The Boyfriend Factory

Chapter Nine

We didn't talk for a while. I couldn't tell if it was out of awkwardness since that night, or if Ethan wasn't bothered, or just didn't find the time. Not that he had to be so busy to the point he couldn't send me even a text.

Or maybe he was. After all, he was on all of those sports teams, and he probably studied a lot to get those sorts of grades, and maybe – really, really hopefully not – he'd found another girl interest. Again.

Apparently though, Ethan had made up some sort of rumour which had spread really quickly about how 'the girl' he was out with on that Saturday was actually a cousin and not what they'd all thought. So from that point on, a lot more people began to doubt 'the girl' was me. Obviously though, I could tell a handful of those people had their suspicions – and a hand full too many.

Eugh, as if I'd want to be cousins with him.

I already have to deal with talking to him and freaking out every two seconds, I really couldn't stand any more of that.

Though, he didn't really have to actually make that up. He could've just gone on with life as normal.

But sad I was to admit it – really sad – I was grateful to him for it.

Brianna still seemed to watch me though, and I had a hunch she could see through the lie. After all, they had dated before, and it couldn't be any sort of surprise if she'd met his family or something. Getting to know the two people who'd made such a horrendous mixture of good looking and imply at the same time must've been frightening.

"So, I've been doing what you told me," Ethan said into my ear.

Ok, wait that sounded extremely weird. But Ethan and I were talking, and even though calling him on a rainy Sunday evening was even weirder than the phrasing of that sentence, it was what was happening.

I sat on my bed leaning against the wall with an old tattered teddy bear being squeezed to death in my arms. Though I'd gotten used to the idea of talking to him over the phone – talking to a boy on the phone – it was still something I would have to adjust to as well.

Romantic.

I pinched myself and bit my lip at the pain. No, no weird gross awkward and annoying thoughts. Enough of that. Blame it on the hormones. ..

"I haven't really been talking to many girls and stuff," he continued, the sound of his voice somehow ticklish. Or maybe that was just the speaker vibrations. Yeah, probably. Other than that, I doubted he meant the same 'many' as the 'many' I imagined. Many to him was probably a handful. "I've been focusing more on school stuff I guess." I heard him chuckle. "It's kind of weird to be honest."

As weird as it can get for a guy who gets the one of the top grades in our year, I thought, tempted to roll my eyes. Come on, this guy was a playboy, yet he was also a smartass? Could this world be any crueller-slash-unfair?

I didn't know if Ethan remembered the night at the party and what I'd said. Maybe it'd affected his behaviour and set him even just a bit on the right track, but I would never know. He didn't mention it, and admittedly I was also very reluctant to bring up the subject.

Now that I thought about it, our conversation seemed a little weird too. The way we seemed to be talking so casually . . .

And even weirder that Ethan seemed to be refraining from all his snide remarks. Something about it gave me a foreign feeling.

I shook it off. This was business. I'd ignited a new fire in me, and now I was even more determined to get Brianna and Ethan together again. This puzzle shall be solved. We'd also decided it would be a lot safer to just talk over the phone than constantly arranging meet ups. At least he'd learnt one thing from this whole experience.