summer romance (e.d.)

twenty-eight

ethan

"no!" anna yells, coming back to the surface and spitting water. "that's not fair. you pushed me."

i laugh, my eyes feeling tired from the chlorine. "i did not, you fell."

"then why did i feel your foot kicking me over?"

"a ghost? i don't know."

she looks angry for a second, but then i can tell she's biting back a smile.

"i think i'm the handstand champ. better luck next time, anna-marie."

"so not fair," she mumbles, pulling herself up to sit on the side of the pool.

something sparkly catches in the sun, and i squint at her bare stomach. "do you have a bellybutton piercing?" i ask, shocked.

she looks down. "oh yeah. i forgot about that. i got it on my 15th birthday. it's small, though. just a little diamond."

i feel weird for looking at it, so my eyes travel back up to hers. "you don't strike me as a girl who would pierce their bellybutton."

she kicks her foot up, splashing me a little bit.
"don't stereotype. but i did have to do five long months of convincing my dad. it was rough."

"why didn't he want you to get it?"

"i don't know," she shrugs. "he thought it would be considered 'sexy' or something."

i wrinkle my nose. "for a diamond on your stomach? that's an odd way to look at it."

"i know right!" she agrees. "it's just a piece of jewelry. that's it."

i nod, and look down at my legs in the water.

"maybe i should go and—" anna starts to say, but is cut off by my mother's voice from the patio.

"ethan! oh, hi anna," she smiles, but i can see that she's confused as to why she's here. "i just came out to say that dinner's almost ready. would you like to stay, honey?"

anna smiles politely and says, "i actually have some reading to do. but thank you for the offer."

my mom leaves, and i look to anna. "do you really have reading to do?"

"no," she shakes her head. "but i feel bad. i was over for dinner just a couple of nights ago."

"you're welcome whenever," i say, pushing myself out of the pool. "but go read imaginary books, i guess."

she laughs, handing me a towel. "i will. and i'll enjoy it."

"i bet."

she waves goodbye, stalking off into the guest house with the towel wrapped around her shoulders.

smiling, i shake out my hair and tie the towel around my waist. i go in through the back door, and i'm about to run up to my room when i spot my mom, waiting by the stairs.

i cock an eyebrow. "hi?"

"hi, ethan," she smiles warmly, but something about her eyes makes me nervous. "can we talk?"

swallowing, i answer, "about what?"

"i think it's extremely unprofessional to be in a relationship with anna."

"wait—"

she holds up a hand. "before you try to tell me that nothing's going on, i want you to hear me out. anna works for us, honey. and her father and i are very close friends. i don't want anything to jeopardize that. i'm glad you two are getting along, but i'm going to need you to take a couple of steps back."

without leaving me time to respond, she turns and calmly walks upstairs.

so i just stand there. slack jawed.

nothing is going on between anna and i, but it still hurts me knowing that she wouldn't approve of it if there was.

okay— so maybe i have a little crush? only a tiny one. as far as i'm concerned, it's hardly noticeable and should be gone within the next few weeks.

so maybe my mom's advice is good.

i need to take a couple steps back.

                                         «»«»««

«anna» helloooo, are you there?
«anna» ethan you've been ignoring my texts all night
«anna» did i do something wrong?
«anna» i can see that you're reading these
«anna» fine. if you don't respond, then i'll know i did something wrong and i won't show up to our golf lesson tonight

i want to respond, i really do. but my brain is telling me that some distance is good. it'll help me get over whatever i'm feeling faster.

after a couple minutes of resistance, my phone dings again.

«anna» i'm sorry

that just about kills me.

groaning, i throw my phone across the room, not even caring that it potentially cracked.

"why does she always have to apologize!" i yell quietly, trying not to disturb the rest of my family.

it makes me feel like absolute crap whenever she apologizes for doing nothing.

which is why i don't understand why she's with liam, since i've never heard the guy utter a genuine apology in my life.

to get my mind off it, i turn off my lights and crawl into my bed.

obviously, i don't fall asleep. so i count my seashells again.

the guest house lights are off, which tells me she went to bed awhile ago. not even the dim glow of her lamp light in her room is visible.

i miss when i hated her. it was so much easier.