Fighting (57 page)

"That
would be wonderful.  He hasn't seen you since you left for college."

"Are
you guys doing okay?" I asked.

They
were going through a rough patch right when I left for college.  I avoided both
of them like the plague during that time, but now I realized I should have
sucked it up and been there for them. 

"Yes,
we're doing great.  Ten year anniversary coming up in two months," she
said.

"That's
so great," I said.

"What
about you?  Do you have anyone special?"  At the thought of Ethan, I
smiled openly at her and her eyes flashed with surprise.  "It's been years
since I've seen you smile like that," she said, awe in her voice. 
"What's his name?" she asked.

I
fought against glancing at him and said, "Ethan."

"What's
he like?"

"Oh,
um.  He's patient and attentive, and very handsome," I smiled fondly. 
"He's very protective and affectionate.  Smart and annoyingly perceptive. 
He always knows exactly what to say to calm me down or make me laugh.  He takes
care of me."

"And
you let him?" she asked, pleasantly surprised.

"Yes,"
I chuckled.  "That took a minute to get used to but yeah, I let him."

I
glanced at Ethan to see him smirking and I just
knew
that he heard
everything I said.  Damn Super Ears.

"You're
different," she said.

I
quickly looked back at Sherry and found her looking at me with a peculiar
expression. 

"What
do you mean?" I asked.

She
shook her head slightly and folded her hands on the table.  "You've
changed.  I don't know.  You just seem much more . . . open.  And happy.  You
used to be so closed off."

I
looked down at my coffee as the smile dropped from my face.  "Yeah, I
know."

"I
used to worry about you.  You were such a happy child and then your parents . .
. and then you weren't.  And you never let anyone take care of you."

"Yeah,"
I said, feeling a hint of the loneliness I grew up with and knowing that it was
my choice to push people away.  I looked back to her face.  "I know."

"Well,
are you going to invite him over or not?" she asked.

"What?"

"The
man staring at you from across the room who you've glanced at a few times,
already.  That's Ethan, isn't it?"

Damn,
I just couldn't
not
look at him.  "Yes."

She
glanced at Ethan and then back to me.  "Why is he sitting across the
room?" she asked.

"He
thought we might want to talk privately for a minute," I said.  "He's
thoughtful like that."

"Well,
call him over," she said.  "I want to meet the man who gave you your
smile back."

I
walked over to Ethan and he tracked my progress with his piercing gaze.  I
leaned my face close to his and whispered, "She wants to meet you."

He
palmed my cheek affectionately and I knew he wanted to kiss me but held back. 
I tugged on his hand and we walked back to Sherry holding hands.  She zeroed in
on that and stood to meet Ethan.  She was a few inches shorter than me, so she
had to look up at him.

"My
God, you're tall," she said.  "And big."

"I
eat my vegetables," Ethan said.

I
laughed and placed my free hand against his chest and Sherry sent another dazed
look in my direction. 

She
focused on Ethan and said, "I don't know what you've done, but keep doing
it."

He
wrapped his arm around my shoulders and met my gaze.  "Always.”

*****

We
stepped through the threshold of our new front door and I wheezed, "I'm
exhausted."

Brooks
insisted that all of us go for a hike to thoroughly explore our new land
instead of watching TV after supper and we ended up exploring for three hours. 
The trees and wildlife was absolutely beautiful in the dwindling daylight. 
Halfway through our trek, we broke through an opening in the trees and stumbled
across a breathtaking view of the surrounding mountains with the sun setting
between them that was postcard perfect.

"Me,
too," Ethan exhaled.

"I
think we've gone too long without daily exercising," I said.

"Oh,
that reminds me," Brooks said.  He wiped a hand towel down his sweaty
face.  "Ross isn't coming back.  He didn't want to move away from his new
girlfriend, and we don't really need him, anyway.  And Gwen isn't coming
either, because she can't move hours away from her family."

Everyone
looked at me and I froze with my water bottle halfway to my mouth. 
"What?"

Spencer
smiled.  "What's for breakfast?"

I
frowned.  "No dice."

Oliver
laughed and August said, "I'll cook!"

"Awesome,"
I muttered tiredly.

"What
about Murphy?" Ethan asked.

"He's
going to rent a house nearby in the fall, when school starts back."

"Cool,"
Oliver said.

"Ben?"
I asked.

"Opted
not to come back.  He doesn't like guns and when the fight was literally
brought straight to our doorstep, he quit," Brooks said.

"Okay,
I'm about to fall over.  I'm going to shower," I announced.

I
left the kitchen and dragged my feet to my room.  I took a shower that didn't
do a damn thing to wake me up and then dressed in only my underwear and one of
Ethan's shirts.  I combed through my hair and almost fell into my bed but
caught myself and went to Ethan's room instead.  He was freshly showered and
slouched against his headboard in just his shorts with only one leg covered
up.  He was also sound asleep.  I doused his lights and crawled onto the bed to
sit right beside of him.  I slid my hand over his heart and his eyes popped
open and instantly focused on mine.

"Hey,
baby," he murmured sleepily.  "Was waiting on you."

"Let's
go to sleep," I whispered.

He
nodded and wrapped around me under his new covers.  I gathered my wet hair into
a twist and tucked it under my neck so it wasn't in his face.  He kissed the
back of my neck and slipped his arm under my shirt to wrap around my bare
stomach.  He pressed his forehead against the base of my neck and tucked his
knees into the crook of mine and we both fell fast asleep.

I
woke up slowly to gentle kisses being pressed against my lips.  I lifted my
hands from their resting place on my stomach and fit them around his face and
kissed him back without opening my eyes first.  He rolled us onto our sides and
drew me in tightly against him, deepening our kiss.  I hooked my leg around his
thigh and his fingers brushed along the hemline of my panties, teasing the skin
there.  I hummed my voice at him and ran my hands down his bare chest and abs. 

Someone
knocked on the door and we didn't release each other except for our lips. 

"We're
moving out," Ethan spoke against my lips.  "I'll build us a cabin
nearby with my bare hands if I have to."

I
grinned and tapped on his triceps for him to release me.  He sighed and rolled
away from me.  I went to his dresser and kept my back to him as I tore his
shirt off.

"Tease,"
Ethan complained.

I
smiled and turned just my head to him.  "I'm trying to do you a favor by
not showing you what you can't touch," I said.

"I
can't
touch?" he asked suspiciously.

I
motioned to the door.  "Simmer down, badass.  I just meant not right this
second, obviously."

I
quickly slipped into a sports bra and put his shirt and a pair of sweat pants
on before I opened the door to Spencer and crossed my arms. 

"What
do you want?"

He
looked affronted.  "Good morning to you, too."

I
took a threatening step closer to him and he took one back.  "You know
what you're doing," I said.  "It's not funny anymore."

"Hey,
I just came to let you guys know that August made breakfast and she wants you
to come eat with the rest of us."

I
looked at him skeptically.  "Are you sure she didn't
just now
wake
up and
say
she was going to cook breakfast?"

"It's
already hot and waiting on the table," he said.

I
sighed.  "We'll be there in a minute."

I
shut the door in his innocently smiling face and turned to face Ethan.  He was
sitting up against the headboard and watching me with alert eyes.

"Come
over here," he said.

I
shook my head.  "We don't have time.  Breakfast," I said.

"Baby,
I haven't seen you in days," he said softly.  "Please, let's blow off
breakfast."

"Don't
do that."

"What?"
he asked.

"Use
your soft voice.  You know what your soft voice does to me."  He cracked a
smile.  "You're doing it on purpose!" I accused.  "I can't believe
you're manipulating me!"

"Hey,
I am
not
manipulating you," he said defensively.  "I really
did you miss you and I want to be with you, so get back in bed," he said
sternly.  "Please," he added.

"No,"
I said stubbornly.

He
crooked his finger at me as his expression turned deadly serious.  "Alex,
get your ass over here right now."

He
was using his hard
don't fuck with me
voice and I grew excited.  It
didn't change my mind, though.

"They'll
know what we're doing," I argued.  "I'm sure they
know
.  I
mean, we sleep in the same bed, but I'd rather not be in their face about
it."

He
sighed.  "I can't believe you're saying no to your favorite person in the
entire world who, I might add, just took a bullet for you only four weeks
ago."

My
mouth dropped open, completely astonished at his audacity.  "Are you
fucking with me?" I asked in a high-pitched, incredulous voice.  He shook
his head with mock regret and I put my hands on my hips.  "Getting shot is
not a bargaining chip!  And who says you're my favorite person in the whole
world, anyway?"

He
raised an eyebrow.  "Your stares can get pretty heavy, babe."

I
laughed in disbelief.  "Are you complaining?"

"Hell,
no."

"Then
jump out of bed and get dressed so we can go," I said.

He
tossed the covers off of him and threw his legs over the side of his bed. 
"Unbelievable," he muttered.

"You're
overestimating your powers of persuasion," I said.

He
froze and gave me a dark look.  "Was that a challenge?" he murmured.

I
froze, too.  Oh.  Shit.  He would
definitely
win.  No question. 

He
stood up and damn him, his shirts rode low so I could see the indentions of his
hips and his long torso was exposed.  Yeah, he definitely knew I liked that. 
He took a step toward me and I took one back.  At the threat of a chase, my
girly bits jumped with excitement.  He scanned my body, sizing me up and I knew
what he was going to do.  He suddenly jumped into action and ran for me, but I
was mentally prepared and ran faster.  I locked myself in his bathroom
just
in time.  I laughed maniacally from the adrenaline rush and the triumph of
victory. 

"Too
slow!" I yelled out gleefully.  I kicked off my sweat pants to take a
shower. 

He
beat his fist on the door twice and called out, "You think a door is going
to stop me?"

God,
I
really
hoped not. 

I
heard him moving around the bedroom and my heart was beating out of my chest. 
I glanced in the mirror and saw that I was smiling brightly, my skin
practically glowing with happiness.  I ripped off my shirt and left it on the
sink with my pants and then hurried to turn the water on in the shower.  I shut
the curtain noisily and then hid in the closet of the bathroom, knowing he was
going to burst in at any moment and reclaim victory. 

I
watched through the slats of the closet door and seconds later, the door swung
open quietly and he crept inside with his eyes glued to the shower curtain.  He
stood still for a moment and then turned and laid his switchblade on the
counter.  I smiled with anticipation as he reached for the shower curtain, thinking
he was going to scare me.  He opened his mouth to say something as he ripped
the curtain opened with a big
whoosh
but froze and then glared when he
saw I wasn't in there.  I had to clamp a hand over my mouth to keep from
laughing out loud.  He dropped his hands to his sides and looked around the
room, zeroing in on the closet door.  My eyes flashed wider and my back hit the
wall as he prowled toward me with a dark determination.  He jerked open the
door and I squealed and tried to run past him. 

"Oh,
no you don't," he growled.

He
bent and put a shoulder to my stomach to lift me onto his good shoulder and
walked us to the shower.  My laughter was uncontrollable as he stepped out of
his shorts and hauled both of us under the streaming water.  He sat me down on
my feet, pushed me against the wall and leveled a stare at me.  Water was
streaming down onto his back and I could see beads of it bouncing off his
shoulders.

"I
won," he said.  "Do I get a prize?"

"Sure,"
I said, still chuckling.  "You can have a kiss."

He
leaned forward and kissed me, taking his time and making me want more.  I ran
my hands down his arms and as soon as I got to his hands, I froze and peeled
back.  I looked down at his right hand because it was gripping his switchblade
and a condom.  Neither of us were smiling anymore, but breathing hard through
parted lips as I flicked my eyes back to his. 

He
put the condom packet between his teeth and gathered both of my hands in one of
his.  He raised our hands and pressed mine against the wall above our heads as
he hovered his face near mine and dropped his eyes to my chest to watch his
blade tickle the skin of my cleavage.  Pressing me against a wall with a knife
in his hand, I still felt completely safe with him but that didn't stop the adrenaline
from racing through my veins.

"Ethan,"
I whispered.

His
eyes flashed to mine and then back to my sports bra and he shocked the absolute
hell out of me as he gently fit the blade down between my breasts and yanked
out toward his body, shredding the material so that it fell loose around my
breasts, exposing me to him.

"Oh
my God," I breathed out.

I
tried to move my hands but his grip tightened on my wrists.  He tossed the
blade to the floor outside of the shower and switched the condom packet from
his mouth to his hand that was holding mine captive.  He palmed the wall by my
shoulder as he clenched his jaw and took me in with his eyes.  He touched his
index finger to my lips gently and slowly teased my skin as he drew it down
slowly in a continuous line over my neck, between my breasts, and down my
stomach.  He briefly teased the top of my panties with his index and middle
fingers and then dipped inside and his jaw fell slack as he exhaled sharply.

He
swallowed thickly.  "You're soaked," he rasped out. 

"I
know," I squeaked.

"No,
baby," he shook his head.  "I mean you're fucking
drenched
. 
And I barely touched you at all," he marveled.  He looked at me
speculatively and asked, "Would you do anything I asked you to right
now?"

I
didn't say anything, but I thought,
Probably
.   I swear to God he read
my mind because he straightened and rumbled, "
Fuck
, I love
you." 

And
then he tore my sports bra down my arms and twirled me around to face the wall
of the shower.  I pushed my palms and forehead against the wall, panting with
anticipation as he ripped my underwear down my legs.  I stepped out of them and
then he pulled my hips back toward him to put me at a slight angle to the
wall.  He slowly caressed his hands around and down my ass and to the inside of
my thighs to push them apart.  I spread my legs wider and heard the condom
wrapper tear open over the sound of streaming water, and then he inserted two
of his fingers into me.  My breathing hitched from the surprise of it because I
couldn't see him, but also because it was just really hot.  He moved them
around for a moment and I arched my back from the stimulation.  He swore and
withdrew his fingers then two seconds later, he gently thrust into me from behind.

"Ethan,"
I said brokenly.

He
covered one of my hands on the wall with his and his other hand clamped around
my hip to steady me as he pumped in and out.  I whimpered against the wall
repeatedly, so turned on I couldn't hold onto a single thought for more than a
few seconds.

"Have
you ever done it like this before?" he asked gruffly.

"No,"
I wheezed.

"Good,"
he muttered.

The
faster he went and the closer I got, the more I bent at the waist to arch my
back and push my ass against him.  When I was at an angle where I was pushing
off of the wall to meet him, his hand left my hip and he palmed the wall with
both of his hands on mine to thrust harder.  I could hear his erratic breathing
from his effort behind me, and it was really fucking hot.  One of his hands
left the wall so he could wrap his arm around my abdomen to help support my
weight that I was focusing less and less on with every thrust.  In this new
position, after he literally chased me through the room, it didn't take long
at
all
for me to come.

I
cried his name out and his other hand left the wall and closed around my
breast, massaging and running his fingers over my nipple, and he came a minute
later.  After he stilled, he flattened his hands against my stomach to pull me
standing up straight in front of him without pulling out of me.  He pressed my
back against his chest and wrapped his arms tightly around my ribs in a
backward hug as our lungs heaved for breath together.  I dropped my head to his
shoulder, totally exhausted.

"You're
gonna kill me," he said huskily directly into my ear.

I
chuckled breathlessly and he nuzzled his nose against my neck and behind my
ear. 

"You
can stop asking me if I've done certain things or not," I said.  "The
first time you and I had sex was my second time having sex at all."

He
pulled out and turned me around.  "Are you serious?" he asked,
stunned.

"I
told you that I caught him cheating almost as soon as I slept with him.  I was
never with anyone else after that."

"So
everything we've done is new to you?" I asked.

I
nodded.  "He didn't even make me come," I whispered.

He
raised his eyebrows.  "Had you ever had an orgasm before you were with
me?"

I
nodded my head and he squinted his eyes at me in confusion.  He grinned
suddenly.  "Did you touch yourself?"  I didn't say anything and his
smile grew.  "Baby, you touched yourself," he laughed.

I
frowned.  "And I can go back to touching myself," I threatened.

Only
it didn't end up sounding like a threat to Ethan.  His hands palmed my ass and
he lifted me up.  I wrapped my legs around him and he pushed me against the
wall, still smiling.

"Can
I watch?" he asked.