Ethan's POV
I stop breathing suddenly and when I finally turn off the engine in front of the villa, I don't give her time to get out of the CAR and I reach out to her, grabbing her little chin between my thumb and forefinger to turn her face towards mine.
A trail of chills cross my spine as her wet eyes meet mine, making me frown when I realize she's crying because of me:
"Don't cry." - I say with an authoritarian tone and I clench my jaw, almost angry with her and her reaction different from usual, but above all for the fact that now my feelings of guilt increase and I don't know why I want to dry these fucking tears myself.
"I hate you, Ethan." - she repeats once again, regardless of what I say, and then escapes from my grip and sniffles, opening the door in a flash without giving me time to say a word or stop her.
You'll fall in love with me sooner or later.
I squeeze the steering wheel with one hand, while with the other I open the door to get out of the car, feeling suffocated ... and not just from the heat.
A strange feeling that I try not to pay attention to makes me look serious and confused at the same time as I run my tongue between dry lips.
I have always hated summer, especially in New York, where there are days when you sweat even when you are surrounded by air conditioners, days like today, so I hurry to enter the villa, crossing the threshold and walking towards Valerie when I see her in the kitchen, probably making her usual organic tea or other crap, while Meredith approaches her slowly, almost frightened by her attitude.
I take advantage of the fact that she turns her back on me to bring attention to Ian, who gives me a quick questioning glance, almost wanting to ask me what I've been up to and assuming that Valerie is in a bad mood because of me, but I try to convince him that I have nothing to do with it, shrugging my shoulders with indifference, then walking past him and taking the half-empty beer bottle from his hand.
"So?" - he asks, looking over his shoulder, and then returns his eyes to mine again when he realizes that Valerie doesn't give us importance:
"Anything new?" - he asks hopefully, as I throw myself beside him on the sofa, sighing heavily as I bring the bottle to my lips.
"It's impossible." - I admit without looking at him, realizing more than ever that Valerie will not be willing to let me get into her underwear, especially after the last words she addressed to me.
"Sure." - sideways I see my friend raise his eyes to heaven, while he nods to my words with bitterness:
"I bet you did the asshole again." - he continues in a low voice, but I decide to let him speak while I bring my hand to the back pocket of my jeans to extract the photo taken in her room.
"You have to be nice to her, even if she is reserved." - continues to bullshit, while I rest both elbows on my knees, with the beer bottle in one hand and the photo of the chubby little Valerie in the other.
"I have an idea." - this time Ian catches my attention, while patting my back, even if he squints and gives me a strange look when he peers at the photo between my fingers:
"You have a house in Whiteface Mountain." - he begins to say undecided, bringing his eyes back to the girl in the photo, then I hurry to turn it around and not let him look at anything else, almost jealous of the brat who smiles with a pit bull between her fingers.
«In a couple of days it's Valerie's birthday.» - he resumes looking me in the eye, while I frown at his words, not understanding what he wants to say.
"We can take a vacation. Me, Meredith, you and Valerie. "- he raises his eyebrows to make me understand the rest of his project, which would not seem trivial to me, if it wasn't for the fact that Valerie hates the snow, but this time I decide to accept his proposal, thinking about some hot ideas about Valerie.
As soon as I nod slowly, I hear him clap his hands and attract the attention of the two women who continue to whisper in the kitchen:
«Keep next week free, girls.» - he says with so much enthusiasm that I close my eyes to his shrill voice, hurrying to hide the photo in my trouser pocket when I notice that Valerie and Meredith approach the sofa.
I glance quickly at the hedgehog, noticing that now her expression is impassive, as if she wasn't about to cry a little while ago, but I don't know whether to relax or worry, hoping with all my heart that she accepts Ian's invitation. At least said by him it will sound less provocative.
I look at her for a long time even though I understand that she intends to avoid me until the anger passes, noting how her full lips envelop the steaming cup.
I bet it's berry tea, as I imagine how her mouth must taste right now.
Her tongue must be very hot ...
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