Plus One

Levitating

Anna watched her sister until she disappeared into the crowd before turning on Ethan. He placed a finger over her plump lips and pulled her back to the corner she previously resided. "I know you have a lot of questions, so I'll try to answer them as quickly as possible. Yes, I'm a complete stranger. Yes, I just lied to your sister about being your boyfriend. Yes, I know it's crazy, BUT I think we can help each other out. I heard your sister reaming into you and it wasn't cool or called for. But I get it because she reminds me somewhat of my twin sister. She always wants me to have a date, especially for the holidays and I'm just not into that. So, I present that you and I fake date just until New Year's to get our families off of our backs. What do you say?" Anna had kept her mouth shut the entire time. She had quickly thought over all that he said and sighed. "You're absolutely insane!" Anna whisper yelled as she moved to get up, but immediately sat down.

Ethan took in her anxious face before seeing a young guy walk there way. He couldn't be older than 21 and looked like Anna. "It's fucking true! You have a man!" He exclaimed shaking Anna's shoulder. "Good for you, sis." He smiled widely before dabbing Ethan. "I'm Aiden, but I'm sure you already knew that since I'm Anna's favorite sibling." Ethan chuckled and nodded. "I've heard a lot about you Aiden." Anna stood up taking Ethan's hand in hers. "We'll be over in a minute, Aid. I just want to tell Ethan something really quick." Aiden winked. "Take your time, sissy."

Anna shook her head and chuckled before turning to look Ethan in the eye. "If I say yes, there has to be rules." Ethan nodded surprised that she was agreeing to this. "The moment either of us feel uncomfortable we're done." He nodded before kissing her hand. She started to protest but he cupped her face. "We've got to be believable, Anna. This won't work if we're not." She seemed to think about the matter and groaned. "Fine." She huffed before leading him to a table filled with people he knew from his father's business.

They walked over to an older Black couple who Ethan immediately knew were her parents. Anna had her father's dark brown skin, but sported her mother's bright smile and deep brown eyes. "Mom, Dad, I'd like you to meet my boyfriend." Anna watched her mother's hair whip around so fast. "Your what now?" Ethan wanted to laugh but settled on smiling. "Hi, Mr. and Mrs. Anderson, it's really nice to finally meet you." Her father shook Ethan's hand firmly trying to gauge him, but Ethan never let up.

He gave her mother's hand a chaste kiss to which she smirked. "Please Ethan, call us Andrew and Adaline." She motioned for him to take a seat by her. Anna wanted to groan, but sat next to him. Her father shot her a smile, which she wasn't sure was a good thing or a bad thing. Dinner was in full swing and the chatter was high. "So, Ethan, what do you do for a living?" Arielle asked loud enough for the table to hear and Anna wanted to bitch slap her. "I work in advertising. It's a family business, so it's dear to me."

Anna wanted to roll her eyes, but she refrained as she was sure all eyes were on them. "I know a few ad guys. What company do you work for?" Noah, Arielle's fiancé, asked. Anna looked at the two of them and swallowed her scoff. They were perfect for each other. They both felt entitled and better than everyone. They wanted things to look just right for praise and applause. Anna didn't know when her sister became this way. She remembered the Arielle that would learn the dance moves to the Destiny's Child videos and stay up watching reruns of Martin and Fresh Prince.

As she looked her sister over, she realized she didn't know this version of her. "I work for Crane Industries." Arielle choked on her wine. Anna found herself grinning widely as Noah patted her back. "You're Ethan Crane?" Arielle said once she got herself together. "The one and only." Ethan smiled before giving Anna a kiss on her temple. "Damn, my sister bagged a good one." Aiden enthused earning a look from his parents.

Ethan quickly turned the conversation over to Anna's father and the accomplishments he's made that brought them all out that night. Anna was well aware that this was all an act, but she could see her father falling for Ethan already and sighed. Anna wasn't a fool. She was so shocked the first moment he wrapped his arm around her and kissed her temple, because she knew exactly who he was. Ethan James Crane. Playboy. Party Animal. Mr. Never Take Anything Serious. Anna didn't know why he was so willing to make this deal, but she planned on talking to him about it once tonight was over. For the meantime, Anna enjoyed the delicious dinner and listened as her father's colleagues talked with Ethan and Noah.

As everyone began saying their goodbyes, Adaline made Ethan promise to join them next week for lunch at their home. He nodded and smiled before wishing them a goodnight. "It was really nice to meet you, Ethan." Arielle smiled before giving him a hug that caught him off guard. "You too, Arielle." Anna hugged her sister goodbye. "We have a lot to talk about, Ms. Thing." Arielle whispered in her ear before squeezing her. Anna rolled her eyes before letting go and hugging Noah.

"Aiden are you riding with us?" Arielle called out to her little brother who had his arm around some girl. "No, I'm going to ride with Mindy." The girl looked irritated. "It's Misty." They heard her call out as they made their way towards another exit. "I don't know what we're going to do with that boy." Arielle sighed watching him leave. "At least you'll know he'll always have a date." Anna offered before reaching for Ethan's hand. "Have a good night." Anna said as she followed Ethan to his car.

Anna wasn't surprised that it was an expensive looking sports car. "Where's your car?" Ethan asked before opening the passenger door. "I took an Uber here." He nodded before closing the door once she was seated and buckled. He got in and turned the car on. Anna literally heard it purr. It was all black and looked like it cost more than her life. She had never felt so broke before. "What do you want to do?" Ethan asked pulling her from her thoughts. "Let's go to my place." Ethan raised an eyebrow with a smirk. "To talk about the rules, you idiot." Anna scoffed before giving him directions to her two-bedroom townhome north of downtown.

When they got there, Anna took off her shoes at the door and headed straight for the kitchen. Ethan took in the row of neatly lined shoes and assumed this was one of those homes where shoes needed to be promptly removed at the door. Once he got his shoes off, he followed where Anna had disappeared to and found himself in a decent sized kitchen with no Anna in sight. He looked at the breakfast table and the decorations around the first floor and smiled. It was nice. It was homey. It differed significantly from his bachelor pad penthouse in the heart of downtown.

He heard her little steps on the staircase and watched as she descended down. She was wearing a sweatshirt and shorts too short for him to concentrate. Her once flowing long hair was swept up into a bun on the top of her head. She held a sketchpad and color pencils. Anna sat the sketchpad and pencils on the breakfast table before going to put the kettle on the fire. "Do you want some tea?" Ethan shook his head before taking a seat. Anna placed the tea bag in her favorite mug before going back to sit next to him. "Okay, Ethan Crane, ground rules."