Tato Potato, thank you for your review. I was going to update sooner, but the site didn't let me! Luckily everything seems fine now. I hope you enjoy the new chapter!
beckyboogle, thank you for your review - I really am very happy you're enjoying it so much! I hope I'll be able to answer some of your questions soon.
Paradoxilla, I'm writing Chapter 9 now and you'll definitely know what's wrong with Honey by then. ! I hope that's not too long to wait. Thank you for your review.
LittleBritishPerson, thank you for your review. I love Ethan's awkwardness and I didn't think it would disappear completely, even with Honey. Thank you for saying I wrote it well - that means a lot.
CBloom2, if she is pregnant, it might be Ethan's or it might not! It could be Cal's... or Charlie's... The only thing I can confirm is that if she is pregnant, it's definitely not Noel's because I couldn't write that. Thank you for your review.
Guest, thank you, that's really kind of you! I find it difficult to update more often because of all the other stories I'm writing. I am going to try to update every 3 days from now on, as long as there are no more server problems!
Tanith Panic, thank you for your review - and for your very kind words. I can never get any of my make-up to behave, though that might be because I'm usually trying to do several things at once, and mostly failing at all of them!
"Honey? Are you all right?" said Ethan.
Honey smiled and hugged him. "Of course I am. I'm just hungry."
"For… food?" said Ethan, just to make sure.
"What else could I be hungry for?" said Honey with a coy smile.
Ethan decided not to answer that. "Shall we go then?"
"Good idea," said Honey. She called goodbye to Noel and took Ethan's hand. As soon as they were outside, she turned to him. "Okay. My dad definitely can't hear us now. Do I look hot or not? And I don't mean hot in the 'not cold' way."
"Honey!" gasped Ethan, as he looked around to check that no-one had heard, but it really seemed to be just the two of them standing in the street. He still felt a bit awkward and embarrassed. He would rather tell Honey she looked beautiful or magnificent or incredible, but if Honey wanted him to say hot, then he would say it. "I've never seen anyone as hot as you."
Ethan held Honey's hand as they walked towards the restaurant, not for the first time marvelling at how easily she managed to walk in such vertiginous shoes. "Okay, we'll cross the road here, I think."
"Are we nearly there yet?" said Honey. She sounded like an excited child.
"Very nearly," said Ethan. He checked the road was clear and they walked across it. There were parked cars lining the sides of the roads so he kept a close eye on them in case one of them suddenly drove away without warning.
At his side, Honey gave a soft gasp and seemed to stumble.
"Are you all right?" Ethan put his arm around her and quickly got her over the road. "What's wrong, Honey?"
"I... I tripped over my shoes a bit."
Ethan peered at her anxiously. "You're not hurt, are you?"
"No, I'm fine," said Honey. She lifted her head and gave him a reassuring smile. "And so are my shoes, so don't you go telling me to wear flats next time!"
Ethan smiled back. "I wouldn't dream of it."
Honey sat stiffly in her chair and waited for the food to arrive. She'd had a snack when she arrived home from work because she'd felt ready to faint from hunger, but now she felt even worse. A mist swam across her eyes and for a horrible moment she thought she was going to faint on the table, but to her relief, it passed.
"Are you all right?" said Ethan.
He was watching her across the table, his eyes concerned behind his glasses. Honey smiled. She didn't think she'd ever seen anyone with a more handsome face than Ethan, but his glasses actually complemented his features and didn't hide his gorgeous brown eyes (and it was a good thing they didn't or Honey would have taken them off him at every opportunity).
"I'm fine," said Honey. She considered and decided she might as well tell Ethan the truth. She was spending so much time lying to him. "I'm just really hungry."
Ethan smiled at her fondly. "I do love how honest you are, Honey. A lot of girls wouldn't admit to something like that. At least, I don't think so. I don't actually know very much about girls. But you always say exactly what you're thinking and I love that."
Honey couldn't look at him, so she looked around the restaurant in search of a waiter. "Is that our waiter over there, Ethan?"
Ethan twisted round in his seat to look. "I think so. He's wearing the right clothes."
"They're all dressed the same!" said Honey.
"Oh. Yes," said Ethan after a moment or two. "I suppose they are."
But Ethan turned out to be right, and soon Honey was tucking in to a delicious spicy dish. It did make her eyes water a little bit, which worried Ethan, but he relaxed again when she told him it was just the food. Honey ate her dinner, enjoying the feeling of the warmth spreading through her whole body, or so it felt. It was so lovely to be sitting here with Ethan. The problems she'd experienced at work seemed a long way away. What did anything matter except the present moment?
Honey knew that wasn't really true, but she was happy and just slightly giggly from the wine Ethan had chosen. She pushed the future right out of her mind and concentrated on the present moment.
It worked until reality intruded. A sharp, stabbing pain in Honey's stomach. She was unable to suppress a gasp, but Ethan was looking at his plate and didn't seem to have noticed. She speared another mouthful of food with her fork, but her stomach was churning and she knew she couldn't stay here. With a whispered apology that she wasn't entirely sure Ethan had caught, she ran off to the loos and was horrified to find there was a queue. All Honey could do was run to one of the available sinks and vomit into it.
There were cries of shock and disgust, followed by the squeaking of the door hinges. When Honey looked up and reached for a paper towel to wipe her mouth, she wasn't surprised to see that half the queue had disappeared. Honey started to wash the sink as best she could, feeling tears running down her cheeks. It was no good. She couldn't pretend anymore. She would have to tell Ethan.
Then she caught herself. Of course she couldn't tell Ethan. She would have to tell someone else. Someone she could trust. Someone who could give her advice.
She felt so alone. None of the other diners offered to help her and Honey didn't dare ask. She wiped her tears on another paper towel, which she then wet slightly and dabbed across her clammy forehead. She stood and looked in the mirror and hated what she saw. A stupid, careless, disgusting liar who wasn't nearly good enough for Ethan.
A fresh wave of misery overcame her and, for at least the fifth time that day, she burst into tears.
Ethan was worried. Really worried. Honey hadn't been gone long, but he was sure that even if he hadn't been a doctor, he would have known that something was wrong. Honey had been fine at first, even if she had looked a little tense when they were waiting for the meal, but when the meal had first arrived, she'd seemed to be enjoying it, even though it was making her eyes water more than he would have expected.
And then she'd just left without a word of explanation.
Ethan saw a waiter passing the table and spoke quickly. "Excuse me." No response. Ethan spoke again, more loudly, and this time the waiter turned to face him.
"Can I help you, sir?"
"Hello. Um, thank you for stopping," said Ethan. "I was just wondering whether you had any lady waiters."
The waiter gave him a hard stare. "Waitresses," he corrected Ethan. "The word is waitresses."
"Oh, yes, of course it is," said Ethan, feeling a bit silly. "Do you have any waitresses?"
The stare became a glare. "We are all here to serve food, sir. Waiters and waitresses: that is why we are here. If you want to flirt, you should bring a date."
"Oh! Oh, good heavens, no: I don't want a lady waiter to flirt with," said Ethan, horrified by how he must have sounded.
"Waitress!" almost barked the waiter.
"A waitress, yes: sorry. It's just that my, my date has disappeared and I'm a bit worried about her, but the place she's gone is a place where I can't really follow, and I was wondering whether a lady waiter, I mean a waitress, might possibly be able to go and see if she's all right?"
"The waitresses are working!" said the waiter. "They have no time to check up on your girlfriends. There are ladies all over the restaurant. If you want someone to go and speak to your girlfriend for you, ask one of them."
Ethan sighed and rested his chin on his hands. He didn't want to bother any of the other diners, but if Honey didn't come out soon, he might have to.