Title: Lovestruck
Author: SneetchesToo
Rating: General
Pairing: Ethan/Rox
Summary: Rox didn't want to feel this way about Ethan. But the closer he got to her, the more in love she became.
Author's Note: Not really any spoilers here.
—
Rox shouldn't have been nervous to have coffee with Ethan.
It was something they used to do all the time.
But that was before.
Before the accident. Before he had kind of sort of admitted that he loved her. Before she had spent the night in his bed.
A few months ago she wouldn't have batted her eyelashes at a coffee date with the man.
But today, she couldn't stop her hands from shaking as she waited for him outside of Angels.
He had told her that he needed a few minutes.
She figured he was probably going to take more than a few.
But then he appeared her in periphery four minutes after she had walked away from Center Stage. And she felt her heart stop in her chest.
"Hey you." His voice was soft and sweet and held nothing of the frustration from him that she expected.
"Hi." She whispered back.
Here she was, back to being the nervous school girl again.
She felt like she was talking to her crush for the first time again.
She felt ridiculous.
"Coffee?" His eyes twinkled in the early afternoon light and she had to swallow to keep from slamming him against the wall and having her way with him right then and there.
"Sure." Yep, back to the one syllable answers again.
She hated that he made her feel like this.
Although, she supposed, it could be worse.
"Dad wants to know if you want to come over for dinner tonight." His statement was quiet and she certainly didn't expect it.
"He does, does he?" She knew Martin was up to something.
Probably trying to arrange their marriage if she had to guess.
"He said he was gonna cook." Ethan shrugged his shoulders as they walked side by side. "Figured he would ask."
"Okay." She whispered. She felt Ethan's fingers brush against her hand and her heart started racing in her chest. "I suppose dinner would be nice."
"Good." He finally tangled his fingers with hers and she felt her heart start to panic.
She wasn't a 'holding hands' kind of girl. Not that she pegged Ethan for that kind of guy. And yet, here they were, walking down the street holding hands.
She wondered how long before they ran into someone they knew.
She bet Ethan would drop her hand immediately then.
"Seven okay?" His question startled her from her thoughts.
"Seven is fine." She felt him slow down as they neared the coffee shop.
And then he was holding the door open for her. And his hand was on her back while they ordered. And he was smiling at her from across the table with nothing but love in his eyes.
She didn't want to be so deeply in love with him.
She didn't want to feel like this so soon.
But she couldn't help it.
She was lovestruck.
And she both hated it and loved it.
—
After their coffee break Ethan had walked her back to the hospital parking lot.
Emo was waiting for her. A giant smile on her face when she saw who she was holding hands with upon arrival.
Ethan had just chuckled when she made a comment about it being about time.
Rox couldn't help but roll her eyes.
But then Ethan kissed her softly and told her that he would see her later.
And then he had been gone.
And her heart suddenly felt very empty.
She had gone home and showered and taken a four hour nap. PT had kicked her butt again that morning and she was sore in places that she didn't know she could be sore in.
When she woke up her clock read 5:45pm.
She still had an hour to kill before she would have to leave to go have dinner with Ethan and his dad.
That thought still sent chills down her spine.
She wondered what Martin was up to. Hell, she wondered what Ethan was up to too.
"Care to give me the details on what's going on between you and Ethan?" Emo's humorous voice broke through the silence of her bedroom and she rolled her eyes.
She had expected the woman to go home after dropping her off. Apparently not.
"We had coffee." She really didn't want to go into details about what was happening between them.
In fact, she didn't even know what was happening between them.
"You were also holding hands." She said softly, moving to sit in the chair against the far wall. "And he kissed you goodbye."
"We…" She took a deep breath.
She didn't know how to explain it to Emo. She didn't know how to explain it to anyone. Including herself.
"Did you spend the night with him last night?" Emo's question sent her mind on a tangent.
"Yes." She didn't know why she answered honestly.
"Did you two sleep together?" She knew Emo's question was out of both curiosity and concern.
The woman knew all about her history with men. Or, better yet, her lack there of.
She knew that she wasn't a relationship kind of girl. That things were always strictly physical and nothing more. She probably figured that if she had had sex with Ethan that would mean the end was in sight.
That was how it had always worked before.
"We didn't have sex if that's what your inquiring." And it was true. They hadn't. They had simply cuddled. All night long. And then she had remained sleeping in his bed until the very absolute last minute that she could.
"So what happened then?" She rolled her eyes at her aunt's comment.
"We slept." She shrugged her shoulders as she pushed herself from the bed.
She was so exhausted. She just wanted to go back to bed.
She wondered if Ethan and Martin would be disappointed if she took a rain check on dinner.
But then she realized that she would be more disappointed than probably either one of them.
"You slept?" She could see the surprise in Emo's eyes. "Just slept?"
"Just slept." She pulled open her dresser and grabbed a clean pair of leggings and another t-shirt.
She hoped that Ethan didn't mind that she looked like a bum 24/7 these days. She really wasn't feeling the whole 'clothing thing' quite yet.
"No sex?" Emo almost sounded disappointed.
"No sex." Part of her was too. But it was a part that was more interested in being tangled up naked in his sheets than anything else.
"Well damn." She let out a chuckle. That was how she felt too. "Did you at least make out a little?"
She wanted to tell her about how they had made out on his couch earlier. Only to be interrupted by his father. But she figured that was a better story for another time.
"We kissed." She stopped in her tracks just before exiting the small room. "A little."
"I'm in shock." She could see the surprise on her aunt's face. "I mean, this is good. But it's still shocking."
"I know." She was shocked with herself as well. She wanted nothing more than to have sex with Ethan. But a bigger part of her was terrified of taking that step and then not being able to go back.
She didn't want whatever this was with him to end like every other 'relationship' she had ever had did. She wanted an actual relationship with him. She liked the way he made it sound.
"So what now?" Emo's question was good.
She had no idea what now.
"I don't know." She felt a little lost at saying those words out loud.
"Did you two talk about it?" She simply nodded her head in reply.
They had talked. Sort of.
He had told her that he wanted this.
He had given her a key to his place.
He had basically invited her into every aspect of his life.
"Sort of." She whispered.
She wished she had a more concrete answer.
"Well then you two should talk more." Emo reached out and patted her arm gently as she offered her a soft smile.
"Yeah." She made a promise to herself to make sure that they did just that tonight. "We will."
And they would.
They would have too.
Because she wanted this and he seemed to want this and she needed some sort of idea of where this was all headed.
*Don't forget to comment.