Holding On (18 page)

I heard the slam of the ball from Ethan’s court and turned to
watch him. He was graceful and powerful in his every move. I could see
the muscles
of
his
back
stretch
and
move
under
his
shirt.
It
was
already soaked with sweat, and I was secretly begging him to take it off so
that I
could
see
what’s
hidden
underneath.
Then
before
I
realized
what’s
going
on,
I
was
standing
only
a
few
feet
away
from
him
as
he
nailed
his next serve.

“Enjoying
the
show?”
he
asked,
but
I
was
pretty
sure
he
already knew the answer to the
question.

“You’re
good,” I stated very
manner-of-factly.

It was an understatement, but it brought out his smile, and for
the first time, I notice that he had a dimple in his right cheek that was just too
cute
for
words.
That
smile
was
getting
closer
to
me,
and
I
could
now pretty much see what was hiding under his sweat-soaked shirt. His
abs were impeccable, his arms were more muscular than I noticed
before, and his pecks
are—pierced?

I reached out to touch his left nipple and found a barbell
piercing. I quickly pulled my hand away when I realized that I just crossed a
line that
I
didn’t
even
want
to
be
near
in
the
first
place.
Ethan
was
a
“bad
boy.”
I
took
a
step
back
and
turned
to
gather
my
stuff,
but
I
felt
him following me. He was behind me and placed his hand on my right
hip. Before I had an opportunity to process
what’s
about to happen, he
spun
me around and captured my lips with
his.

I wanted this. I knew I shouldn’t, but I did. His mouth was
warm
and inviting. His tongue grazed my lower lip, and I opened to him.
He
tasted
sweet
and
salty
from
sweating,
but
it
took
everything
I
had
to
not try
and
devour
him.
I
pulled
back
just
a
little,
and
his
hand
moved
to
the small
of
my
back,
pressing
me
closer
to
him.
I
wanted
to
resist
him,
but it was pointless. The moment I returned his kiss, I stopped all
rational thinking and my legs went
weak.

He
pulled
away
quickly,
and
we
were
both
gasping
for
air.
I
was
trying
to
get
my
legs
to
cooperate
and
hold
my
weight,
but
they
wouldn’t, and I slid down the fence and landed with a small thud. I couldn’t
take my eyes off of him. He was so beautiful, his body was amazing, and
by the
size
of
the
bulge
in
his
pants,
he
was
completely
turned
on.
I
shifted
my gaze back to his face and saw that he was still watching
me.

“Wow!”
That
was
all
that
I
could
say
between
gulping
huge
breaths. I
saw
the
beginnings
of
a
smile
creep
up
on
his
face,
and
I
could
feel
the smile on mine starting to form as well. Both of our chests were
rising and
falling
quickly.
My
attention
was
drifting
toward
his
piercing
again when he finally found a way to
speak.

“Uh…next
time
I
won’t
be
able
to
stop.”
He
said
this
like
it’s
a simple statement, but the real meaning behind it hung in the
air.

Wait,
next
time?
He
wants
this
to
happen
again?
If
he
won’t
be
able to stop then, was I ready for that? I just met this
guy,
yet I was trying
to devour him every time I see him. It was like my body had a mind of
its own. I was drawn to him in the most animalistic
way.

“Okay.”
I
knew
what
he
meant,
and
I
wanted
to
tell
him
that.
I wanted to tell him that stopping was hard for me too, but that was all
I could
say.
This man had reduced me to single-word
answers.

“I have to go. I guess I will see you tomorrow.” Again, he made
it sound like a simple statement, but what I hear is, “Can I see you
before then?”

“Okay.”

Stupid
girl.
Give
him
your
number,
and
let
him
decide
if
he
wants
to call you.
I want to give him my number, but the words just won’t
come out.

I
reached
my
hand
in
the
air,
and
he
grabbed
it
and
helped
me
to my feet. I felt empowered by the things that keep happening
between us,
and
so
I
reached
into
his
pocket
and
pulled
out
his
cell
phone.
If
I couldn’t say the words, I could at least do something about how I
was
feeling.
I
typed
my
number
in
and
called
myself.
Once
I
heard
my
phone ringing in my bag, I hung up and put his phone back in his
pocket.

Last time, he walked away from me, but this time, I was taking
the lead.
I
threw
all
my
stuff
in
my
bag
and
headed
toward
the
gate.
I
heard my phone ringing again and started to rummage through my bag for
it. When
I
saw
the
number
on
the
screen,
I
answered
it
without
looking back, knowing that he was watching my every
move.

“Hello?” I tried to sound confused, but the excitement in my
voice was
overwhelming.

“Would
you
like
to
go
to
dinner
with
me
tonight?” Ethan
asked
with a hint of laughter in his
voice.

“I would love to,” I replied, trying my very best to keep
my excitement
in
check.
I
hung
up
on
him
before
he
could
say
anything else,
and
even
though
I
could
feel
the
concrete
of
the
parking
lot
beneath my feet, I felt like I was walking on
air.

I jumped in my car and typed a quick text to him with my
address. His reply was simple: “7pm,” and the butterflies in my stomach
started to fly
freely.
The entire drive home was like a dream, and even as I
was getting
out
of
the
shower,
I
felt
like
I
was
on
cloud
nine.
I
had
forgotten all about the way I woke up that morning and was now focused on
my “date” tonight if you want to call it
that.

I jumped when my phone started to ring. I realized that I was
still
going
to
have
to
face
this
stupid
situation
with
Claire
when
I
saw
Brad’s
name
on
my
caller
ID.
I
was
trying
to
decide
if
I
want
to
answer
it or
not
when
my
voicemail
snagged
the
call
and
decided
for
me.
I
felt instantly like crap for avoiding him. Did he know that Claire called
me this
morning?
Selfishly,
I
waited
for
my
voicemail
to
chime
and
listened to it before I decide if I should call him
back.

“Hey.
I
just
wanted
to
chat.
I
talked
to
my
parents
about
coming
out for a visit, and they said they would think about it.” There was such
a long pause I was about to hang up when he continued. “I know
Claire called you this morning, and I am
sorry.
I want to talk to you about
that and
a
couple
of
other
things,
but
I
can’t
do
it
in
a
voicemail,
so
you
have to call me back. I’ll talk to you soon
hopefully.”