Page 39 of A Certain Step
The mirth lessened, a smile lingering in its place. “My uterus is still choosing violence, but I’m okay.”
They stayed unmoving for the next thirty-five minutes or so. Her eyes darted toward him after she pressed stop on the remote. Goddamn, her eyes—the hypnotizing flecks of gold shimmering from underneath the perfect shade of russet—enamored him. They were so different indoors, darker but comforting nonetheless.
What if he said something? What if he just laid it all on the table, here and now, at this very moment? What if he confessed to feeling something more? Would she run? Would she tell him he’s mad and that she only sees him as a friend?
He knew her rules—he wasn’t an exception to them.
“That was so good,” she said, undoubtedly referring to the episode.
His attention returned to the fictional world. “Yeah, it was,” he managed to say.
She smiled, moving slightly from what he noticed was a vibration near her side of the couch.
She picked up her phone, opened it, and excitedly typed something out, then set it back down. “Alex and Anna got the house they’d been looking at! They can finally move out of his crappy flat,” she mentioned.
“They did? That’s great,” he added.
She reached toward the bowl of popcorn, still relatively full because he refused to touch it while she was asleep, and they hadn’t finished when they resumed. She took a handful, popping them into her mouth.
He needed to get his mind off all the ways he wanted to get closer to her. He didn’t want much. Not at this moment, at least, but he would’ve given anything to simply have her in his arms.
“Is your family going to visit anytime soon?” he asked, pushing every other thought away.
She nodded with a big grin. “Yes, Mum and Dad are coming during the week of my birthday. Alex and Anna in either November or December.”
“Nice. Are you excited for them to see the show?”
She grimaced. “Oh, Dad won’t be coming anywhere near it. My father is very much an Armenian man in that regard and doesn’t need to see me grind against a ladder. Mum will be coming, though.”
He arched an eyebrow and laughed. “Fair point. Anyone else from your family?” He’d only met her cousin Ben and his wife, Violet, very briefly when they’d attended a show in Boston.
She popped three more pieces into her mouth, chewed, then spoke. “Possibly. Emma really wants to, but it’s so hard for her to take proper time off. We’ll see. I’m not sure about anyone from my dad’s side. They aren’t big theatre folks.”
He nodded along. Willa had met most of Ethan’s family, except his sister, who hadn’t been to a performance yet because of her schedule. He wanted to know so much more about her, see the streets where she grew up, the places where she hung out. He’d been to London before, but he wanted to experience it through her eyes. He wanted to be there with her.
“Ethan?” she called out.
He broke himself from the gaze he must’ve held. “Hmm.”
“You zoned out. Tired?”
No, just thinking about you,he thought.“A little. Is Sahar not coming home tonight?”
“She’ll come. Probably later. She doesn’t stay over at the prick’s anymore.”
If he didn’t get off this couch and go home, he was sure he’d lose it. He stood up to leave, holding his hands out for her. She rose to her feet, meeting him at eye level. “Let me grab us lunch tomorrow. Tell me what you’re craving.”
She tilted her head. “You’re the best, but you don’t have to do that.
“Either you tell me, or I’ll get us one of everything from all our favorite spots, and then you’ll wish you made a choice.”
She jokingly shook her head. “Why are you like this?”
“My mother raised me well,” he answered.
She smiled proudly. “Damn right she did! Patty is a queen.”
“She sure is. Now tell me what you want.”
