Page 16 of Taking Care of You
He continues to talk like he’s not making me almost hyperventilate from the small contact. “It would mean a lot to me if you came. I don’t mind paying for your suit. My parents give me an allowance that I haven’t spent in ages. I’d like to use it for your suit and ticket. Please?”
Those damn puppy dog eyes. I’m not sure I’ll ever be able to tell him no when he uses them against me like that. First the game, now him spending money on me? This friendship isn’t even a week old and I’m already fucking lost to him.
Taking a chance, I say, “Yeah, okay.”
His smile is wide and gorgeous. “Yeah?” I nod. “Good. We can head over to the mall after school on Friday. I don’t have practice.”
When the food arrives, Ethan brings it into the living room, and we sit at the coffee table and eat while we watch the shitty movie I picked. I think Ethan pretends to enjoy it, but it’s not good. I’m a little miffed that I didn’t pay attention to what I put on.
The calzone is delicious. A lot bigger than I thought it would be and packed with different meats, cheeses, and vegetables. I try to eat it slowly and not show my surprise when I bite into it. I’ve never had anything like it and I try to savor the taste, not knowing when I’ll have it again.
The movie finally ends and I can barely keep my eyes open. Ethan bumps me and I look over at him sleepily. “Tired, creep?” I nod, covering a yawn with the back of my hand. “Up ya go.” He grabs my hand to help me up after he stands. “I’ll set you out some stuff in case you want to shower. I leave for school at seven-thirty. I’ll knock when I wake up, yeah?”
“I’ll shower in the morning, if that’s okay,” I say, barely stifling another yawn. “I’m exhausted.”
“That’s cool.” He grabs my hand and walks me to the room, probably thinking I’ll fall asleep on the way.
Ethan steps inside, pulls the covers back for me, and motions for me to climb in. I stare at him. “What?” he asks.
I shift my feet and say, “I…um…I don’t…” He raises his eyebrows at me and I finish. “I don’t sleep in pants. Or a shirt. Just…boxers.” My cheeks heat like I said something dirty, but I know it’s common for people to only sleep in underwear. The problem is, I didn’t think to bring any pajamas over. I don’t have any. A pair of basketball shorts here and there, but I don’t sleep in them. When I’m at Crystal’s, I sleep with a shirt and boxers on.
Ethan’s eyes go wide, and I see him raking a gaze over me like he’s sizing me up. Probably to loan me something to wear. “Shit, I’m sorry. Yeah. I’ll just…good night, creep.”
Ugh. When he leaves, I flop onto the bed, feeling bad that I made him uncomfortable in his own home. Next time, I’m definitely bringing shorts.
6
The next day is much like the day before. After English, Ethan walks me to my next class. I don’t question it this time—I’m sure he wouldn’t give me a straight answer even if I did.
When we get to the door of the classroom, he does this funny thing with his hand. Like maybe he wants to reach for me? He stops his hand before it comes in contact with mine and lifts it in a wave. I wave back and walk inside, wondering for the rest of the class what that was all about.
When lunch rolls around, I meet Crystal at her locker and we head to the cafeteria. The only thing I like about having first lunch is that Crystal does too. Other than that, it’s a total disaster. Who wants to eat pizza and french fries at eleven-thirty in the morning?
As we walk, Crystal chats about her AP English class. I’m only half listening, up in my head about Ethan when I feel an arm drape around my shoulder. It could only be Ethan since he’s the only person that does that. I glance up at him, catching his wide smile as he looks at me.
“Why are you so weird?” I ask in a low voice.
The deep rumble of his laugh makes me smile. He has a really nice laugh. “Just saying hi. Dang, creep. You’re mean.”
“Hey, don’t tease my friend,” Crystal says, smiling up at Ethan.
“He’s my friend too, and he likes my teasing,” he jokes back. I know my cheeks are bright freaking red. He’s right; I do like when he teases me. I know it’s not done with any malice, and it makes me feel like he really does want to be my friend.
The three of us go through the lunch line, loading up our trays. Instead of letting Crystal and me go to our normal table, though, Ethan directs us in the opposite direction. “You two are sitting with me today.”
Sitting with Ethan is…different. He doesnotstop talking. He’s super animated, moving his hands around as he tells a story about something that happened at practice the day before.
It’s funny, I’ve watched him while we were at lunch before and I can’t remember the last time he’d looked like this when he was talking. Usually, he’s more subdued. He never looked sad, but not this happy either.
Ethan is in the middle of telling me and Crystal the rest of his story when two new arrivals come to the table. Seeing both make me clam up—Dawn, Ethan’s ex, and Tim, one of Ethan’s teammates.
Tim was the jock that I gave head to during the summer who pretended he didn’t know me when I saw him a few weeks later at another house party. I haven’t been this close to him since then, avoiding him as best I can. Thank God we don’t have any classes together this year. I don’t think I could handle that.
Dawn looks at me and Crystal and rolls her eyes. She slides closer to Ethan, but he scoffs, putting some distance between them. Her face falls and I start to feel bad for her...
…until she opens her mouth. “So who invited the rejects to sit here?” Her tone is snooty and she looks at me and Crystal like we’re shit on the bottom of her shoe.
I pull my lips in and grab my tray, intent on leaving to go back to our usual table. Ethan grabs my hand, forcing me to take my seat once again. I drop heavily back down on the bench seat and raise an eyebrow at him, but he’s not looking at me. He’s looking at Dawn. “I did. Do you have a problem with that?”
