ELLIE
I knew her intention was to find out if I was really interested in Ethan.
“Hell! That’s enough! You know my brother doesn’t want a relationship. Ellie’s right to stay away from him,” Bennett said, losing his patience.
“Thank you, Bennett,” I said, grateful.
If his own brother was saying Ethan was only interested in sex, that was one more reason to stay away from him.
After we finished dinner, Zoe insisted that we go back to my apartment, making it clear she wanted to hear everything that had happened between me and Ethan. The men decided to stay at the restaurant.
We were sitting in my living room after opening a tub of ice cream and some beers. Zara and Anna were sitting on one couch, and Zoe was next to me on the other. I had just repeated the whole story about what happened between me and Ethan, leaving Zoe surprised and with a suspicious smile. Something told me that was a bad sign.
“So, what’s the final score?” Zara asked with a suggestive grin.
“Can I tell them?” Anna looked at me, and I rolled my eyes before taking a sip of the beer in my hand and nodding.
“It was the best sex she’s ever had,” she said, glancing between Zara and Zoe.
“I knew it!” Zoe said. “And I told you!”
“It doesn’t matter. We should drop this and start talking about the vacation trip,” I tried to change the subject.
“We’ll talk about that later. Anna must’ve told you about his engagement. Bennett didn’t want to tell me; it seems like it’s a pretty sensitive subject for Ethan. I only managed to get out of him that the wedding was called off a week before it was supposed to happen.”
I could hardly believe Ethan had been about to get married. I also couldn’t imagine why he would have called it off. Maybe he’d just decided he wanted to stay single.
“And why is this any of our business?” I sighed, sinking further into the couch, feeling the alcohol start to take effect.
“Don’t you see? This means there’s a reason Ethan doesn’t want a relationship. It must be trauma or something.”
“Or you’re wrong, and he’s just a really honest bastard who only wants to use women for sex and nothing else.”
“A really honest bastard?” She looked at me, confused.
“Yeah, because he didn’t try to fool me into getting what he wanted. But it doesn’t change the fact that all he wanted was sex.”
“The point is, he came after you again this morning. That must mean something.”
“Yeah, that he wants to use me for sex.”
“Or that he’s interested.”
“Don’t encourage this. She might be right,” Zara said, addressing Zoe, who rolled her eyes.
“Come on! You just said it was the best sex of your life; shouldn’t you be enjoying that?”
“If you’re talking about continuing to sleep together? No.”
“No, I’m talking about getting to know each other better and then seeing where it goes.”
“Right, but I think you missed when your husband said his brother isn’t interested in a relationship. What more do you need?”
“Bennett’s just being protective of his brother. He knows Ethan will suffer if he ends up falling for you and wants to avoid that.”
“I think you’re taking this too far. So let me repeat: Nothing else is going to happen between me and Ethan.”
“Oh Ellie... What we think we should do and what we end up doing can be very different things, especially when we’re talking about the best sex of our lives,” she said, showing off the engagement ring on her finger.
“I’m not you, and Ethan is not Bennett. And this conversation is over.”
“Can we talk about the trip now?” Anna shifted on the couch. “Did you manage to rent the cabin?” she asked Zoe.
“No, I’m still waiting for your brother and Phillipa to confirm if they’re coming. Neil and Rosie already confirmed with Jack. But I need to know if everyone’s going so I can book a cabin with enough rooms.”
“I’m starting to see the perks of being single,” I laughed, imagining I’d have a room to myself.
Zoe looked at me before smiling. What was she up to?
“You know, Ellie... Bennett said Ethan’s been working a lot, and we all know he’s a workaholic.”
I blinked, trying to carefully process every word she was saying.
“So he suggested that maybe we could invite him on this trip, to help him relax a little.”
What?
“But after what I learned today, I thought I should ask if you’d mind before inviting him.”
Anna and Zara started laughing uncontrollably.
“You just made that up, didn’t you? You’re unbelievable!” I said, incredulous.
“Why would I do that?” she said with an amused smile. Zoe could be really terrible sometimes.
“It’s obvious you’re up to something.”
“Nonsense!”
“I can’t believe you’re going to do this.”
“I’m not doing anything. You can ask Bennett.”
“You really should, because I find it impossible that he suggested Ethan go on the same trip as me.”
“So, should I not invite him?”
“You want me to decide that?”
“Of course, I don’t want you to feel uncomfortable.”
I knew Zoe too well. She was only doing this to make me admit I cared about being around Ethan and thought this would somehow prove she was right. But I wasn’t going to give her that satisfaction, even if it meant ruining my own vacation.
“Don’t worry, I can handle it. If you want to invite him, go ahead,” I said through clenched teeth, looking at Anna, who was shaking her head, as if telling me it was a terrible idea.
As if I didn’t already know. Zoe had just managed to turn my relaxing vacation into my worst nightmare. I couldn’t imagine what it would be like to spend a week in the same house as Ethan.