***
I got home to find a note from Char that she was on a date, which seemed a little weird, but I was grateful for the night to myself. It was good to get back to school and to my drama class. It would all be ending soon, and it was for the best that it was, but I still enjoyed the normalcy of it.
After locking the door behind me, I dropped my books and purse on the kitchen table and walked through the quiet apartment. The place smelled like vanilla, which always reminded me of cookies for some reason. I walked into the kitchen with a hankering for something sweet and found a bag of chocolate chips in the pantry. After moving everything around a hundred times, I found the other ingredients and went to work making some cookies. As much as I hated to admit it, it was therapeutic. I walked into the living room and turned on an old Ethan Lewis movie, one where he was young and at a summer camp.
A smile lifted my lips as warmth spread through me. He had to be the most adorable guy I'd ever seen in all my life. He was around fourteen in the movie and the camp hunk.
I sat down on the couch and pressed my forearms to my knees as he walked up to a group of girls in nothing but a bathing suit. His bright green towel was thrown over his shoulder, and where most guys were pale and skinny, he was tanned and had a bit of muscle definition.
"How long have girls and women alike been lusting after you, Mr. Lewis?" I let out a long sigh as he tilted his head and smiled at the girls. They giggled like crazy and I had to stop myself from giggling too.
"Hi ladies. We're headed out to the dock to catch some rays. You girls wanna go and rub suntan lotion on our backs for us?"
I snorted and shook my head. Only me. Only I would be at home on a Friday night while the rest of the world was dancing and drinking, partying and forgetting that life had to suck so damn much all the time. But I was good. Warm. Whole for a few minutes watching Ethan grow up on screen.
The beeper on the oven went off, and I got up and walked to the kitchen, noticing a text on my phone from Jace. Call me.
I picked it up and pressed the button as I grabbed an oven mitt and pulled the warm, gooey chocolate chip cookies from the oven. My stomach cried out, sounding like two cats fighting in a back alley.
"Hey. That was quick." Jace spoke between soft panting.
"Yeah, what're you up to? Making some girl’s night?" I smiled and moved to get a plate and spatula. The cookies had a few minutes to cool before me and a gallon of milk were taking them out.
"Funny. I only wanna make one girl's night, but she's made up some silly excuse to keep me away."
"You can't be serious. You? She has to be an idiot. I would never do that to you." I put the cookies on the plate and pressed the phone between my ear and my shoulder. "What time are you getting off?"
"A little before midnight. You changing your mind?"
I smiled. "Not yet, but text me before you head this way. If I'm here, I'll let you in. I'm pretty sure I'm going to sugar myself up and get into bed. I could use a long night of sleep."
"Dream of me?"
"That's a high possibility. Can it be something other than sex?"
"Of course, but we both know you can't seem to think of anything but fucking when I'm around."
"That's because you're such a cock." I smiled and walked to the fridge, getting out the milk and carrying my treats back to the living room. Charlotte would blow a gasket to know I was drinking out of the carton, so quite simply, she wouldn't know.
"Very funny, beautiful. I'll text you later. You've been teasing me for the last few days with your hot little body. Time for me to teach you who's in charge."
"Is that so?" I broke a cookie in half and glanced up as Ethan stretched out across his towel on the dock. All the girls attacked him and the scene changed. I laughed loudly, unable to help myself. I was mad at him, but it was silly. He was fighting against his attraction toward me as much as I was fighting against mine for him.
Him ignoring me sucked, but it was doing both of us a favor. I was weak in my sadness and he would take pure advantage of me. The end result - too many emotions on the set. Deza had to have gotten to him or maybe it was Frank. I'd have to thank them or kick them in the crotch when I saw them next. I wasn't sure which.
"All right. Later, baby." Jace hung up and I tossed the phone onto the couch beside me.
There was nothing I enjoyed more than watching Ethan's earlier films, but after finishing half the plate of cookies and a third of the gallon of milk, I needed something more. I forced myself to take everything back to the kitchen and put in one of his Bond films. It was horrid of me to fast forward to the love scene, but I couldn't help myself.
"Everyone should binge on goodness every now and again." I found the exact spot where he pulled his co-star close to him and pressed play. The look in his eyes was so fucking hot and the way he gripped her shoulders was possessive.
"Don't tell me what you need. I already know." He smiled and licked his lips a little.
"You do, do you?" She slid her hands around his hips and tugged at his shirt.
"Mmmmhmmm... all bad girls need them." He leaned down and ran his nose by her jawline as she visibly shivered.
"A spanking?" she whispered before he took her down to the floor and pressed himself to the top of her.
My heart was about to beat out of my chest as if I had no clue what was coming next. The sex scene wasn't nearly as fun as a porn might be, but it was enough. Ethan stripped the woman down and had her crying out in long groans as the camera panned out.
"Awww... come on!" I moved to the edge of my seat and tried to ignore how badly I wanted to reenact some of those love scenes with him.
The door opened behind me, causing me to yelp.
"Sorry! Just me." Charlotte walked in and closed the door before moving toward the couch. "Are you having an Ethan Lewis marathon without me?"
"Yep. There's milk and cookies in the kitchen. Grab you some and come join me. This is the most fun I've had in months." I moved back on the couch and pulled the blanket off the back of it, snuggling up to one side and pausing the movie for her. The scene had Ethan standing outside on a balcony in a towel, looking like sin incarnate.
I almost had sex with him.
Heat rolled through my stomach and pulsed in all the right places.
"Warning. I'm turned on by this asshole. Like crazy turned on." I let out a shaky sigh and reached for a cookie as she took her place beside me.
"Finally, you admit it. He's so hot. Please tell me that you guys had a sex scene in Rio."
"We almost had sex, but you called about my mom. It was probably for the best." I picked up the changer and shoved half the cookie in my mouth.
"What? You mean like you had a sex scene or the two of you as Riley and Ethan almost slept together?" Her eyes were as big as saucers.
I laughed. "As Riley and Ethan?"
"Yes. Like not in a movie scene or on a set. Oh my God... was it on a set? After hours? Like you guys had so much fucking passion from the scene earlier that day that you-"
"Whoa. Hold up. You're going off the deep end, and there is nothing I have that will save you from that." I smiled and pressed play. "We're attracted to each other. We almost had sex in his room, but we didn't. He wants a friends with benefits arrangement, but I don't. At least I don't think I do."
"Holy hell! I want one. Tell him that I'll be your understudy for the friends with benefits thing. I'm not you, but I can pretend to be!"
I rolled my eyes and settled back into the couch as the clock struck midnight. My phone dinged and Charlotte tossed it to me with a smile on her face.
"Tell me it's him."
"It's not. He never calls or texts. It's probably Jace." I glanced down to see that it was Ethan. My heart leapt into my throat, but I played it off. "Yep. Jace. I'm going to the bathroom. Be right back."
"All right, but don't leave me hanging. I gotta live through someone."
"Let's pray it isn't me." I walked down the hall and stopped beside the bathroom as I unlocked my phone to see what the man of my wet dreams wanted.
Ethan: Hey baby. I can't stop thinking about you. I keep thinking if I close my eyes with these other bitches that magic will happen. Like freaky Friday shit. I open my eyes and bam! Bamb! Bumb! How the fuck do you spell Bam? Anyway... I want you. Come over tonight and let’s pick up where we left off. You naked and wet, me hard as fuck. We could spend the night fighting for control and tearing up my sheets. Come over here. You know you wanna, Ri.
"Ri?" I read the message two or three more times and realized what it was. Drunk texts. It was almost too funny not to reply to, but I forced myself to slip the phone in my pocket and head back out to Charlotte. Poor Ethan Lewis. Letting his true feelings out while he's totally wasted.
It felt good to hear him say it, even though there was little we could do about it.
He wanted me. He wanted me. He so totally wanted me.