Thank you for all the reviews - it's so kind of you and I love reading them.
EDSidekick, thank you for your review. I really am happy you found it amusing. I always have trouble knowing what I've written is funny. I thought sexting would be much more Cal's (and Taylor's) sort of thing than Ethan's! He's so adorably innocent.
beckyboogle, well, you don't have to wait any longer! Thank you for your review - I'm really pleased you enjoyed the chapter and I hope you enjoy the next one.
CBloom2, thank you for your review. I love worried Cal too! It seems completely in character for Cal to worry about Ethan when he's doing something Cal does all the time. It could be annoying, but actually, it's sweet!
Tato Potato, I think a certain Dr Knight is very jealous! Taylor is obviously his type, but she turned him down in favour of his geeky little brother. The humiliation! Thank you for your review.
Gillian Kearney Fan, thank you for your review. I'm really pleased you enjoyed the chapter. I hope you like this one to!
ETWentHome, thank you for your review - I'm really glad you enjoyed it. I hope Cal wouldn't actually steal Ethan's boyfriend (though I don't think he'd be very successful if he tried!), but I can imagine him trying to get all the fun out of it he can!
Tanith Panic, Cal is definitely wrong. I don't like those kinds of text messages either! But it was fun writing them for the purpose of the story. I'm enjoying writing a wicked Cal who's never been in love or broken-hearted. Thank you for your review!
20BlueRoses, thank you for your review. I think Cal is definitely jealous - he hasn't had the opportunity to fall in love with Taylor, but he's definitely attracted to and intrigued by her. I'm enjoying writing Taylor's naughtiness and innocent Ethan's responses!
Ethan was sure everyone was staring at him. To begin with, he hadn't had time to go home and change so he was still wearing yesterday's clothes. He also hadn't been able to do his hair properly at Taylor's (luckily, he had some gel in his locker) and… oh yes… Taylor had dropped him off at the ED and kissed him in full view of Zoe and Max, who were smoking, and Robyn and Lofty, who were walking into the ED.
As Robyn and Lofty had gone in before him, he didn't doubt that Robyn had told already told everyone in the whole hospital that she'd just seen a dishevelled Ethan Hardy being dropped off at work by a hot blonde.
Ethan's cheeks were burning as he made his way to the staff room. Nobody had actually mentioned the incident, but it felt as though everyone was staring at him.
He decided this couldn't possibly happen again. Next time he stayed over at Taylor's, he would leave early enough to go back to the flat and change. He loved Taylor and would be very proud if she came to pick him up after work, but he really didn't want the entire ED to know what he'd been doing last night.
He got changed, did his hair and left the staff room, only to come face to face with Lily.
"Good night, Dr Hardy?"
"Um… don't you mean 'good morning'?" said Ethan uncertainly.
Lily spoke very slowly and clearly. "Did you have a good night, Dr Hardy? Did you sleep well?"
Panic seized Ethan, but then, to his surprise, an answer came to him. A truthful but misleading answer. "Cal woke me up once or twice." It was once rather than twice, but not a lie, Ethan told himself.
"Cal?" said Lily blankly. "But I thought you were…" She shook her head. "I should have known better than to listen to gossip."
"I always try not to," said Ethan. "If there's any truth in it at all, it's usually greatly exaggerated."
"Of course," said Lily. "I made a mistake. It will not happen again. Excuse me, Dr Hardy." She nodded at him and went into the staff room.
Ethan had been trying to get a table in Holby's best restaurant for weeks without success and he'd all but given up. But that afternoon, the opportunity arrived – and not at all in the way he expected.
Cal stomped over to him in a furious temper about halfway through the afternoon and said there was a table reserved under the name of Knight for 8pm if Ethan and Taylor were interested.
"Don't you want it?" said Ethan, very surprised and a more than a little bit concerned. He looked closely at Cal. The expression in his eyes could be described as feverish. "Are you feeling ill?"
"That's one way of putting it," Cal growled.
"What's wrong?" said Ethan.
Cal didn't answer and Ethan decided not to push it, but finally, Cal spoke. "I booked it for me and Honey, but she says she can't go because she's doing something with her dad."
Ethan tried to be sympathetic. "She probably doesn't feel ready to cancel anything Noel's arranged for her. She hasn't known him for very long."
Cal let out a sad sigh. "I know you're the one with a fit blonde girlfriend and I can't even get a date with a pole dancer, but there's no need to rub it in."
"I'm sure she's not going out with Noel every night," said Ethan.
Cal looked despondent. "I've asked her out at least five times and she's always busy. I mean, what am I supposed to do? I'm always telling her how hot she looks, but it doesn't seem to work with Honey."
"You could always tell her she looks beautiful."
"I tell her that as well," said Cal, but then his expression lightened slightly. "What did you say to Taylor?"
"When?" said Ethan.
"When you asked her out," said Cal. "I mean, you must have said something right for once if a girl like that said yes."
Ethan tried to remember what he'd said or done to win Taylor's heart, but it wasn't easy. He still had no idea why Taylor had fallen for someone like him. "Taylor asked me out actually."
"Okay: what happened on the first date to make her decide she wanted to do it again?"
Ethan thought for a while. "I dropped my car keys and made a mess of helping her on with her coat. Oh, and I apologised a lot."
Cal considered this but shook his head. "No… that's really not me."
"Especially not the last one," said Ethan, but carried quickly on with: "But it's not Taylor you're trying to impress. It's Honey."
"Okay, what kind of guy does Honey go for?" said Cal.
Ethan realised uncomfortably that he knew the answer to this. "I think Honey likes guys who don't make it obvious that they like a girl. If you never flirt and never pay her a compliment and never give any sign that you like her, I think she might go for that."
Cal stared at him. "You really think you're the expert on women now, don't you?"
"Oh no. Not an expert," said Ethan. "Not at all. But Honey… she told me who she likes."
"Who is it?" said Cal.
Ethan started to edge away from him. "I'm sorry, Cal. I need to be getting back to work."
"Ethan, for God's sake, you've got time to tell me his name!" said Cal.
"It's not really my place to tell you who Honey likes," said Ethan. "But I'm sure you don't really need my advice. Just be yourself. It usually works. Just don't try too hard to impress her and don't be crude." He gave Cal a quick smile and walked away.
"Ethan, do you like it when I send you dirty texts?" said Taylor.
Ethan dropped his fork. It clattered onto the floor and was picked up by a waiter, who almost immediately replaced it with a clean one.
For they weren't in private when Taylor had asked this question. They were in Holby's most exclusive restaurant, booked up for months in advance unless you were Caleb Knight and had a special arrangement with one of the waitresses.
"Thank you," Ethan managed to whisper to the waiter through his embarrassment. He lowered his red face and continued to eat his dinner. For some reason, it didn't taste nearly as delicious as it had before.
"Are you going to answer my question or not?" said Taylor.
"I… um…" Ethan checked that the waiter had moved away. "Of course I do, Taylor."
"Then why do you never send any back?"
Ethan kept his gaze on his dinner. "I'm not very good at things like that. I don't know what to say."
There was a pause, then Taylor reached for his hand. "Then write me something else. Something that isn't sexual. Something romantic."
"Romantic?" Ethan felt that romance was only slightly less out of his comfort zone than sexting.
"Like a poem or something," said Taylor. "A love poem."
Ethan started to wonder if maybe he should stick with the sexting, but he knew he wouldn't be able to do it. It seemed disrespectful and wrong to talk about Taylor's body in a text message. Or to her face. Ethan preferred to show his affection in other ways. "Okay. I'll write a poem for you if that's what you'd like. It won't be any good, but I can try."
He looked up at Taylor and saw she was smiling. "I can't wait, Ethan! I'm sure it will be beautiful. I suppose sexting is completely wrong for us. I mean, it isn't just about sex for us, is it? Our connection is much deeper. It's about love, and there's so much more to love than ripping each other's clothes off."
"Yes, there is," said Ethan, and squeezed her hand.
"Not that I don't love it when you rip my clothes off," said Taylor.
Ethan had a nervous look round to check that no-one was likely to have overheard.
"Relax!" said Taylor. "No-one's listening. But I won't say it again if you don't want me to." Her leg brushed his under the table. "Though if you come back with me tonight…"
"I can't," said Ethan quickly. "I'm sorry, but I'm really tired and I tend not to get as much sleep as I need when we're together. It's very tiring working in a hospital. As I'm sure you can imagine."
Taylor nodded sympathetically. "Of course it is. I do understand, Ethan. I just get lonely when you're not with me at night."
"I know, darling," said Ethan. "So do I. I'm really sorry, but I just can't take the risk of not being fully alert. If I make the wrong decision… well, you know what could happen."
"I know," said Taylor. "Don't worry, Ethan. I understand what your job is like and I'm going to support you. For… for as long as you want me to be a part of your life."
Her eyes looked intensely into his. Ethan couldn't drag his gaze away, but he didn't want to. "I hope you'll always be part of my life," he said.