I drove straight to Ethan’s. He was, as always, my escape from the shit that constantly troubled me. When I was around him, I didn’t feel as if I were drowning in all my sorrows.
I had texted him before coming over, and when I pulled into the driveway, he was waiting for me, sitting on the front step of his porch, a cigarette in his hand. I climbed out of my car and headed straight over to him. Without needing to be asked, he pulled a cigarette out of his pack and handed it to me along with his lighter.
I lit the cigarette and sat down beside him on the step. “Thanks.”
He took his lighter and pack of cigarettes back, tossing them on the ground next to his shoe. “No problem. Want to tell me why you were in such a hurry to leave work today?”
I chuckled. “I figured you’d noticed.”
“How could I not? You practically grew wings and flew out of there.”
“I was on a mission,” I said evasively.
“Are you going to tell me what you were up to, or do I have to start guessing on my own?”
“I planned to go to the apartment to see Joey.”
He raised an eyebrow. “And did you?”
“Yeah, I did. It didn’t go anything like I’d expected. There was almost no shouting at all. He still won’t give me an answer on the divorce papers though. I told him he had until next weekend to decide if he wanted to do this together or if I would have to file on my own. It was just strange to have a decent conversation with him. It kind of threw me off balance for a minute.”
“You know he’s only being nice, so you’ll change your mind, right?” Ethan asked.
“Yeah, I know. I’m not going to fall for it, if that’s what you’re implying.”
“I never thought you would. I just wanted to make sure you understood what he was trying.”
“I do. Trust me. I know the score. One or two decent conversations won’t change how I feel about him. I’ve wasted enough time being miserable with him. I just…I don’t know. I guess I’m hoping we can still walk away from this as friends. Being on speaking terms with one another would make things so much easier on Amelia when she’s older.”
“I get that.” He took a hit off his cigarette. “So, how do you feel after seeing him?”
I shrugged as I took a hit of my own. “I don’t know. I guess I’m relieved that it didn’t turn into a fight, but I’m still worried about the divorce papers. If he doesn’t work with me, I’ll be pretty much trapped. There’s no way I can afford a divorce attorney.”
He nudged me with his shoulder. “Hey, don’t stress over it just yet, okay? You have no idea what’s going to happen.”
“I know.” I finished my cigarette. “So, what were your plans for the day before I decided to show up?”
He chuckled. “I had an exciting day of mowing planned, but it can wait since you’re here. We can go do something fun if you want.”
I shook my head. “Nah, go mow your grass. I’ll sit here and encourage you from afar.”
“Or you could get up off your butt and help me,” he retorted.
“Pfft, I’m a lady. We don’t mow the grass. That’s a guy’s job.”
He laughed outright. “Bullshit. But I guess since you’re too lazy to help, I’ll go do it myself.”
“Have fun,” I called after him as he stood and walked across the yard to a shed I hadn’t noticed before.
He unlocked it and dragged the mower out. I leaned back onto my arms and watched as he pulled on the rope until it started. Once it was running, he started mowing the grass. My eyes followed him as he walked back and forth across the yard. Halfway through, he stopped and pulled his shirt over his head. He tossed it in my direction, and it landed at my feet. I laughed and threw it on the porch behind me, pretending not to notice the now shirtless Ethan strutting around in front of me.
I failed at that miserably.
My eyes followed him even closer than before, taking in the toned skin of his back and the taut muscles in his stomach. The boy had abs. I felt like I needed to fan myself.
If he noticed my gaze constantly trained on him, he didn’t let on. Twenty minutes later, he finished mowing the grass, and he put the mower away. He walked back over to me and sat back down on the step.
“Well, that was fun,” he joked as he pulled another cigarette out of his pack before lighting it up.
“Yeah, it looked like it,” I said, looking anywhere but at him and his naked chest.
“So, I guess I’m free for the rest of the day. What do you want to do now?”
I shrugged. “I have no idea.”
“Are you hungry?” he asked.
I shook my head. “Nah, I ate lunch at work.”
“Hmm…well, why don’t we go watch TV or something?” He grinned. “I happen to have the complete set of Harry Potter movies. If I’m not mistaken, you love that series.”
The mention of Harry Potter perked me right up. “Oh my God, are you serious?”
“Of course.”
I immediately stood up. “Well, what are you waiting for? Come on!”
He laughed as he stood and followed me inside. I plopped down on the couch while he went to his entertainment center and opened one of the bottom drawers. He pulled out the complete collection and walked over to me. He held it out, and I grabbed it.
“Open it up while I go shower really quick. I’m kind of sweaty from mowing.”
“Okay.” I started tearing away at the plastic. “I can’t believe you have the entire collection on DVD, and you haven’t even bothered to open it.”
His cheeks turned red, and he looked away from me.
“What is it?”
“I, uh…bought it a few weeks ago when I saw it on sale. I’ve never seen any of the movies, but I knew you loved them, so I thought I’d grab them to see what the fuss was all about. I just haven’t had a chance to watch them yet.”
“Well, Mr. Blake, you’re in for a treat,” I assured him. “Now, go shower, and get your butt back out here.”
He mock-saluted me before turning and heading to his bedroom. He left the door open, and I heard the shower turn on a moment later. I gave the DVD set my full attention as I tried not to think about the fact that Ethan was naked and wet only a few feet away from me.
I shook my head. Don’t go there.
I finished unwrapping the set and had just pulled the first disc out when he reappeared. I looked up to see him walking toward me in only a pair of shorts. A shirt was flung over his shoulder, and he had a towel in his hand. He was running it through his hair to dry it.
He said something, but I couldn’t quite make out the words. I was too busy trying not to stare at him. When he gave me a questioning look, I finally snapped out of it.
“Sorry. What?” I asked stupidly.
He smirked at me. “I asked if you were ready to watch the movie.”
“Oh, yeah,” I said, feeling like an idiot.
He tossed the towel back into his room and grabbed his shirt off his shoulder. He quickly pulled it on before taking the DVD out of my hand and walking back to his entertainment center.
I kicked my shoes off and pulled my knees to my chest, trying to find a comfortable spot on the couch. He put the DVD into the DVD player and grabbed the remote before heading back to the couch. He sat down on the opposite end from me and pushed Play.
“I’m so excited for you to watch these. Have you read the books?”
He shook his head. “No, I’m not much of a reader.”
“You will be after you watch these. The movies are a million kinds of amazing, but the books are out of this world.”
“We’ll see.” He grinned at me. “Like I said, not much of a reader.”
I huffed, but I couldn’t hide my grin as I turned my attention back to the TV.