Ethan
I really wanted to beat Rylan’s ass.
Ever since Lyla’s been home from the hospital, she’s been staying at his house. It was time for her to come home with me. She’d been there for over a month. She was healed finally, and I was grateful. I packed up her stuff and put it into my truck, and went back into Rylan’s house to get her. She wasn’t in pain anymore, which was a relief.
She was back to feeling like her normal self once again.
I wanted to beat Rylan’s ass because he was trying to win Lyla over. I saw the way he looked at her, and it just pissed me off.
I’m not the type of person that got jealous a lot, but there was just something about him that I didn’t like.
And the way he used his demonic compulsion on her? I growled at the thought.
I pushed my way back into the house and up the stairs. Lyla was back in her clothes instead of the hospital gowns that Rylan insisted on her wearing. The only reason why he made her wear them was because there was an opening in the back. I could guarantee that he tried to check her ass out any chance he got.
“Hey, baby.” I said, pulling her into a hug. “Are you feeling okay?”
“Never felt better,” she said, kissing me. Suddenly, someone cleared their throat, interrupting us.
“I’ll see you later, Lyla.” Rylan said with a wink. “See ya, and thank you.” she called over her shoulder.
I growled. Why the heck was he winking at her? I grabbed her hand and started pulling her down the stairs, away from him. God, I really wanted her away from him. Something about him just pissed me the fuck off.
“Will you calm down, Ethan? Rylan is just trying to help me.”
“How would you feel if Miranda was the one sending me winks and trying to check me out? Huh?” I asked a bit too harshly, spouting the first sentence that came to mind.
She stopped moving and put her hand on her hip.
She seethed, “She does! Every fucking day. And you know what? I put up with it. And you know what? You’re gonna have to put up with it also, because he’s my friend, and I’m not picking one or the other. So can it, dammit. If Rylan wouldn’t have found me that one morning I wouldn’t be here right now. So you should be grateful for him.” She stormed off, and flung the door open. She marched down the steps and to my truck. She got in, and slammed the door hard. She sat there with her arms over her chest.
When I got inside, she was ignoring me. Smoke filled the air. Her face was red in anger, and I felt terrible.
“Lyla, I’m sorry. I’m not usually a jealous person. I just don’t like the way he looks at you. I know what Miranda does makes you feel the same way I do about Rylan. Please forgive me. I wasn’t thinking before I spoke… I’m sorry.” I silently begged her to forgive me.
She looked my way, and her face softened. “You know, it’s me who should be sorry. I’m always the one that gets jealous all the time… you have a right to be also. I promise you that nothing is going to happen between me and Rylan, just like I know nothing is going to happen between you and Miranda. I know how you feel, and I shouldn’t punish you for it. You were just speaking your mind.”
“Are we okay?” I asked, rubbing her palm with my thumb.
“Yeah, and again, I’m sorry for yelling. I didn’t mean it.”
I nodded, and leaned over to kiss her. The kiss was soft and sweet.
Lyla held up her palm, and a fireball appeared out of nowhere. I widened my eyes in amazement. “Here, hold this.” she said, holding the fireball out to me.
I hesitated.
“I’m controlling it, Ethan. It won’t hurt you, I promise.”
I reached over, and cupped my hand around it, and she was right, it didn’t burn me or anything. It just felt warm. I shifted it between both of my hands, and it extinguished. I let out a laugh of glee, and backed up from the driveway.
When we pulled up to my house, Lyla and I began grabbing her bags. We walked to the front door and it was flung open.
“Oh my God, Lyla! I’ve missed you so much!” My mom said loudly. She ran to give Lyla a hug and a kiss on the cheek, making her drop her bags. I bent down to pick them up.
“I’ve missed you too, Cherry. Have you heard from Ann Marie? I knew she said I could wait another week before I started work again, but I wanted to start sooner.”
“I’ll give her a call. Now, Ethan,” she said, turning to me. “Help our princess get something to eat, she’s too skinny. I think she lost some weight since the last time I saw her.”
I groaned. I didn’t know why my mom thought Lyla was too skinny. I think she’s perfect in every way. “Okay.”
Lyla walked into the house, and I went to follow but my mom stopped me, and pulled me aside. “Tomorrow is Valentine’s Day. I won’t be home so you and Lyla can have some time alone.”
I ignored her, and went into the house. Yeah, tomorrow was Valentine’s Day. I planned on making Lyla dinner and getting her some gifts. Shoot, I’ll have to leave now so I can get to the good stuff before it’s gone. I turned back to my mom, and told her to tell Lyla I had to run an errand. My mom promised me that she wouldn’t tell Lyla what I was actually doing, so I was holding her to that.
***
When I entered Victoria’s Secret, I pulled out Lyla’s sizes that I had scrawled on a piece of paper. I walked up to the counter and a pretty woman with long black hair and huge boobs assisted me. “What are you looking for?” she asked.
“I wanted to get my girlfriend a matching set of lingerie.” I said shyly.
She beamed. “I know just the thing, what color would you like?”
“Uh, surprise me.” I really didn’t care what the woman pulled out. I knew nothing about this type of thing, so I trusted her judgment.
We walked around until she pulled something off the rack. It was a lacy white bra, with matching panties. There was a little pink bow on the waist line of the under things, and a small silver heart dangling from it. I knew Lyla would like this.
I also liked it. Scratch that, I didn’t like it, I loved it.
I felt my body tighten just thinking about her wearing it. “She wears a 30B and a small in the bottom department, correct?” the sales woman asked.
I checked the piece of paper, and nodded.
I told the woman to wrap them up while I looked at the perfumes. I picked one up that said Love Spell, and smelled it. It was amazing. I got that for her also.
When I went up to the line I found Lyla’s lingerie wrapped in a pretty pink box. I paid, and grabbed my purchases.
After, I went to the grocery store so I could pick up a few things for tomorrow’s dinner. I knew basically what Lyla liked, so I hoped what I made she would enjoy.
When I got home, I snuck in and hid her presents behind the piano. I knew she would never look back there. I think the thing scared her… total LOL moment.
I tromped my way down the stairs, and tried to keep a bored expression on my face. I didn’t want to ruin my surprise. It needed to stay secret.
When I opened the door to my room I found Lyla sitting on the couch watching TV. When she seen me she smiled, and patted the space next to her.
“So where did you go?” Lyla asked, rubbing her hand up and down my leg, totally distracting me.
“Um, I had to go pick up some groceries for my mom.” I said, hoping she believed it.
She did.
I smiled smugly, and leaned back on the couch.
“So, did you want to try to teach me how to play chess again?” Lyla asked. “I know I’m not the best, but I can learn.”
I shivered when her hand started moving toward my inner thigh. I didn’t even think she knew she was doing this to me. I think she was just absently rubbing me. When her hand reached high enough, I sucked in a sharp breath, and started shaking. “Yes, I think that is a very, very good idea.”
***
The next day came rather quickly, and since Lyla had to work after school, it gave me time to go home and set everything up. I tried not to let my nerves show when I dropped her off. I was scared in a way that I didn’t understand. I wanted this to be perfect for her, and I didn’t want to mess it up in anyway.
I wanted this to be a romantic evening for the both of us.
I wasn’t planning on having sex, but if she wanted to, I would give it to her.
I wanted to see her smile. I just wanted her to know how much I loved and appreciated her. She brought so much happiness to my life that I wanted to share it with her every day. How could I not? She constantly brings a smile to my face, and I’m always happy and laughing when she’s around.
I started cooking immediately when I got into the house. I knew when I finished everything that it would still be hot when Lyla came back. The house smelled incredibly good. My stomach was rumbling already. I had to skip lunch at school today because my stomach was a bundle of nerves. I didn’t know why I was so shy, but I really needed to stop it.
Lyla would be laughing at me right now if she could see me.
The next thing I did was really unsafe, but I knew it would be okay for a little while. I started gathering all of my mom’s pink and purple candles out of the cabinet, and lighting them one by one. The house took on a hearty glow, and it was stunning. I set them all up in the foyer, kitchen, living room, and put two on the table. The house was dark because of the winter hours, but that was okay, it made the fire dance even more across the walls and the floor. It was almost like something I’ve saw at Miranda’s house. Those things with the weird lights… not disco balls—but those water speaker things. Yeah, that’s what it looked like, but with fire, not water.
I ran downstairs and decided to take a shower. I grabbed clothes from my drawers, and then I went into the bathroom and began shaving the stubble off of my face. I knew Lyla liked my skin to be smooth, so I couldn’t complain. I didn’t like having a beard, anyway. It made me look ridiculous and old, and I wasn’t ready to look old yet, damn it. I was only eighteen, almost nineteen, for crying out loud.
I stripped from my clothes, and looked at myself in the mirror. I was skinny, but not overly so. When I got into the shower, I took my time soaping myself up. I mean, I didn’t stink, but that doesn’t mean Lyla wouldn’t want her boyfriend to smell like apples. Yes, I used her girly soapy stuff, so shove it. I spent a ridiculous amount of time standing under the running water, and I knew I had to get out and leave soon.
When I got out, I pulled on a nice pair of black jeans, and a black shirt. I didn’t know why I wanted to wear all black, but I thought I looked good this way.
When it was time for me to leave, I was shaking. I wasn’t good at surprises, and I hoped that she liked everything that I did. From the presents to the food to the clean-smelling-me, I should get a prize or something.