ethan & emma: talking with you.

The Reunion

Two days later, it happened.

It was the day before they had to leave Fiji, and Emma had just posted her newest picture to Instagram, her lying on the beach with sunglasses on.

She was a little worried about this one.

There was no way to avoid the inappropriate and sometimes vile comments her posts garnered, but anything containing a bathing suit made her almost nervous, and anything that could be considered sexy or provocative set her teeth on edge. She knew she shouldn't be intimidated by those comments, that she shouldn't care at all, but it was hard not to. Putting yourself out there for the world to judge was never easy.

With Ellie and Olivia R.'s support, she clicked Post anyway, since her contract with Dote required she promote them on her Instagram at least once a day. She resolved not to check the comments as they all headed down to the beach for another shoot. An hour later, that plan was promptly ruined, her phone lighting up with a notification.

Ethan Dolan commented on your post: 😎

Emma raised her eyebrows, feeling her heart start to race in her chest. It was an inside joke she had with her friends-- the emoji indicating that the sender thought you were hot. She'd used it as her caption for lack of any better ideas, a play on her own inside joke. But she never expected this. This was public.

Emma looked around. She was shooting with Andre, one of the photographers on the trip, but they weren't close enough to talk about this, and she wasn't sure if she trusted him to keep a secret so personal. A little down the beach, Olivia R. was lounging in the sand, sprawled on a long white towel.

Emma asked Andre if they could take a break, hurrying across the shore.

"Olivia," Emma hissed. Olivia R. moved slightly, turning her head and lifting her sunglasses so Emma could see her eyes.

"Yeah?" she asked, her voice thick with sleep. "Emma?"

"Wake up. Look at this." Emma kneeled on part of her towel, brandishing her phone. "Ethan commented on my post, the one from earlier."

"What?" Olivia R. exclaimed, sitting straight up and reaching for the screen. "What'd he say?"

"Okay, so-" Emma broke off, unable to hold back a smile, "so when you see the sunglasses emoji, what do you automatically think?"

"What do you mean?"

"Like if you sent that to someone, what would you be saying?"

"I don't know, that they're cool?" Olivia R. asked. "What are you getting at?"

"I have this joke where I always say that it means you think someone's hot. I say it all the time, it's like an inside joke, you know? And I've joked about it with Ethan and Grayson before. Look at this."

Emma finally turned her screen around so Olivia R. could see it.

"Holy crap! Emma," Olivia R. exclaimed. "Aw, he must know that you'd know what it meant."

"That's what I'm saying!" Emma said. "Should I respond? What do I say?"

"If he's doing it on your post, it means he wanted everyone to see it. He clearly likes you," Olivia R. scolded, hitting Emma's arm. "You have to show him you like him too."

"But how? What do I say?" Emma asked. She moved until she was sitting cross-legged on Olivia R.'s towel like a child.

"Hmm... I don't know. It's just an emoji, you know? It might be weird if you say something in response."

"Olivia," Emma whined, but she couldn't stay upset for more than a few seconds, her smile swiftly returning. "Fuck, I don't know how to deal with this shit. No boys are ever interested in me."