treacherous | ethma

12

Emma
Two months later

It feels so good to be on my feet again, never going back to what kept me on the ground again, keeping my head on my shoulders, my mind is clear, as long as you're with me, I'll be right here.

I smiled to myself, setting down my notebook on the bed as Ethan walked into our room.

"You're having a good day, aren't you?" he asked, walking into our bathroom to grab his watch.

He stood in the doorway between our bedroom and our bathroom, smiling at me.

"I am having a good day," I said. "I'm just glad to be back, you know?"

Ethan's smile grew bigger as he sat down next to me.

Slightly tackling me down onto the bed, he kissed my cheek a few times before he pulled away to simply look at me. We were the happiest we've been in a while.

Couples therapy was something we never knew we needed, and it kept our relationship in check. Our communication skills were finally in tact.

"I love you so much, Cara."

I smiled, cupping his face with my hand as we gazed into each other's eyes. "I love you so so much," I whispered.

Ethan leaned down, pressing his soft lips against mine. "I'm just so grateful to have you back. I mean, the real you. I was so damn scared that I lost you when you relapsed. I mean, I thought you were never going to forgive me after our fight, and then when you almost—"

"Ethan, shhhhhh." I said, pressing my finger against his lips. "I'm here, and I love you more than anything, and I am so damn happy right now. Let's not think about the past, okay? It's all uphill from here. I love you."

He buried his face into my neck, his breath warm against my skin as he cuddled me. "I'm just so happy that we made it out of that mess."

Massaging his scalp, I ran my fingers through his hair. "I know, babe. We can make it through anything."

He pressed his lips to my neck, giving me a few little pecks. "So, what's the plan for today?" he asked.

"Olivia and Amanda are working at the studio and you and I have the day off," I said.

Ethan smiled. "Oh yeah?" he flirted.

I gave him a sultry smile, and he knew exactly what was on my mind.

After we both collapsed down on the bed an hour and a half later, Ethan gave me a high-five.

"You are the most amazing woman on this Earth," he said. "In so many ways. You got through an addiction, you're an amazing songwriter, and you're my absolute soulmate. I know for a fact God made us to be together, and I still can't believe I was lucky enough to have you in my life since we were babies."

I smiled, cupping his cheek as I leaned forward and pecked him on the lips. "I know," I said. "We've been a married couple our whole lives. You've always taken care of me so much, and our love was literally built on a foundation that started the day I was born."

Ethan pecked my lips twice more, pulling me closer. "How did we get so lucky to literally spend our whole lives together?"

"So damn lucky," I whispered.

"I don't think you realize it, Emma, but you've taken care of me too," Ethan said. "Writing songs with you before you moved away literally saved my life, and I can't be more grateful for that. I guess that's part of the reason I was so angry when you moved to California without me."

"That was the biggest mistake of my life. I should've taken you with me."

"We're here now, Nina. That's what matters the most to me," he said.

"What if we moved Signature?" I asked.

Ethan propped himself up on his elbow, partly hovering over me. "What do you mean, babe?"

"I mean, maybe LA isn't for us anymore. Maybe we should go to Nashville or New York. I just feel like I'm outgrowing LA, you know?"

"I think Nashville could be good for us," he said.

I smiled at him. "Are we moving to Nashville?"

"I think we might be," he said. "But it's gonna take a lot of work first."

"I know," I said. "We're gonna have to find a new house, build a company building and studios out there. And I'm gonna have to convince Olivia to move out there with us. Maybe some of our other producers will come too. Maybe I'll try to find them all places to stay as an incentive."

"If that doesn't work, I have a feeling Nashville would enjoy having the two of us anyway," Ethan said.

I pecked him on the lips. "I love you so much."

"I love you so much."

I smiled, running my fingers down his bare chest. "I can't believe I landed someone as sexy as you."

Ethan gave me a devilish grin before bringing his lips to my neck and kissing it. "Oh, Nina, non hai idea di quanto tu sia incredibilmente sexy," he said, his breath hot against my skin as he spoke to me in my favorite language. Ethan still refuses to teach me Italian because he likes having some mystery between us. Even though we've known each other quite literally since birth, and there's really nothing that we don't know about each other.

I leaned my head back, giving him better access to my neck as he pulled my leg to wrap around his waist.

"I love it when you speak to me in Italian," I said.

"Adesso ti scopero' senza senso," he responded.

"That sounded sexy," I said. "Tell me in English."

Ethan smiled. "I said that I am going to fuck you senseless right now."

"Holy shit, you are so damn hot," I said.

Ethan teased me with his tip for a few minutes, until he knew I couldn't take it anymore, and then he pushed himself into me.

We were finally back to normal again, but honestly?

We were way better than normal.