UNSPOKEN

An Ethina Short Story

By: Lil' Chrissy

Ethan stumbled out of Jake's and into the pouring rain. It had been a hell of a week! He had drunk himself to oblivion after losing his shirt at the poker game. He didn't know how he was going to tell Luke and Tracy he lost the money he had 'borrowed' from the Haunted Star, so he decided to drown his sorrows in the bottom of the whiskey bottle. He staggered off, not knowing where he was going, nor caring really and finally ended up sitting on the docks. Somehow, staring out at the immense sea made his problems seem to disappear- irrelevant in the grand scheme of things. What was money anyway? He could always get his hands on more- one more scam, one more sucker, one more…. His thoughts trailed off as he succumbed to the blackness of unconsciousness.

Kristina's car had broken down and her cell phone wasn't working due to the storm. Luckily she wasn't too far from Kelly's, so she grabbed her umbrella and began to walk, figuring she'd use the phone there. She was lost in thought and nearly tripped over Ethan, who had passed out on the pier. She shook her head, what had he gotten himself into now? He was soaking wet and who knew how long he'd been there.

"Ethan?" Kristina tried to shake him awake. "Ethan, are you okay?"

"Krissy!", he slurred, grabbing at her.

"What happened?", she asked.

Ethan slowly tried to get up, but fell back on his butt again. "Hi luv! What brings you here?"

Kristina tried to help him stand up again. "Look at you. You're drunk!"

He shook his head. "What ever gave you that idea luv? I'm fine. Really. I just need to get home."

He staggered as he tried to walk. Kristina grabbed his arm to support him, dropping her umbrella.

"Come on. Let's get you out of here." Kristina let Ethan lean on her as she walked him towards his room at Kelly's.

Kelly's was closed but Kristina found Ethan's keys and unlocked the door. He fell onto one of the chairs while she ran in the back to grab some towels. Ethan's head fell forward as he tried to stay conscious. She walked back and handed it to him.

"A towel? Thanks luv, but that's not what I need." He looked at her with lust in his eyes that was unmistakable to Kristina.

They had been playing the flirting game for months, since her birthday to be exact and although Kristina had loved the attention, she hadn't taken it seriously. She didn't want to get hurt again, especially after he rejected her the first time she thought he was interested. She had resolved to the fact that they were only friends.

She helped Ethan out of the chair. "Come on Romeo, let's get you in bed."

"Oooohh. I like the way you think!", he retorted and put his arm more firmly around her waist.

Kristina just laughed it off as she half-pulled him up the stairs. She tried to steady him against the wall while she opened the apartment door. Ethan looked at her and put his hand on her shoulder.

"Do you know how pretty you are?", he slurred.

"Yeah, yeah. Let's get you some coffee." Kristina opened the door and set him on his bed. He fell backwards and was silent as he looked up at the ceiling for a few minutes. Kristina thought he had passed out, but while she was making coffee, she heard Ethan start to rattle off nonsense through his drunken stupor.

Smiling he babbled on, "You are so beautiful luv. Sweet, sometimes a pain in the ass, but that's your charm." Suddenly his mouth drooped and he furrowed his brow, "But I'm no good for you. You deserve the best." He slurred his words as he rambled on. "You're better than a high-stakes poker game. Better than the most expensive jewels I could steal." His voice trailed off, "Better than me..."

Kristina had been standing in the doorway listening. She tried to hide her giggle as she approached the bed. She started taking off his shirt. Ethan put his hands on her arms, "You know I love you, don't you Krissy?", he asked all serious.

Kristina's heart skipped a beat, but then she realized how drunk he was. "I need to get you out of these wet clothes", she started to unbutton his shirt.

Ethan feebly grabbed her hands. "You don't believe me, do you?", he barely got out in one sentence.

"You're drunk Ethan. You need to sleep it off and everything will be back to normal in the morning. I need to get you dry before you catch pneumonia!" She pulled his shirt back, exposing his chest.

"Is it so hard to believe luv? I've loved you for so long. I thought you loved me too." He sounded like a little boy, disappointed at Christmas.

Kristina looked deep into his golden eyes and wanted to believe it. How could she? He was trashed out of his mind and she was afraid to go there. To have her heart stomped on, her soul ripped apart. She had wanted this for so long- for Ethan to really be in love with her. She had loved him from the moment their eyes had met.

Suddenly Ethan pulled her towards him and laid a passionate kiss on her! At first she tried to pull back, but then just melted into him. After a minute, Kristina finally did pull back and quickly got up, turning away as she put her fingers to her lips. She had never felt like that before. Ethan slowly sat up.

"Now do you believe me?", he said, holding his hand out to her.

"Ethan, you're drunk and I'm sure you're lonely. Really, you need to sleep it off. Things will be clearer in the morning.", Kristina tried to dismiss what had just happened.

Ethan finally got to his feet and leaned on the desk across from the bed for support. With his long hair dripping wet, shirt open, he poured his heart out. "Krissy, please believe me luv. I know what you're thinking, but I'm not saying this because I'm drunk or I'm lonely. I don't know exactly when, but I fell in love with you. I don't know, maybe I've always loved you." He put his hand on her shoulder and slowly made her turn to face him. "It's always been you luv."

He kissed her again, this time Kristina didn't try to pull away. Her mind went blank as she felt the warmth of his kiss, then the passion inside her welled and she began to kiss him back. Suddenly, Ethan lost his balance and they both fell onto the bed, with Kristina on top of Ethan. Kristina started laughing and then looked at Ethan. He had finally passed out.

She stood up and then just stared at him. Gingerly she brushed the hair back from his face and then touched his lips with her fingers, ever so slightly. She hoped he would remember this in the morning.

It had only been a couple of hours when Ethan regained consciousness. He slowly tried to get up, but then grabbed his head with he hands- he had such a major headache! The room was still kind of spinning and he looked down to find he was only wearing his bvd's! He was trying to figure out what happened, when he started remembering the poker game, getting ripped at Jakes and….. Then he heard the shower going in the bathroom. He didn't know who he brought home- a girl he met at Jakes maybe? He couldn't recall. He got up and put a t-shirt on. The water turned off in the shower. A minute later Kristina walked out in only a towel. Ethan's eyes widened! Suddenly, it all flooded back- how Krissy found him on the pier, his declaration to her, their kiss….. He smiled as she realized he was up.

"I thought you'd still be out", she said nervously. "I had to get warm- my clothes were soaking wet", she stammered. "Do you have an extra shirt I can put on?"

Ethan pulled an extra t-shirt from his dresser and handed it to her. "I'll be right back." She turned and walked back into the bathroom.

Ethan was sitting on the edge of the bed, holding his head when she came back out. He looked up. The shirt was big on her and looked like a mini-dress on her, but he couldn't deny how sexy she was in it, as his eyes roamed up and down her body.

"How do you feel?", she asked.

"Like there is a ton of bricks on top me", he described. He could feel the question coming from Kristina, just by looking at her. "Thanks for taking care of me luv."

"Sure. That's what friends are for, right? You need some coffee." She walked into the kitchenette and returned a minute later with a cup.

He put it on the desk and then turned to Kristina. "I meant what I said earlier," he said as he put his hands on her arms. He felt her tense up a little bit and then she turned away from him.

"You were drunk Ethan. Hell, you're still half-drunk. It's okay. You don't have to continue with the charade." She tried to let him off the hook- even though she was hoping he wouldn't.

"I know. My head is still spinning, but I am not playing you. Look, I know we've been flirting back and forth for a long time. It's my way of keeping you at arm's length- I'm not good for you Kristina and even though I know that, I can't stop thinking about you. I tried not to, but somehow I fell in love with you. I really do love you Krissy."

He leaned in and kissed her passionately. She ran her fingers through his hair and relished the moment. When they finally pulled apart, they sat on the bed and she looked deep into his golden eyes. "I love you Ethan Lovett. I tried to pretend I was happy being your best friend, but I always held out a glimmer of hope it could be more. You have been the one thing good in my life this past year. I can't remember a time not loving you."

They kissed again and then fell asleep in each others arms.

*The End*