oxygen (e.d.)

chapter eight

ethan~

i watch riley walk away and find myself frowning.

"hey," a sweet voice says, making me turn my head.

in front of me is a fiery red head, freckles dotting her cheeks like constellations. her hair kind of reminds me of curly fries.

"hey," i say softly, almost in awe by her.

"just came to introduce myself," she smiles, "i'm, rowen by the way."

"that's a pretty name." i blurt.

"thanks, my mom gave it to me." she laughs.

"oh, i'm ethan." i say, sticking out my hand.

"i know," she simply responds and shakes it.

i must look confused, because she continues talking; "i'm friends with delaney," she nods her head in the direction of one of my closest friends, and i see delaney wave.

i wave back and turn to rowen again.

"kinda lame here." she says and scans the crowd.

"t-totally." i lie.

"we should go to the old lighthouse," she snaps her fingers, smiling.

"for sure." i nod confidently and follow her down the beach.

"so where do you go to school?" she asks.

"william patterson," i answer, "you?"

"princeton."

"oh so she's smart," i say with a flirty laugh.

"eh," she shrugs.

"they have a 7% accept rate. give yourself credit," i say, brushing her shoulder.

"william patterson sounds like a good school," she says, trying to change the subject.

"it's not bad, i guess. good campus, lots of opportunities."

"anyone special back at school?" she asks slowly.

my first instinct is to say yes, that's how much that relationship meant to me.

but, wasn't it riley who taught me your first instinct isn't always the right one?

"no," i answer, "just me."

"same," she sighs, "pretty sad." she lets out a laugh which makes me chuckle.

we get to the doors of the lighthouse and i'm fully prepared to lean against it, look at the water, and chill, but she whips out a heavy duty key.

"what're you doing?" i ask as she jams it in the door knob.

"my dad works here," she shrugs.

"rowen, you're full of surprises." i grin and follow her up the stairs.

we full on sprint the last few floors and get up to the top, gasping for air as we laugh.

rowen sits on floor, knees pressed up against the glass. she readjusts her bikini straps as i sit next to her.

"it's pretty," i say, looking out to the water.

just like you.

"yeah," i hear a smile in her voice, and i sense her looking at me.

i remember a time when i was thinking that exact phrase about riley.

we sit in silence for a bit, taking in the scenery.

i subtly scooch closer to her, and color rises to her cheeks, making her face match the rest of her hair.

then, a loud noise makes us jump.

"hey!"

we whip our heads over our shoulders and see a big, burly man. his hair matches rowen's.

"dad-"

"row," the guys face softens, "i told you, you can't be up here without me."

"sorry," she mutters, quickly standing to her feet.

i get up as well and her father looks at me.

"and you are?" he asks.

"uh- ethan." i say, wiping my sweaty hand on my shorts and extending it.

he doesn't shake it.

i take my hand away, embarrassed, and pretend to be really interested in my feet.

"dad, we were just watching the water. the beach party got lame and-"

"just don't let it happen again." he sighs.

she nods and he says, "get outta here kids. the world is bigger than a little old lighthouse."

i follow rowen down the steps, still shaken up about what just happened.

"sorry," she apologizes once we've gotten outside again, "didn't know he was working it today."

"it's all good," i reassure, trying to seem cooler than i am.

"okay," she smiles, "thanks."

"so uh, do you wanna head out? my car is over there." i say, pointing my thumb behind me.

"sure. where to?"

"wherever your heart desires."

she giggles and we run to my jeep, having a mini race.

i buckle in and i notice her hesitation with getting in.

"something wrong?" i ask.

"the doors," she says, "can you put them back on?"

"okay," i say slowly.

"i'm so sorry!" she says quickly, "but my hair is too hard to brush if i get caught in the wind."

"no problem." i smile.

mental note:

rowen likes the doors on.