--"

"Pick
fights with you," I interrupted him.  "Yeah."

"Yeah,"
he repeated.  "And then after a while, you seemed to ignore me altogether,
which in a way, was worse."  He paused and said hesitantly, "I'd seen
you with the others, how you act with them so I knew it was just me you had a
problem with.  I didn't know what I did in the first place, and I had no idea
how to talk to you about it."

I
took a few deep breaths and then said, "I'm a total asshole."

He
smirked and shook his head.  "Actually, as it turns out, you're not."

"Ethan,
we've been living together for like two months, and I wasted all that time
thinking you were this arrogant bastard who thought he was better than me, but
that's not you at all.  I mean, it was a misunderstanding but I should have
called you out on it or something.  Could have cleared this up a long time
ago."  I cleared my throat and looked down at the picnic table, picking at
the wood there.  "I'm really sorry."

"To
be fair, you did think I deserved it.  I'll forgive you if you win me a stuffed
animal."

I
laughed and thought that Ethan was really kind of awesome and I had been really
very stupid to have missed out on that for so long. 

Instead
of sharing that, I said, "Okay, but you have to promise to sleep with it
every night."

"How
would you know if I really did or not?"

"I'm
a spy in training, Ethan.  I have my ways."

He
rolled his eyes playfully and stood up, jerking is head for me to follow him. 
We walked to an ice cream joint and he bought us a scoop of ice cream.