CH 23
"Can you hand me the torque wrench?" Ethan said from underneath the kitchen sink.
"Um... sure. Which one is that?" Sabrina asked looking around at the foreign objects most people called tools.
Ethan laughed "The silver one with the red handle."
"Oh, got it" She said handing it to him. "Thanks for this by the way. With our landlord out of town and Felix being the complete opposite of handy, this broken pipe would have certainly flooded this place."
"It's no problem." Ethan slid out from the sink "That's should do it. Turn on the faucets."
Sabrina did as he asked "Wow, you're good."
"I know" He smirked "This should hold until you landlord is able to replace the entire thing."
"Thanks so much, Ethan" Sabrina said as they walked back into the living room.
"Sabrina, you have got to stop thanking me."
"I'm sorry, I just feel like I've been asking a lot of you lately."
"Well, that's what friends are for right?" He smiled.
Sabrina returned Ethan's smile and nodded her head. He was her friend.
"Girl!" Felix exclaimed as he entered the apartment. He went over to Sabrina and picked her up and began twirling her around in the air.
"Felix!" She laughed after he finally set her down. "What on earth has gotten into you?"
"You won't believe what happened to me today.. Oh. Hi Ethan. You're here… again." Felix said raising an eyebrow.
"Hi, Felix." Ethan replied.
"So what happened that was so great?" Sabrina asked.
"Well… I have a date tonight." He smiled.
"Really? With….? Wait… Dr. Jones?"
"The one and only!" Felix could barely contain his excitement.
"Wow. That's great Felix. I'm sure you'll have fun."
"We will... If you're there."
"I'm sorry, what?" Sabrina said with confusion on her face.
"Well the good Doc was a bit wary of my advances. The only way I could get him to agree to come out with me tonight was by telling him it was kind of a group thing. So that it'll be a little less awkward."
"And you don't think things will be awkward if you show up with your best friend as a third wheel?"
"Yes, it would be. Which is why I was hoping you would double with us. Please?" Felix pleaded.
"Double with who? In case you've forgotten, I'm a single now." Sabrina replied.
"Well…" Felix looked over at Ethan and smiled.
"No" Sabrina said following his eyes "I'm sure Ethan has more important things to do than to chaperone a bunch of adults."
"Really? Cuz he did it for you for a month."
"He's got a point" Ethan laughed
"Whatever. I'm sure you have something else you'd rather be doing…"
"Actually, no I don't. It sounds like fun. I would love to join you guys."
"Awesome, now get out of here and go get cleaned up before she can object." Felix replied ushering Ethan to the door. "Meet us at the Floating Rib at 9." Felix closed the door behind him before Ethan could respond.
"Really, Felix?" Sabrina said with her arms crossed
"What? You own me, heffa. Don't forget how much work I put into getting you together with he who shall not be named."
"Yeah and look how that ended."
"Oh that was your doing honey. Let the record show that I jumped through hoops for you just to have you throw it all away."
"Felix…" Sabrina began
"I know I know. We won't get into that again. I'm just asking you to return the favor."
Sabrina sighed "Fine. You're right."
"Do you know how much time we would save if you would just keep that in your head as a given? And besides, you need to get out of the house. And it's not like you're not getting anything out of the deal. You get to go out with the hot Aussie who's been crushing on you for months."
"What? Ethan has not been crushing on me. That's ridiculous." Sabrina said blushing.
"Girl, please. A blind man can see that way he looks at you. And telling by how I caught the two of you snuggled up on this sofa last week, you might just feel the same way."
"Your reaching Felix. I fell asleep. That was all."
"Mmhmm" Felix said rolling his eyes "You keep lying to yourself while I go make myself fabulous. Not that it's going to take much."
Felix headed back into his room as Sabrina thought about his accusation. He was way off base, she thought. Ethan was just being nice to her, probably out of pity. There was nothing more between them. Sabrina kept that thought running in her mind regardless of how incorrect it was.
"Here ya go Patrick, Emma's favorite" Mac said handing him the bag of food.
"Thanks, Mac."
"Everything ok with you guys? I know Robin is still staying with Anna and Duke.
"Um... yeah. It's complicated." He replied avoiding eye contact with Robin's Uncle. Things were difficult enough without his interrogations.
"You don't have to tell me that. I know you guys will work it out."
Patrick smiled and turned around to leave The Floating Rib and almost crashed into Ethan as he walked in.
"Oh, I'm sorry Mate." Ethan smiled.
"No, it was my fault. Not paying attention" Patrick tried to smile but got a flashback of Sabrina in his arms the week before. Being nice was the last thing Patrick wanted to do to Ethan Lovett.
"Hey Mac" Ethan called walking past Patrick to the bar.
"Ethan, what can I get for you?"
"Um, nothing right now. I think I should wait for my date"
"Date huh? Who's the lucky lady?" Mac asked.
Patrick stood there listening interested in the answer to that questions himself. Maybe he was wrong about Ethan and Sabrina's relationship. They were clearly just friends if Ethan was here meeting another woman. Before Patrick could begin to let go of his animosity towards Ethan, Sabrina and Felix walked in the door.
"Oh boy…" Felix said under his breath the moment he spotted Patrick.
"Hi" Patrick whispered attention focused on Sabrina.
"Dr. Drake" She replied coldly.
"Ok then" Felix interjected. "There's Ethan. Come on" Felix said grabbing Sabrina by the arm. Patrick watched as Sabrina walked over to Ethan and his jealousy returned. The woman Ethan had a date with was his woman.
"Patrick, you ok?" Mac asked from behind the bar.
Patrick balled up his fist and walk out of the door without responding.
"You look beautiful" Ethan said once Sabrina was in front of him.
"Thanks" She replied shyly.
"That must have been awkward, huh?"
"No… well yeah. But it's fine. It's a small town. You're bound to run into people you don't want to every now and then." Sabrina replied
"Exactly. Let's not let that ruin our night." Felix said
"Right, but I don't see Dr. Jones anywhere." Sabrina said looking around.
"Look again girl" Felix smiled looking towards the entrance of the bar. Lucas Jones spotted Felix and waved.
"Hey, am I late?" He asked
"Not at all. We just go here. Lucas, this is Ethan Lovett and I think you know Sabrina right?" Felix said making introductions.
"Nice to meet you, Ethan" Lucas replied shaking his hand "And yes I have met Nurse Santiago before but I haven't seen you around much lately."
"That's because her crazy ass decided to take on the graveyard shift." Felix interrupted.
"Wow, that's a rough shift" Lucas said.
"Yeah, it has been. I'm actually going back to days this week. Epiphany was getting sick of me falling asleep in patients' rooms" They laughed but she was serious.
"So... Lucas, let's go get a booth." Felix suggested. "And you two can find something else to do" he whispered as they walked away. He clearly wanted to be alone with the good Doctor.
"So can I get you a beer?" Ethan asked.
"Make it a shot. A few of them." Sabrina replied
"Wow ok" Ethan said motioning to the bartender.
"What?"
"You just don't look like a heavy liquor drinker is all."
"Well, there's a first time for everything" She replied throwing back the first shot as soon and the bartender put it in front of her. She was trying to play off her run in with Patrick earlier. Trying to make it seem like it hadn't affected her as much as it did. Whoever said time healed all wounds had clearly never been in love. Sabrina thought that If not time, then maybe the vodka would help numb it.
"Slow down there" Ethan said after her third shot. "Come on. Let's see if we can find something on the jukebox." He grabbed her hand and walked across the room and began flipping through the songs.
Sabrina looked over to Felix who looked to be in deep conversation with Lucas and smiled. If she couldn't be lucky in love, she was hoping her best friend would be.
"Ahh here we go." Ethan said selecting a random song. "Dance with me"
"I don't really think this is a dancing establishment, Ethan" She chuckled.
"So what" Ethan took Sabrina by the hand, spun her around and pulled her into his body. The touch of his hand on her lower back made Sabrina shiver. The scent of his cologne made her head cloudy. She didn't understand the reaction she was having to this man. The alcohol, she thought. It must be the alcohol. For the next few hours Ethan, Sabrina, Felix and Lucas spent the night laughing, drinking, dancing and shooting pool. Sabrina couldn't even recall the last time she had this much fun. It was the first time in a long time that her mind hadn't gone to Patrick every 10 minutes. Felix was right again, this was exactly what she needed.
"Hey, Lucas and I are going to hit up another spot, you guys in?" Felix asked.
"I don't think so" Sabrina said leaning up against the bar.
"Girl, what on earth possessed you to drink that much. You can barely hold a wine cooler." Felix said moving Sabrina's hair away from her face.
"It's ok, I'll make sure she gets home. I've only really had one beer." Ethan chuckled
"Thanks Ethan. Don't hit any potholes on the way unless you want to have to power steam your car tomorrow."
"Got it. Come on" Ethan said wrapping Sabrina's arm around his shoulders as they walked to the car.
By the time they made it to the apartment, Ethan was forced to carry Sabrina over his shoulder, and lay her down on the couch. Ethan laughed as he watched her fumble around with her shoes. She was a pitiful sight. A beautiful pitiful sight.
"You are so drunk" He laughed.
"And I intend on getting drunker still" She slurred "I think Felix has a bottle of vodka around here somewhere" She said getting up from the couch and stumbling for the kitchen
"Whoa" Ethan said catching her before she could fall "I think you've had enough. Don't you?" He asked wrapping his arms around her waist.
Sabrina looked up at Ethan and smiled "You're a good guy, you know that?"
"I try to be" He smiled back. Even in a drunken stupor, Sabrina Santiago was still stunning. Ethan kept one hand on her back to keep her upright and outlined the structure of her face with the other. "You're so beautiful" He whispered.
"I'm a mess" She replied lowering her head.
"You're perfect."
Sabrina raised her head and locked eyes with Ethan and saw that look Felix was talking about. She kept saying she needed to move on with her life. So why not move on with Ethan? With a man who had taken a bullet for her. A man that had been there for her for months without question and without ulterior motives. Sabrina couldn't come up with an answer in her state of mind. So she did the only thing she could think to do. She pulled Ethan's face to hers and kissed him. Lightly at first as she wasn't sure how he would respond. She pulled away to read his eyes. Ethan was surprised at the gesture but captivated at the same time. After a few seconds of nervous energy, Ethan pulled Sabrina back into his arms and kissed her the way he had wanted to since the moment he stepped off the hospital elevator. He kissed her with a passion that he'd been holding in for months. He didn't even mind the taste of vodka on her breath. She was flawless in his eyes. Sabrina ran her fingers through Ethan's hair as he walked her backwards towards the sofa. Sabrina didn't know that was going on in her head. All she knew was this man was giving her a feeling that she didn't want to end. Once they hit the sofa Sabrina pulled Ethan on top of her and began grabbing at the belt buckle to his jeans.
"Wait" Ethan said stopping her. "We can't."
"Yes, we can" Sabrina replied kissing his neck.
"No we can't" Ethan stood up from the couch and took a few steps back. "I can't."
Sabrina sat up from the couch and looked around embarrassed. "You don't have feelings for me?" She asked.
"Yes, I do. Which is why I can't do this. Not like this. Sabrina, I can't be the guy you use to get over the guy you want."
"That's not what I'm doing" She whispered.
"Ok then, answer me this. Sonny seems to think that when Robin came back, Patrick left you and went back to her. I have a feeling he's completely wrong and that it was the other way around. Am I right?"
Sabrina finally made eye contact with Ethan "Yes. But what does that matter?"
"Sabrina, you walked away from the man you love so that he and his daughter could be happy with Robin. That's the most selfless thing anyone could do. It proves how much you really love him" He said looking down at the floor. "I can't do this. Not to you and not to me. Yes, I have feeling for you. Truth be told I've had them since the moment I laid eyes on you, but you're not ready to move on yet. You're still in so much pain. I can see it in your eyes. And I can't be the rebound guy. Our friendship means too much to me and I would never take advantage of you like this."
"Ethan… I'm sorry" She sighed.
"No, it's ok. Listen, I'm going to go and let you sleep this off." Ethan said turning to leave. Before he was out the door he turned back to Sabrina and smiled "But when you are finally ready to move on, you know where to find me."