Page 21 of Unfolding Ethan

I chewed my food silently when they snickered or sighed in disappointment before resuming their conversation while I pondered over my actions.What the hell was I doing? Almost kissing my best friend? Asking her if I could touch her breasts? Skinny dipping with her?And now, the scent of her feminine arousal lingered on my fingers.

Best friends aren’t supposed to be this close to each other,are they?

Six

Heroes aren’t Real

Ethan

Prunh! Prunh! Prunh!

The sound of a horn echoed around the pool and all six of us dove in the cold water with a loud splash. I closed my eyes as water wrapped around me and it felt like reuniting with a good old friend.

“Come on, Ethan. Move, move, move!”

I smiled hearing her muffled voice under the water and followed her commands. I kicked my legs faster and stretched my arms as far as I could.

Kick. Push. Swim. Faster. Kick. Push. Swim. Harder.

The rippling and thrashing of water surrounded me every time I moved my body farther and farther. I could see Liam surpassing me with more speed and more agility than me and anger boiled in my veins. It turned into adrenaline and I pushed my body harder, trying to beat him in this round.

“Hey, would you mind if I joined you?” I stopped kicking my legs in the water and looked up at the blurry blond-haired boy with superman tee and pink cheeks.

I removed my swimming goggles and wiped the water from my face. I didn’t know who this guy was, but I remembered Rio telling me he was great at Geometry and Mixed Operations.

I looked around for Kiara so that she could help me. I fumbled with my thumbs and found her sitting on the bleachers. She was holding the fountain pen her mom had gifted her when she was four and furiously jotted down something in her diary. The white lily was resting over her ear, her nose scrunched as she scratched off something in the paper. I smiled. She was looking pretty in her purple sundress and the pigtails, so I had decided to give her a small flower.

“Uh . . . do you—do you know her?” the boy said as he looked between me and Kiara.

I didn’t like that. I narrowed my eyes at him and nodded.

His cheeks turned red as he gazed at her, his hands in his pocket. “She is cute, isn’t she?”

“She’s my best friend,” I said, wanting him to stop looking at her. I bit my bottom lip.

Who is he?

“Oh,” he said and looked back at me, a smile curling his lips. “I am Liam and I am seven years old. Also, I love Superman! Especially when he kills the villain with his laser eyes, don’t you think?”

Personally, I think my moms are better than any superheroes.

I shrugged my shoulders and looked at Kiara, hoping she would look up and save me from talking to this kid. Didn’t his mom teach him to stay away from strangers?

“Whoa! You have two different colored eyes. That’s so cool!” he exclaimed in my face and I had to move back when his gray eyes blinked at me. He had freckles.

I said, “Glad you noticed.”

He grinned when he looked from one eye to the other.

Can’t he get a hint that I don’t want to talk to him?

“Awesome! Can you teach me how to swim? My dad told me that Superman knows how to swim, so I think I should learn to swim too. So that when I grow up, I can save people,” he said proudly.

I didn’t know how to tell him superheroes weren’t real.

But I did anyway.

“Superheroes aren’t real, Liam,” I said. He gasped, his gray eyes wide with shock. I pointed to the trainer. “There’s the coach you would like to meet. She will teach you how to swim. Now, if you’re done, I’d like to go back to my practice.”

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