Thralldom

Chapter 17

Saturday erupts into my conscience with bright sunlight beaming through the glass door at around 10 am. I turn towards Ethan's side of the bed naturally, but he is not there. Wondering how late I slept, I pluck up my cell phone and study the time through bleary eyes. It's not that late, so I begin to wonder where he could have gone. 

I notice a missed call and text from Raina. Her text, "What happened at the Palace?" reminds me that I forgot to tell her what happened that night. I'm not really ready to discuss it yet, but since I should have already told her, I decide that I must talk to her now. 

Picking up her number from recent calls, I wait impatiently for an answer. After only two rings, Raina is on the line, "Hey girl, I was wondering how you were doing. You never called me back!"

"I know. I am sorry. I have just been so preoccupied. I ran into Jonathan that night at the concert. He was on a date with April." I state candidly. "I didn't know what to do."

"Ouch!" Raina proclaims. "That must have been bad. What DID you end up doing?" she asks curiously.

"I did the only thing I could think of doing. I went over to Ethan's and spent the night there." I know Raina understands.

"That's good. I wish I had known. I never saw them there that night. If I had, I would have given Jonathan a piece of my mind. April, too." Raina appeases me.

"No worries. It probably wouldn't have done any good, but I am sure it would have been entertaining at least," I say chuckling. "Anyway, I have to get going. Ethan and I are down in Miami for the weekend." I tell her by way of transition.

"Oh my gosh! That is awesome!" Raina bellows. "Well have fun! I look forward to getting the lowdown when you come back."

"I promise. I will call you this time to let you know all about it. I'll talk to you later." I respond sincerely.

"All right. Talk to you soon." Raina ends the call before I have a chance to say anything else. Dropping my phone down on the night stand, I peer around the room to see if I can find any clues regarding Ethan's disappearance. Nothing stands out. 

Just a few moments later, while I am still willing myself to get up, I hear the door click and Ethan strides back in the room. He is wearing an exorbitantly sweaty Nike tank top with black shorts and running shoes. His ear buds are hanging through his shirt. And, he comes bearing coffee and muffins. Dang. He's perfect. I haven't even gotten up yet and he's already exercised and completed a coffee run. 

Ethan stalks over to where I am sitting on the bed and places a coffee and muffin for me on the bedside table. He greets me with "Morning, Gorgeous" before retreating to the desk with the leather chair.

"Good Morning." I reply eking out a prolonged yawn. I follow up with, "Thanks for the alimentation."

Ethan laughs at my use of such a big word so early in the morning. "You could have just said: thanks for the grub." But, he is off to planning the day in seconds, "I thought we would go down to the beach for a while today. Then we could come back here and get ready for an earlier dinner. What type of food would you like tonight? I can investigate restaurants after I take a shower."

I take a bite of the oversize blueberry muffin at hand, and think about dinner. It is so early to ponder dinner. But, I respond with, "Pizza". No other explanation is needed. He knows exactly what type of pizza a like. And, yes, there are types of pizza. 

"Great! It shouldn't be hard to find pizza." he utters as he returns to me and kisses me on the fore head. Ethan is off to the shower before I can return the gesture. 

I have a puerile grin on my face as I wordlessly sip coffee, and down the muffin. At this moment, I am immensely happy that Ethan knows me so well. As soon as I finish my coffee, I spring out of bed and unzip my suit case. I packed two different bikinis for the weekend. I opt for the rosy pink one with the crisscross straps on the back of the top, and string bottoms that tie on the sides.