hand and led me toward the entrance, not the parking garage. Before I could ask him where we were going, Trisha came out of the restroom, her eyes opening wide at seeing us.
I immediately felt the tension. “Oh, hey, Trisha,” I said, looking between her and Ethan.
She looked at him, but answered me. “Hey.”
Something had happened between the two of them, which was obvious. Feeling even more awkward, I took a step back, but Ethan gripped my hand even harder. Trisha looked down at our joined hands and pain filled her eyes.
“I have to get back to work,” she whispered then dashed away.
I looked up at Ethan and he shook his head. He continued leading me to the entrance then walked outside. He turned right and continued on, not saying a word.
I finally stopped, refusing to go anymore with no explanation. “What was that all about?” I asked.
He sighed and ran a hand through his hair, making more spikes appear. “Can we talk about this at lunch instead of in the middle of the sidewalk?”
Knowing that made more sense, I nodded. We continued walking until we reached our favorite cafe. I should have known, I smiled to myself.
We were seated and I immediately dove in. “So?”
He raised his eyes to me, and chuckled. “You don’t waste time, do you?”
I shook my head, “Nope.”
The server came then and we gave him our orders. Once he’d left, Ethan sighed and grabbed for my hand.
“Well, I told Trisha nothing could happen between us,” he said very softly.
“Go on.”
He looked down. “I told her I’ve always been in love with you and that I’d finally told you. I told her that I was going to fight for you, that I only wanted you.”
Slam!
My heart almost flew out of my chest. I looked at him and saw the intensity in his eyes, the absolute sincerity. I started to twirl a strand of hair around my finger. I was melting.
“I meant it, Aly,” he said, lowering his gaze. “I couldn’t lead her on when I knew nothing was going to happen. Haven’t you ever wondered why my relationships never work out?” He glanced back up to me. “They never work out because of you.”
The server decided that was the moment to bring our food. I sat back in my chair, stunned at what Ethan had just told me.
Once the server finally left, I responded. “I don’t know what to say. I guess I hadn’t ever thought it was because of me your relationships never worked out. I thought you were just too picky.”
He took a bite of his cheeseburger, shaking his head. “No, that’s not it. They just weren’t you.”
I stared down at my pasta, twirling it around my fork. Looking back at him, the strong realization that I wanted to be with him slammed into my chest I felt like I couldn’t breathe and I covered my mouth with my hand.
Ethan looked at me alarmed. “What is it?” he asked, covering my other hand with his. I couldn’t speak for a minute, and felt the tears start to come again.
When I could finally speak, I couldn’t hold back the words. “I love you too, Ethan,” I whispered, my breath catching. I did, I knew I did. I felt like a fool for taking this long to fully see it.
His eyes grew wide, and he squeezed my hand. “What did you just say?” he asked in a whisper.
I smiled at him while wiping a tear from my face. “I do, I love you. You are so amazing and so good to me. I don’t deserve you.”
He raised my hand to his lips. “Don’t say that. Holy shit, Aly. Does this mean what I think it means?” he asked in awe.
I watched as he kissed each finger, mesmerized. When he stopped, I looked up at him, his eyes full with love. “Yes, Ethan, it does. I need you and can’t imagine not having you with me, in every way. I’m sorry it took me so long to finally see it.”
He stared at me, his eyes blazing. “I don’t care about that. All that matters is what you’re saying to me now. I love you so much, Aly. Ever since that first night we met in that club, you’ve taken my breath away. To hear you finally say you love me, and you want me, is something that had always been in my dreams, until now.”
I wiped my eyes with my napkin, overcome with so much love for