Teacher's Pet 14
by Redkage
“I was hoping you wouldn’t find out.”“What happened, why did you grow like that?”
“I…can’t explain it, not now. I promise I’ll tell you, but please, let me have this night.”
I kept on playing that night over and over in my mind, but still I could not figure heads or tails out of the whole thing. How did he do it? How did he gain so much muscle mass in so little time? I mean, I always thought it was strange how quickly he grew, but I never knew HOW quick it really was. A hundred different theories ran through my mind, but every time I try and focus on one, another wilder theory would push it out of the way.
Of course, the only one with the answers was Ethan himself, but every time I tried to contact him, he’d make an excuse and leave. It was frustrating to work up my courage to give him a call, only to have him blurt out an obvious lie and hang up. He said he would tell me, but the wait was tearing me apart! I mean, what I felt was like watching a long awaited movie only to have it suddenly cut off at the climax. And since it was 8 days after that…it happened, and it made me 8 times more anxious to hear the truth.
“Are you sure you’re alright Brian?” Kevin asked me.
“I’m fine, why do you ask?” I looked up.
“You’re pouring coffee into your cereal.” He pointed out flatly.
Blinking I looked down. Sure enough, my bowl of corn flakes was filled to the rim with black, bitter liquid.
“I…think I’ve gone lactose intolerant.” I lied.
Kevin gave me a hard stare which he used whenever I ‘disrespect’ food as he calls it. Doing things like adding salt before giving something a taste or adding too much condiments onto a burger were things that really ticked him off.
“Is this about Ethan?” He asked me, and I involuntarily flinched.
The spoon I was holding clattered onto the tabletop. “What makes you say that?” I asked him as naturally as I could muster, but I knew Kevin saw right through it.
“Did he do something to you?” He asked with a hint of steel to his voice. “Did he hurt you?”
Right away I remembered Kevin’s threats of knives and cheese graters and immediately shook my head. “No, it’s not like that! Like I said, I’m fine, so you don’t have to worry.” If anything, I was worried about the police pounding on our door with a ziplock bag with Ethan’s remains in it.
Kevin looked doubtful but didn’t press further. “Well, if he does anything stupid, just come and tell me.”
“I will, I promise.” I nodded, my fingers crossed behind my back. All I had to do was start acting normal again and no one will bug me about my and Ethan again.
* * *
“Brian, I noticed you’ve been acting rather…distracted during this past week.” Mr. Johnson started.
“R-really?” My voice cracked. So much for acting normal, I thought. Mr. Johnson had suddenly called me into his office after my session was over. From an outside perspective, I guess it looked a bit like a teenager getting lectured by the school principal.
“I just wanted to ask you if anything is the matter.” Mr. Johnson inquired. “Have any of the students been giving you trouble?”
Not a student from here, I thought. “No, all of my students have been behaving well.”
“Well is it because of the work? Things tend to become hectic around midterms, but if you feel overwhelmed by it…”
“I’m fine.” I told him. “I’ve just been…distracted as of late, that’s all.”
“I see.” He leaned back in his chair. “Well, if you need it, you can take a vacation to help clear your mind.”
“Believe it or not, teaching DOES clear my mind.”
He could only laugh at that. “Well whatever works. Just know that if there is anything I can help you with, feel free to ask.”
“Thanks, I’ll let you know as soon as I can think of something.” I told him. “Now if you’ll excuse me, I better hurry if I don’t want to miss my bus.”
“Alright, take care.” Mr. Johnson said.
* * *
It was a quiet evening at Kevin’s apartment when the phone rang. Since I knew Kevin was in the shower, I decided to go ahead and pick it up.
“Hello?”
“Hello, Brian?”
I blinked. “Mr. Kennedy?”
“Sorry for calling you so late, but I really needed to ask you something.”
Another job offer? I could only hope. “Yes, what is it?”
“Do you know if anything is wrong with Ethan?”
I nearly dropped the phone from surprise. “Wh-wh-why would you call me and ask me that?”
“Well, it seems that you’re the person Ethan respects most out of all of his teachers, so I thought you might have some insight.”
Way to be inconspicuous Ethan…I just hoped no one realizes that he feels more than just respect for me. “I can’t say I know what’s wrong with Ethan, Mr. Kennedy.” Well at least that bit was somewhat true. “Why do you think so?”
“Well, usually he’s very active and energetic, but for the past week or so he’s like a different person. He hasn’t spoken much, and his games are the worst I’ve ever seen. They’ve started benching him early on in the games now.”
Odd as it may sound, I felt better knowing that Ethan was at least going through a rough time as well over this, so I wasn’t suffering alone. He deserved it.
“I’m sorry to hear that. If I find out about anything, I’ll let you know.”
“Please do, it’ll mean a lot to the whole school.” Mr. Kennedy said. “Well, I’ll let you go back to your evening. Good night!”
“Night.” I said, and then hung up the phone before picking it back up again.
Be firm Brian I told myself as I dialed Ethan’s number. You can’t let him think you’re a pushover. Just stand your ground and demand an explanation.
On the third ring Ethan picked up. “Hello?”
Suddenly I wasn’t so sure anymore.
“Ethan…it’s me.” I said, beads of sweat already forming on my brow.
“Oh…hey.” Ethan’s voice dropped. “How are you? Still doing well at your job?”
“Yes, I’m doing fine.” Is it just me, or am I using that word far too much lately? “And you? How’s school?”
“I’m doing okay.”
“A call from your principal told me otherwise.”
There was a slight pause at the other line. “Mr. Kennedy? Why would he be calling you?” Was that a hint of jealousy in his voice?
“He just wanted to ask if I knew why you’ve been acting out of sorts lately.”
“I…Just have a lot on my mind. Midterms are almost here, after all, so I wanted to study hard. You know how hard it is for an athlete to keep up in schoolwork.”
Avoiding the issue. I knew for a fact that Ethan had a very smart head and could probably ace that test easy. I guess I had to bring it up again. “Ethan, about the other night-”
“Oh sorry, I gotta head out now.” Ethan cut me off. “My mom wants me to run to the store and buy some things for her.” Groceries at 8 PM at night? God his excuses were getting more and more unrealistic.
I should fight, I knew I should. “Oh…okay.” I said. “I…I guess I’ll talk to you late-”
“That’s it, I have had it!” All of a sudden Kevin stormed in, his face almost as red as his hair. He only had a towel around his waist and his hair was still dripping wet. “Give me that!” He yanked the phone out of my hand and put it to his ear. “Hello, Ethan? I warned you didn’t I?”
“Kevin, what-”
“Don’t act like you don’t remember!” Kevin yelled, cutting me off. “You promised me you wouldn’t hurt Brian! Do you realize how much pain you’ve been inflicting on him every time you hang up on him? Do you know how messed up you’ve made him?”
He had been watching me make those calls? I always thought he was out of the room when I did. “Kevin, it’s not like tha-”
“If you really care about him, you’d cut the crap and deal with whatever problem the two of you are having!”
After that Kevin fell silent. I could feel my heart still as I waited for Ethan’s answer. Finally after what seemed like ages, Kevin turned to me. “Is tomorrow afternoon good for you?”
Stunned, I nodded.
“He’ll be there.” Kevin spoke into the phone. “Uh-huh. Uh-huh. Bye.” He hung up the phone, and that was when I came out of my trance.
“Kevin, why…I mean, you…I…”
“Look, there’s no need to say anything.” Kevin told me. “Just go over to his place tomorrow and get this whole damn mess straightened out. Better yet, break up with him. He isn’t qualified to be your boyfriend if he’s too chicken to face you and talk things over.”
I didn’t know whether to argue or agree. Were Ethan and I really that far in our relationship? But depending on how things go tomorrow, I might very well have to decide if I had to end this.
The next afternoon I once again found myself standing in front of Ethan’s front door. It took me three whole minutes before I pushed the doorbell after mentally preparing myself, and only 15 seconds before Mrs. Black opened the door.
“Oh…hello there Mr. Whitmore,” she said, “Ethan told me you’d be stopping by.”
“Good afternoon Mrs. Black.” I nodded my head towards her. “Is Ethan in his room?”
“No, he’s in Stuart’s office…” Mrs. Black trailed off. She frowned slightly as she looked at my face as if uncertain about something, and then shook her head. “I’ll be leaving you three alone; I have a book club to get to.”
“Oh, which book are you reviewing?”
“The Velvet Bird by Eliza Pruitt.” She held up a paperback book.
“Ah, a good novel.” I nodded. “I especially liked it when Josie walked through the storm all while doing her best to keep her package dry.“
“You’ve read it?” She looked at me in surprised. Hell, anyone would be surprised to find out a guy reads books like that.
“Oh yes, a year or two back.” I told her. “I thoroughly enjoyed reading it, and I’m sure you and you book club friends will also.”
“Why thank you.” She smiled. “I need to be leaving now, so feel free to go upstairs and call on Ethan. I hope he doesn’t give you too much trouble.”
Too late I thought. Ethan had been giving me trouble since day one. I decided to keep that to myself however as I thanked Mrs. Black before heading upstairs. Remembering what Mrs. Black told me, I went past Ethan’s room to the door in the rear and knocked on it.
“Ethan? It’s me.”
“Door’s unlocked.” His voice came through.
When I opened that door, I was surprised to see Mr. Black standing there next to Ethan…though it did make sense since it was his office.
“Oh, I’m sorry if I’m interrupting something.” I said, looking down awkwardly.
“Oh no, we can talk here.” Ethan stopped me. “In fact, my dad’s going to be the one explaining everything.”
“Your dad?” I looked over at Mr. Black.
“Ethan tells me you noticed one of his…growth spurts.” Mr. Black started.
“It’s not like it was that hard to notice.” I said, closing the door behind me. “He gained about 20 pounds within the space of a few minutes.”
“Yes, normally he doesn’t have that strong of a reaction.”
“A reaction to what?” I asked. “I mean, how is this even possible? Is he on some sort of super drug or something?”
“No…yes…I mean…” Mr. Black covered his eyes. “It’s…a long story.”
“I got time.” I said, crossing my arms.
Mr. Black let out a deep sigh. “It wasn’t too long after I got married to Amy…Ethan’s mother.” He glanced over at Ethan. “Things between Ethan and I were still a bit awkward so I decided to take him to work to try and bond with him better. I gave him a tour before taking him to my lab, then showed him my latest project, a compound that would alter the body chemistry to develop muscle mass to try and solve the problem of muscular dystrophy during space travel.”
“You experimented on Ethan?” I looked at him with horror and disgust.”
“No, I would never do such a thing!” Mr. Black’s said. “Even though the animal testing with the mice had shown absolutely no health threats whatsoever, the last thing on my mind was to conduct a human experiment on my stepson! I love Ethan, just as if he were my own child! However…I feel that I am just as guilty as if I had given it to him. After I showed him the compound, I was called out to help a colleague of mine. Since I thought it wouldn’t take long, I left Ethan in the lab thinking he would stay out of mischief for a few short minutes. When I returned five minutes later, he had already consumed the solution.”
Mr. Black looked at me with haunted eyes. “Not a day goes by that I do not regret what happened back then.”
“Dad, it wasn’t your fault.” Ethan told him. “I chose to drink it.”
“You were still just a child! The fact of the matter is, I shouldn’t have left you alone in a room with so many dangerous chemicals! If you had drunk the more concentrated solution just two beakers to the right, your growth would have accelerated far too quickly for your body to adapt and we would have lost you years ago, dammit!” Mr. Black pounded his fist on the table.
After a moment of silence, the two of them suddenly remembered I was still in the room, listening in. Clearing his throat awkwardly, Mr. Black continued on. “Well, needless to say, I was very distressed when I learned that Ethan had ingested the solution. I’ve done everything I can to remove the solution from his body, but it had already altered his testosterone production. When I told his mother…we nearly separated when she heard what had happened.”
“Mom’s already forgiven you Dad.”
“But I haven’t forgiven myself, Ethan.” Mr. Black told him before turning back to me. “The most I can do is to monitor his development to make sure he’s healthy.”
“Isn’t that a bit of an understatement?” I looked over at Ethan.
“Yes, his outer appearance is quite the display of health and…virility,” he let out an awkward cough, “but I’ve been making sure his internal organs are developing and functioning correctly as well. His respiratory system, cardiovascular system, his liver, any possible development of tumors or cancers, all of these things I look out for. Fortunately, it appears that Ethan will live a very long and healthy life. There’s only one slight side effect. Whenever he goes through activity which stimulates testosterone production, his muscular tissue would rapidly develop in a strong reaction.”
“Basically he’s saying that I’m healthy, but whenever I work out hard or…it…I have a growth spurt.” Ethan translated for me when he saw my blank face.
“Normally a small one, usually one or two pounds and a fraction of an inch gained. However, as of late his reactions have gotten much…stronger. I’ve tried to convince Ethan to keep his masturbation to a minimum, but you know teenagers.”
“Dad!” Ethan said, his cheeks going a bit red. After having sex in a construction site, a janitor’s closet and a hotel suite, it surprised me that Ethan could be embarrassed about sex at all. Then again, parents do have that natural gift to humiliate their kids.
“So how is this sitting with you Mr. Whitmore?” Mr. Black asked me.
“I don’t know.” I shook my head. “It’s all so…I mean, it’s a lot to take in.”
“I understand.” Mr. Black nodded. “However I hope you can understand the importance of keeping this a secret. Despite everything that’s happened, I wish for Ethan to have as normal of a life as possible.”
“I doubt anyone would believe me even if I told them.” Hell, even I could barely believe it right now! Ethan had somehow ate his step dad’s science experiment that made him able to grow huge muscles every time he came? It sounded like something you’d find posted on an online forum for fetishes. Still, it sounded like Mr. Black was deeply concerned about Ethan, so I guessed that I would have to accept everything. “Don’t worry, Ethan’s secret is safe with me.”
Mr. Black let out a deep breath. “Thank you. You can only imagine what kind of ruckus this will be if it gets out.”
“Oh I can imagine.” Thoughts of men in black suits or the National Guard storming into town floated around my head.
“So, um, would you like a cup of coffee? You know, to help ease the nerves.”
“No thank you.” I declined. “I…I need to be going anyway. The next bus should arrive pretty soon.”
“Oh, well, would you like me to drive you home instead?”
“No thank you.” I declined again.
“I’ll walk you to the bus station.” Ethan told me. It sounded much more like a fact than an offer. I could have tried to say no, but then I remembered that I didn’t exactly have the best track record of turning down Ethan.
“Alright then.” I gave in. “To the bus stop then.”
Ethan looked over at his dad. “I won’t be gone long.”
“Okay Ethan.” Mr. Black nodded.
The trip down the stairs and out of the house was completely silent. I kept my mouth completely shut until we were out of eyesight of Ethan’s house.
“So…” I began. Ethan jumped. Well that was quite a sight, seeing a 300 lbs. teenager get startled with a guy half his size.
“So…does you Dad know about…you know…us?” I asked awkwardly.
“Huh? Us?” He blinked, then he realized what I was referring to. “Oh, us! No, no, he doesn’t know a thing. He may be a great chemist, but when it comes to everything else he’s a bit slow.”
“Oh.” A part of me was relieved that our secret was still intact, while another part was hoping it was finally out in the open so we could stop hiding.
After that the two of us fell silent again. I could tell Ethan wanted to say something else, but the uneasy tension between us balked him. When we came in sight of the bus station, however, that gave him the final push.
“Do you think I’m a freak?”
I paused midstride and turned to him. “What?”
“The growing, the science thing, all of it,” Ethan looked at me. “Do you think I’m some sort of freak?”
I was stunned to see such vulnerability in Ethan. Sometimes I forgot that underneath all that hard muscle and normally cocky attitude was a scared teenager.
“Well Ethan, I’m a gay teacher who loves his job and has a sexual relationship with his student almost a decade and a half younger than he is. If you’re a freak, so am I.”
A low laugh rumbled out of Ethan’s throat. “Thank you Mr. Brian. You always know what to say to make me feel better. You make me feel…normal.”
“Well, I wouldn’t say normal.” I blushed as we continued to walk again. I saw that the bus was already approaching, so I had to hurry up if I wanted to catch it. “I have to confess, I find your body very, very attractive.”
“Well that’s a relief.” He laughed a bit more confidently now. “After all, I did this all for you.”
My blush stopped abruptly. “What?”
“Yea, the reason I took that formula was to grow because you told me to.” He beamed at me with a cocky wink.
“What…what are you talking about?” I looked at him, confused and lost. “I never told you.”
“Yes you did.” He insisted. “The very last time we saw each other, I asked if there was anything I could do for you, and you said to grow-”
“-into a big strong boy.” I finished, the memory resurfacing crystal clear in my head. I could feel the color drain from my face as I realized just what exactly I had done.
“Mr. Brian?” Ethan leaned forward, concerned. “Are…are you alright?” He reached out with his hand.
Immediately I jumped back. “Don’t touch me!”
Ethan sucked in his breath, causing his chest to heave out powerfully, but my mind was in so much turmoil that I didn’t even notice it. “M-Mr. Brian?’’
“You…you did this…” I waved my hands at him, gesturing at his body, “You endangered your life because…because of me?”
Ethan’s eyes widened. “I didn’t-”
“No!” I stopped him. “No, I won’t listen to your excuses! You…because of me you…oh god.” I felt so sick. Seven years ago I had worked too closely to my students, allowed an innocent boy develop romantic feelings for me. Then, in a moment of weakness, I had given him the idea to become big and strong, even though I knew how unlikely it was seeing how he was the smallest in his class. And when his father showed him something to get past that, Ethan took the opportunity at once.
All because of me.
Ethan took one step towards me, and I jumped back again. “Don’t!” I yelled at him. “Stay…stay away from me!” Those words hit Ethan so hard that he actually flinched back. I took this opportunity to make a run for the bus. The driver gave me a funny look when I burst through the door and flashed my pass. The bus was empty at this time of day, so I just found a seat near the back and sat down. Not soon after the bus began to move.
It’s all my fault. It’s all my-
Suddenly the bus stopped so abruptly that I banged my face into the seat in front of me. Clutching my nose, I looked up. “What’s happening?” I asked the driver out front. For some reason, the bus looked like it was slanting downhill even though I knew we were on level ground.
“I don’t know!” He said, bewildered. “I’m stepping on the gas pedal but we’re not moving!”
A dreadful suspicion grew in my mind. “Excuse me.” I said as I ran up to the front of the bus, pulled the door latch, jumped off the bus and ran down the length of the vehicle. There, I found Ethan holding back end of the bus up, the rear tires four feet above the ground and still spinning.
“Ethan!”
At the sound of my voice, Ethan immediately dropped the bus. The weight of being dropped at that height was enough to cause the tires to blow out as soon as it hit the asphalt and screech to a halt. The loud noise made me jerk back, but Ethan simply ignored it.
“Mr. Brian, I didn’t mean what I said earlier.” He told me.
“Ethan, are you crazy?” I tried to gather myself, but the sight of him holding up the bus was still fresh in my mind. “You could have hurt yourself!”
“I lied when I said I did it for you.” He continued on. “I mean, yes, you said that, but the reason why I did this to myself isn’t because of you. I just said it because I wanted to impress you!”
“Your lies won’t work on me Ethan,” I shook my head. “You…I’ve messed up your life so much, I just…we can’t see each other more.”
“You didn’t mess up my life.” Ethan said softly. “If anything, you’ve helped me straighten it up.”
It was at that time that the bus driver decided to come out and investigate. “What happened?”
Ethan turned towards the driver. “I think you hit a sink hole or something, because your tires blew out. You better call someone to fix it up right away.”
Frowning, the bus driver walked around and peered at the damage. While he was occupied, Ethan suddenly grabbed me, pressing his hand against my mouth to stop me from crying out and getting the driver’s attention. Before I knew it we were speeding down the neighborhood to god knows where. Ethan was so fast, and I bounced around in his hard arms like a helpless rag doll. Finally he reached a kind of small apartment building, cut through the parking lot and headed towards a wooden gate. When he reached it, he pulled on a piece of string hanging out of a hole, causing the gate to swing open, jumped through and kicked it shut. It wasn’t until then that Ethan finally set me down on the ground.
“Where are we?” I looked at our surroundings. We were in an enclosed spot, made from the walls from three buildings and a brick wall. There were no windows facing us and the trees growing in the place had thick foliage, so we were completely sheltered from the outside world. Inside was a king of beautiful little natural garden of some sorts. Green grass spread like a lush carpet, small bundles of flowers growing here and there.
“This is Make-Out Nook.” Ethan reached down, picked up an empty coffee can and placed it on top of the post of the wooden gate we came through.
“Make-Out…no.” I said firmly.
“I’m not going to try and get you to have sex with me.” Ethan sat down on the grass.
“Like I’m going to believe that from a guy who just kidnapped me and carried me to a place called Make-out Nook.” I took a step back. Ethan sat between me and the gate, so that exit wasn’t an option. Maybe if I had a good enough of a running start I could jump over that brick wall, but it was a good 8 feet high.
“I took you here because I wanted some privacy. The coffee can up there tell other guys that this place is occupied.” He pointed at it.
“Privacy so you can tear off my clothes and-”
“Dammit Mr. Brian, shut up at let me finish!” He slammed his fist into the ground. I actually felt a tremor from the blow and my body reacted on its own by sitting down as well. “I wanted privacy because…because what I have to tell you is important, and I couldn’t do it in front of other people or anywhere someone can just drive by. I…fuck, I don’t know where to start.”
After a moment of silence, I braved a suggestion. “Try the beginning.”
Ethan looked at me, squared his shoulders and took a deep breath. “The next school year after you left, I got put in a class with a guy named Phillip Doyle. He was easily the biggest kid in the class, and he was a bully. He used to pick on me all the time, pushing me around, messing with my things, taking my lunch money, that sort of stuff. He kept on telling me how I had to listen to him because he was bigger than I was and that the guy with the biggest muscles could do whatever he wanted. His words, they got to me. I tried desperately to get bigger. I drank five glasses of milk a day, I did as many pushups and sit-ups as I could, I forced myself to eat food until I felt sick. Nothing worked.”
“Then, when my Dad showed me his project, I just knew it was my one chance to change myself, to become someone. After I drank that solution, I noticed that I had more energy than before; that I can squeeze out more pushups and sit-ups and get tired less. Then, about two months later, I finally grew bigger than Phillip. And he was scared. He knew I was strong, stronger than he was. We weighed the same, but I had burned off all of my baby fat and was a hundred percent pure muscle. He tried to ignore me and leave me alone. Then he tried to make friends with me and get me on his side. Finally, when I grew one inch taller than he was, I decided it was time for some payback. I wrestled him to the ground, pinned him on the blacktop and twisted his arm back until he was begging me to let go, and I enjoyed it.”
“After that, I took over as the new big guy in charge. All of Phillip’s old friends wanted to be with me, everyone respected me…it all went to my head that I started to believe all that crap Phillip used to say when he picked on me, that the biggest guy could do whatever he wanted. I mean, I didn’t make other people’s lives hell like he did, but I still acted like I owned everyone. When I started to become sexually active, that idea grew stronger when I found out that everyone will do anything if I flexed my muscles or even fuck them. The fact that I was so big, so strong and good at sports made me a god at school. I did what I wanted, whenever I wanted. I could have even just walked around naked and I wouldn’t get in trouble. Everyone loved me, worshiped me…except you.”
Ethan gripped my hands and looked deeply into my eyes. “Mr. Brian, you came back in my life and turned it upside down.”
Funny, I could say the same thing with him.
“You took that cocky, confident and lazy ass jock and put him on the right path. You made me remember how good it feels to earn things again, showed me how stupid and naïve I was. You…you didn’t mess up my life. You didn’t. You helped me clean it up instead. You guided me from the wrong path and set me straight again. I always thought I’d just have to do great in sports, get a scholarship and play in the Pro Leagues, but being with you…I want to earn things now. I want to get an education, get my degree, get a job because I deserve it, not because I used some chemicals to grow big and strong. I wouldn’t have realized this if it hadn’t been for you. You really, honestly cared about my future, about..about me.”
Ethan looked up at me, and I was taken aback when I saw his eyes were wet. “I…I don’t deserve you Mr. Brian. I honestly don’t. I’m always causing you trouble, I’m cocky and arrogant and don’t know when to keep my mouth shut, like how I said I grew for you when it was a lie. And now that you know the truth about me, about how I’ve acted these past years, you probably think less of me now.”
“Ethan, I’d never do that.” I reached out and used my thumb to wipe the tears forming at the edge of his eyes. “I…when I was your age I had a rough time as well, so I can understand it when someone veers off track, even for a little while.”
Ethan sniffed a few times to get his emotions under control and then smiled. “There you go again, saying exactly what I need to hear. You’re so kind and honest and naïve and cute…” Ethan bent his knees, leaned forward and pressed his lips against mind, giving me a soft, deep, tender kiss.
“I love you Brian.” The words flowed from his lips.
My eyes widened and my breath stilled.
He said it!
A part of me had known that one day he might say he loved me, and I had prepared a dozen little speeches to decline. He was a kid with a bright future ahead of him, and I was an adult down on his luck; it was a relationship destined to go down in blazes. I had prepared myself to end the relationship as soon as he said those words by telling him he didn’t mean it, that he should move on and look for real love.
But then, when he finally said it, my knees went weak, my stomach flipped and I felt my eyes watered. My heart just stopped, my stomach flopped and I never felt so truly happy.
“Brian?” Ethan asked, alarmed as I started to cry. “Mr. Brian, is something wrong?”
I threw my arms around his waist and pulled myself against his hard, strong body. “I love you too! I love you too, you stubborn, overgrown muscle-headed idiot!”
Ethan looked down at me in surprise, and then slowly, almost hesitantly, he wrapped his arms around me gently before tightening it in a tender embrace.
“I love you Brian.” Ethan said again. “I love you Brian.”