Chapter thirty eight

Chapter thirty eight

Heather

I was actually having fun. Between everything that has been happening lately, Nadia, the restaurant, Ethan, this party was a great way to unwind. And it seems I wasn't the only one who felt that way. Everyone seems more relaxed than when they first arrived. Well, everyone except Kane.

“That guy is so intense. He's hot, no doubt. But I would stay far away from him. He screams danger. And who wears a turtled neck to a lake party.” Tabitha shook her head as the both of us leaned against the bar, sipping our cocktail.

I threw a quick glance at Kane and gave Tabitha a nod. The man seemed truly intense. And he had been glaring at Jenna ever since she bumped into him. Either Jenna didn't notice or she didn't care enough to spare him a glance. Knowing my friend, I suspected it was the latter.

The rest of the group were engaged in a water gun fight.

‘Engaged’ wasn't the right word.

Dallas, Lisa, and Ethan were spraying water on Oliver and Xavier, while Jenna was cheering for them. The former carried his wife off her feet while she squealed.

Lisa and Ethan focused their attention on Xavier who didn't retaliate. Instead, he laughed, like he was enjoying their assault. They turned to Jenna too, but she grabbed a water gun and began firing at them too.

The whole exchange was fun to watch, but my gaze was really only fixed on one person.

I took a long sip of my cocktail as I watched water trailed down Ethan's bare chest, and disappeared into his wet beach shorts.

A thought filtered into my mind and I wondered what would happen if I pulled his shorts down. Would he be as aroused as I was currently watching him?

As if summoned by my thoughts, Ethan turned towards me. I was too transfixed to pretend I wasn't gawking at him. So when he threw me a seductive wink, I merely gave him a smile in return. Lisa splashed him with water, making him pull his gaze away. A dreamy sigh escaped my lips.

“Yup, his body isn't the only thing that's wet.” I drew my gaze away from Ethan to see Tabitha staring at me, a cocky smirk tugging on her lips.

“No, it's not..I wasn't…It's not like that…” my brain short circuited and I began rambling.

Tabitha's smirk slowly morphed into realization. My chest tightened as I anticipated her figuring out my biggest secret.

“Oh my God, you're fucking him.” Tabitha gasped.

“No!” I said almost immediately which probably just confirmed her suspicion even more.

“You bitch, you are.” She snorted.

My cheeks flushed red and I gulped down the content of the glass. I turned my face away, my heart hammering in my chest. There was no way I would tell my friendd when I haven't even figured out what we were doing yet.

“It's not like that.”

She simply stared at me, a hint of a smile pulling on her lips.
“I'm not judging you though. I don't think I can survive having that hunk of hotness live next door to me and not do anything about it. He's hot and you're single so…” she shrugged.

“I'm not…” I looked down on my empty glass. There was no reason to lie when she'd figured it out. “Please don't tell anyone.”

“My lips are sealed.” she made a show of zipping her lips and throwing the key away. “I can't believe you'd want to keep dating Ethan a secret. Why would you want to do that? Everyone would be happy for you.”

My eyes widened and I shook my head frantically. “We're not dating!” I said firmly.

Tabitha stared at me with some skepticism so I quickly added, “It’s a just sex arrangement.”

“Oh! Just sex! I would love to hear more about this ‘just sex’ arrangement.” she said with a smug smile.

“Don't make it a big deal. I plan to put an end to it soon.”

I felt a tightness in my chest as those words left my mouth. I couldn't be in a relationship with Ethan, not without causing him pain. But I didn't want to end what we had, whatever it was.

It had been the only sense of normalcy in my life lately. I've begun to look forward to when he would come into my room every night. I no longer flinched every time my phone's text notification sound rang because I thought my sister had finally sent me a text.

Infact, the only real fright I've had was this morning when Kane entered the car dressed like a serial killer. There had been nothing for days now. I would be lying if I said the silence didn't freak me out a little bit, but I wasn't exactly on edge anymore.

“Okay, just let me know when you do so I can finally try my hands with him. I definitely want to know how he is in the sack.”

The look I gave my friend could level a mountain. I hadn't realized she was baiting me until I saw the smirk on her face.

“And that answers that.” she chuckled.

I didn't get the chance to worry about how my best friend had baited me into admitting that I was jealous of any girl who came close to Ethan, I was worried by how much it bothered me.

What we had was definitely going to end. And if it did, I couldn't stop him from dating someone else if he wanted. I could only glower about it.

“You can admit that you like him and want more than your current arrangement. The world is not gonna end if you go after something you want, babe.” she said softly.

My lips parted in surprise. Fortunately, I was saved from giving an answer when a loud squeal echoed from the lake side.

“I won!” Lisa jumped happily as she laughed at Ethan and Jenna who were half submerged in the lake. Neither of them looked please.

“No, you didn't. Xavier cheated.” Ethan scowled.

“No, he didn't. He was on my team.” Lisa responded.

“He wasn't on any team.” Jenna argued.

“Exactly,” Ethan said. “He just jumped on your team last minute and helped you win. That's cheating.”

“It's not cheating if there's no rule against it.” Xavier shrugged. Lisa clapped her hands together and he gave her a small smile.

It was slightly unsettling to see Xavier in shorts and a t-shirt when I was so used to seeing him in a business suit. I could count on one hand how many times I'd seen him without a suit.

And even now, he hadn't taken his t-shirt off, but the way the wet clothing clung to his body was evident of how fit he was.

“It doesn't matter, it's still cheating in my book.” Ethan scoffed.

Jenna shook her head and walked out of the water. She looked so gorgeous in her brown two-piece bikini, and it seems I wasn't the only one that noticed. Except Kane was scowling at her, not admiring her.

She waved her hand dismissively, and picked up a folded towel on the bench, her hips swaying as she strode towards us. I tried to hide the smug smile on my lips.

“Why are you two standing there?” She asked when she got to us.

“No reason. We're simply observing.” Tabitha said and I nodded in agreement.

Jenna poured herself a drink. “Where's Dallas?”

As if summoned by her sister, Dallas appeared from the woods with her husband in tow, her lips slightly swollen and her hair disheveled. There was no mistaken what they had been doing. Oliver headed towards the men while Dallas strode towards us.

“Glad to see you finally show up.” Jenna chuckled. Dallas face flushed red.

“Hey!” The four of us turned towards Lisa. “The party isn't over yet. Anyone wanna play some game?”