She’s the Obstacle, He’s the Hero, I’m Just the Plot They’re Skipping Chapter 02

She’s the Obstacle, He’s the Hero, I’m Just the Plot They’re Skipping Chapter 02

Ethan came back with the cup a minute later.

It was my cup, featherlight, easy to grip.

He’d filled it only halfway and put in a straw.

He pressed the cup into my palm, then wrapped my fingers around it.

I held it steady and took a sip.

The temperature was perfect, cool and smooth going down.

Ethan didn’t leave. He slung the same towel over his shoulders and peeled off his soaked white shirt.

I watched in silence, and felt something tight in my chest loosen.

Looking at something beautiful really did quiet my mind.

[God, he’s got total main character energy.]

[That’s not him toweling off, that’s a whole movie scene.]

[All that eye candy and she can’t even touch.]

[Every time he strips in front of her, she goes dead quiet. Works every time.]

[Can’t wait till our girl gets this view full-time.]

[@commenter, that’s still a long way off.]

[He’s so careful with our girl they haven’t even held hands, and they’ve been talking for a whole year.]

[On their date yesterday, she cornered him in the fire-exit stairwell.]

[Her hand was literally inside his shirt and the man bolted with his ears burning.] [Don’t believe me? Check out the nail marks on his waist.]

Whatever warmth had been building in my chest froze solid. My gaze drifted to the spot the comments described.

There they were. Several long scratches ran across Ethan’s waist.

Sharp. Deliberate. The kind left by manicured nails.

Ethan caught me looking and glanced down at himself. His face fell.

He stopped toweling off and yanked a T-shirt over his head so fast he didn’t notice it was on backward.

“I’ll… I’ll go make you some juice.”

He nearly tripped over his own feet on the way out.

The bitterness that flooded through me was so sharp I could almost taste it.

[What’s she upset about now?]

[He’s a grown man with needs, and she can’t exactly give him what he wants, so what right does she have to be jealous?]

[I mean… they technically haven’t broken up. She’s still the official girlfriend.]

[Ugh, our girl literally asked him to catch a movie today.]

[The placeholder girlfriend only drinks orange juice if it’s completely pulp-free and strained.] [That alone takes forever, Ethan’s gonna be late, and our girl will be sitting there waiting.]

“Ethan.”

He stopped mid-step and turned.

I made my mouth curve into something that might pass for a smile.

“If you’ve got somewhere else to be, go. Really.”

“There’s juice in the fridge. The bottled stuff is fine.”

I couldn’t make out his face in the dim hallway.

The silence between us felt thick enough to touch.

[Did the placeholder girlfriend actually let him leave?]

[She’s baiting him. She’s pulled this before.]

[This is the calm before the storm.]

[If he actually walks out that door, she’ll lose it.]

My fingers curled into themselves.

They were right, I really had been impossible.

No wonder Ethan treated every interaction like he was defusing a bomb. Staying this long with someone as volatile and useless as me must have taken more out of him than I ever let myself see.

I made my face brighten and gave him a halfhearted thumbs-up.

“Seriously, go. I’m in a great mood today.”

“I kind of just want the apartment to myself for a bit.”

Ethan held my gaze for a long time.

Finally, he murmured an “okay”, pulled on a jacket, and left.