troubled | e.d.

twenty-two

tessa

"is this what you do with all your dates?" ethan deadpans, looking down at the glass checkerboard  on my white floral bedspread.

"bold of you to consider this a date," i say back, counting to make sure all the pieces are in the box.

he laughs from his criss-crossed sitting position across from me, wrapped up in my favorite fluffy blanket. he looks so soft like this, with his cheeks flushed with healthy color, a happy smile, and a warm baby pink blanket around him.

so unlike the guy i saw in the mugshot photo a month ago.

i want to kiss him again, but i also don't want to push it.

"i don't even know how to play this game," he informs me, ignoring my previous teasing comment.

"it's easy!"

"i'm better at chess."

"right," i roll my eyes. "forgot you're a genius. how do you know how to play chess, but not checkers? this is so much easier and way more fun."

"fine," he caves, reaching for a game piece. "i'll be the opaque ones, you can be the transparent ones."

"big words like that aren't allowed in my room."

"fine," he smiles sarcastically. "i'll have the foggy ones and you can have the clear ones. better?"

"i liked your attitude better when you climbed a tree for me."

he chuckles. "never doing that again. don't you have a back door i could've used?"

"oh, i do. but in your note you mentioned a window."

"you're telling me i could've avoided the twenty million slivers of bark in my palms?" ethan gapes.

i avoid his eyes and whistle a tune in response, pretending to be really interested in polishing the glass board.

"no, that's not funny," he says, but his voice is just shy of laughing.

i giggle a little, setting up his and my pieces. truth is, i would've told him to use the back door, but i just really wanted to see if he could actually climb that tree without breaking his back.

"tessa," he says with mock-disbelief. "you let me do that? you watched me do that?"

i meet his eyes, biting back a smile as i remember him almost falling when i opened the window. his face is hiding the same expression as i nod.

he lunges across to grab my arm, and i squeal, trying to get away from his grasp. his laughs echo through my ears, and i hold back my giggles.

"no, stop," i plead lamely and hold back his wrists when they attempt to pinch my sides. i squirm a little, hiccuping from laughter.

"you should not have let me know that you're ticklish, tessa villin."

i widen my eyes, but i'm too late to react when his fingers dig into my sides and i instantly wiggle around like a helpless snake that's getting tased.