The first time we hung out was an accident. I was crying on the swing set when Ethan came rushing outside in a fit of anger. He’d had another fight with his dad, who was piss drunk and yelling obscenities out the door. Ethan heard me sniffling back tears and wanted to know what made me cry.
He was so sweet and nothing like the rough and tough hockey player when he pulled me into his arms and let me cry against his chest. I confessed the trouble I was having with the girls at school, who never bothered me again after that night. Ethan wasn’t my older brother’s best friend anymore. No, he became so much more to me.
When I don’t respond right away, he repeats, “Tell me something good.”
“Other than being here with you?”
I blush ten shades of red from my cheeks to my chest.
What’s wrong with me? I’m never this forward. The words fell from my lips before I could stop myself from saying them aloud.
Ethan gives me one of his boyish grins that cause my heart to skip a beat. “Just so you know, Mia, I like talking to you, too. Sometimes, I feel like you’re the only person who gets me.”
I grab hold of the metal ropes, the nerves bubbling up in my chest. “What about my brother? Don’t you talk to him?”
“I don’t know. Will says stupid shit that doesn’t help the situation anytime I try to talk to him about my parents. And you know how he acts when it comes to hockey.”
“Like he’s too good for everyone.” I make it sound like a joke, though I mean it.
The right corner of his mouth curls up as he winks at me. “Yep. He’s such a cocky bastard.”
“You’re better than him, E. But don’t tell him I said so.”
What had started out with writing M + E in my notebook soon became his nickname. Ethan never corrects me when I call him E. Sometimes he calls me his little lamb because he compares himself to a wolf, though I don’t find him the least bit scary. I love having this special connection with him.
He cocks an eyebrow at me. “You think so?”
I bob my head. “I know so, and I’m not just saying that because I like you and my brother gives me a hard time. I’ve watched all of your games over the past year and some of your practices. You and my brother will go pro together. I don’t doubt it.”
Ethan sighs. “I’ll miss you, Mia.”
His words hit me like a punch to the gut. Why, because he’s going to college in the fall with my brother? Strickland University is only thirty minutes from my house. Upset by the thought of not seeing him every night, I choose to ignore his comment. Whatever time we have left is precious.
Ethan grabs my hand and holds it tight. “I’m leaving after graduation.”
My heart plummets into my chest when I do the math. We only have four more days together. I can’t breathe, the sickness rising from the back of my throat, choking me. He can’t do this to me.
No. Please. Don’t leave me.
I want to say all of this to Ethan, but the words never come out.
Ethan squeezes my hand once more and smiles. “Tell me about your day. I want to hear all about it. Give me the worst and best moments.”
I suck in a deep breath, holding it far too long before I let it out. The worst part of my day now has to do with Ethan, but I can’t bring myself to tell him the truth. We have four days together. I can’t ruin them.
“Well, I already told you one of the best.”
He chuckles. “If hanging out with me is even in your top five, then I can’t imagine the worst one.”
I smile through the fear and pain of losing Ethan and hope that our last night together is one I’ll remember forever.
Chapter Three
Ethan
I’m an asshole. I should turn around and say goodbye to Mia. But I can’t. It’s better if she doesn’t know the reason I have to leave and why I have to run away from the new life I’ve built in Pennsylvania. She would hate me if she knew the truth. So, it’s better this way. Now, she can hate me for an entirely different reason.
Soon enough, Mia will have new friends and forget all about me. I cringe at the thought of her having a boyfriend. I can’t have her, but that doesn’t make me want her any less.
As I drive down I-95, I switch lanes to get around the tortoise hogging up the left lane. My mind wanders between Mia and my new destination. I told Will I have to take care of my sick grandmother who lives in Boston. At least part of that lie was true. I do have a grandmother who lives in Boston, though she’s probably in better shape than most women her age and sharp as a tack.
It was the best excuse I could come up with when I broke the news to Will. He said he understood why I had to bail on our hockey plans and that family comes first, which only made me feel like a piece of shit for craving his little sister for the past year.
All it takes is one life-altering mistake to ruin everything. I didn’t expect one night to change my life. But it did. Now, it’s time to face the consequences.
Chapter Four
Mia: Ten years later
After another shitty day at The Philadelphia Inquirer, I come home to my apartment that smells like a Chinese restaurant. My stomach growls from the scent of General Tso’s chicken rising from the ground floor. I reach into my bag, pull out three dollars, and sigh when I realize I can’t even afford dinner. At least payday is on Friday.
I lean against the wall by the front door and strip off my lace-up canvas boots. Starting at my knees, I tug at the fabric until each row finally gives, relieving me of the pressure. For the past eight hours, I stood outside of City Hall waiting to get a comment from the Mayor of Philadelphia about the new law requiring all businesses operating in the city to favor cash over credit cards. It was a long day, to say the least, where I spent hours drinking Coke and snacking as I counted down the seconds before I could drag my ass back home.
Exhausted, I stagger into the kitchen and open the freezer. Given my lack of choices, I remove the bottle of vodka and a TV dinner and set them on the counter. If I’m lucky, I’ll make it until the end of the week without having to bum some cash from my older brother. The thought makes me cringe. I can’t handle another brotherly conversation from Will about my current situation.
As I shut the freezer door, an unwelcome banging on the floor below causes me to jump. Living in the city, with all the car horns and noises, takes some getting used to. My parents moved to Arizona for retirement, leaving my brother and me behind. I rented this shithole in Center City, Philadelphia in the hopes it would be a temporary situation. That was three years ago.
Still startled and on edge, I yelp when my cell phone rings. I remove the phone from my pocket and check the Caller ID. It’s my older brother.
“What do you want?”
“Hey, baby sis,” Will yells into the phone, slurring his words. “Is that any way to talk to the person who helped you with your homework when you were a kid?”
I laugh. “I wouldn’t gloat for too long. Look how far that got me.” The sounds of rap music assault my eardrum, making it harder to hear Will over the people screaming around him. “Where are you?” I shout over the noise.
A beat passes between us where I listen to the song change over before Will speaks again. “I need to stay with you for a while. My apartment flooded, and now, I’m homeless until the condo association fixes the damage. I was able to grab a bag of clothes and get out before part of the ceiling collapsed.”
“You’re messing with me, right?” This sounds like one of the many stories Will has told me over the years to screw with me. He says I will fall for anything. And Will loves to exploit my weakness.
“No, not this time. The old lady upstairs fell asleep in her tub with the water running. Can I come stay or what?”
With our parents over two thousand miles away, what choice do I have?
“Yeah, I guess so. When are you coming over?”
“I’m at McFadden’s for happy hour.”
“Why are you drinking? I thought you guys made th
e playoffs.”
“We did. Our first game is next week. I’m out celebrating with a few of the guys on my team.”
“Whatever,” I sigh. “Get your ass here before I go to bed. I had the day from hell, and I’m not staying up all night waiting around for your drunk ass.”
“Whatever you say, boss. We’ll be there in a few hours.”
After I hang up, it hits me that Will said ‘we’ as in he plans to bring someone to my apartment. That shit won’t fly with me. I agreed to let my brother stay here, not one of his one-night stands. Because of our last name—Roman—and the fact Will is always with a girl on his arm, the media dubbed him Romeo. He sure as hell lives up to his nickname.
While I have two bedrooms, they’re tiny and barely enough space for me. Will can forget about me doing his dirty work for him in the morning. I’m not kicking out whatever puck bunny he brings home with him.
Hours pass before a knock at the door pulls me from my nap on the couch. I glance at the digital clock on the end table and sigh. As usual, Will didn’t keep his promise. He’ll be late for his funeral.
Wiping the sleep from my eyes, I stagger toward the front door in pink polka dot pajamas, a black tank top, and fuzzy slippers. A few more knocks pound onto the wood, shaking the door.
“I’m coming,” I shout. “Chill out.”
When I open the door, I gasp at the sight of Ethan Waters standing next to my brother. He left me ten years ago without a second thought. And I still hate him for it.
He told Will he had to take care of his sick grandmother in Boston, and yet, he couldn’t even make a simple phone call or send an e-mail to explain his sudden disappearance. I still don’t buy his excuse. Now that I work for The Philadelphia Inquirer, I have resources that allow me to dig into people’s pasts.
His grandmother was never sick. In fact, she’s alive and healthy and still working as an advisor at the company her husband founded. The Waters have tons of money, and that kind of wealth makes it easier to cover secrets.
Ethan is hiding something, though I still haven’t figured out what’s worth so much secrecy. His family has a lot of connections which have made it near impossible to determine the reason for his absence. He showed up three years ago when he was traded from the Oilers to the Flyers. He still acts if nothing happened without a single explanation.
When he returned, he was cocky and arrogant and nothing like the boy I once knew. Ethan hasn’t treated me the same since our last night on the swing set. He’s always rude and acts like the entitled prince that he is. The sight of him on my doorstep makes my skin burn and my nostrils flare.
I point at Ethan while speaking to Will. “What’s he doing here? I said you could come, not this idiot.”
“Let me in,” Ethan slurs as he pushes past me to get inside. He stumbles, tripping over his feet, and somehow regains his balance.
Since I moved out of my parents’ house, I’ve avoided Ethan at all costs, which means spending less time with my brother. On occasion, Ethan stops by with Will when they’re not on the road with the Flyers. I try to sneak over to the apartment they share when I know Ethan’s not around. Distance and time are what I needed from Ethan. I could use a little more right about now.
“You’re the most infuriating person I’ve ever met,” I yell, my face twisted in disgust. “Of all the people to show up with Will, it had to be you. I would’ve preferred one of his puck bunnies.”
“Don’t get your panties twisted,” Ethan hisses, with one eye open. “Or I’ll have to rip them off you.” He walks away from me and into the kitchen so, of course, I follow behind him.
“Gross,” I growl. “Like I would let you touch me. Who knows what disease-ridden skanks you were hanging out with tonight.”
“Can you two get along for five minutes?” Will says from behind me. “This situation sucks, but we have to make the best of it.”
I narrow my eyes at Will. “Wait, you think this jerk is staying here?”
“He doesn’t have anywhere to go.”
“He has credit cards, a trust fund, and a contract from the Flyers. I couldn’t even afford to buy dinner tonight. I should be staying with you, not the other way around. Will, I agreed to let you sleep here not the manwhore of Philadelphia. I might contract something if he stays with us. God knows where he’s been.”
Is my brother any better? Not really. In fact, he might even be worse than Ethan. More often than not, Will lands on the pages of my newspaper with a different girl on his arm.
Ethan stalks toward me. “You wish you could have me, princess. Bitter isn’t a good look for you.”
“I hate you,” I scream, not realizing my anger.
“No, you don’t.” Ethan throws his hands onto his hips, drawing my attention to his thick chest and muscular arms.
Why does someone so attractive have to be so damn annoying? After all the years of hating Ethan, and him being a dick in return, I can’t stand the sight of Ethan fucking Waters. He knows he’s God’s gift to women. And he is, which makes me hate him even more.
Will and Ethan raid my fridge for a few minutes before they realize I have nothing to offer.
“Speaking of credit cards.” Ethan stares into my empty fridge that contains condiments and a few aged half-eaten takeout containers I need to throw out. “Why don’t you use yours to buy some food?”
Crossing my arms over my chest, I stare up at Ethan. Who the hell does he think he is? What I do with my money is none of his business.
“Because I have student loans, rent, a car payment, and no money left on my credit card,” I quip. “If you two are going to stay here, you can at least buy your own food. I can’t afford to take care of you.”
“We’ll get you some food tomorrow,” Will mumbles. “I hate to see you living like this.” He shakes his head, and the same white-blond hair as mine falls onto his forehead. “Why didn’t you say something, Mia? I have money. You don’t have to live like this.”
“Food would be great,” I interject. “Enough about me. I don’t need another brotherly lecture.”
Will reaches for the bottle of vodka in my freezer, but I steal it away from him. “You’ve had enough to drink tonight.” I tuck the bottle back in place and shut the freezer door. “I made up the bed for you in the guest room. Why don’t you get some sleep? I have to get up early for work.”
“Me, too.” Will cups my shoulder with his big hand, his balance a little unsteady with how much alcohol he’s drunk. “We have an interview with your paper in the morning.”
Leaving Ethan in the kitchen, I lead Will into the guest bedroom that’s the size of a walk-in-closet. My brother stumbles into the dark room and walks into the metal bed frame, hitting his shin pretty hard.
“Fuck,” he yells and falls onto the mattress, grabbing his leg with both hands.
I sit next to him and turn on the bedside lamp. The dim light casts a shadow on his face. We’re three years apart and look so much alike with our mother’s white-blonde hair and light blue eyes.
“Do you want me to grab you a glass of water and some Tylenol?”
He shakes his head and sinks into the pillows, staring up at me with one eye open. “Nah, I’m good. Night, baby sis.”
I strip off his shoes, throw them onto the floor, and push myself up from the bed. “Night, big bro.”
Will is snoring by the time I close the door behind me. For a few seconds, I forget what awaits me in the kitchen, until I find Ethan sitting on the counter pounding the bottle of vodka. Asshole.
“Hand it over.” I hold out my palm and wait for him to give it to me.
Ethan tips the discount bottle of vodka I bought last year to his lips and winks at me, drinking most of the remaining liquid just to spite me. He takes one more sip before he places the bottle in my hand and squeezes my fingers around it along with his. A chill runs through me from the cold bottle and the effect Ethan’s touch has on me.
We always had chemistry, so it’s no surprise that bein
g this close to him stirs up feelings from the past. Those emotions last for all of three seconds before I remember what he did to me. He left me behind as if I meant nothing to him. Snapping myself back to reality, I recall how much I hate Ethan and turn away from him.
When he slides off the counter, he falls into me, knocking my shoulder. I stumble for a second and use the refrigerator handle for support.
“Time for you to go to bed,” I tell Ethan.
“Yes, Mommy,” he says, breathing vodka in my face. “Are you going to tuck me in and give me a goodnight kiss?”
I snort. “In your dreams, buddy.”
He hooks his arm around my back, and his hand grazes my left breast.
“Don’t be a pig, Ethan.”
Oblivious to his groping of my tit, he mutters, “What are you bitching about now?”
He’s trashed and more belligerent than when he used to sleep over at our house in high school. Ethan was never mean to me when we were younger. Our relationship was special, something I had treasured. I have to constantly remind myself that he’s not the same person.
I grab hold of the divider, which separates the living room from the kitchen, to help Ethan over to the couch without knocking the pictures from the wall.
How much did these idiots drink? Ethan and Will were always big partiers, but ever since Will was selected by the Flyers, he’s cut down his drinking. At least he did until Ethan was traded to the team. Apparently, he’s a bad influence on my brother.
We almost take out the flat-screen television on top of the oak chest my parents had given me when they moved. Ethan’s body is like dead weight in my arms. Somehow, I manage to get him over to the sofa without falling onto the floor, with my arm around his back and his weight pushing down on me. But not without him taking me with him.
I’m about to dump him on the cushions when his foot tangles with mine, tripping me in the process. We fall sideways onto a stack of pillows. He’s two hundred twenty pounds of solid muscle, toned to perfection, and draped over me like a heavy blanket. The heat from his body makes me crave the closeness. I’m all too aware of how my body responds to him.
Ethan (Face-Off Book 5) Page 2