Page 8 of Always Been You

"I'm not-"

"My room service is here. Gotta go. Love you!"

Ethan stood on the street wondering how his life had come to this. It wasn't just his grandma that was trying to fix him up, her peers were as well. He was certain that he was the current target of Mrs. Chen, Mrs. Dobrinski, and Mrs. Weathersby’s matchmaking schemes. Every few months they "secretly" played matchmaker to some unsuspecting schmuck. But since they had the subtlety of a bull in a china shop, people usually caught on. And after several not-so-coincidental run-ins with Kennedy Dawes and Laura Lopez, it was clear to Ethan that he was their latest victim.

Both women were attractive, successful, and on paper they possessed everything he could ever want. There was just one problem. The same problem that plagued Young Patty Duke and Emily Ratajkowski. They weren't Jess.

He’d been living his life on the sidelines, waiting to get off the bench. But since it didn't look like that was going to happen, Ethan was starting to think that he might just need to step up and take the shot.

Now, all he needed was a plan to get her in the game.

3

Jess rolled her wrist as she pulled the barrel brush through Kennedy's long, thick hair and followed the movement with the hair dryer she held in her other hand. She was doing her best to concentrate on her work and mentally erase the image of Ethan Steele, shirtless, running in front of her house.

She was willing herself not to picture his near-perfect physique, but it was proving to be impossible. Every time she saw him without his shirt on it was like staring directly into the sun. Except instead of seeing a black dot every time she closed her eyes, she just saw his Roman gladiator torso. It was frustrating to want something so badly, something that she was never going to let herself have.

She knew he was doing it on purpose. He had to go out of his way to run past her house. Ethan had been a runner since high school, and for over a decade her street, Bluebird Way, was not on his route. He ran Lake Shore Drive up to Star Gaze Point and back down. Everyone knew that.

Well, maybe not everyone...but she sure did.

But then a couple of years ago, he'd switched things up to include Bluebird Way, which was not particularly scenic nor was it convenient to get to from his house.

Ali had always believed that Ethan had feelings for Jess, but Jess wasn't so sure. There was definitely something between them, but what was it? Ethan was the epitome of the Alpha man. If he were interested, why wouldn't he have done something about it?

Maybe because you treat him like a cold sore. A voice that sounded a lot like Ali popped into her head.

"Thanks for fitting me in." Kennedy was sitting in Jess's chair and scrolling through her phone. "This weather and my curls are not friends."

"You know, I have some great anti-frizz products if you ever wanted to free the curls," Jess hated to see women spend hundreds of dollars disguising their natural beauty, an attitude that wasn't always great for business. Her bank account and her convictions didn't always align.

Growing up she'd wanted to be Truvy from Steel Magnolias, but unlike Dolly Parton's character, Jess did believe in natural beauty, she just wanted to enhance it.

"I like my hair straight." Kennedy stared into the mirror and studied herself for a moment before switching topics. "I heard that Ali and Kade got engaged."

"Yep."

Kennedy and Kade had been the "it couple" of Whisper High over a decade ago. They'd dated on and off all through high school. But never as adults. Jess knew that they'd talked since he'd returned home, but she wasn't sure how the woman would feel about her high school flame settling down.

"I saw them getting coffee this morning. I don't think I've ever seen two people more in love. Well, besides your parents, anyway."

Jess grinned. Her mom and dad were the gold standard of love in Whisper Lake.

Kennedy's eyes lifted to Jess's through the mirror. "Every time I start to lose hope that real love exists, I think about the way your dad looks at your mom, and I know that it does."

It wasn't the first time that Jess had heard that or some version of that sentiment, and she knew it wouldn't be the last.

"I hope you can make it to their anniversary party." Jess had invited the entire town. Literally. Instead of sending out individual invitations she'd posted it on the town Facebook page. Everyone loved her parents, and she didn't want anyone to get left out because she was bad at details.

"I wouldn't miss it. Even though it's going to give my mother another excuse to point out that I don't have a date."

"I heard that you've been seeing Ethan." Actually, she'd heard that the Needlepoint Mafia had been throwing the two of them together, but tomayto tomahto.

She was starting to wonder if it wouldn't be such a bad thing if he had a girlfriend. Maybe then she could get over her unrelenting attraction to him.

Kennedy shook her head. "Nope. No spark. At least, not on his part. I gave it the old college try, but it was painfully obvious that he wasn’t into it. I'm hoping the ladies don't drag it out. When I ran into Mrs. D at the grocery store I threw Laura Lopez's name into the mix, so, fingers crossed, she is the current forerunner in the Ethan Steele games."

Laura Lopez?

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