Cherry

Chapter 12

Cherry

When I open the door, I find Ethan standing outside on the porch. He's wearing another white T-shirt, and if he wore white T-shirts for the rest of his life, I wouldn't mind. The sleeves hug his arms tightly, and the bright color illuminates him, matching the shining smile on his face. He's holding two bouquets of flowers and hands me the one filled with beautiful, yellow sunflowers. I grin when they get placed in my hands, and I ask, "How did you know these were my favorite?" I've always thought that sunflowers were beautiful, and it's as if he read my mind and just knew I loved them. 

"I don't know. You remind me of the sun, so it was just a hunch, I guess," he beams. "Do you like them?" I remind him of the sun?

My smile grows on each side of my face. "I love them." I raise the flowers to my nose to inhale their sweet aroma before I tell him, "Thank you."

Then, I hear Momma come through the living room behind me to greet Ethan. Once she makes it to him, she exclaims, "Oh, Ethan!" Momma walks over to him and embraces him tightly, catching him off guard a little, which makes me chuckle to myself. I should have warned him that Momma is an aggressive hugger. She then goes on to say, "It's so nice to finally meet you."

"You too, Mrs. Adams. These flowers are for you and your wife," Ethan hands Momma the other bouquet of flowers, all arranged in colors varying from vibrant reds to soft yellows. Her eyes light up whenever she's handed the flowers, and says, "Oh, call me Elena. Please, come in," she steps back from Ethan and allows him to walk inside. Whenever Ethan passes both of us, she whispers to me, "I already like him. You've got a good one."

"Shut up," I grin while my cheeks burn up, hoping Ethan didn't hear her for the sake of my embarrassment.

"Thank you for the flowers, Ethan. They're beautiful. April, look at these flowers," Momma says to Mom as she meets her in the kitchen.

"Hi, Ethan! Sorry, I'm a little busy," Mom peeps out of the kitchen to show her covered in water. "The dishwasher is acting up. I'm trying to get it fixed before we start dinner, but from the looks of it, we might need a new one."

Ethan whispers, "It's almost like we were wet like that yesterday."

My mind wanders back to last night and how we were making out while soken wet from the dishwater. If Sylas wouldn't have interrupted us, what would have happened?

Erasing the thought from my mind before I think too much, I say, "Well, Ethan and I are going to go up to my room and paint." I boldly grab him by the hand and lead him up the stairs as Momma says, "Okay! We'll let you guys know when dinner is done."

"Okay!" I shout from the top of the steps.

As we walk to my bedroom, I laugh, "I'm sorry if my moms are a little too much."

"I like them. Your momma's hug just caught me off guard," he laughs.

I chuckle too. "I should have warned you. Her hugs are intense."

Once Ethan and I make it to my room, I place the bouquet of flowers he got me on my side table, needing to put them in a vase later. Whenever I look back at Ethan, I see him scanning the walls of my bedroom, analyzing the paintings that I have completed and hung up. He immediately goes, "Wow."