Cupidity (Sequel to Cupid's Daughter)

Chapter 22~ A Big, Fat, Sticky Label for Us

The months that followed my weekend back home were filled with the same routine; wake up, go to my internship, work at Kerri's, go out somewhere with Ethan, go to sleep and then do it all again the next day.

It was an easy, albeit tiring, routine that allowed me to forget my woes and focus on my new life in LA. I had gotten somewhat used to being photographed and mentioned in gossip magazines, and I'd also started to get used to the partying scene. People were, for better or worse, beginning to recognise me and my association with Ethan Black and Courtney Conway. Everything that I had never wanted to happen was coming true, and I couldn't even find it in me to try and stop it from happening.

Things between Ethan and I were also... different.

"You ready to order?" Ethan asked, brushing his fingers over my cheek to push my hair behind my ear. We were sat on my bed in Ethan's apartment, watching a random movie that was on TV and studying the menus that we had plucked from the foyer.

"The veggie laksa please!" I chirped, placing the take-out menu down on the floor. Ethan recited our food orders to the Malaysian restaurant employee, thanking her and hanging up a moment later.

"You know at some point we're both going to have to learn how to cook. We can't live on take-out forever." Ethan informed me with a smile, causing me to pout.

"Sure we can. There's hundreds of different restaurants around here to try. We could eat at a different place every night and no one would ever know." I grinned mischievously.

Ethan chuckled and made himself comfortable beside me on the bed, wrapping his arm around my shoulders. I rested my head against his chest and sighed.

"You okay?" He murmured, his gaze flickering from my eyes to my mouth.

I nodded and and ran my thumb over his plump bottom lip. "Yes."

He leant forwards slowly until there was less than a hair's width between us, and then his lips pressed gently into mine.

This had happened on numerous occasions now, and every time it did I felt the need to overanalyse everything. Kissing Ethan was sweet and warm; like being wrapped in a blanket on a cold winter's day.

It was... comfortable.

He deepened the kiss and tugged at my waist, flipping me over so that I was on my back beneath him. I tangled my fingers into his hair before allowing my hands to explore his toned abdomen beneath his shirt. He broke the kiss for a moment only to pull his shirt over his head.

My breathing quickened and my heart raced in my chest as I suddenly became overwhelmed with panic. The feeling of comfort quickly dissolved and was replaced by something far more sinister, and I pushed Ethan away gently, gasping for air as I tried to stop the walls from closing in on me.

"Wait." I muttered, and instantly Ethan's weight lifted from me.

I squeezed my eyes shut and then opened them quickly, turning to find Ethan staring at me with wide eyes.

"I'm sorry." I whimpered quietly, earning myself a frown from Ethan.

He wrapped his arms around me, creating soothing circles on my shoulder with his thumb. "Don't be, Isabelle, that was my fault. I completely misread the situation, didn't I?" Ethan brushed his tan hand through his hair and sighed.