ROMEO'S HEART

Ethan - Sweet Relief

After our arousing encounter on the dancefloor, Cassie and I spend the next two hours pretending to not follow each other around. It's exhausting. I just want to stop playing games and be with her.

Around one a.m. Elissa tracks me down and says she want to leave. I tell her I've offered Cassie a ride home and she raises her eyebrow in a way that suggests she knows exactly what my intentions are.

I find Cassie in a booth with a whole bunch of people, including Connor. She looks bored. As I predicted, Ruby and Baine's brother have already left.
I lean over and whisper, "Elissa and I are bailing. You want to come?" After I've said it, I realize the double meaning and seriously hope she says yes.
To my surprise, she does.

"Yeah, I'm pretty wiped."

When she moves to stand, Connor touches her arm. "Hey, if you want to hang around, I could give you a ride home. I'm going to be leaving soon anyway."

She pauses.

Goddamm you, Baine.

Of course she's considering it. He'll be all huggy and supportive and shit, while I'm unpredictable and will put pressure on her in all the wrong ways. He's the safer option. But safe is also boring, and I think, deep down, Cassie likes a little danger.

"Thanks, Connor, but I'll go with Elissa and Ethan. I'll see you on Monday, okay?"

We all say our goodnights, and when we head out, Elissa and Cassie link arms and walk in front of me. It's obvious they've been drinking, but they're giggly rather than falling down.

When we get to the car, they both decide to sit in the back and let me chauffeur them. I'm bummed that Cassie's not up the front with me, but at least I can look at her in the mirror without being too obvious.

They giggle and whisper behind me, and by the time we pull up outside Cassie's apartment, the level of girliness has reached epic levels.

"Aw, don't go," Elissa says as she clings to Cassie. "Come to our place. We can watch movies and I'll give you a facial. We both know Ruby isn't coming home tonight, and I'm sick of spending time with Moody McBroodster here."

I glare at her in the mirror. "You know I can hear you, right?"

Elissa glares back. "Shut up. You can't deny you're a pain in my ass." She turns to her friend. "Please, Cassie. Grab your toothbrush and pajamas and come. We'll have a blast. In the morning, I'll make you pancakes. Or better still, Ethan will make us both pancakes. His are far better than mine."

When I turn around, Cassie gazes into my eyes, and I try not to look as desperate as I feel. I want to spend time with her, even if it's platonic. Of course, I'd prefer for us to be naked and orgasming, but having my sister around might make that awkward.

"Uh ... all right," Cassie says as she opens the door. "Give me five minutes."

When she's gone, I turn to Elissa. "What are you doing?"

She shrugs. "I miss her. I hardly ever see her any more because of you. So don't screw this up, or I will hurt you."

I get the feeling there's more to it than she's letting on, but I don't push for more. If my sister wants to facilitate the love of my life sleeping at our place, there's not chance in hell I'm going to stop her.

Half an hour later, we're back at our apartment. I head into my room to change into a t-shirt and boxers, and when I return, the girls have also changed into their pajamas. They've picked out John Hughes movies for us to watch.