The car fell silent as Ethan stared at Shikera, his expression a combination of surprise, disbelief and pity, all in one.
Shikera's phone pinged, breaking the silence and she hurriedly picked it up to check the message notification.
"Miss Stone?" She murmured under her breath as she opened the message.
She plugged in her ear pods when she saw that the message contained a video. She played the video and read the message attached to it, her fake smile gradually morphing into a real one.
"Ethan! Ethan! Ethannnn!" She screamed, removing the ear pods from her ears.
"What?!" Ethan replied, his voice barely audible amidst Shikera screams.
"Ruth just made my week!"
Ethan's eyes focused on her face as she chattered away on what Ruthlyn sent to her. He barely heard any of it as he zoomed in on her lips.
Those despicable little things that kept distracting him both four years ago and now. He moved up to her whole face and ... How was she so beautiful? Now that he knew she was sickle celled, her face which was always pale now made sense to him. This was probably the reason why she never put on make up, since her pale face and pink lips complemented each other.
"Yes? Yes? Your silence means yes. Thanks Ethan!"
Ethan jolted from his reverie when he noticed she was talking to him. Too bad he didn't hear what she said but she had concluded that his silence means yes.
"What did you say?" He asked.
Shikera shook her head, a faked stern look marring her face.
"You have problem with your ears, Ethan?" She asked back.
As she expected, Ethan's pride didn't allow him repeat the question as he turned away from her, staring out of the car.
Shikera turned the key in the car's if ignition and the car moved forward, slowly getting on the highway.
It took a while before Ethan realized they were not driving in the direction of the Villa. Where was she going?
"Where...?" He asked.
"You said yes, remember?" Shikera interrupted him and he could only keep his mouth shut. Why did he allow himself get distracted by her face?
He kept quiet until the car slowed down to a stop in front of a forbidden gate. Why did she bring him here?
"What are we doing here?" He questioned. His earlier soft gaze was now steely.
Shikera whined down the car window and handed her identity card to a security man who was stretching his hand out for it. It was handed back to her in seconds and she whined the window back up and turned to Ethan, the car moving to the garage.
"I told you I was coming here. Ah.. I knew you were not listening to me." She replied him.
Ethan wanted to get angry like he always did but he stopped, oblivious of the reason why. Was if because of what she told him about herself earlier today or was it because her expression while talking to him now was cute?
"You just have to stay in the car and I'll go up and be back in a jiffy." Shikera continued. She found a good spot and parked her car there.
Opening the car door, she turned back to Ethan.
"Will be back in a jiffy!" She stepped out and screamed immediately.
Ethan turned to her,
"What's wrong? Is it your belly or your..." He asked frantically.
"It's my leg. There seems to be a nail in it!" She yelled, pointing at her feet which were outside the car.
Ethan pushed open the door on his own side, forgetting his present location as he rushed out to Shikera's side.
He bent down to her feet and lifted them up, removing the worn out sneakers she was wearing.
"Why would a princess wear something like this?" He muttered under his breath but Shikera's ear was sharp enough to catch it.
"It's not just any sneakers though. It was given by my first love and I only wear it on Ice Cream days."
She winced as Ethan hand palmed her sole, mistakenly touching the wounded spot on her right foot. He withdrew his hand immediately from her sole and placed them on her thin ankle instead, trying to lift them back inside the car since he just realized where they were.
"Isn't that Reporter Anderson's car? Is someone doing something to it?" A whisper drifted to them which Shikera immediately recognized as her teammate, Vicky's, voice. The footsteps drew nearer and Shikera, acting on impulse, pulled Ethan's hoodie by his neck and slammed his lips on her.
Vicky was a reporter as skilled as she was and there was a seventy percent chance that she would know who Ethan was if she saw so much as the back of his head.
Ethan was shocked but he soon realized the situation they were in. This was a chance for him to explore those despicable lips but he was spending that time thinking?!
Immediately he tilted his head and his hand went to the back of her head, pulling down her hairband. He used his lips to part hers and his tongue slipped into her mouth, ravishing her lips.
Shikera was not sure what to feel as this was a first for her. Ethan was a good guide though as she soon mastered the art and continued kissing him, trying not to get herself lost in the passion.
"F**k! Someone is making out in the car!" She heard Vicky's voice call out to someone and their footsteps retreated .
After everywhere fell quiet, their lips slowly separated. Reluctantly, on both their sides but they were quick to mask it.
"It was a bad idea for you to come here. Thank God I was able to think fast." Shikera muttered, her words coming out in a rush. What else could she say in this kind of situation? It would be better to be cool, right?
"That's true." Ethan could only agree as he stood up to his feet. Forgetting why he came there in the first place, he walked back to the passenger's seat and Shikera took that opportunity to escape, limping and jumping as she ran.
Ethan's eye drifted back to the lone sneaker on the car floor.
"She had a first love?" He murmured, talking to no one in particular. His question sounded stupid even to himself.
****
"Since you won't be keeping him with you, don't forget to come here every morning and take care of him." Ethan instructed Ruthlyn who nodded and walked out of the door to their own Villa behind Ethan's own.
After she was gone, Ethan fell into a deep thought, thinking of the same thing he had been thinking of since the previous day.
Who helped her bandage her feet in the office? Or did she have something like an office sweetheart or office crush? She had been so happy that she didn't even take her Ice Cream the previous day.
Thinking of that, Ethan stood up and picked up one of his cars key which was not the one he used when going for important functions.
He was about to call Shikera to go with him when she walked downstairs, dressed up.
Her outfit showed that she was not just going for a stroll or somewhere near. Yet, having checked her schedule before, she didn't have anything planned for this time on Sunday.
"Where are you going?" He asked.
"I'm going somewhere with my boss, Andrew Lane." She informed him.