The Apartment: The Complete Affair (26 page)

“Because I’m not available like that. I’m too damaged for anybody else right now, and with my art I might need to pack up and leave for New York any day.”

“Don’t give me that shit. You can paint anywhere.”

“Not always. I have to be inspired. Besides, I don’t think she’s exactly single. This is just a fling to her, too. We’re having our fun while it lasts and then that will be that.” Perhaps if he said it enough he might start to believe it.

Eric arched an eyebrow as he studied his brother, smelling the bullshit from a mile away. “Mmhmm, well, if that’s what you want to tell yourself, that’s fine by me. I just hope you know what you’re doing.”

“I do!” he snapped, uncomfortable under Eric’s scrutiny. “Now can we please drop this?”

“Alright, you big baby, let’s get back to the hospital. I want to see if Maggie is up yet.” Eric stood up and reached for the check, but Ethan grabbed it out from under his hand before he could pick it up.

“I said it was my treat, remember?”

“Well yeah, but you entertained me with so much dirt about yourself that I figured I should pay.” He smiled wickedly and reached for the check again.

“Ha-ha, very funny. And no way, I’m treating.”

They walked up to the counter to pay, standing in line behind a middle-aged man who was picking up a takeout order. Eric looked at his profile long enough to make out the moustache and smiled broadly, reaching around Ethan and tapping the man on the shoulder.

“Hey, Mr. Blake, I thought that was you!”

The man turned around and smiled back. “Eric,” he said gruffly, nodding at him. “How have you been? Are those Bears going to be worth a damn this fall?”

“I hope so! I only get at them after they’re injured, though, so let’s hope I don’t see too many breaks next season.”

“How’s your father doing? I haven’t seen him since he stopped in and visited me at the hospital after my injury. It’s been, what? A couple years now.”

“Oh, he’s real good. Still a workaholic, but we love him. I totally forgot you were hurt a while back. Looks like you’re up and around pretty good now, though. I didn’t even see you limping.”

“Well, I owe it all to my Lily. She moved down here to help me recover, and I don’t know what I would have done without her.”

“Is that your daughter?” When the man nodded, Eric’s face lit up in recognition, knowing he had heard the name Lily a lot lately. “Hey, wait a minute! Does she work over at Dr. Wilde’s office?”

“That’s right.” Mr. Blake paid for his order while looking back over his shoulder at Eric. When he was done he moved out of the way so Ethan could pay their bill. “Know her from there? I didn’t think there would be much call for a guy your age to get a pap smear.”

“Cute, Mr. Blake,” Eric rolled his eyes. “No, actually my wife just adores her. She said that she always goes above and beyond for the patients there. Maggie was just saying the other day that she wanted to have her over some time. I’ll have to let her know she’s your daughter.”

“I hope that won’t turn her against her,” Mr. Blake chuckled. “I know your wife wasn’t my biggest fan after the last time I saw her.”

“Uh, heh, you remember that, huh?” Eric turned beet red. “Well, that was a long time ago, and we were just dumb kids.”

“Oh, I know. But I must say that I was happy to hear you made an honest woman of her after that.”

Looking to change the subject quickly, Eric saw that Ethan had finished paying and was turning around. “Hey, I’m sorry. Do you remember my brother Ethan?” He patted him on the back so hard that Ethan was shoved slightly forward.

“I don’t think I do. I knew you had a younger brother, but I don’t think I’ve ever had the pleasure.” He reached out his hand and shook Ethan’s, addressing him directly. “It’s probably a good thing that I don’t remember you, since most of the kids I’m familiar with were troublemakers.”

“Nice to meet you, sir. I’m suddenly very happy that I was a bookworm in school.” They all shared a laugh until Ethan realized they were holding up the line. “I suppose we should be going.”

“Yeah,” Mr. Blake agreed. “I need to get over to the school and eat my breakfast before it gets cold. I just got back in town from chaperoning the damn student government trip, and I’ve probably got a stack of papers on my desk a mile high. It was nice seeing you again, Eric. Nice to meet you, Ethan. Stay out of trouble, boys.” He winked at them before leaving and jumping in his car.

“Nice guy,” Ethan said as they walked to their own car. When they were both inside he looked at Eric and smiled. “So what did he bust you for?”

“Shut up and get going,” he snapped back, turning even redder than before. When Ethan only continued to sit there and look at him, he finally caved. “He didn’t bust me, exactly. He let me go with a warning.”

“For?”

“Remember that first homecoming weekend when I brought Maggie home from college? Well, I took her to the football game to show her my old stomping ground. When we got in my car to leave that night, things… got a little heated. My car was the only one left in the parking lot when Mr. Blake drove up—I guess he forgot some papers in his office or something. Anyway, he saw my car there and expected to find a drunken teenager passed out behind the wheel, but instead he found Maggie blowing me.”

Ethan threw his head back and laughed, wiping a tear from his eye as he started the engine. “And that’s why I never tried anything like that in a car.”

“Hey man, don’t knock it. What you don’t get caught doing can make the risk worth it!”

Ethan drove him back to the hospital, noticing that he hadn’t felt so light in weeks.

Upon seeing the large building come into view, he also made a mental note to stop by the store on the way home. He definitely needed to pick up sponges and bubble bath.

There was no other way to say it.

Ethan wanted to fuck in a car.

Ever since Eric admitted to getting busted back in college with Maggie’s head in his lap while parked in the high school lot, Ethan hadn’t been able to shake the feeling that he’d missed out on a lot of fun activities when he was younger. He had gone from being a shy, bookish introvert to a pretentious snob who was above that kind of thing. By the time he had hooked up with Rachel—well, if designer sheets weren’t involved, she wasn’t interested.

But now? Now he had
her
.

Something told Ethan that his goddess wouldn’t be adverse to a little bit of backseat bingo—if he could first get her in his car, that is. They’d never set one foot outside his studio together before, but he was hoping that since it was Valentine’s Day he might be able to persuade her to try something different.

Although his goddess had spent a surprising amount of time with him that week, he hadn’t been holding onto any expectations of seeing her on Valentine’s. As much as he hated to think about it, Ethan knew that she had someone else in her life who had a much bigger claim on her than he did. He assumed that she would be spending the evening with the
other guy
, which is why he was blown away when she’d told him that morning that she would be back again later that night.

So he began to plan. He went to the store and picked up a few essentials to pack in a bag, not forgetting a fleece throw to finish it off—it
was
February, after all. Ethan was counting on hot, sweaty groping that would keep them both overheated, but there was nothing wrong with being prepared.

He was so excited by the idea of dragging his girl off somewhere different for a change that he could barely stop himself from attacking her when she let herself into the apartment later that afternoon. Lily was wearing her workout clothes again, some black sweats and a red shirt that said
The Ladies Go Crazy for My Sugalumps
on the front, and she looked adorable. When he saw her reach for her jacket he finally remembered that he had a voice.

“Leave it on,” he whispered, crossing the room to meet her at the door.

“Oookay?” she said with a puzzled look on her face.

Ethan grabbed her jacket by the collar, pulling it back up into place on her shoulders before looking her deep in the eye. “Trust me.”

“You suddenly have a jacket fetish?” she teased.

“Very cute, but no. You’ll need it to stay warm.”

“Warm? What do you—?” Understanding dawned in her eyes. “Where are we going?”

He grabbed his own coat and threw it on before taking her hand and leading her to the door.

“You’ll see.”

Ethan led her down the stairway, pulling her behind him until they made it to the door at the bottom. When he reached out to touch the handle, she stopped in her tracks. He looked back at her to see what was the matter, surprised to find a worried look on her face.

“You okay?” he asked.

Lily’s eyes shot back and forth between him and the door a few times before settling on his face. He watched as she took a deep breath and sighed, finally ending with a small smile.

“I think so,” she replied. “Just nervous.”

“Don’t be. Can you trust me?”

Her cheeks turned beet red as she pictured the tube of lube that was still upstairs. “You know I can.”

He smiled at her and kissed her quickly. “Then trust me now. I won’t let anyone see you.” Pulling her with him into the alley, Ethan looked around quickly for any witnesses before leading her to his car in the parking lot. Once they were inside and backing out of the spot he was in, he heard her quietly giggle to herself.

“What’s so funny?” He looked at her across the interior, wondering what the hell could be so humorous when she had just been scared to even step outside with him.

She suddenly adopted a serious look, before replying in a completely deadpan tone, “I just never took you for an Audi guy.” And then she burst into laughter.

“You are such an asshole,” he chuckled, glancing at her again as he drove. “An adorable asshole, of course, but an asshole all the same. Besides, it’s a rental.”

They drove for a while in silence as the sky darkened around them. Ethan noticed that she had managed to scoot so far down in her seat that she could barely peek out of the window any longer. When nothing but a thick cover of trees came into view, she shot back up.

“Where are you taking me?”

He turned off the main highway onto an almost nonexistent dirt road before turning to look at her. “Far enough from town so that nobody can hear you scream.” He arched his eyebrow in the most dastardly fashion he could manage and smirked at her.

“So this is when I find out that you’re really a psychotic killer who travels the country seducing young women before making a belt out of their nipples?”

“Beautiful, I admit that I’m very fond of your nipples, but—wait, what?”

“Sorry,” she blushed. “It was serial killer week on the Biography Channel.” Lily watched for another moment as he turned off the road onto the grass and drove between the trees until they reached a clearing. “Seriously, where the hell are we?”

“Well,” Ethan explained as he pulled to a stop. “This is a place where I used to come when I was younger. I would hang out here all day and sketch. Sometimes I would even bring some paints with me when I felt more colorful.”

“What was so special about this place? It looks sort of drab to me.”

“True. But you should see it in the summer. This clearing has some of the prettiest wildflowers I’ve ever seen.”

“Wow, I never would have guessed this was hidden back here. Wait—you grew up here? You’re actually
from
Aledo?”

“Why is that so shocking?” The amazed look on her face was almost comical.

“I don’t know… look at you! You just don’t seem to fit in here.”

“I have no idea if I should be flattered or insulted right now,” he laughed. “Although now that I think about it, I never really did feel like I belonged here.” Just then a large crack of thunder could be heard in the distance, making them both jump.

“Oh no! I hope it doesn’t rain!” She peered up at the sky, searching for storm clouds.

“Why? A little rain never hurt anybody.”

“But didn’t you want to show me this clearing? Won’t a sudden downpour put a bit of a damper on whatever you have planned?”

“Believe me, rain won’t factor into my plans at all.” He gave her another evil smirk and leaned toward her, kissing her softly on the lips.

“Okay, now I’m definitely intrigued. What exactly are your plans?”

Ethan smiled widely and kissed her again, this time more slowly. When he pulled away he whispered, “Let’s just say that they don’t involve leaving the car at all.”

“Oh, is that so?” she teased. “Well, since I don’t exactly see a drive-in around here anywhere, that really only leaves one other thing, doesn’t it?”

“I’m amazed that you could be so closed-minded,” he laughed, turning around and reaching into the back seat, grabbing a box from his over-stuffed bag. “You didn’t even mention the picnic.”

“What picnic? You said we weren’t leaving the car.”

“It’ll be a car picnic. It’s not much, just some sandwiches, but I thought that I should at least feed you something if I was going to drag you out into the middle of nowhere to have my wicked way with you.”

He handed her one of the sandwiches, expecting her to laugh at how poorly made they were, but was concerned to see an odd look on her face. Ethan watched as she stared at the sandwich, turning it over in her hands like she’d never seen one before. When she looked back up at him, he could have sworn that her eyes were moist.

“Is something wrong?” he asked. “Do you not like turkey? I have a ham and cheese one here, too, if you’d rather have that one.” She still didn’t say anything for a minute and it was beginning to worry him.

“You made this for me?” she finally whispered.

“Yeah, I know. Sorry. I probably should have bought something pre-made, huh?”

“No, no. This is perfect.” A shy smile played on her lips as she blinked a few times. “It’s just that I can’t really remember the last time anybody made me something. Thank you.”

Ethan couldn’t understand why the hell anyone would be so touched by such a crappy sandwich, but he decided not to press the issue. They ate in silence for a moment, trying to ignore the awkwardness that was growing between them.