Page 16 of Something New

He held me by the cheeks, pulling me in and kissing me on each cheek. Then he leaned in and squeezed me. It was the most touching little hug I had ever experienced.

"Oh, my gosh, E, you're so sweet, dude. What's going on? You're hanging out with your Nana today?"

"Yeah because my dad is at work, and in two days you're coming over to my house to go swimming with me and see my dinosaurs."

"I'm pumped about the dinos. And didn't know you had a swimming pool. That sounds amazing. I'll have to remember my swimsuit."

"Do you have an alligator one?"

"No, should I? Mine has flowers."

He giggled and then squirmed for me to let him down, which I did. He reached up and held my hand. "My Nana said you can come with us to the water today." We started to walk to her, but she was almost to us by then. "We need to go see the water. I'm walking all the way," he insisted, holding my hand.

"I don't know if Sadie is able to."

"It's okay if she wants to take lunch," Phillip said overhearing us.

"I actually brought a little lunch for us," Amanda said, holding up a bag. "That's why we're hiking to the shore."

"Yep, we're hiking to the water," Ethan said.

"He said he's ready for it. We're not taking the stroller, and he said he wants to hike all the way by himself."

"Well, I'm ready, too," I said, knowing Phillip had okayed it. It was a good thing I was ready because Ethan had a firm grip on my hand and it didn't seem like he was planning on letting go.

I took a second to wipe my hands and we set off on the trail.

I spent the next hour and a half with Nana and little E. He looked just like his dad, and he had me wrapped around his finger. We talked to each other like we had been friends my whole life which made for some funny dialogue—even Nana laughed and appreciated the hilarious turns our conversation took.

Ethan had me all hyped about his house. He told me about some of his toys, and I was genuinely excited to go over there and check them out. I talked to Amanda some too, but I liked hanging out with the boy, and I catered to him most of the time. She didn't seem to mind that. We had fun. We ate quickly and didn't spend too much time at the lake. We meandered, and the trips there and back took a long time with Ethan's slow, explorer's pace.

We made our way back to the part of the property where we found the tunnel. I caught sight of it in the distance. My brothers were there, working. I could see them actively hammering.

"We have to let Sadie do what she was doing when we get back," Amanda said, seeing what I saw.

"Noooo," Ethan protested.

"That's why I'm telling you now. You're not going to be able to hang out with her once we get back to Nana's tunnel."

"Can I climb on the rocks?"

"Yes, for a minute, but we have to say bye to Sadie."

He held onto my hand possessively.

"I'm coming over to your house to hang out with you in two days."

"And sleeping over."

"No, she's not sleeping over," Nana said, smiling and shaking her head as if asking me to excuse him. "She'll come over to see you on Sunday, though. Thanks for doing that. I told John-Michael Ethan could come up here and spend the day with us, but he's wanted to have him home in his routine."

"I'm happy to do it," I said, being honest.

I wasn't dreading it at all, and it wasn't just because her son was the most handsome man alive. I honestly had fun hanging out with the little dude.

***

I kept thinking about that little guy the following evening when I was with my other group of friends. It was dinner time when I hooked up with a few people in Raleigh to head to Charlotte. It was the first time I saw Jonathan since the night of the accident, and he went on and on about how my brothers saved him that morning at the police station. He built me up to be some sort of hero for not pressing charges with the accident or making him pay for my car. He made the biggest deal about everything, and they all basically celebrated my bravery and generosity on our way to Charlotte. I tried to act like I was comfortable with it all even though I wasn't.

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