Ethan walks out of the bathroom, and my eyes automatically sweep over his toned physique. He saunters over to the bed, crawling over to me, laying me back down and kissing random parts of my body until his lips find mine. He pulls himself up wearing a crooked smile, “Like what you see?”
My face instantly heats up in embarrassment, so I cover it with my hands. Ethan lets out a soft laugh.
“I enjoy you checking me out. I want to be the only one you ogle.” He pulls one hand away from my face, bringing it to his lips and kissing it before placing a kiss on my cheek. I take my other hand away from my face, grabbing him behind the neck to pull him forward for another kiss. Just as our lips meet, my phone begins ringing.
“Argh, what now?” I growl as Ethan falls to his back on the bed. I pick up my phone and see Caleb’s name glowing on the screen. My stomach free-falls. I send the call to voicemail, sit up, and look at Ethan. I can see by his expression that he saw the name on the screen also. His defeated sigh and flat eyes cause a tightening in my chest. I’m torn, not wanting to leave Ethan but knowing I need to make this call.
“I…uh…have to call him back. Paige answered earlier and told him I was on the beach.” I continue watching him as he sits up and turns away from me. I place my hand on his bare back, feeling it tense. “Ethan, please…” I don’t know what I am asking of him, pleading for him to do.
“What do you want me to do, baby? Please tell me.” His words are whisper soft but filled with desperation.
I scoot closer to him and place my cheek to his back, feeling safe here knowing he cannot see the torment on my face. “I…I need…time. I think. Let me call him back, and then we can talk. Okay?”
“He’s going to lie to you. What else is he going to say? Yes, a girl was with me while I was passed out?” His voice is increasing in volume with each word he says. “He’s going to lie… I know it… I can feel it.” He pulls away and turns around to face me. He cups my cheek, and I see the pain in his eyes. “Please, just tell me…” His sentence drifts into nothing.
“Tell you?” I ask, leaning into his hand.
“Never mind, I knew you had unresolved issues to deal with. I may have jumped the gun on this one.” He stands up, leans down, barely meeting his lips to mine, then says, “Come find me when you finish the call.”
He pulls on jeans and grabs a shirt as he walks out of the room. I rush to get dressed, tie my long hair in a messy bun, grab a pack of cigarettes and lighter from the dresser before speeding down to the beach to call Caleb before his next call.
My emotions are crashing around like the waves I’m watching—fear, doubt, pain, but mostly nerves. The line begins to ring, and my stomach churns. I swallow hard and light a cigarette, hoping it will calm the nerves.
Ethan's last words are lingering. What is Caleb going to tell me? All he can do is lie or make up an excuse. But then what am I going to say I did last night? I’m a hypocrite.
"Hey, babe! Happy New Year! I'm sorry for passing out early and not calling you last night. I can't wait to give you your New Year’s kiss. Forgive me?" He sounds happy, with not a care in the world. I feel like I am in an alternate universe. What does this mean? I take too long to answer him, and he asks, "Are you still there, babe?"
"Uh, yeah, I'm here… Happy New Year," I respond, confused.
"When are you coming home?"
"I'm not sure yet. We haven't even left the beach."
"Well, call me when you get back to your parent’ house. I just wanted to hear your voice this morning since I missed you last night."
This is my opening. "Uh…speaking of last night…what happened?" I ask carefully.
"I drank way too much and way too fast is what happened. Jason and Wes told me they had to walk me back to our apartment and put me to bed. I'm sorry that I didn't call you before I got stupid drunk. Completely my bad." That’s part of the story.
"And that’s it? You woke up alone this morning?" I probe.
"Woke up alone? What the hell are you getting at, Sophia?" His anger rears its ugly head.
"It's just that I called you last night—" I begin, but before I can say anything else, he interrupts me.
"I'm sorry, I don't remember us talking. Was I a dick?"
"No, not really because I didn't talk to you. Some girl answered your phone and was alone with you," I spill as quickly as I can.
"Shut the fuck up. I was not with anyone last night, nor was anyone with me."
"I don't know about that, but I do know some girl answered your phone last night because I talked to her."
"You didn't talk to anyone. Stop fucking lie to me. It's pathetic, trying to make shit up to see if I did anything last night."
"Don't call me a fucking liar. I'll show you I talked to someone on your phone." I pull up my call log and take a screenshot of my calls showing his number with the amount of time I was on the phone. I send him the picture through text and then tell him, "Check your text. I sent a picture of my call log, and it shows the call lasted almost a minute. Who did I talk to for almost a minute? Please tell me."
The line is silent for a few seconds, which makes me uneasy. Caleb begins, “I don’t know who you were talking to. I was passed out, remember? I don’t know who Jason and Wes had over at the apartment last night.”