Page 5 of Taking Care of You
Clearing my throat so I can speak past the lump lodged there, I say, “Yeah. I think I should call Crystal to see if she can come pick me up. Or get that Uber.”
I don’t have money to get an Uber for myself. I should have let him order one when he suggested it in the first place. We’vewalked about a mile or two from where the party was, which will add another mile or two to the ten or so miles I have to walk to get home.
“Why?” he asks, looking genuinely confused. “I thought we were going to hang here.”
He’s good. He really looks like he doesn’t know why I’m trying to bail. I don’t want to be used. Not again.
I sigh, shifting my feet back and forth. “Look, I’m not into that, okay?”
His eyebrows furrow as he stares at me. “Into what?”
“You know…” I let out a breath. “Being an experiment.”
Ethan stares at me for a few beats, then the crinkles in his eyebrows clear and his face shows understanding. “Oh, no. I just came in to get my phone charger. I didn’t think you’d feel comfortable being in the living room alone.” He shakes his head, almost sadly. “I wouldn’t do that to you or anyone else. That’s a fucked up thing to do.”
My face heats and I feel like shit for assuming that about him. “I’m sorry. I thought…”
He leans down to unplug his phone charger and walks back over to me. “Did someone do that to you before? Invite you back to their place so they could fuck you?” I wince, feeling more ashamed because of how he worded it. “Damn, creep. I’m sorry. That’s not okay.”
I shrug, trying to downplay it, like I wasn’t an idiot for believing that someone wanted me for me.
“No big deal,” I say, though even I don’t really believe it. If I keep repeating it to myself, maybe I will one day. “I just try to stay away from it happening again. And my name is Jakoby,” I add as an afterthought, realizing he called me ‘creep’ again.
“I know. I like ‘creep’ better,” he says with a wink. I roll my eyes and follow him back down the hallway.
Once we’re back in the living room, we sit on the huge sofa, leaving some space between us. I’m more nervous than I was when we were walking. I’ve never been alone with Ethan before. Which makes sense, since tonight is the first time we’ve spoken since I was, like, five.
Grabbing the remote, Ethan turns on the television and scrolls through some channels.
“What do you want to watch?” he asks.
I shrug. I don’t really care. I’m still surprised he invited me to hang out with him and stay the night. Like we’re friends.
“Want me to pick?” he asks, letting me off the hook.
I nod.
Leaning into me, he bumps my shoulder, sending goosebumps racing over my flesh. “Shy?” I shrug again. He chuckles, shaking his head as he sits back. When he stops scrolling, he lands on a romcom, or what Crystal calls a ‘chick flick’.
I raise an eyebrow and he mirrors it with a slight grin. I don’t say anything and turn towards the TV, trying to tune him out as much as possible. But he takes up so much space. Almost like his presence sucks out all the air from the room and I’m forced to acknowledge he’s there.
The movie he chose is one I’ve seen plenty of times. Not that I’m all deep into romcoms or anything. It was an accident that I watched it in the first place. One day, when I woke from a nap, the movie was on the channel I’d left it on, but I couldn’t find the remote to change it to something else. So I watched it because I had nothing else to do. After that, I had to watch it again so I could see the beginning. Then I watched it a few more times because it was a sweet, touching movie.
I can’t say why Ethan would choose this movie to watch. He looks like the type that would be into action or sports films. I’m trying to reconcile what I’m seeing now with what I initiallythought about him. I don’t know much about him, but from what I see, a chick flick doesn’t seem like his jam.
Relaxing into the couch as much as I can with Ethan sitting so close, I enjoy the movie. It’s good, like I knew it would be, and I have to blink quickly to keep the tears at bay as the movie reaches its climax. A truly beautiful movie that makes me believe I might find true love one day.
When the credits roll, Ethan stretches and mutes the TV. “What did you think?” He inclines his head towards the television.
“Oh.” God, I hate how small my voice is. At some point, I’ll have to speak up when we talk. “I like it. It’s good.”
He tilts his head, assessing me. “You’ve seen it before.” He doesn’t pose it as a question, but I nod anyway. “Well, shit, creep. You should have told me. I would have picked something else.”
“It’s fine. I don’t mind rewatching it.”
“Rewatching? How many times have you seen it?” I shrug again, my face heating with embarrassment. I’m not sure why. It’s not like he’s teasing me. He’s asking a question because he really wants to know. “Come on, creep. You can tell me. I’ve seen it about ten times. Hell, probably more.”
I give him a surprised look. “Really?”
