Still confused I ask, "What are you talking about?"
She takes a deep breath, controlling herself. "He wants everyone to know y’all are together. Just think about it, you can't delete the post because that’s like saying y’all aren't together. And if you bring it up to him, why would you be mad at this pic when you had the other one of Ethan that you weren't mad about?"
I begin to wonder if he planned it. Who would have taken the picture? Now that Lena told me about why she thinks he posted the picture, I am glad he didn't answer. I would have screwed things up getting pissed at him about it. I need to figure out a way to broach the subject without it starting a fight.
* * *
Ethan callsand invites us to the band’s last show of the year at The Shack. They will be playing Friday night before most of the students leave for winter break. I haven’t seen Ethan in over a week. We’ve talked and texted, but he didn’t ask us to come over for dinner like he usually does.
Lena gets us a couple of beers as I scan the bar, looking for Ethan. The guys are in the back playing pool, and I find it strange Ethan isn’t with them.
“Let’s go say hi to the guys.” I say to Lena.
The patio door opens, and Ethan walks in with his arm around a girl. She is tall and beautiful with a killer body. I immediately feel foolish for crushing on Ethan when he sees me strictly as a friend. I dash toward the bathroom to collect myself before saying hello.
I walk out of the stall to Lena waiting on me. “Are you sure you want to go over there?” she asks with sadness in her eyes.
“I have to. If I don’t, Ethan will think something’s wrong. I don’t want him to know about my stupid crush. He can’t know.”
“Fine, then let’s go.” She grabs my hand, leading the way. I watch Ethan as we walk toward their table. He is sitting on a barstool, and the girl is standing between his legs, watching the game. His arms are wrapped around her, holding her close as he kisses her neck. Seeing him with this girl has my chest tightening so much it’s hard to breathe normally.
“Hi!” Lena exclaims a little too cheerfully. Ethan looks up at me.
“Hey, guys. Just wanted to wish y’all a good show before we leave. I thought we would have time to watch your first set before we head out, but we have to go. Sorry,” I say, not wanting to stay any longer than necessary. I am trying to keep my face as neutral as possible until we leave.
“Don’t leave. What can be more important than watching us play?” Mike says jokingly, giving Lena and I a hug.
I force a smile. “We promised some friends we would hang out before we left. Sorry. We said we would stop by, so here we are, wishing everyone a great break. We’ll see y’all when we get back. So sorry we can’t stay.” I’m nervous rambling, so I stop while I am ahead. I quickly glance in Ethan’s direction, waving to him, and turn around. I grab Lena’s hand, pulling her with me when I feel a set of hands on my shoulders turning me back around. Ethan looks down at me with a strange look on his face.
“Don’t go. Stay.”
Is it panic in his voice? He reeks of alcohol. He pulls me to him, wrapping his arms around me tightly. I give him a quick hug in return before placing my hands on his stomach and pushing him away.
I shake my head at him, biting my bottom lip before saying, “I’m sorry. We can’t. I have to go.”
He continues holding on to me even after I push away. He looks directly into my eyes. I get lost in his gaze, wanting so much to fall back into his arms.
“Who is she?” Our connection is broken by the tall bombshell.
I turn to face her, plastering a fake smile. “Sophia, friend. No worries, he’s all yours.”
Ethan grabs my hand and drags me a few steps before Mike places a hand on his shoulder to stop him, saying low enough for only Ethan and I to hear, “Let her go, man. You don’t want to get into it here and now.”
Ethan looks at me again, his eyes sad. “Fine, go.” He releases my arm.
I walk into the cold night air, and the tears begin to fall. Lena is by my side, placing her arm around me, in silent unity.
“I can’t be around him anymore. I knew I was confused by my feelings for him, but seeing him with that girl… I just wanted to claw her eyes out. I’ve fallen for him. It hurt so much seeing him with her. And what did Mike mean by saying that Ethan didn’t want to get into it with me?” The tears continue to fall as I try to catch my breath.
“I can’t believe I was so wrong. I could’ve sworn he liked you too. I would’ve bet on it. Wait… When did Mike say that?” She squeezes my shoulder.
“When Ethan tried to pull me away. He whispered it to Ethan.”
“I’m not sure, but he looked drunk already. Let’s forget about it and get you cleaned up and we’ll head out somewhere else. Where do you want to go?”
“Anywhere that does not have Ethan or Caleb,” I answer honestly.
* * *