Chapter Four
Ethan overslept the next morning, running into the lounge an hour late for breakfast. He stopped dead in his tracks when he saw the room nearly empty, and scowled, trying to figure out what to do.
"Hey," Gordo's soft voice called to him from a couch in the corner.
Ethan's head spun around until he located Gordo, his eyes widening when he saw Lizzie curled up in Gordo's arms, asleep. "Hey."
"Keep your voice down, she's asleep," Gordo said with a small smile. "She couldn't sleep last night, she's pretty exhausted."
"Oh," was all Ethan could say in reply. He couldn't take his eyes off of Lizzie, her silk stocking encased legs stretched out on the couch, her head resting on Gordo's chest, one arm casually slung around his waist. Something was gnawing at him about the sight before him, and he didn't know exactly what it was…
"You're lucky she's a mess this morning, or else she would have given you shit for oversleeping, you know," Gordo continued, gently pushing Lizzie up off of his body so he could stand up. He delicately laid his girlfriend back down on the couch, before running a hand through his hair and turning to Ethan. "But for some strange reason she said to let you sleep. I gotta go do an interview now, but you're clear for another hour."
"Oh," Ethan said again.
"Would you mind staying here with her? Breakfast's over there," Gordo waved to a spread set up in another corner of the room. "I don't want to leave her here all alone, but I really do have to go."
Ethan shrugged, and trudged over to the table, pouring himself a cup of coffee. "Sure. I got nothing better to do."
"Thanks." Gordo bent down and kissed Lizzie's forehead, before leaving the room, reminding Ethan again to keep quiet so she could sleep.
"Yeah, yeah, I know," Ethan grumbled, examining the hotel's offerings for breakfast. He settled on a bowl of cereal and sat down in a chair across from Lizzie, watching her sleep as he ate.
So she couldn't sleep, huh? At least that made two of them….once she'd left him alone in the pool he'd swam laps until he'd felt like his arms and legs were going to fall off, but the physical exhaustion had done nothing to settle the stirrings in his mind. Or those somewhere else…
How could Gordo just let her go last night? Go to sleep while his girlfriend went to swim in the pool, alone…naked. If she was Ethan's girlfriend, well…
Ethan smirked, and nodded, knowing what he'd do. He'd have been swimming with her, of course. Although, privacy would have been a good idea, he had a feeling if he'd actually seen Lizzie in the pool he would have been a total wreck, instead of just the overstimulated mess he had been with the small peek he'd gotten.
He'd get her though, get to see all of her. That was becoming more and more clear with every passing day. Lizzie was having problems with Gordo, even if Gordo didn't seem to quite realize it. All he had to do was keep pushing the right buttons, and Lizzie would fall into his arms, ready, and willing. He had a strange feeling if he'd pushed Lizzie a little harder the night before, he could have possibly had her then.
What had she called herself? Frustrated. Just a nice word for horny. Ethan shook his head sadly. His girlfriend would never, EVER go horny. He'd make sure of that. Why couldn't Gordo see?
It certainly made the Game a little more complicated too. Ethan didn't want Lizzie sleeping with him just because she was horny, and Gordo wouldn't put out. Lizzie had to be with him because Lizzie wanted to be with HIM. Those were the rules.
Ethan finished off his cereal and got up, placing the empty bowl on a table nearby. He turned around when he heard a soft moan behind him, and smiled, seeing Lizzie stretching on the couch. "You awake?"
"Getting there," Lizzie's voice cracked from her sleep as she spoke, and she looked at Ethan, smiling weakly. "Where'd my boyfriend go? I seem to recall falling asleep on him…"
"He had to go do another science competition, so he asked me to keep you company." Ethan waved to the table next to him, "want some coffee?"
"Please," Lizzie sat up and yawned, shaking her head to clear it. "I hate when I'm like this, I can't sleep for shit at night, but as soon as 9 am rolls around I'm out like a baby."
"Insomnia sucks," Ethan agreed, walking to her and handing her the coffee cup. "It's hot," he warned, laughing when she stubbornly took a sip just the same. "I told you…"
"I need it more than I need feeling in my tongue," Lizzie replied, taking another deep sip of the coffee.
Ethan grinned, and sat down, shaking his head. "I could say something about having feeling in your tongue being a very good thing…"
"For you, maybe," Lizzie rolled her eyes. "Not for me."
"Gordo might argue otherwise."
Lizzie snorted, "yeah, right."
Ethan raised an eyebrow, "are you ok?"
She sighed, and shrugged. "I'll be fine, it's not really something I should get into with you."
"Lizzie," Ethan reached out and rested a hand on her knee, watching as her eyes locked onto his hand. "I may be blonde, but I didn't buy your story last night about just wanting to go swimming alone in the middle of the night. I shouldn't have done what I did, but…you clearly needed a smile."
Lizzie laughed, "and you thought dropping your suit would give me a smile?"
"Didn't it?" Ethan challenged. He grinned when she blushed, "I'm not so bad to look at, am I."
"So modest, too."
"All I'm trying to say is," Ethan squeezed her knee gently, noting how her breath caught in her throat as he did. "If you need someone to talk to, I'm here. The last person in the world I'd ever go spilling secrets to would be Gordo, so your story would always be safe with me."
Lizzie smiled, and covered Ethan's hand with her own for a moment, before pulling it off of her knee. "Thanks, Ethan, but I'm fine." She could tell something was clearly wrong in her relationship with Gordo, but she didn't know what it was, and telling, of all people, Ethan about it, was very much out of the question.
"You know I don't believe you."
"You know I don't care what you think," Lizzie shot back.
"True," Ethan conceded.
"Blondie, don't you have a competition to get ready for?" Lizzie asked pointedly, taking another gulp of her coffee.
Ethan groaned, and stood up. "Yes, I guess I do."
"So go," she said firmly, waving towards the door. "It's the next room over," she told him, sounding like the Lizzie he was more used to seeing, not the sweet and gentle one he was starting to see peeking out from behind the toughness.
"I think I like you better when you're half asleep," Ethan muttered, putting on his best pout for her.
"I think I like you best when your mouth is shut," she replied. "Go."
"Mouth shut, or naked?" Ethan asked with a smirk.
"I really hope you don't make a habit of dropping your pants around hotel pools," Lizzie said, rolling her eyes. "I mean, anyone could have walked in there last night."
"Hey, you did it first," Ethan reminded her.
"I'm not the teen queen."
"I'm not a queen," Ethan argued.
Lizzie snorted, and stood up, stretching. "What did that football player call you yesterday, the flamboyantly gay one?"
"I'm not gay!"
Lizzie looked at him with one eyebrow raised. "Ok, Ethan, you keep telling yourself that."
"Now you're just playing dirty," Ethan said, his eyes narrowing as he glared at her. "You know full well I'm not."
"I know what I tell the girls in gym, that's all."
"Lizzie!"
"Get your ass into competition, would you?" She poured herself another cup of coffee, groaning when she turned around to find him still in the room. "Ethan."
"I'm not gay," Ethan repeated.
"Fine."
"You just like pissing me off."
"Oh, and you don't like doing the same to me?" Lizzie asked him evenly. "Need I remind you what you did last night?"
"I didn't do that to piss you off," Ethan frowned, biting his lip when she continued to look at him with an eyebrow raised. "I didn't! I told you, you needed to smile…"
"Competition," Lizzie said firmly, effectively ending the conversation there. "Now."
"Anytime you need a smile…"
"COMPETITION!" She shouted, glaring at him. "Get your overgrown teen dream body in that makeup chair right now, or else you're competing with, with, oh I don't know, RuPaul tomorrow."
Ethan started laughing, and threw his arms up in defeat. "Fine."
Lizzie watched him walk out, a small smile on her face. "Hey, and Ethan?"
"Yeah?"
She sighed, and rolled her eyes as she admitted softly, "thanks." He'd at least noticed something was wrong, which was more than she could say for her boyfriend. He deserved a thank you for that.
Ethan grinned widely, and nodded. "Anytime."
************************************************************************
Lizzie examined herself in the bathroom mirror skeptically. Ever since her conversation with Ethan a week ago, she'd become increasingly aware of the degradation of her relationship with her boyfriend, and was more determined than ever to make things right. Which was why she was now wearing a blue silk teddy, and fixing her makeup, before going to bed.
Gordo kept swearing everything was fine with them, that he was just tired, busy, whatever. But Lizzie just couldn't believe him, not when nighttime came and he was asleep, every night, before the lights were out.
Was she being silly, for feeling like the lack of sex in their relationship was a sign of something more? They did still talk like they used to, maybe not as long, and the conversations were strangely superficial, but…at least they were talking. Gordo was as affectionate to her as always during the day, always holding her hand, kissing her as the dutiful boyfriend should, hugging her and calming her down when she got too worked up over something or another. It was just at night, when nobody else was around, that she felt like her boyfriend had become nothing more than a roommate. She needed the physical confirmation of his love for her desperately…words just weren't cutting it anymore.
Not when it had been nearly a month since they'd been together.
She also couldn't help but wonder…Gordo used to, anyway, love to joke about his sexual prowess. About how he could go on for hours and hours (which he could), and how he could never get enough of her, that he needed sex as much as he needed to breathe. When they were dating, and in the early months of their relationship, they would be driving each other wild, escaping in the middle of the day for a quick passionate encounter, followed up by hours of slow, romantic lovemaking at night. The few times they'd been separated for any period of time he'd returned in a near carnal state, spending days in bed to make up for the time they'd been apart. And the longest they'd ever been apart had been two weeks, at the most. What had happened? Was he just not feeling sexual anymore?
Or was he just not feeling sexual towards HER.
And if that was it, then, was he getting what he had said he needed so badly somewhere else?
She knew that she was incredibly oversensitized, anyway. The main reason she needed to make love to her boyfriend was to convince herself that their relationship was still stable, but she couldn't ignore the underlying hormones raging through her body. She was just really goddamn horny, on a very primal level, and sleeping in the same bed as Gordo every night without being with him was only making it worse.
Lizzie ran her hands through her hair and smiled at herself in the mirror, hoping the smile was able to hide the fear she was feeling inside. This was nuts, the way she was feeling, this desperate need to seduce her own boyfriend.
She just hoped it worked.
Adjusting the thin straps of the teddy on her shoulders, Lizzie opened the door to the bathroom and walked out, smiling seductively at Gordo lying in bed. "Hey baby."
Gordo's eyes widened when he saw Lizzie, and he sat up in surprise. "Lizzie?"
"I went shopping today," she said coyly, spinning around in a slow circle to show off her purchase. The blue silk teddy was nearly backless, the fitted bodice giving way to a flared skirt that ended just at the top of her thighs, showing off her long legs.
Gordo gulped before replying, "so I see."
"You like?" Lizzie asked softly, one thumb hooking under a strap and pulling on it teasingly.
"God, do I," he breathed, running a hand through his hair.
"Good," she crawled onto the bed, slithering up his body until she was lying on top of him. "I bought it for you," she whispered, before kissing him passionately, frowning when she felt his hands slide around her waist and push her away.
"Lizzie…"
Lizzie sat up and looked down at him, fighting the need to burst into tears. "What?" She said softly, struggling to keep an even expression on her face.
"You look stunning, baby, but god, I'm so tired," Gordo said apologetically, as he slid a hand over. "Maybe another night?"
"Another night," she repeated in disbelief.
"I need to get some sleep, you know how brutal our competition schedule has been."
"Right," Lizzie scrambled off the bed, her face flushing as emotions swept over her. Humiliation, disappointment, frustration…she didn't know what to feel, beyond stunned that she'd been turned down. Again.
"Come on," Gordo pulled the covers back and gestured for her to join him. "Sleep with me."
Lizzie shook her head slowly, looking around the room and locating a pair of sweatpants and a sweatshirt. "I'm not tired," she said as she pulled them on over the teddy, ignoring the uncomfortable feeling of the silk bunching up around her waist.
"So where are you going?"
"I don't know. Out," she said quickly, grabbing her room key. "I'm sure you'll be asleep by the time I get back."
"I love you."
Lizzie fought back a sob at his soft words, "right."
"Come back soon."
"Good night, Gordo," she replied, turning out the light as she left the room.
Lizzie made it out of the door before her sobs overtook her, and she doubled over in the hallway, shuddering with the force of her tears. She just couldn't believe what had happened, how could he not realize how much she needed him…how could he not need her??
"What's wrong with us, Gordo?" She whispered, standing up straight and wiping her tears off of her face. She had to find someplace to think. She had to find the answer to that question.
Somehow.
Ethan overslept the next morning, running into the lounge an hour late for breakfast. He stopped dead in his tracks when he saw the room nearly empty, and scowled, trying to figure out what to do.
"Hey," Gordo's soft voice called to him from a couch in the corner.
Ethan's head spun around until he located Gordo, his eyes widening when he saw Lizzie curled up in Gordo's arms, asleep. "Hey."
"Keep your voice down, she's asleep," Gordo said with a small smile. "She couldn't sleep last night, she's pretty exhausted."
"Oh," was all Ethan could say in reply. He couldn't take his eyes off of Lizzie, her silk stocking encased legs stretched out on the couch, her head resting on Gordo's chest, one arm casually slung around his waist. Something was gnawing at him about the sight before him, and he didn't know exactly what it was…
"You're lucky she's a mess this morning, or else she would have given you shit for oversleeping, you know," Gordo continued, gently pushing Lizzie up off of his body so he could stand up. He delicately laid his girlfriend back down on the couch, before running a hand through his hair and turning to Ethan. "But for some strange reason she said to let you sleep. I gotta go do an interview now, but you're clear for another hour."
"Oh," Ethan said again.
"Would you mind staying here with her? Breakfast's over there," Gordo waved to a spread set up in another corner of the room. "I don't want to leave her here all alone, but I really do have to go."
Ethan shrugged, and trudged over to the table, pouring himself a cup of coffee. "Sure. I got nothing better to do."
"Thanks." Gordo bent down and kissed Lizzie's forehead, before leaving the room, reminding Ethan again to keep quiet so she could sleep.
"Yeah, yeah, I know," Ethan grumbled, examining the hotel's offerings for breakfast. He settled on a bowl of cereal and sat down in a chair across from Lizzie, watching her sleep as he ate.
So she couldn't sleep, huh? At least that made two of them….once she'd left him alone in the pool he'd swam laps until he'd felt like his arms and legs were going to fall off, but the physical exhaustion had done nothing to settle the stirrings in his mind. Or those somewhere else…
How could Gordo just let her go last night? Go to sleep while his girlfriend went to swim in the pool, alone…naked. If she was Ethan's girlfriend, well…
Ethan smirked, and nodded, knowing what he'd do. He'd have been swimming with her, of course. Although, privacy would have been a good idea, he had a feeling if he'd actually seen Lizzie in the pool he would have been a total wreck, instead of just the overstimulated mess he had been with the small peek he'd gotten.
He'd get her though, get to see all of her. That was becoming more and more clear with every passing day. Lizzie was having problems with Gordo, even if Gordo didn't seem to quite realize it. All he had to do was keep pushing the right buttons, and Lizzie would fall into his arms, ready, and willing. He had a strange feeling if he'd pushed Lizzie a little harder the night before, he could have possibly had her then.
What had she called herself? Frustrated. Just a nice word for horny. Ethan shook his head sadly. His girlfriend would never, EVER go horny. He'd make sure of that. Why couldn't Gordo see?
It certainly made the Game a little more complicated too. Ethan didn't want Lizzie sleeping with him just because she was horny, and Gordo wouldn't put out. Lizzie had to be with him because Lizzie wanted to be with HIM. Those were the rules.
Ethan finished off his cereal and got up, placing the empty bowl on a table nearby. He turned around when he heard a soft moan behind him, and smiled, seeing Lizzie stretching on the couch. "You awake?"
"Getting there," Lizzie's voice cracked from her sleep as she spoke, and she looked at Ethan, smiling weakly. "Where'd my boyfriend go? I seem to recall falling asleep on him…"
"He had to go do another science competition, so he asked me to keep you company." Ethan waved to the table next to him, "want some coffee?"
"Please," Lizzie sat up and yawned, shaking her head to clear it. "I hate when I'm like this, I can't sleep for shit at night, but as soon as 9 am rolls around I'm out like a baby."
"Insomnia sucks," Ethan agreed, walking to her and handing her the coffee cup. "It's hot," he warned, laughing when she stubbornly took a sip just the same. "I told you…"
"I need it more than I need feeling in my tongue," Lizzie replied, taking another deep sip of the coffee.
Ethan grinned, and sat down, shaking his head. "I could say something about having feeling in your tongue being a very good thing…"
"For you, maybe," Lizzie rolled her eyes. "Not for me."
"Gordo might argue otherwise."
Lizzie snorted, "yeah, right."
Ethan raised an eyebrow, "are you ok?"
She sighed, and shrugged. "I'll be fine, it's not really something I should get into with you."
"Lizzie," Ethan reached out and rested a hand on her knee, watching as her eyes locked onto his hand. "I may be blonde, but I didn't buy your story last night about just wanting to go swimming alone in the middle of the night. I shouldn't have done what I did, but…you clearly needed a smile."
Lizzie laughed, "and you thought dropping your suit would give me a smile?"
"Didn't it?" Ethan challenged. He grinned when she blushed, "I'm not so bad to look at, am I."
"So modest, too."
"All I'm trying to say is," Ethan squeezed her knee gently, noting how her breath caught in her throat as he did. "If you need someone to talk to, I'm here. The last person in the world I'd ever go spilling secrets to would be Gordo, so your story would always be safe with me."
Lizzie smiled, and covered Ethan's hand with her own for a moment, before pulling it off of her knee. "Thanks, Ethan, but I'm fine." She could tell something was clearly wrong in her relationship with Gordo, but she didn't know what it was, and telling, of all people, Ethan about it, was very much out of the question.
"You know I don't believe you."
"You know I don't care what you think," Lizzie shot back.
"True," Ethan conceded.
"Blondie, don't you have a competition to get ready for?" Lizzie asked pointedly, taking another gulp of her coffee.
Ethan groaned, and stood up. "Yes, I guess I do."
"So go," she said firmly, waving towards the door. "It's the next room over," she told him, sounding like the Lizzie he was more used to seeing, not the sweet and gentle one he was starting to see peeking out from behind the toughness.
"I think I like you better when you're half asleep," Ethan muttered, putting on his best pout for her.
"I think I like you best when your mouth is shut," she replied. "Go."
"Mouth shut, or naked?" Ethan asked with a smirk.
"I really hope you don't make a habit of dropping your pants around hotel pools," Lizzie said, rolling her eyes. "I mean, anyone could have walked in there last night."
"Hey, you did it first," Ethan reminded her.
"I'm not the teen queen."
"I'm not a queen," Ethan argued.
Lizzie snorted, and stood up, stretching. "What did that football player call you yesterday, the flamboyantly gay one?"
"I'm not gay!"
Lizzie looked at him with one eyebrow raised. "Ok, Ethan, you keep telling yourself that."
"Now you're just playing dirty," Ethan said, his eyes narrowing as he glared at her. "You know full well I'm not."
"I know what I tell the girls in gym, that's all."
"Lizzie!"
"Get your ass into competition, would you?" She poured herself another cup of coffee, groaning when she turned around to find him still in the room. "Ethan."
"I'm not gay," Ethan repeated.
"Fine."
"You just like pissing me off."
"Oh, and you don't like doing the same to me?" Lizzie asked him evenly. "Need I remind you what you did last night?"
"I didn't do that to piss you off," Ethan frowned, biting his lip when she continued to look at him with an eyebrow raised. "I didn't! I told you, you needed to smile…"
"Competition," Lizzie said firmly, effectively ending the conversation there. "Now."
"Anytime you need a smile…"
"COMPETITION!" She shouted, glaring at him. "Get your overgrown teen dream body in that makeup chair right now, or else you're competing with, with, oh I don't know, RuPaul tomorrow."
Ethan started laughing, and threw his arms up in defeat. "Fine."
Lizzie watched him walk out, a small smile on her face. "Hey, and Ethan?"
"Yeah?"
She sighed, and rolled her eyes as she admitted softly, "thanks." He'd at least noticed something was wrong, which was more than she could say for her boyfriend. He deserved a thank you for that.
Ethan grinned widely, and nodded. "Anytime."
************************************************************************
Lizzie examined herself in the bathroom mirror skeptically. Ever since her conversation with Ethan a week ago, she'd become increasingly aware of the degradation of her relationship with her boyfriend, and was more determined than ever to make things right. Which was why she was now wearing a blue silk teddy, and fixing her makeup, before going to bed.
Gordo kept swearing everything was fine with them, that he was just tired, busy, whatever. But Lizzie just couldn't believe him, not when nighttime came and he was asleep, every night, before the lights were out.
Was she being silly, for feeling like the lack of sex in their relationship was a sign of something more? They did still talk like they used to, maybe not as long, and the conversations were strangely superficial, but…at least they were talking. Gordo was as affectionate to her as always during the day, always holding her hand, kissing her as the dutiful boyfriend should, hugging her and calming her down when she got too worked up over something or another. It was just at night, when nobody else was around, that she felt like her boyfriend had become nothing more than a roommate. She needed the physical confirmation of his love for her desperately…words just weren't cutting it anymore.
Not when it had been nearly a month since they'd been together.
She also couldn't help but wonder…Gordo used to, anyway, love to joke about his sexual prowess. About how he could go on for hours and hours (which he could), and how he could never get enough of her, that he needed sex as much as he needed to breathe. When they were dating, and in the early months of their relationship, they would be driving each other wild, escaping in the middle of the day for a quick passionate encounter, followed up by hours of slow, romantic lovemaking at night. The few times they'd been separated for any period of time he'd returned in a near carnal state, spending days in bed to make up for the time they'd been apart. And the longest they'd ever been apart had been two weeks, at the most. What had happened? Was he just not feeling sexual anymore?
Or was he just not feeling sexual towards HER.
And if that was it, then, was he getting what he had said he needed so badly somewhere else?
She knew that she was incredibly oversensitized, anyway. The main reason she needed to make love to her boyfriend was to convince herself that their relationship was still stable, but she couldn't ignore the underlying hormones raging through her body. She was just really goddamn horny, on a very primal level, and sleeping in the same bed as Gordo every night without being with him was only making it worse.
Lizzie ran her hands through her hair and smiled at herself in the mirror, hoping the smile was able to hide the fear she was feeling inside. This was nuts, the way she was feeling, this desperate need to seduce her own boyfriend.
She just hoped it worked.
Adjusting the thin straps of the teddy on her shoulders, Lizzie opened the door to the bathroom and walked out, smiling seductively at Gordo lying in bed. "Hey baby."
Gordo's eyes widened when he saw Lizzie, and he sat up in surprise. "Lizzie?"
"I went shopping today," she said coyly, spinning around in a slow circle to show off her purchase. The blue silk teddy was nearly backless, the fitted bodice giving way to a flared skirt that ended just at the top of her thighs, showing off her long legs.
Gordo gulped before replying, "so I see."
"You like?" Lizzie asked softly, one thumb hooking under a strap and pulling on it teasingly.
"God, do I," he breathed, running a hand through his hair.
"Good," she crawled onto the bed, slithering up his body until she was lying on top of him. "I bought it for you," she whispered, before kissing him passionately, frowning when she felt his hands slide around her waist and push her away.
"Lizzie…"
Lizzie sat up and looked down at him, fighting the need to burst into tears. "What?" She said softly, struggling to keep an even expression on her face.
"You look stunning, baby, but god, I'm so tired," Gordo said apologetically, as he slid a hand over. "Maybe another night?"
"Another night," she repeated in disbelief.
"I need to get some sleep, you know how brutal our competition schedule has been."
"Right," Lizzie scrambled off the bed, her face flushing as emotions swept over her. Humiliation, disappointment, frustration…she didn't know what to feel, beyond stunned that she'd been turned down. Again.
"Come on," Gordo pulled the covers back and gestured for her to join him. "Sleep with me."
Lizzie shook her head slowly, looking around the room and locating a pair of sweatpants and a sweatshirt. "I'm not tired," she said as she pulled them on over the teddy, ignoring the uncomfortable feeling of the silk bunching up around her waist.
"So where are you going?"
"I don't know. Out," she said quickly, grabbing her room key. "I'm sure you'll be asleep by the time I get back."
"I love you."
Lizzie fought back a sob at his soft words, "right."
"Come back soon."
"Good night, Gordo," she replied, turning out the light as she left the room.
Lizzie made it out of the door before her sobs overtook her, and she doubled over in the hallway, shuddering with the force of her tears. She just couldn't believe what had happened, how could he not realize how much she needed him…how could he not need her??
"What's wrong with us, Gordo?" She whispered, standing up straight and wiping her tears off of her face. She had to find someplace to think. She had to find the answer to that question.
Somehow.