lemonade | ethan

thirty six

"let's get a drink." maya tells me as she pulls me up from the seat. we were having dinner at a fancy restaurant in which maya reserved for us. it was a new york city dream.

she takes me to the bar not to far away from everyone else. maya quickly asks for two negroni's as she shows them her ID. "uh, where'd you get that?" i whispered.

"i have my connections." she winks at me. "anyway, when are you gonna make a move? i mean, look how good he looks tonight. i've said it once, and i'll say it again: ethan really does clean up good."

we lock eyes. i send him a small smile in which he returns. "when the time is right, i guess." i shrugged. "plus, we're just friends."

"time is running out." she explains.

i nod, showing her i understood. "i have a bet." maya tells me, handing me my drink. "and if you think you and ethan are just friends, then you'll have no problem with it."

"what is it?" i ask, though i was scared to know. maya can be pretty cunning. you never know what could come from that girls mouth. usually nothing ever good.

she sighs, leaning against the counter of the bar. "you make a move on ethan tonight..."

tonight? news years night?

"or i will."

LEMONADE

"uh, that sounds like something she'd do." melanie says as she washes her hands. we were currently in the bathroom. once melanie announced she was going, i quickly rose to my seat and followed her.

"it feels so selfish to make a move on ethan only because i don't want maya to have him." i sighed, leaning against the wall.

melanie shrugged. "well, when you think of it, maya it actually sort of helping you finally overcome this weight on your shoulders, right? maybe you should do this. after all, i know how much you like him."

i sighed, giving in. "i need a drink."

it's probably for the best. i want to care less so i'm less nervous. i've kissed him before, why is it so hard to do again? probably because after you had kissed him, he ignored you for days.

"let's get you that drink." melanie says, leading me out the bathroom. i groaned in frustration. i didn't want to do this. this entire thing was unfair. i wanted to kiss ethan on my own terms. i didn't want it to be forced at all but maya is giving me no choice. i'm not letting her kiss him. never.

and even through the dinner, while everyone was in deep conversation, i played with my food until it was time to go. i was overthinking everything, and i felt so guilty and upset that i had to do this.

"hey, what's up?" i guess one person had noticed how off i was despite not being completely obvious about it. "you okay?" he asks.

"i'm fine." i reassure him. i didn't want him to worry.

he gives me those sympathetic smiles he always gives. "it's new year's eve. let's make the most of it." he tells me to follow him as we had just been trailing behind the group.

"wait," i say abruptly. he looks behind his shoulder, a confused expression on his face. "i need some advice, sonny. can we talk?"

sonny slowly makes his way toward me again. we walk at a slow pace behind the rest of the group who walk ahead of us. "of course. what's wrong?"

"it seems like all my friends are getting pretty impatient with the pace of my relationship with ethan." i explain. "maya wants me to make a move on ethan tonight, but i just can't."