Shades of Desire

Ethan

I've been sitting here for days, stuck in this goddamn loop. Drinking, sulking. Ivy's everywhere in my head, and no matter what I do, she doesn't leave. It's driving me insane. The fact she's with Jace—my stepbrother, of all people—just burns me up inside. And now Sam's had enough of my shit.

"Dude, seriously," Sam snaps, his voice sharp. He slams his drink on the table, making me look up. "Enough of this fucking sulking, man."

I take a slow sip of my whiskey, not really giving a shit. The alcohol isn't helping. Nothing is.

"You've been doing this for days," Sam says, his tone hard. "And you know what? While you're here, drowning in your pity, Ivy's out there, fucking Jace. Like, what the hell are you doing, Ethan?"

His words hit harder than the whiskey. I grit my teeth, feeling that familiar twist in my gut every time I think of her with him. It makes me sick, but... what can I do?

I lean back, staring at my glass. "What do you want me to do, Sam?"

"What do I want you to do?" he scoffs, shaking his head. "I want you to grow the hell up and move on. She chose Jace. It sucks, I get it. But you're just gonna sit here and mope? Dude, she's out there living her life while you're stuck here." He pauses, then leans in, his voice lowering. "Let's go to a bar. You need to get her out of your system. Find some chick, have a good time, and forget about Ivy."

I don't even know why I agree, but maybe he's right. I need to do something. Anything.

The bar is packed, music thumping in the background. Sam's already off chatting with some girl, while I lean against the bar, scanning the room. There's this brunette, tall, confident. She catches my eye, and for a second, I think, why the hell not?

I walk over, skipping the bullshit small talk. I'm not here for that. I'm here to forget.

"Let's skip the boring part," I say, meeting her gaze. "Wanna get out of here?"

She smirks, clearly into it. "Sure."

We leave the bar together, and next thing I know, we're back at her place. It's mechanical—clothes off, hands everywhere, but... it's empty. Her body's pressed against mine, but all I can think about is Ivy. Even while I'm with this girl, I'm still haunted by her.

When it's over, I lie there, staring at the ceiling. The girl's already asleep next to me, but my mind's on Ivy. Always on Ivy.

No matter what I do, I can't get her out of my system.