Without letting go of my arm, Ethan steps to the side, blocking Houston from getting to me. “Just walk away, dude. Just. Walk. Away.”
Houston’s expression changes, and his body tenses. Houston is not as big as Ethan, but something in the way he is standing confidently and not backing down from Ethan gives me the impression he is no stranger to fights.
Houston moves to the side again and extends his hand to me. “Let’s get out of here. I have more beer at our cabin.”
I feel Ethan’s back tense under my hand. Trying to deescalate the situation, I pull away from Ethan’s grasp and come around to stand in between the two. Houston takes my hand, and Ethan grabs my shoulders and pulls me back into his chest, wrapping his arms around me.
“She’s not going anywhere with you.” Ethan pulls me behind him again.
Preston suddenly announces loudly, “Show’s over folks! Back to drinking and fun!” He and Josh step in between Ethan and Houston, trying to defuse the tension.
Preston turns to Lena and says, “Take Sophia back to the cabin.” Houston skulks away, muttering obscenities, and Preston pats Ethan on the shoulder telling him, “No worries, Lena and I got her from here. Go back to your chick.”
Preston’s statement pisses me off. What gives them the right to jump in and “handle” me? And knowing Ethan is going back to Groupie Girl is too much to stomach.
“I can take care of myself, thank you.” I’m so embarrassed, tears begin to stream down my face. I quickly walk toward the cabin.
“Preston, please don’t. Not tonight. I have her,” Ethan says, his voice strained.
Footsteps come up behind me. Ethan’s calloused fingers take my hand, interlacing our fingers.
I jerk my hand away from him. “Just go back to that chick and leave me alone!” The embarrassment overwhelms me, and I start to run. He catches up and grabs my arm to stop me.
“You’re coming with me.” His voice is steady.
“No.” I pull away again and cross my arms in front of my chest like a petulant child.
“Fine,” he tells me before he bends down, grabbing my thighs and throwing me over his shoulder.
“Put me down now, Ethan,” I yell at him as I hit his back. He continues striding down the boardwalk, heading to his cabin.
He walks us up to his patio and into his living room, where he finally places me back on my feet and grabs my hand. I look around at his spacious, modern cabin. I pull my hand out of his, but he grabs it again and leads me down a long hallway to what looks like the master suite. He stops us in the middle of the room and says nothing.
He grips my shoulders firmly, holding me in place, before beginning. “What the fuck were you doing?!”
My eyes widen at his remark and tone. His grip loosens as he drops his head. I’m reeling from the turn of events, so I stay silent.
I hear his intake of breath before he begins again, “I’m sorry.” He looks into my eyes. “This is not the way I envisioned this happening.”
My mind reels with what is happening. I try and pull my hand away again, but he holds on to it tighter, pulling me into his chest. My body instantly reacts, sending a warming sensation all over. I look up, and his face is marred with fear. He cups my face with his hands swiping the tears that had fallen with the pads of his thumbs. He takes a jagged breath and slowly brings his face down and places his lips on mine for a gentle kiss. He pulls away, and I get lost in his hazel eyes. I’m scared to say anything and break the moment, but I want to know why he kissed me.
“Uh…what…uh…di…did you—,” I stumble, unsure how to ask what just happened.
His lips spread into the smallest of smiles before he kisses me again with more passion. A soft moan escapes me and as the shock melts away I sink into the kiss with him. I place my hands on his chest as he slides his hands down to rest on my waist, holding me firmly.
He pulls away again. “I’ve wanted to do that for too long. You don’t understand what it has been like to spend time with you and not be able to touch you like this.”
“You…uh…wanted to kiss me?” I ask, stunned.
“I’ve wanted to kiss you since the first moment I laid my eyes on you, that first time I saw you at The Shack, before I even knew who you were. I was going to talk to you, but they pulled me on stage. I was watching you through the whole set, but you didn’t seem interested. You kept looking at the rest of the band, so I pussied out.”
“I noticed you too, but I didn’t think you would notice me.” I admit my fears.
He gives me a sad smile then says, “How could I not?” He hugs me tighter, sliding his hand up my back to rest on the nape of my neck, holding me to his chest. He brings my head back and places another kiss on my lips, shorter this time, then says, “We need to talk.” He leads us to the loveseat in the room and pulls me down to sit with him.
Thinking about how he has been treating me lately and the girls he has been with makes my mind race, and confusion sets in. I stand, up remembering he has a date on the beach. “Wait, you left someone on the beach. You might want to go get her.” My heart drops, and a feeling sadness looms as I think about him with her. I’m also a bit disturbed since her lips were on him not so long ago.
Before I can walk away, he grabs me by the waist. “No, don’t leave. I’m not dating her. I just met her. She’s not important right now…you are.” I turn to face him. “Please stay. Weneedthis.” I nod.