Lyla
When we got back to Ethan’s house, we both fell asleep rather quickly.
We talked about everything that was discussed with Rylan on the ride home. I only had to wait another two and a half months before I could go down South. I didn’t know what to expect from this Voodoo queen, but I hoped everything was positive. I had to get our souls back, and I had to stay safe until then. There was no way I was putting Ethan in danger because of me. If I had to disappear if things get hard to keep him safe, I would. No question about it.
Staying safe isn’t my specialty. I’m known for getting into trouble and finding some way to hurt myself.
By the time I got up, I was in bed alone. Ethan wasn’t there, and when I felt the blankets, they were cold. He’s been up for some time. I looked to the bathroom, but he wasn’t in there.
I groaned when I stood up, my knees were weak, and my stomach was empty. I didn’t have any energy, and I thought I was going to fall over at any moment.
I wrapped my light blue robe around myself and went up the stairs, meeting Ethan in the kitchen. When he heard me, he turned to look, and flashed me a warm smile.
“Want some?” he asked, gesturing to the food he was making.
I came up to his side, and looked at everything he had laid on the counter. I picked up a slice of tomato and took a small bite. “Make me whatever it is you’re making.” Then I saw the mayonnaise. “Scratch that, don’t put that nasty stuff on it, okay?” I pointed to the white bottle.
“Mustard will be fine, oh, and no Swiss cheese, I like sharp cheddar.”
Ethan chuckled. “Anything you want, princess.”
When he slid the plates onto the table, I sat down next to him in a chair, and took a bite of my sandwich. He cut it diagonally for me. The sandwich was about four inches thick on rye bread, and had a hefty amount of turkey, cheese, lettuce, tomato, and mustard on it. “So, what did you want to do today?” I asked.
I chewed slowly and thoughtfully before I swallowed. I took another bite, and the lettuce crunched softly in my mouth. Ethan could really make anything taste amazing. Even a sandwich was amazing when he made it. It had just the right amount of meat and cheese, and veggies and condiments.
“Half of the day is over; you have your appointment in an hour.” Ethan reminded me. “I was getting ready to go wake you up before you came up here. You slept like the dead last night. You were snoring.”
I really slept half of the day? I must have been really tired in order for me to do something like that.
Wait.
“I do not snore!” I yelled, punching him in the arm.
He gave me grin.
I finished up my late lunch and helped Ethan do the dishes.
By the time we were done, we had to leave for my appointment. I was suddenly nervous, because I didn’t know what to expect.
***
The Health Department was a big brown building that had three floors. Inside, we went to the Family Planning section, and took our seats. It didn’t take long for them to call us back since we were the only ones in the waiting room.
When we got back into the room a woman started asking me health questions and questions about my sexual activities. I told her that I’ve never had sex before. I sat on an uncomfortable white table, and answered her questions with either a yes or no. It was nothing too difficult. The only thing that was unnerving was that Ethan was sitting there listening to everything. He pretended he wasn’t, but I knew better. Him playing on his phone didn’t fool me any.
By the time we left, I had a prescription for birth control, and a bunch of pamphlets on sexual diseases. Most of what I was reading was turning my stomach. How could anyone want something so nasty? Ugh! I would want to take any necessary precautions before I jumped into something that could cause something like that.
When I got to another pamphlet, there were pictures inside, and they were more horrifying then any of the sentences were. I shivered just looking at it. It was absolutely revolting.
“Ethan?” I asked sheepishly.
He turned to me as we pulled into a parking spot at the pharmacy called Walgreens. “Yeah?”
I flashed the little booklets around in front of his face; he backed up a couple inches so he could see what I was showing him, and he squinted slightly. “You don’t… have any of this, do you?”
He looked shocked, and then a little sickened. His face paled. “Hell no! That’s freaking sick. I’ve always used a condom. Don’t worry, I’m clean.”
I cleared my throat before I asked the next question.
“How many girls have you been with?” It wasn’t like I wanted to know… okay, I wanted to know. I wanted to know who he has shared himself with before I came into the picture. I hoped it wasn’t hundreds…
He shot me a look, and bit his lip. “More than I’d like to tell you.”
I knew it. I widened my eyes, and prompted for a better answer.
He ran his hands through his hair, looking very uncomfortable. “Maybe twenty?” he said in a high-pitched voice. “Or thirty?”
“Ethan…” I said exasperated, throwing my arms out to the side. Well, as far as I could while sitting in the truck.
“Okay, I seriously don’t know, but it’s been a lot okay? I don’t want to talk about them. I have you, and that’s all I will ever want. Look on the bright side; at least I’m really experienced. I know how to treat a woman and know what pleases them. I can do some wicked stuff with my tongue, just you wait, I’ll have you begging for more.”
I had to laugh at that.
He had a blush on his face, and he looked really cute. We both got out of the truck and went into the pharmacy.
“So, how old were you when you first did it?” Didn’t I ask him that before?
“Fifteen, I think I already told you that, Lyla.” he said, giving me a small side glance. I watched his face turn from white to red in a matter of a few seconds. He really was diffident about this kind of stuff.
I raised my eyebrows. “Damn.”
“What?” he asked, giving me a coy smile.
“What was your first time like? Did it hurt, did it feel good?” It was really none of my business, but I was truly interested.
He stopped walking, and scratched the back of his head in a shy way. “No, it didn’t hurt, it felt amazing, and well, I can tell you that I was really embarrassed because I blew in less than five seconds.”
“Blew?”
“Um, yeah. Had an orgasm? You know, come to my end, climax…” he said with a small laugh. He gestured his hand in a circular motion until I understood what he was trying to tell me.
“Oh, okay. Sorry, I’m still not used to all these terms yet. So you were basically in and out then.”
“Essentially,” he admitted, making his ears turn pink.
There was one question I shouldn’t have asked, but couldn’t stop from spilling from my lips. “How long can you last now? I mean you’re better now, right?” I didn’t want my first time to last five seconds. I would end up making him do it again and again until I was fully satisfied.
His face was crimson, and he looked at me from under his long, dark lashes. “Sometimes ten or fifteen minutes, it depends how long it’s been since I’ve done it. Different positions can affect it too.”
Now it was my turn to blush. I tried to turn away to hide it, but I knew he saw it. I twirled my hair around my finger before I spoke again. I was going to ask him another question, but this time I was more confident about it. “What position is your favorite?”
“Have you ever heard of anything called doggie style?”
“What?! A dog?!” I cried, attracting attention from some people. I lowered my voice. “An animal?!”
He laughed quietly. “Um, I get behind the girl… you get me? And I also like missionary. That means when I’m on top of the girl. I like being up close and personal sometimes. I feel like I connect better that way.”
I couldn’t wait until we could be together. I mentally reminded myself to look up different sex positions sometime. I really wanted to get to know this kind of stuff so when we did eventually do it; I didn’t look like an idiot in front of Ethan.
***
A couple weeks went by since I started taking my birth control pills. Christmas came and went. It was such a weird holiday, one I wasn’t used to celebrating. I did enjoy all the presents, though. Ethan got me some clothes, a couple of gift cards, some movies, and some CDS.
The lights and the tree were probably my favorite part. I enjoyed helping decorate the outside of the house, too. Cherry wanted us to “have at it”, so we did.
It was kind of a magical moment between Ethan and I. The snow clung to our hair, and our skin was cold, but it was great. I had such an amazing time that I didn’t even care about my fingers turning numb. We had a snowball fight, and Ethan even thought it would be funny to stick snow down my back, so when he wasn’t expecting it, I ran up behind him and pushed him, making him lose his balance and fall. I felt bad because he scraped his finger, and it was bleeding pretty heavily.
When we got back inside, Ethan made us some chicken noodle soup, making me warm up immediately. I think we killed the whole pan in one night, and trust me,
Ethan used tons of noodles. I don’t know how we both fit it all in, considering he and I both have small stomachs.
The holiday break was over, and school was starting again this morning. I felt like I was going to be sick. I really didn’t wanna go to school today, I wanted to stay home and be lazy. Maybe laying in bed and watching TV all day. Or reading a book, or cuddling with my boyfriend and making out until we’re both breathless.
Yeah, that sounded lovely.
The only reason why I was going to school is because Ethan was. He said he wasn’t missing school for anything, even for all the demons and fallen angels in the world. He loved getting an education, I could tell that from the moment I met him.
One of the movies Ethan got me for Christmas was Jurassic World. It was sort of amazing, and I loved every second of it. The older boy in the movie sort of looked like Ethan. I told him so, and he thought I was talking about the younger kid at first, and he gave me a “what the fuck” look, until I pointed the other kid out. He agreed, but said he was the hotter, older version.
I smiled in the darkness, relishing in my thoughts. Ethan rolled over in the bed, and propped himself up so he could get a good view of me. “Good morning, beautiful.” he whispered in a sexy, gruff voice. He trailed his finger softly over my cheek. “How long have you been awake?”
“A while, I woke up but didn’t move because I know you need your sleep, or else you’ll be grumpy all day long. Isn’t that right?” I said with a sly smile.
He placed a hand over his chest in mock offense. “Me? No… you must have the wrong guy. I never get grumpy.” he said in amusement.
I rolled my eyes, and he bent over to give me a kiss.
I pulled away before he could make contact. “Eww… let me brush my teeth first.” I said. I didn’t want him to experience my morning breath.
“Makes no difference, your breath smells all day anyway.” he said.
I was one step away from punching him when I seen his smile and knew he was joking. I finally gave in and pulled him in for a kiss. I was still worried about my breath, but when his lips touched mine, suddenly, that didn’t matter too much anymore.
He repositioned so that I was lying under him, and pressed his hard body closer. “You’re the only one who can make me feel like this in the morning, you know that? You get me so worked up… now look what you’ve done, Lyla-bear. You’re a naughty, naughty girl. I must punish you…”
Ethan said in a playful voice.
His next kiss was beautiful. Sparks rose up within me and I felt like I was on fire. Fire danced under my skin, and I was illuminated. I rolled my head back and closed my eyes. His lips trailed over my neck.
Oh, I’ll never get sick of the way he felt when he was on top of me. His weight felt so right. I couldn’t wait until we finally went all the way. I pondered over whether or not it would hurt or feel good. Would I make noise, or would I have to forcibly keep my mouth shut? It was all very thrilling. Would Ethan make noise? Would he kiss me the whole time? How fast would he go?
He put his hand on my stomach, and started to tickle me, causing me to squeal in laughter. “Ethan… I really have to use the bathroom!” I hollered, making him stop.
I squeaked in delight when he started to rock his body from side to side, but when I saw the time on the clock, I pushed him off of me. I didn’t need to get a detention for being late to class.
Ethan groaned. “I really don’t want to go to school today.”
I agreed. “Hey, but maybe we can stop by my work and grab some cappuccino? Ever since I’ve been working there, I’ve been craving the stuff like no tomorrow.”
Ethan nodded, pulling on his jeans and a black t-shirt.
Soon we were both out the door, and heading to my workplace. When we arrived inside, my nose was greeted by sugar and coffee. It was a very lovely combination, and my mouth started watering. I ordered us two extra-large cappuccinos and a chocolate donut. The best part about it was that mine was free! I stuck my tongue out at Ethan when he had to pay for his.
He mock pouted.
Ethan and I sat drinking and eating at one of the tables until it was time to go. He drained the rest of his cup, stood up, and walked it over to the trash and dropped it in.
We both made it to school with a little time to spare. I used that time to go collect my things from my locker while Ethan went to hang out with his buddies. They were all pretty happy to see him considering all the claps on the back and fist bumps he received.
My 1st hour class was surprised with a quiz. Ms. Hermit said something about re-learning everything that we did before Christmas. She said time away from the school made our brains mushy. Whatever the heck that meant. It was one of the most ridiculous things I’d ever heard. And I’ve heard some crazy crap in my days, especially from my step-dad.
He was the king of Crazy Crap, literally.
I got to work on my assignment, when I heard a low whistle coming from my left. I snuck a peek over, and Ethan was grinning slyly, sending me a wink.
Good God.
The teacher whipped around and said loudly, “Who whistled? You know there isn’t any noise making during a quiz. If I find out who did it, I’m going to take your test and rip it up, causing you to get a zero.”
Some of the kids snickered when she turned around, causing her to give us all dirty looks. I smirked, but kept it hidden behind my hand.
What is the difference between RNA and DNA? The question asked. Yeah, I knew DNA was basically a personal identifier to a single person, and no one else shared it. It was also a double helix… RNA… hmm, did that have something to do with one helix or two? And didn’t it have something to do with sugar? I almost let out a groan when I realized I didn’t know any of this stuff.
I was a freaking idiot.
But, this was the reason why I was here; to learn all this interesting stuff I’d never known before.
I stuck a glance over at the kid next to me and started copying down his answer. He better hope he has it correct…
Suddenly the paper was snatched off my desk with no warning, and torn into shreds. I looked into the face of a very pissed off teacher.
“Who else wants to copy off their partner?” She held up my ripped test and waved it in the air. “Lyla here thinks copying is going to help her graduate high school. It won’t. Cheating won’t get you anywhere. In the real world, I think it is called plagiarism. And that crime will end you up in prison. Ever want to copy off of someone else’s work? You will be sued, just letting you all know that.”
Someone laughed, and I lowered my head down in shame.
I should have made sure she wasn’t looking before I started writing… I’m so stupid, now I’m going to fail. I sent a glance at Ethan, and he had a small smirk on his face. Oh, he thought this was funny did he? I almost said something when a scream sounded from the front of the room.
I looked, and Ms. Hermit was jumping out of her chair, and brushing her butt off.
“How in the world did ice get on my seat?” she hollered. She looked around the room, but no one said anything.
I could guarantee I could guess who was behind that stunt.
I was rather proud of Ethan.
I smiled wide, not caring if anyone saw. There was no proof of anything, so I doubt that I would get in trouble.
***
Later on after school, Ethan dropped me off at work, and I walked into the yummy smelling place in an outgoing way. I was smiling, and I was afraid I would start singing. There was also a bounce to my step. I didn’t remember a time when I was so carefree and happy.
I got right to work.
Between making coffees and getting food packaged for my customers, the four hours went by remarkably fast. I was even allowed to take a few free bagels and cookies home.
When my last customer came in, I stood there staring at him like a little freak. It’s like I knew him from somewhere. He looked so familiar, but I couldn’t picture where I’d seen him.
“Hello, Lyla.” he said in an eerie voice.
I looked up, startled. “How do you know my name?”
He chuckled. “Your name tag, duh.”
I looked down at it, and frowned. Right.
After getting him his coffee, I switched places at the cash register with another worker that I didn’t know yet, and ran to the back to punch out. I was so ready for this day to be over. My mind was focused on the weird stranger but I pushed it from my mind as I walked out the door, and into the cold wind. The snow was falling hard from the sky, and it was getting stuck all over my hair.
I shoved my hands into my pockets, and felt the crinkle of paper. Baffled, I pulled it out and opened it. My heart jolted in happiness when I read it.
You’re the best thing that has ever happened to me. Love, E
My mouth turned upwards in a huge grin. I’ve never felt so loved in my life. Just that simple note was enough to get my body shaking with all those good, happy vibes. I folded the note back up, and stuck it into my pocket for safekeeping.
When Ethan pulled up, I climbed into his truck and gave him a kiss.
“What are you so happy about?” he asked, holding both of my hands.
I looked into Ethan’s eyes and saw the love that shone inside of him. His eyes sparkled like I’d never seen someone’s do before. “The note,” I whispered, trying not to cry.
He gave me a shy smile and lowered his eyes.
“What I said was true,”
I didn’t doubt it. I smoothed my finger over his hand.
“You are the best thing that has ever happened to me and I… I… don’t know what I would do if something happened to you.” He looked at me, with those happy, love-filled eyes, and—
I thrust the bag at him after a second to change the topic, or I really was going to start balling my eyes out. Ethan was the sweetest, most sensitive guy I’d ever met.
“What’s this?” he asked as he opened it.
“Bagels and cookies. Ann Marie gave them to me. Isn’t that nice of her?”
“She is a nice person…” he trailed off, taking a bite of one of the asiago cheese bagels. His eyes lit up, and he took another, much larger bite. The bite was so large I was afraid he was going to choke on it.
“Hungry?” I asked with a small laugh. “Yup,”
I was really excited to be going home to spend time with Ethan. Every moment that I spent with him made me fall more in love with him than I ever thought possible. I thought my heart was bound to burst at any moment sometimes. I didn’t realize love could make a heart feel like that. It always thumped strongly when he was near, and it raced into heart attack territory when we kissed. I couldn’t even imagine what would happen when we actually made love.
It was almost too good to think about.
When we got to the house, we both went into the basement. I let out a loud yawn, and I was starting to get tired. I went into the bathroom to put my pajamas on.
When I emerged, Ethan had the same idea because he was already lying in bed, under the covers. His eyes were closed, and he looked at peace. His hair was curled around his ears slightly, and he had a small, naughty smile on his lips that I really wanted to kiss.