Burned (Beautiful Mess) by S.C. Rosemary, S.N. Hawke Page B

opened my arms to him as well. He hugged me tightly and I hugged back. In fact, I squeezed him a little. I was enjoying the contact and his warmth. I didn’t want to let go.
    “You look so beautiful in this dress,” he pulled back and squeezed my shoulders. “And even more beautiful with that blush on your cheeks.”
    “You need to stop making me blush,” I pushed him gently, giggling.
    “Never!” He exclaimed and winked at me.
    “One of these days I will make you blush, too,” I pouted. Ah, that didn’t sound right. Oh no.
    Ethan grabbed my arms gently, pulling me toward him. His face leaned in – so close I could count his eyelashes. I stared at him with huge eyes and stopped breathing. He wasn’t going to kiss me, was he?
    “I would love to see you try, Miss Proper,” he whispered with a smirk and slowly backed away.
    I remained there for a few second to register what happened. And I couldn’t figure out which would be worse-he taking my first kiss right there and then or the fact that he didn’t kiss me.
    “Shall we start this chess challenge?” Ethan asked, awaking me.
    “Oh yes,” I almost forgot the reason we were being here. “Where do we set up the chessboard? Where is the chessboard?” I looked around. I remember Ethan said he would bring his but it was not with him.
    “I reserved a study room to work on my law project. I already set the chessboard up. We are taking a study break in there,” he gestured the door to a study room.
    “You actually study at night? Not playing any ‘sport’?” I meant to tease but I sounded harsher than I intended. Darn, I just killed the mood.
    Ethan looked blank for a second. But he soon turned to give me a charming smile. “I used to. But then I met a smart girl. So now I am playing chess instead.” His eyes held mine, making sure I got his point.
    I couldn’t help but smile. But the tight feeling in my lungs didn’t go away. Maybe Ethan did like me, but I knew there were a lot of hot girls out there far more experienced in dating boys and they just couldn’t wait to get their hands on someone like Ethan. I wasn’t convinced that my liking for chess could so easily compete with all the temptations out there. Still, I had no idea why Ethan would spend time with a girl like me at all.
    We entered the study room and sat on the opposite sides of the chessboard. Tension instantly filled the atmosphere. I wanted to figure Ethan out. Perhaps this chess match could help me get some insight about him.
    “After you,” Ethan nodded at the white chess pieces in front of me. He had made himself comfortable in the chair, leaning back and relaxing.
    “All right,” I moved a pawn forward.
    “Hmm, just like I thought,” Ethan smirked. “You are cautious.”
    “Cautious?” I blinked. I positioned my pawn at the beginning so I could be better prepared for defense later. 
    “Yes, you are cautious,” Ethan advanced his knight on first move. “Sometimes you have to be bold and take risks to get what you want.”
    I couldn’t tell if he was talking about chess or me as a person in general. “But if you take risk, you can lose a lot.” I continued to position my pawns.
    “True,” Ethan said, examining the chessboard. “But you might regret never finding out what would happen, because you don’t take the risk.”
    For a second, I thought about how I regretted the things I did not do with Ethan when I thought I would never see him again. But who knows, he was still here. I didn’t have to regret yet. “Sometimes you don’t even have to take risks. Just go with the wind, and stuff will happen,” I look at him. Gosh, talking to a law school student was mentally taxing.
    “Go with the wind, huh?” Ethan looked amused, playing the bishop in his hand. His face was perfect, especially when he was thinking. He was eyeing for one of my pawn. But he had no way to take it without losing his piece too.
    “Does law school teach you these philosophies?” I