Unraveled (Enemies to Lovers / 18+)

30

regan
PRESENT DAY

Ethan has to leave. Only for a week, but still.

He tried everything he could to stay here and avoid the lengthy travel, but his work insists that he flies back for the deposition portion of the case. He suggests conference calls, video calls, and even begs his coworker to cover for him but unfortunately it's not in the cards, according to his boss. The best they can offer is instead of making him fly commercial, Anthony's dad arranges private flights to avoid making the trip any longer than it needs to be.

Even worse? He has to leave in just two days, meaning for the seven afterward, I'll be stuck in Lydia's talons and therefore a slave to her constant wedding needs.

Maybe it won't be so bad, maybe the time will go quickly, maybe I'll pass away in the process ...

Ethan seems to be in much better spirits than me despite having to leave so soon. He's certainly not thrilled to go all the way back to the states simply to work for a man he despises and disagrees with, but you wouldn't know it. He's still calm and levelheaded, relaxed and serene through it all. He even continues to tend to me and claims he feels sorry for how stressed I must be with Lydia.

Strike me dead now, but Ethan may not be as selfish as I once believed.

His selflessness is contagious, I think, because there's one evening I'm feeling particularly generous after being catered to for the last several weeks by him both physically and mentally. I know he's working hard, he's under a lot of pressure, he's not all that happy, and through it all he prioritizes my needs.

It's not only the right thing to offer a little selflessness, but I also feel entirely inclined to because his attention to me is nothing less than a turn on.

"You almost done working?" I saunter into his room through the constantly opened door between.

He looks at his phone that reads almost six o'clock. I know this, because I've been impatiently checking the time for the last hour.

"Almost," he focuses on his laptop screen again. He's been at the dining table since seven this morning. "Just a few more minutes."

I sigh and sit on the table. "You said that a few minutes ago."

It makes him laugh. "Promise. I'll be done by six. What are you in such a rush for anyways? We don't have to meet for dinner tonight."

It's true. Lydia and Anthony are going out alone tonight, which Ethan thinks is their doing. However, it was actually me who pushed them to have a date night tonight, leaving me and Ethan totally unbooked for the rest of the night for my own selfishness.

"Just wondering," I shrug, swinging my dangling legs back and forth.

"Hm," he hums.

I huff frustratedly, then tap his phone screen again. It reads 5:57.

"You're awfully impatient."

"I'm dreadfully bored," I correct him.

He smiles, still deadlocked on his screen. "You're funny."

"You're going to drive yourself crazy if you stare at that screen a second longer!"

Sighing, I watch in satisfaction as he closes his laptop and finally looks up at me from the table. I can't help the way my face lights up at the sight of him finally looking my way after going without since the moment we woke up in his bed. He kissed me deeply, tongue and teeth and hands and touching and tugging and pulling and biting and just when it got really good, it was interrupted by the buzzing of his cell phone.