Saturday, December 22.
"You really need to stop supplying me with champagne" Arabella giggled as Ethan walked back to their table and placed a glass on the table in front of her. He grinned, bending down to kiss her. As he sat down in his seat, Arabella took a sip of her champagne. From where they were sitting, the could see a small group of people dancing to Christmas music, people milling around the bar and the food, men in business suits talking to each other.
"Your dad really knows how to throw a party" Ethan said, looking around and taking a breath.
"My dad know how to find a good party planner" Arabella corrected with a little laugh and Ethan smiled over at her.
"I still can't get over the fact that he's letting us drink" He sighed, nodding towards the glass in ehr hand.
"Oh...it's nothing. I think that he's just happy that I come to these parties and I'm not in some house in Queens, doing shots" Arabella laughed, looking around the room to see if she could find her dad. Her eyes finally landed on her father. He was sitting at a table with a bunch of people that she didn't know but they were clearly talking business. He threw a party like this every year. Ethan glanced over at her father and let out a sigh before turning back to Arabella.
"Come on. Dance with me" Ethan grinned, holding out his hand to her.
"If by dancing you mean step on your feet, then sounds like a plan" Arabella laughed but she took his hand and let him lead her out to the dance floor. Ethan pulled her closer to him and Arabella glanced down at her feet nervously.
"You're not going to step on my feet" Ethan told her.
"You don't know that. I never dance at these things. I just eat the snacks and wait to go home"
"Geeze, you sure love these Christmas events, don't you?" Ethan laughed "You're just a big bundle of sunshine"
"Oh...bite me" She muttered and Ethan laughed and he pulled her closer to him, swaying gentle to the music. Everything seemed to perfect. The music, the room, her dress. Ethan looked stunning in his suit and he had cut his hair for the party. He looked so handsome and pulled together. When Arabella looked at him, her butterflies went crazy and she knew that her cheeks were a rosy pink. Slowly, as she spent more time with him, Arabella was falling head over heels. Ethan was strong, kind and he treated her well. He could make her laugh when she was down and he made her feel good about herself. Not only that, but he was from a wealthy family so her father adored him.
"Have I told how beautiful you look tonight?" Ethan asked her and she blushed deeply.
"Well, you told me when you picked me up and then in the car and then when we go to the party..." Arabella laughed, resting her chin on his shoulder and taking a deep breath. Ethan smelt like clean, like soap, but with a musky, coppery undertone.
"I feel like it's worth mentioning more than once" Ethan said in a matter of fact voice and he gave her a small squeeze. Arabella loved being with him. It was fun.
"You look rather dashing, yourself" Arabella grinned, taking her chin off of his shoulder and looking up at him.
"I already knew that" Ethan scoffed, smiling. Arabella laughed a little bit, smacking his chest. Together, they moved slowly to the music, just enjoying each other's company.
"I can't wait to get home" Arabella sighed, smiling a little bit. Her and Ethan knew that they had to go to the party but they had plans for after the party. Her father was going to be out all night, so Arabella had invited Ethan over and they were going to be able to spend some time together, alone. They never got to spend much time together like that because she was always so busy.
"Let's not wait. Let's go right now" Ethan said softly, brushing his lips against her forhead.
"Now? We've only been here for an hour" Arabella giggled, turning to see where her dad was. She saw that he was lost in his conversation, not paying attention to anything else and she nodded. "Yeah, okay...let's go" She said and together, they walked over to their table. Arabella grabbed her purse and her jacket and followed Ethan out the door. As Ethan went to get a cab for them, Arabella ruffled through her purse, looking for her house keys and her wallet. In all honesty, she was just looking forward to getting out of her fancy clothes and into a pair of sweatpants.
"Arabella!" Ethan called to her, holding open the cab door. She smiled, climbed into the back seat adn soon enough, they were headed toward her home. Ethan was holding her hand in his lap, brushing his fingers along her knuckles. It was a light touch but it was warm and comforting.
The cab ride seemed to take forever but finally, they were pulling up to her house. Arabella quickly paid the driver before Ethan had a chance to and she slid out of the car. "That's not very fair. You had your wallet out and everything" Ethan laughed, putting his hands on her hips and pulling her closer. "You beat me to it"
"You snooze, you lose" Arabella giggled and she laughed harder when Ethan placed little kisses on her neck, tickling her.
"I'll have to pay you back somehow"
"I'm sure I can think of something" Arabella said, still laughing softly. She pulled out of his arms so that she could unlock the door and they walked inside. "You can help yourself to whatever food you can find in the fridge. I need to go change out of this dress" She said and she kissed his cheek before turning and running up the stairs. As soon as she was in her bedroom, Arabella tugged off the dress. She found a pair of sweatpants and a tee shirt and changed as soon as possible, letting out a sigh of relief. It felt so good to get out of those stuffy clothes and into something with a little bit of breathing room. She was just making her bed when she heard a knock on her bedroom door. "Come in"
"You know..the fact that you don't have regular chips bothers me" Ethan said, leaning against the doorway and holding a bag of BBQ chips.
"Regular is boring. Regular is regular. BBQ is fun" Arabella grinned and she flopped down on her bed, folding her legs under her. Ethan sat down next to her, offering her the bag of chips. She took a small handful then cuddled into Ethan's side, closing her eyes. It felt like it had been a long time since she had trusted someone like she trusted Ethan and it felt nice. Cuddling up to his side, kissing him, hugging him, dancing with him...it all felt so natural for her.
"Tonight was fun. You made the party sound so boring" Ethan laughed, giving her a little nudge and tossing a chip into his mouth.
"It usually is really boring" Arabella said softly and she yawned. She finished off her handful of chips then shifted so that she was laying down, her head in Ethan's lap.
"It was fun because I was there" Ethan nodded and Arabella giggled a little bit.
"Don't get cocky, now"
"I'll try" Ethan said softly and he leaned down, kissing her tightly. He placed the bag of chips on the ground and shifted slightly, so that Arabella was laying down on the bed and he held himself over her. As his lips brushed along her jaw and then down to her neck, Arabella placed a hand on his chest. Her heart was racing and there was no doubt in her mind that her cheeks were a bright pink. The whole situation felt a little off, to be honest. Ethan was so close to her. She could feel his body heat and she could feel the way his muscles moved gently. They had only been together for a couple of months and Arabella wasn't sure if she was fully ready for all of this. Ethan was a great guy and maybe she would want to do this with him at some point, but not then. Besides, it was so un-romantic and it just made Arabella anxious about the whole moment.
Ethan's hand slid down her body, his fingers dancing against the little strip of skin on her stomach that her shirt showed. he kissed her tightly, urgently then started to slip his hand under her shirt. "Ethan..." Arabella breathed, wiggling away from him as much as she could.
"What is it?" Ethan asked her, pulling away a little bit to look at her with a furrowed brow.
"Look, I...I'm not really ready for all of this and I'm just-I'm really tired" Arabella told him, not looking him in the eyes. There was a moment of silence then Ethan got off of the bed, standing up. He looked angry. There was an angry fire in his eyes that proved he was a son of Ares.
"Seriously? You're not ready?" Ethan's voice sounded a little bitter, making Arabella sit up and pull her knees to her chest.
"I'm sorry" Arabella whispered, looking up at him with wide eyes. Ethan looked down at her for a moment then scoffed. He rolled his eyes and walked towards her door.
"I'll talk to you later" Ethan muttered, walking out of her bedroom and closing the door loudly behind him. She stayed where she was for a little while, taking deep breaths and trying really hard not to cry. This was the last thing that she wanted. She couldn't believe that Ethan had stormed out of her room like that, just because she wouldn't sleep with him. Arabella thought about writing another letter to Hunter, like she did every night, but she just couldn't motivate herself to get off of her bed. She let out a little sigh then let herself fall back into her pillows. From downstairs, she could hear the front door close as Ethan left and she squeezed her eyes shut. She would talk to him tomorow. They had to get this whole thing sorted out. Arabella couldn't lose him.