by Erin Downing
And anyway, she had now (sort of) found Ethan. There was still a little glimmer of hope that she would get to go to her own prom as one half of a developing couple. He went to Northwestern. Now she just needed to track him down on Facebook or MySpace or something.
The key was making that seek-and-find seem as unstalkeresque as possible. He obviously remembered her—but had he been interested enough during their first meeting to think it was normal that she had gone to so much effort to track him down? It was doubtful that he would appreciate the humor of prom crashing as much as Max, Charlie, and Sid. In fact there was a pretty good chance he’d think she was sort of psycho.
Emily was staring off into space, resting her lips on the rim of her coffee cup. She hadn’t noticed anyone come into the shop, so she started a bit when a deep male voice roused her from her daydreaming. “Hi.”
She looked up, pushing her bangs from her eyes. “Hi,” she repeated quietly. Ethan stood on the other side of the counter. He was hotter and tastier-looking than ever. And he had come to find her! “How are you?”
“I’m okay.” A smile played at the edge of Ethan’s mouth. He had something to say to her, but was measuring his words carefully.
Emily smiled. “Another chai?” she asked. She really hoped he wasn’t there for chai. Oh, she thought suddenly. What if he is?
“I guess I got the hint,” Ethan said suddenly and awkwardly. He was smiling, but looked a little uncomfortable. “I’m still waiting for that call you promised.”
Emily stared back at him. He was waiting for her call! “It’s a long story,” she said. “But let’s just say that I definitely did not mean to give you the impression that I did. I definitely wanted to call you.” She paused. “Give me your cell,” she blurted out suddenly. Ethan obliged, and Emily punched her number into his phone. “Now you have my number, and it’s on you to call me.”
“Well, maybe I don’t want to call you,” Ethan said. Emily frowned—had she totally misread the signals? Ethan continued, “Maybe I’d rather just make plans right now. Honestly, I don’t really trust you to follow up.” He grinned mischievously. “What time are you off work?”
Nice, she thought. A take-charge guy. “Three.” “Can I come by and pick you up?”
Emily’s stomach fluttered. “Sure.”
“Good.” Ethan grinned. “See you then.” When he got to the door, he turned back. “Do I seem like a stalker for coming here to ask you out?” he asked.
Emily laughed. “Just a little bit.” She raised her hand and held her thumb and forefinger close together. “Honestly, though, I can think of a lot crazier things you could have done.”
But we’ll save that conversation for another time, she mused, smiling at the memory of the past few weeks. I just hope he can appreciate a good story.
“I hope you like this place.” Ethan pushed aside a branch, guiding Emily along a rocky path.
Emily tilted her chin up, inhaling the scent of the pine needle canopy above her. “How far are we going?” she asked. She studied Ethan’s calf muscles as they propelled him forward on the path in front of her. She was enjoying the view and wasn’t eager to stop walking yet.
“Just a little bit farther. Are you hungry?” Ethan turned to look at Emily, concerned.
“I will be. But I can wait.” She smiled. “Thanks for asking.”
Ethan grinned back at her again, the corners of his mouth crinkling. “Good. I have a ton of food. I don’t want to eat alone, so you better be hungry.” Emily took this as a good sign, since she had never been one of those girls that didn’t like to eat. She loved food. Ethan had a backpack slung casually over one shoulder that was stuffed with tasty treats. Emily could see a dark chocolate bar peeking out of the slightly open compartment. Her mouth watered.
They had been making small talk since Ethan had picked her up from the Leaf Lounge a half hour earlier. They chatted about the usual subjects—school, family—and she couldn’t believe it when he told her he would be going to Columbia University in New York City that fall. They would be only a hundred blocks apart. While they talked, Ethan drove to a little hiking trail that crawled along a brook just a few miles from the mall. It was a gorgeous trail—she couldn’t believe she hadn’t known it was there.
Emily had no idea how exhilarating a date could be. Strange and awkward sorta-dates she knew all about. The few losers she’d “dated” had been friends of friends before she had made the mistake of taking things to the next level. She’d never actually been out—on a bona fide date!—with a guy she was really into.
Except Ethan. So she really didn’t want to mess this up.
“I hope you don’t mind me asking you this…. Why were you on a lifeboat on Lake Windham last night? Were you at my prom?” Ethan kept walking, staring straight forward. “Do I want to know?”
“Well,” Emily started, smirking to herself, “that’s an interesting story.”
Ethan suddenly stopped at a grove of trees that formed a sort of canopy over a clearing on the ground. The grass was soft and fluffy, and the river gurgled and splashed nearby. “We’re here,” he said, pulling the backpack off his shoulder and tossing it on the ground.
“It’s gorgeous,” Emily murmured.
“So what’s the story?”
“What?” Emily asked, settling into a cross-legged position on the ground in the middle of the grassy knoll. “Oh! The prom thing.” She smiled self-consciously as Ethan looked at her from his seat on the grass. Then she reluctantly started from the beginning and told him everything.
She realized it was better to go for full disclosure and let him make his decision about her based on the truth. So she told him about how his number had been smudged away, told the stories about Neil and Danny and the crazy costume, and finally about Max getting a job on the Queen Mary so they would have an in at Northwestern. As she talked, she noticed Ethan’s eyes widening in disbelief. When she got to the end of the story—Lake Windham—he whistled. “So you were just looking for me?” He cocked an eyebrow.
“No!” Emily covered her eyes with her hands. “Well, initially, yes. But ultimately, my friends and I were just sort of looking for something fun to do. Proms were a good challenge. And who doesn’t love going to prom?”
“Gotcha. So I was secondary to the bigger mission?” Ethan grinned. “An innocent bystander?”
Emily groaned through a smile. “This is all coming out wrong.” She lay her chin on her knees, which were bent up toward her face.
“I’m teasing you,” Ethan said, grabbing one of Emily’s knees. She looked up when he touched her. “I think it sounds like a lot of fun. It’s flattering that I inspired something so cool.”
His hand lingered on her knee a few seconds longer than it needed to, and Emily shivered despite the warm day.
Intentional? she wondered. Flirting? She could only hope.
“So you don’t think we’re crazy?” she asked, hiding part of her face behind her knees. “I guess I would if I were in your shoes. You have to know my friends to get them.”
“They sound cool,” he said, pulling the chocolate bar out of his backpack. “I hope I get to meet them.” He broke open the chocolate bar wrapper and offered her a piece. “I have some sandwiches and stuff, too. But I’d rather start with dessert. You mind?”
Emily shook her head happily. “Nope.” She grabbed the chocolate. “So now that I’ve told you about prom crashing, it’ your turn. What’s something crazy you’ve done?”
“Honestly …” Ethan chewed his chocolate as he spoke. “Not much. I’ve been pretty focused on soccer and getting good grades, so I haven’t really done anything too wild. We toilet-papered a guy’s house once for soccer, but we got caught. So that was maybe crazy, but not so fun.”
“That doesn’t count. Come on,” Emily pushed. “There must be something.”
Ethan suddenly stood up. “I just thought of something. Follow me.” He left his backpack sitting on the patch of grass and led Emily a few ya
rds farther down the trail. Moments later they came to an old wooden bridge that carried the wooded path up and over a deep, wide portion of the river. “I’ve been swimming here a hundred times.”
“It’s tempting,” Emily interrupted. What does he have in mind?
“But I’ve never jumped.” Ethan smiled at Emily, pulling off his shirt. His broad chest was a golden brown—obviously a regular “skins” player on his soccer team—and lean and muscular. He was wearing only green athletic shorts, and Emily was definitely impressed. “My buddies and I come here a lot, and everyone else always jumps off the bridge into the water. I always avoid it and climb in from the shore down below. What do you say?”
Emily leaned over the edge of the bridge. The water was at least twenty feet below them. Her heart began to race, a little out of fear, a little out of anticipation. “I’m in,” she said, smiling broadly. “Are you sure?”
“I’m not gonna lie—I’m afraid of heights.” Ethan rubbed his arms. “But I’m pumped.” He clapped his hands and whooped, making Emily laugh. Ethan was goofy—in a good way.
“You’re doing this for me?” she asked, lifting an eyebrow.
“Hey, you crashed proms for me. That has to take courage. I need to even things up, right?”
Emily nodded. “I’ll go if you will.” She was glad she was wearing her cute, red boy shorts under her jeans that day. They were just as covering as a bathing suit and a little sexy-cute to boot. She thanked her lucky stars that she’d worn the black tank top instead of her white one to work—wet and white would have left very little to the imagination.
She peeled off her jeans and hoped Ethan’s fear had paralyzed his eyesight. She wasn’t sure she was prepared for the full-body once-over. He politely averted his eyes.
Together they moved toward the edge of the bridge, and each of them sat on the wooden platform. “On the count of three?” Ethan suggested.
“One,” Emily started. They dangled their legs off the edge of the bridge.
“Two,” Ethan grabbed her hand.
“Three!” they shouted together. Then they both scooted forward and off the edge of the bridge. Emily could feel Ethan’s hand tighten around hers as they fell forward. The force of the water broke their hands apart, but Ethan sought hers again as their bodies popped through the surface of the water. When they emerged from the murky river, they were both laughing and sputtering water. Emily adjusted her tank top to make sure nothing had fallen out.
“That was great!” Emily exclaimed, pulling herself up onto a big rock on shore that was warm from the sun. “You really haven’t done that before?”
Ethan grinned. “Okay, maybe that’s not quite true.” His eyes were alive with laughter. “But I wanted to make sure you’d go in with me.” Emily swatted him playfully as he climbed onto the rock next to her.
“You have jumped before?”
He nodded. “But it’s never been that fun.”
“You totally had me going. I thought I was helping you overcome this great, momentous fear.” Emily shook her head. “I feel so used.”
“I can’t apologize. It was worth it. You looked so cute scooting off the edge of the bridge.” Emily reddened at the compliment. “Am I in trouble?”
“Yes,” she declared. “Now you owe me.” She was flirting and knew it was working.
Ethan maneuvered on the rock so he was right next to Emily, almost touching her legs with his. His hand was at his side, and his fingers lightly touched her thigh as he shifted position. Emily watched them and moved her own hand to her side to meet his fingers. Her heart was racing.
“Does this make up for it?” Ethan asked, then turned her face toward his and lifted her chin so her lips touched his. His mouth was wet from the river, and his eyelashes were beaded with water. Emily closed her eyes, soaking in the heat of the sun, the warmth of the rock beneath her, and the strength of Ethan’s hand clutching hers. The kiss was short, timid.
“Mmmm,” Emily murmured as she pulled back just slightly. “That makes up for it.” She smiled, relaxing into a second kiss. Ethan adjusted on the rock so he was facing Emily. She sat cross-legged, leaning in toward him. His legs were spread into a crooked V, wrapped around her in a leg hug.
They sat like that for a long time, kissing and laughing and teasing each other. They chatted easily about a million things—their friends, families, college—and only separated for a few minutes when Ethan ran up the hill to grab their clothes and bring food back to the rock.
When the sky began to get dark and a chill crept into the air, they were still talking. Ethan pulled a blanket out of his backpack and spread half of it on the rock beneath them. He snuggled her in so that her back rested against his chest, his legs still wrapped around her. Ethan pulled the rest of the blanket in close to their bodies, tucking them in under the stars.
She felt protected, refreshed, and exhilarated. Ethan was amazing, and she couldn’t think of a better first date. She lay her head back, resting it on his shoulder and staring up at the sky.
“Can I ask you something?” she whispered, tilting her neck so she could see his face.
“Mmm-hmm,” he murmured back.
“This might sound silly, but …” Emily paused. She was suddenly a little nervous. “Would you go to my prom with me?”
Ethan laughed, squeezing his arms around her stomach. “Were you scared to ask me that?” She nodded vigorously, laughing with him. “Of course I will.”
“Really? It’s next weekend.” Emily turned her body so she was facing him.
“Yeah, definitely. It will be fun.”
“Fab.” Emily beamed. Ethan hugged her close and she smiled contentedly. Suddenly she felt a niggling of paranoia. “Oh, no,” she said, sitting up suddenly. “What time is it?”
He pulled his watch out of the back-pack. “Eight fifteen.” Ethan pulled her back toward him. “Does it matter?”
“Yes!” Emily cried out, sounding more panicked than she would have liked. “I’m supposed to be at our last prom at eight. I promised Max I“d be there. He needs this for his story.”
Ethan looked confused. “Story?”
“I’ll explain it in the car. Can you drive me to the Maritime Hotel?” She stood up, hastily stuffing the remnants of their picnic into Ethan’s backpack. She pulled her cell phone out of her pocket. No service. “He’s going to be pissed.” She knew it was crappy and self-centered of her to stand up her friends because she was on a date. They would probably understand, but she wanted to help Max see his story through to the end and worried she may have messed things up by being late.
Ethan folded the blanket and stuffed it in his backpack. “Okay,” he said, tossing the pack over his shoulder. “Let’s go.” He grinned at her in the moonlight. “I’ve had a great time, Emily.” He pushed her bangs away from her face and kissed her forehead. “Thanks for finding me.”
“Me too,” she responded truthfully. Then she climbed back up the steep bank to the main path and out toward Ethan’s car.
Twelve
Half an hour later, Ethan pulled his car into the circular driveway of the Maritime Hotel. Max was standing outside the hotel’s revolving door, tuxedoed and alone. Emily could tell from the look on his face that he was irritated.
Emily stepped out of the car in her jeans and tank top and approached him. “Hey,” she said, heart pounding. She hadn’t prepared herself for seeing him again after their almost moment the night before. She felt awkward with him, especially knowing Ethan was in his car behind her. “I’m really sorry I’m late.”
“You know what?” Max said, barely looking at her. “It’s no big deal. We already went in—just snuck in a side door and checked things out. I got what I needed for the story.”
“You went in without me?”
“We waited for an hour—it was pretty obvious you weren’t coming.”
“Max, I’m sorry.” As she said it, she noticed Charlie’s car pulling up to the front of the hotel from the parking lot.
“Seriously,” Max said blandly, “don’t worry about it. I figured I’d wait a few more minutes, just in case you showed up. Charlie and Sid went to get the car. Is that the guy? He was on the boat last night?”
Emily turned to look at Ethan, who was watching them from the driver’s seat of his car. “Yeah, that’s Ethan.”
“Hey,” Max called to Ethan, waving halfheartedly at him. Ethan waved back.
Charlie pulled his car up to the front of the hotel, then poked his head out the window to chide, “Well, well, lookie who decided to show up.”
Emily flushed. “I’m sorry,” she said again. “I didn’t realize I was this late.”
“Well,” Charlie said, “you are. And now Sid and I are late for our prom. In case you’ve forgotten that one as well, South’s prom is tonight. Luckily, Natasha’s driving with a group of girls, so we’re meeting there. So your lateness didn’t totally screw up her night as well.”
Emily groaned. She had almost derailed Max’s article, and now she’d made Charlie late for his own prom. “Can I make it up to you?” she offered.
Charlie grinned. “That’s the spirit!” he said. “Come with us to South’s prom. Crash it.”
“You’re on,” Emily agreed. She leaned into the window to address Sid. “Sid, are you going to your prom? When did that happen?”
“I’m playing!” she declared.
Charlie clarified. “Now that she’s the opening band for 1492, Marisa Sanchez and the prom committee are all into Sid. They called her this morning begging her to play a set.”
“Then I’m definitely in. Any chance to hear my favorite singer-songwriter play. Okay if I bring Ethan?”
“Yeah.” Charlie shrugged. “Max, you’re in, right?” Max was standing behind Emily on the sidewalk. He was quiet. Maybe, Emily thought, it’s my imagination, but something seems off.
“No, I don’t think so,” he responded. “I have to finish writing my story.”