Ethan finally took a glance at Elena's academic degree. Some pretty grades she had there. He had to wait for his results to see whether he had beaten her in the overall grading. On God, he prayed. He handed her back the academic degree and their hands touched, but this time it felt different. It felt purposeful. She was warmer in this cold month and he could feel the electricity that was racing back and forth their bodies. It felt right. It had to be. For both of them. The dancing of their eyes showed that they were really onto something. He could see a future in her eyes. He knew that she was right for him. He spent his whole life since he knew her trying to get her to be his. It was just a touch, but a giant leap into a prosperous future. Elena took away her hands from his. Her cheeks tinted red and she tried to hide it by covering her left side of the face with her left hand. Ethan looked forward, towards the stage. Those stupid speeches had begun again.
"Elena I..." He mumbled, clearly out of words. "I umm...."
"Ethan, could you take it slow." She called out, avoiding to face him.
"Slow on what?"
"You know." Of course, he knew.
"Elena I'm just asking for a chance..." he said, taking a glance at her. She had still covered her face with her hand.
"Now's not the time nor the place Ethan."
"I've known you for a long time. I've been waiting for you—"
"Ethan, just stop what you're doing. I know where you're trying to get at." She stopped him in his talk.
"I'm sorry. It's just that sometimes I feel scared that you might end up with Lance instead of me."
Elena chuckled a bit. She removed her hand and faced him.
"If I was for Lance I'd be seated there and not here. Not that I'm saying I'm for you." She raised her left brow.
Ethan smiled shaking his head. Elena always made it hard for him. She was priceless after all. Elena knew Ethan all too well. It's not that she did not want him, it's just that she felt like she wasn't ready. For any boy. And the fact that her father helped solidify this routine made it even harder for her to be involved in relationships since she was young.
"Okay, missy. You win again. Typical Elena." Said Ethan and he scoffed a laugh. He watched her as the minutes passed. She was beautiful as she was amazing. He knew that he wanted her. He just had to be patient as he had been for the past millennium. If there was one thing he was good at was being patient. And he wasn't going to spoil things at the last second!
"...Mark Craig, Melanie Hopkins, Ethan Purcell, Floyd Grants..." came out the names of Ethan's course mates. He hadn't been paying attention for a long time and this caught him by surprise. He stepped on a gown of another graduate, toppled over some female student by the end of the row and his graduate hat fell from his head – twice. It was dirty by the time he was out of the row that he decided to leave it behind. The funny thing was that it was all caught on camera and well displayed on the large stadium screens. Elena laughed. Ethan was comical when he happened to be. He walked quickly and reached there a broad smile marking its territory on his face. He was honored that finally, he would represent his family at such a big event. "That's my son!" His mother shouted from the V.I.P stand. Some people laughed. It was a burst of toxic laughter to be precise. Some random guy from Ethan's faculty gave a thank you speech and the gang headed back to their seats. Lance was still looking at him. He had his eye at the two almost the whole event.
"So by the way Elena, there is going to be a farewell party in about a fortnight at my home." He told her when he sat down. Today was Saturday. "So I was asking you to come."
"I don't know... I'll have to think about it."
"Come on, this one too?" He cried out.
"You know my dad Ethan..."
"It's the end of the academic years. Your academic years. I'm pretty sure he's going to allow you to come."
"It's not that he won't let me come, it's just that I don't want—"
"Elena. You worry too much." He cut her short. "Stop your tensing. It's gonna be cool and fun. Don't miss it, please. For me..."
"I'll think about it. I promise."
"Thank you." That's all he wanted to hear from such a rigid girl.
******************
Ingrid and Ayden had strolled away from the ceremony to downtown Seattle where Ayden lived– twenty minutes away from the university by car. They had walked down to his home in the Lynwood estate. His parents were away at work leaving the house to him for the day. It was pretty much similar to the rest of the middle-income earners of the estate. Ingrid had been here a few times, wrongly of course.
He sat by her side on the couch. They had talked on their way here and were now probably exhausted. After a while of mumbling about what to do, they settled on playing a game. They had adapted it from their popular TV Show – 'Game Of Thrones'. The two loved the series and seriously who didn't? So the game went like this. One person told the other one what they thought of them. If it were true the person targeted would drink. If it were wrong, the one saying the statement would be the one drinking. They were doing this on beer. Yes. The fact that Ayden wasn't too over his girl didn't mean that he didn't like having fun. He had some bottles hidden in his bedroom.
"So um babe... you have never failed to steal a test in school." Started Ingrid. He drank his first full glass without a reply.
"Lemme see..." he tried to study her, looking for a possible truth hidden behind that innocent face.
"You have kissed a girl before." Said Ayden. Ingrid drank. It was a summer camp thing. She was straight though.
"You have never had sex without a condom." She said flickering her eyebrows at him.
"Drink."
"What?" Chuckled Ingrid.
"Drink." He repeated his statement, smiling. Ingrid took the fifth full glass. She was stepping away from sober land little by little.
"How comes I never knew that?" She asked.
"Well someone great once told me, whatever happens to you with another person isn't your new partner's business once you get that new partner."
"Who?"
"Me, just now."
Ingrid laughed a bit. He had just used a popular line from the show yet again. So did Ayden.
"Have you ever done it without a protection on?" He asked.
"No," She answered. Ingrid was no virgin. She hadn't been since freshman year of high school. She never informed Ethan of this, her parents not even considerable candidates for such a topic. She however had sex using protection. Ingrid wasn't a careless girl, but that didn't mean that she was being honest with her family. She knew her moves very well and that's what had given her that good daughter image in front of her father and the rest of the family.
"Will you be my first?" She asked.
"Wait, what?" He almost got chocked as he sipped his beer.
"Right here, right now."
The game had turned to a dare.