Page 21 of Played

He kisses me again, as I get dressed. Every time he does, I get a delicious shiver up my spine. He is perfect. Tall, lean yet muscular in all the right places, big blue eyes, short, curly brown hair that he leaves just a tad longer in front, perfect teeth, plus he’s a god in bed. And he doesn’t seem to be offended by the fact that I come at the drop of a hat. I can’t help it. He’s incredibly sexy and gorgeous. Irresistible.

“No, you don’t. I’m glad. I feel like I fucked you up for the event.”

I sigh, wrapping my arms around his neck. “I’ll just be extra relaxed.”

He kisses me again. “Come on. I don’t want you to be late on account of me.”

Ethan loads all my stuff onto his truck, follows me over, helps me unload, and even helps me set up. And I can’t help but wonder if he’s doing this out of guilt, or if he really doesn’t mind helping me. But as he kisses me goodbye, and my heart flutters, I think it’s safe to say that he doesn’t mind. I’m nervous about allowing him to get inside. Should I tell him about me and his brother? As he takes down my address and leaves, I watch his fine ass walk to his truck, and once again, I lose my nerve. I make a deal with myself. If this turns into something more than just physical, I’ll tell him, but if it doesn’t, and I’m just another Harris boy toy, I’ll keep it to myself. Unless, of course, Caleb finds out, but then it’s between him and his brother, right?

“Ethan. What are you doing here?” I ask him tentatively. As I feel my back going up. I know I fucked up with him. Bad. I know I kept a secret that I shouldn’t have. But all that aside, the man is still so fucking gorgeous, even more so than he was a year ago, when I last saw him, and I can’t keep my eyes off him. He could be married with a bairn on the way for all I know, so I avert my eyes quickly.

“Can I come in for a moment?” He asks, his face serious.

“Aye.” I take a step back, allowing him entry. My house smells like stew, since I have some on the slow cooker. The week is going to be crazy, and when I know that that’s what the deal is, I pre-cook a bunch of food, freezing half of it. Ethan takes a look around, and I’m not sure what he’s thinking, but I can only imagine why he’s here. Caleb told him about what happened today, and he's here for revenge. What’s worse is he’s got a huge shiner. Both eyes are bruised, and his nose looks broken. I can bet who’s responsible for that. “Do you need some ice?” I ask, indicating his nose.

“No. Thank you.” He says tersely.

“Can I offer you some tea? Or a beer?”

“Some water would be good.” He says, tone still stiff, as he follows me into the eat-in kitchen and takes a seat. I pull a bottle of water out of the fridge. Normally, I reserve those for travelling, and opt to drink from my water filtration system under the sink, but I’m nervous, and I don’t want to serve him something that isn’t the best. Part of me feels like I should be angry for showing up here, after him ditching me, but the other part of me still feels guilty for what I did, and that part of me is trumping the other one. Plus, I’m curious about the story going on within the Harris family, and if it’s even true; that Caleb has adopted a bairn.

I hand him the water and sit opposite him. I don’t say a word, as I wait for him to drain half the bottle. After he swallows the last bit, he looks at me. “Why wouldn’t you step up today?” He asks, in a judging tone that immediately gets my back up. “Why would you be so fucking petty, Freya?”

“Petty?” I ask, lifting my brows, almost squeaking with shock. “You think me putting my job on the line is petty?”

“A child’s life was at stake, Freya.” He says, rubbing his forehead, in frustration, I’m guessing.

“Aye. How am I supposed to believe that, Ethan? I haven’t seen or spoken to you or any of your family in over a year, and for all I knew, Caleb could have been pulling a fast one. In case you didn’t know, I don’t like jails.”

He sighs. “Don’t hand me that shit, Freya. You know we’re not criminals. And why would any of us lie to you, huh? As far as I can remember, the only liar here is you.”

“Did you come to my house to insult me, Ethan? Because if you did, you can leave right now.”

“I came to find out why you wouldn’t help, dammit!” He spits, punching the table with his closed fist. “Come on, Freya! Have you lost your heart? You know that if anything were to happen with your job, that we would have backed you up! And that goes as well for any legal troubles!”

I grit my teeth together. “How am I supposed to trust any of you after the way you treated me, Ethan? Huh!” I shout at him. “You broke my fucking heart and left me, without so much as a word!”

He looks at me and bares his teeth. “You know why I left, Freya! I told you loud and clear! You fucked my brother and didn’t tell me about it…until it was too fucking late!” He flails his arms in the air. “You want to talk about getting your heart broken! You tore mine the fuck out and stomped on it! How do you think it made me feel, goddammit!”

I rise. “Why are you here, Ethan! Is this about your niece or about me! Something tells me you have more of a score to settle about us than about what happened with the bairn today!”

“You owed me a fucking favor, after what you did, Freya! I figure it’s the least you could have done!” He shouts, rising, spittle flying out of his mouth.

I point at him, speaking low, guttural. “I told you I already apologized for what I did, Ethan. It was over a year ago! Get over it! I am!”

“Are you?” He asks, in a condescending whisper.

“What is it of your fucking business, Ethan? Why do you even fucking care?”

“I don’t care!” He lies. “I just feel like you owe me a fucking explanation for why you wouldn’t help today! You know how stupid you made me look today?!”

“That’s your fucking fault for never telling Caleb! Not mine!”

“And whose fault was it for not telling me, huh!”

“I said I apologized and it’s in the past, Ethan! Get the fuck over it!” I place a hand on my waist indignantly. “Seriously, why are you here? You’re yelling at me more for the past than you are for what happened today. Clearly the bairn is fine, otherwise you wouldn’t be here, you’d be out looking for her, so why are you here? You told me that you never wanted to see me again, Ethan! And look! Here you are!”

He slides a hand through his hair and sits back down, as if composing himself. The look on his face is the same look that he had when he broke up with me, and I can’t look at him. It’s agonizing. I’ve since learned to go to my happy place and remember the good times.

---