Page 66 of Sliding Into Love
They all packed into her small car, with Ethan awkwardly folding himself into the front seat. The ride home was mostly silent, with Janna falling asleep in her seat almost instantly. When they arrived at Ivy’s apartment, Jase and Ivy carried Janna in while Ethan held the door for them. Ivy saw Ethan’s pain in his tight eyes and clenched teeth, so she reminded him to take his medication. He scowled, and she laughed softly, remembering the last time.
“I’m only taking half this time,” he whispered.
Once Ivy was certain Janna and Jase were in their rooms, she found Ethan sitting on the edge of her bed, looking down at his shoes.
“So,” Ivy said, sitting beside him on the bed, careful not to jostle him, “you ready to talk?”
“God, this day.”
“Yeah, I get it. But…”
“You’re right. I’m sorry.” Ethan’s dark eyes met hers, and Ivy saw everything in them. “I didn’t mean to snap. And take it out on you. And I guess I misunderstood with my— with Laura, too.” His voice cracked when he said ‘my’.
“Hey.” Tangling her fingers with his, she squeezed his hand. “It’s okay to have a bad day. But if this—" Ivy moved their joined hands back and forth between them, “is going to work, we have to talk through things together, okay? You shut me out.”
“I’m sorry. I’m not used to having someone to talk to.”
“I know, and it’s why I’m trying not to be hurt. But you can’t give up so easily, Ethan. It was hard to let you in, you know that, right? Not just for me, but I have Jase and Janna to consider, too. Letting you into our lives is ahugedeal. And I thought...I thought if you were so committed to helping Jase, maybe a relationship wouldn’t be so much of a stretch. I like you a lot, Ethan. Jase and Janna do too. But if you’re going to duck out the second there’s any kind of trouble, you need to leave. Now. I can’t…Iwon’tbe abandoned again.” The air between them shifted, and she looked away.
“Ivy. I’ll do better.”
“Good.” She sniffled. “Thank you. I’m sorry I wasn’t there for you when you were upset.”
“You helped anyway. I was going to tell you earlier, but…”
“Your parents, yeah. What a way to meet them.”
“I know right? But I wanted you to know. When Marshall was there, he said… what he always said. But I told him he was wrong about me. And I think for the first time, I believed it.”
A lump formed in her throat, rendering her speechless. On her lap, he wrapped her hand in both of his, her fingers completely engulfed by his.
“Ivy.”
“Mmhmm?” She didn’t want to burst into tears, but she was perilously close to that outcome.
“Thank you. I wouldn’t have said it before. Before you. I wouldn’t have thought it might be true.”
Biting her lip, Ivy leaned her head on Ethan’s shoulder.
“I’m glad.”
It was a relief to say those things aloud and to hear what he’d said. It hurt, but it was like a good stretch after being on a plane for hours. Maybe a little tense, and hard to get through, but worth it in the end. After sitting in silence for a few more minutes, Ethan shifted and groaned.
“Can you help me?” he asked, tugging on the hem of his shirt. One dark eyebrow arched, and his lips twitched, but he still managed to look mostly serious.
Pretending to be exasperated, Ivy stood and rolled her eyes but stepped between his spread knees to lean down and pull his shirt up over his head, letting the tips of her fingers skate over his uninjured side, the smooth, warm skin covering rippling muscles until her fingers came to the band around his middle.
“The bandage too?”
The stretchy bandage covered most of Ethan’s abdomen, and Ivy reached to unroll it, her fingers brushing his warm skin. Ethan shivered under her touch. The bruise was already dark and ugly where the ball hit him, and she expected it would only get worse. Ivy placed her hand on his chest but didn’t dare touch the bruise.
“Is this okay?” she murmured.
He nodded.
“It’s not as bad as it looks.”
“Are you going to tell me how pretty I am again?” Ivy grinned at him. “Because Pain Meds Ethan was fun.”
