room.
“That would be me, Ada, or is it Artemis?” Shirtless and glorious Ethan steps into view, his towel draped over one shoulder. His hair is still damp, his toned ripped torso is dotted with patches of dried sand, like he has just stepped off the beach. But he hasn’t, he’s been here the whole time. His perfectly white, straight teeth and wide grin evidently taking too much delight in this turn of events.
I close my eyes at the sight and to stop him from seeing me roll my eyes. I don’t want to give him the satisfaction that he can affect my life with so little effort. I look up to him and tighten my smile.
“Definitely Artemis to you.” I keep my voice level, and if it’s possible his grin widens.
“Ah, but now I know what you’re really called.” He crosses his arms over his chest, the muscles of his forearms bunch and glisten with sweat.
“Only to people I like,” I snap, and go to stand. He steps forward into the space I needed, forcing me to fall back down with a bump. I squeal when my tailbone crunches on the frame of the sofa. He towers over me and I swear his eyes darken. No, there are no windows in here, that’s why his eyes look so dark, heavy lidded. No natural light.
“But we both know you do like me, don’t we, Ada?” His voice drops and I can feel my insides tingle, hot and a little bit damp. I swallow and lick my suddenly dry lips. The salty air does that, I remind myself.
“I…I–” Can’t construct a sentence or breathe.
“Don’t be a dick, Ethan. You don’t even know the girl.” Buddy interrupts with a light laugh, trying to ease the tension, and I manage to take a much needed gasp of air. It is stifling in here.
“No, Buddy, we’ve met. We had a very nice meeting this afternoon.” His emphasis is exaggerated, and makes my cheeks instantly flush red, which even the dimly lit room can’t mask.
“Oh!” Buddy nods in understanding–a misunderstanding, by the look on his face–and his knowing grin. Sofa swallow me now, could this get any worse.
“Yes, Buddy, Ada is going to be my new cleaner.” Ethan steps back, actually ruffles my hair in a playful manner. I am just waiting for the light punch to the forearm, but it doesn’t come. He winks and tips his head, indicating I am being dismissed but I have lost the impetus to move. The thought that Ethan’s words meant more, that he felt more, have been brought into sharp focus. My body did react to his, I couldn’t help that; didn’t want to help that at the time. But obviously the only ‘more’ Ethan felt, was relief at not having to deal with his stinky laundry. Time to squish my physical reactions to him into a neat little box, nail it shut, and bury it on the beach next to my hope and future. Because the material affects he has are a little more pressing. However, unwittingly, Ethan has just made a homeless Ada, unemployed.
Two Years Ago
I CAN HEAR that voice again, soft lilting. Often it is just a gentle sound in my dreams, but this time I can hear the words and they make sense to me.
“ Light up, light up. As if you have a choice. Even if you cannot hear my voice, I’ll be right beside you dear…hmmm, hmmm …Oh!” The singing stops abruptly and I can hear scraping and shuffling. A warm light friction on my face. “You can hear me, can’t you sweetheart?” The female voice coaxes me from my sluggish inertia. Her touch repeating its welcome contact on my face. I can feel that. I can hear her but I feel utterly exhausted by even that understanding, so how will I ever have the energy to answer? “You like my song? It’s a favourite of mine. Now, come on sweetheart, I know it’s a favourite of yours too. Why don’t you open your eyes for me and we can talk lyrics and poetry. Hell, there’s no-one in this room but you and me, we can talk hard core porn, if you’d just open your eyes for me.” She’s funny. I wonder if she knows I think so. I can feel a tingling sensation in my face, but I
“That would be me, Ada, or is it Artemis?” Shirtless and glorious Ethan steps into view, his towel draped over one shoulder. His hair is still damp, his toned ripped torso is dotted with patches of dried sand, like he has just stepped off the beach. But he hasn’t, he’s been here the whole time. His perfectly white, straight teeth and wide grin evidently taking too much delight in this turn of events.
I close my eyes at the sight and to stop him from seeing me roll my eyes. I don’t want to give him the satisfaction that he can affect my life with so little effort. I look up to him and tighten my smile.
“Definitely Artemis to you.” I keep my voice level, and if it’s possible his grin widens.
“Ah, but now I know what you’re really called.” He crosses his arms over his chest, the muscles of his forearms bunch and glisten with sweat.
“Only to people I like,” I snap, and go to stand. He steps forward into the space I needed, forcing me to fall back down with a bump. I squeal when my tailbone crunches on the frame of the sofa. He towers over me and I swear his eyes darken. No, there are no windows in here, that’s why his eyes look so dark, heavy lidded. No natural light.
“But we both know you do like me, don’t we, Ada?” His voice drops and I can feel my insides tingle, hot and a little bit damp. I swallow and lick my suddenly dry lips. The salty air does that, I remind myself.
“I…I–” Can’t construct a sentence or breathe.
“Don’t be a dick, Ethan. You don’t even know the girl.” Buddy interrupts with a light laugh, trying to ease the tension, and I manage to take a much needed gasp of air. It is stifling in here.
“No, Buddy, we’ve met. We had a very nice meeting this afternoon.” His emphasis is exaggerated, and makes my cheeks instantly flush red, which even the dimly lit room can’t mask.
“Oh!” Buddy nods in understanding–a misunderstanding, by the look on his face–and his knowing grin. Sofa swallow me now, could this get any worse.
“Yes, Buddy, Ada is going to be my new cleaner.” Ethan steps back, actually ruffles my hair in a playful manner. I am just waiting for the light punch to the forearm, but it doesn’t come. He winks and tips his head, indicating I am being dismissed but I have lost the impetus to move. The thought that Ethan’s words meant more, that he felt more, have been brought into sharp focus. My body did react to his, I couldn’t help that; didn’t want to help that at the time. But obviously the only ‘more’ Ethan felt, was relief at not having to deal with his stinky laundry. Time to squish my physical reactions to him into a neat little box, nail it shut, and bury it on the beach next to my hope and future. Because the material affects he has are a little more pressing. However, unwittingly, Ethan has just made a homeless Ada, unemployed.
Two Years Ago
I CAN HEAR that voice again, soft lilting. Often it is just a gentle sound in my dreams, but this time I can hear the words and they make sense to me.
“ Light up, light up. As if you have a choice. Even if you cannot hear my voice, I’ll be right beside you dear…hmmm, hmmm …Oh!” The singing stops abruptly and I can hear scraping and shuffling. A warm light friction on my face. “You can hear me, can’t you sweetheart?” The female voice coaxes me from my sluggish inertia. Her touch repeating its welcome contact on my face. I can feel that. I can hear her but I feel utterly exhausted by even that understanding, so how will I ever have the energy to answer? “You like my song? It’s a favourite of mine. Now, come on sweetheart, I know it’s a favourite of yours too. Why don’t you open your eyes for me and we can talk lyrics and poetry. Hell, there’s no-one in this room but you and me, we can talk hard core porn, if you’d just open your eyes for me.” She’s funny. I wonder if she knows I think so. I can feel a tingling sensation in my face, but I
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