You Can't Choose Love (2 page)

Janet walked into university the next
day and the first thing she noticed was a group of giggling girls throwing her
furtive glances and whispering. That was normal; every time Ethan deemed
someone unworthy of humane behavior, his fan girl group decided to humiliate
the person by their stingy comments. Ethan had been intimate with every one of
these girls, or so rumor had it, and probably kept them all hinging on hopes of
more which explained their obsession with him.

“Hey Serving Girl!” one of the
girls called. Janet figured they had seen her working at The Four Stars. Or
maybe, everyone knew that now owing to her outburst the previous day.

“Thought you could get away with
answering Ethan back because you’re a girl?” another one called. “Have you
forgotten Ethan has all of us? Even if he’s too gentlemanly to say anything to
a girl, we’re still here.” They burst out laughing at that. Janet kept walking,
too annoyed at their stupidity. It was very much like Ethan to set a few girls
to torture her instead of doing it himself. He had never had an encounter with
a girl before so no one knew how he would react.

Janet continued hearing snide
comments from several different girls throughout the day. It was almost like
everyone knew of the events that had taken place there. She didn’t see Ethan but
he had done his job well. By the end, she was dying to get out of university
and head back to her apartment. When she was finally done at school, she had
work so she headed straight to The Four Stars but what she found there made her
wish the events of the previous day had never happened. Ethan was sitting with
Madam Pamule, sharing a cup of coffee and chatting good naturedly. Madam Pamule
was the owner and manager of The Four Stars. When Madam Pamule spotted Janet,
she waved her over.

“Janet, your friend has been
waiting for you for ages,” she said. “And a charming young man he is. Don’t
keep him waiting. You don’t have to work today.”

“I’d rather work,” said Janet. She
didn’t know what Ethan was up to but it was nothing good, clearly. Madam
Pamule, however, looked enamored by whatever charm he had used on her.

“Don’t worry about it. I won’t cut
your pay days. Ethan took care of that. You’re free.”

“No, Madam Pamule-” Janet began
but she was already leaving. Janet turned to Ethan and frowned.

“If you think you can threaten me
by showing up here and talking to my manager, you’re mistaken,” Janet began.

“Sit,” said Ethan, pointing to the
chair in front of him.

Janet thought of arguing but there
was no point. Madam Pamule had already dismissed her for the day and she didn’t
have much choice.

“What are you doing here?”

“Just gathering some background
information on you,” Ethan replied casually, stirring his coffee. Up close, he
really was gorgeous. He had green eyes and light brown hair. Janet thought she should
tell Aveline next time she saw her but that wasn’t really appropriate in this
situation.

“Pam told me everything.”

“Pam?”

“Yes.”

“So you’re on nickname basis with
her now?”

“I’m charming,” Ethan replied.
“You’re a scholarship student, as was obvious by your clear disregard for
manners yesterday. Clearly, no one taught you how to talk to others.”

“How to talk to rich kids, you
mean?” Janet knew she was pushing it but she was furious now. There must be an
upper limit to how arrogant a person could be.

“You work here part time to meet
your tuition fee. Your mom is a junior accountant and your dad is a cab driver.
You need this job.”

Suddenly, Janet was scared. If
Ethan was planning on getting her fired, she would have to find a new job and
quickly since the semester fee was due in a month. Her parents were already
working hard to fill the gap between tuition and scholarship and Janet wanted
to help them in any way that she could. She couldn’t afford to lose this job.
It was the only way to complete her degree. What if he did get her fired and
she was unable to pay her tuition? She would be kicked out then and jobless,
with no degree. Now she was really scared.

“Don’t worry,” Ethan smirked. “I
won’t do anything.”

He watched her with his green eyes
for a moment before adding- “if you apologize for yesterday.”

Janet stared at him, too surprised
to reply. “No.”

Ethan looked her over. “You will
apologize.”

“Apologize for stopping you from
bullying a poor, scared girl?”

“I don’t care who or what she was.
You came in my way.”

“And I would do it again.” Janet
shut her eyes, willing her tongue to stop saying stupid things.

“You need this job,” Ethan
repeated casually.

“I don’t believe you,” Janet said,
shaking her head. “You’re more terrible than I thought.”

“Thank you. And the apology?”

“You’re not getting the apology,
Ethan.”

“The apology or your job.”

“How vile can you get?”

“More than you can imagine.”

“You spoiled little brat. You
can’t always get your way. Why haven’t you been able to figure that out yet? Oh
wait! It’s because you threaten to ruin anyone’s life that comes in the way of
you and your immature desires. You’re so spoiled. I can’t believe people like
you exist!”

“Was that your apology?” Ethan
replied coolly, though his jaw had tightened.

“I am NOT apologizing!” Janet said
exasperated.

Ethan shrugged. “Think about it,
Serving Girl.” He pushed back his chair and with a last loathsome look at her,
he exited the shop.

Madam Pamule can running outside.
“How was the date? He left already?”

“It wasn’t a date, Pam,” Janet
said wearily.

“Oh come now,” Madam Pamule waved.
“He was so interested in you. Wanted to know every detail about your life. It’s
so sweet. He came earlier than your arranged time to talk to me about you. He’s
so gorgeous, Janet.”

Janet was too tired to point out
that they had never arranged a time and Ethan had come to threaten her.

“Yeah, very,” she said glumly.

Ethan Reed was a man of his words,
no matter how terrible the words were. When he promised to make someone’s life
miserable, he went through with it. The fact that he was giving this plain,
simple Jenny girl a chance to apologize was really gracious of him.

In perspective, Ethan wasn’t a bad
person. He looked out for his friends and when he cared about someone, he was
fiercely loyal to them. The problem was there was hardly anyone he truly cared
about. Jih Beton was Ethan’s childhood friend and one of the lucky people Ethan
directed his loyalty towards. George Gamez and Kan Conner were also good
friends of Ethan but none of them were the same as Jih. Besides Jih, Ethan was
extremely close to his cousin, Nel Reed who was four years older than Ethan.
She was one of the few people who Ethan forgave for being cheeky with him. In
fact, he appreciated her straightforward comments. She wasn’t afraid of
speaking up against him and normally, Ethan would seethe over that but with
Nel, it was different. Nel was a local TV star, pretty popular in Georgia but
not too known outside of it. She was trying to break into the national TV
industry and so, was frequently out of town on tours. Whenever she was in
Georgia, she was sure to give Ethan a piece of her mind whenever she could.

Ethan was brought up in a family
that was extremely well acquainted with the rich and wealthy in every single
part of the world. His mother, Grace Reed, had started a line of bus and metro
services while in her late twenties. Now, it was a multibillion dollar company
reaping tons and tons of money every single day. His father, Simon Reed, was a
politician, formed mayor of Georgia and now running for senator. When he wasn’t
wooing voters, Simon Reed was overseeing his own construction business. Ethan
had always had every little thing he had wanted or asked for. His parents loved
him, he had excellent grades and money had never been a problem. In short,
Ethan Reed led a perfect life; a life several people only dreamt of. So when a
spilled coffee changed his life forever, Ethan did not know how to handle it.
At first, he thought his life had become imperfect. But soon, he learnt that
his life hadn’t become imperfect. He had just come to terms with the fact that
life wasn’t supposed to be perfect. And the spilled coffee had a lot to do with
it.

Presently, Ethan was lounging in
the living room of his house. House would be an understatement. It was more of
a mansion. When Ethan was young, he had lived here with his family. When he
turned 12, they had moved to California for his parents’ work. The mansion had
become more of a summer home to him. Nel lived in Georgia and so did Ethan’s
(late) grandparents. He always visited them in the summer and when he decided
to go to Georgia, Ethan had moved here permanently. He was usually alone,
except for the several servants who worked hard to keep the mansion in order.

Something was bothering him which
he couldn’t quite place his finger on. It was either the fact that the serving
girl Janet thought she was worthy enough of answering him back or it was the
fact that he didn’t know how to make her life miserable. He couldn’t treat her
like he did the other people who came in his way. There had never been a girl
before and even if there was, she was more like that crying, sobbing friend of
Janet’s and not big mouthed like herself. He knew one thing; she would have to
pay for it or people at Georgia would think he had become soft and anyone can
come in his way now.

Ethan sighed, frustrated. He
checked his watch again. Nel was supposed to meet him an hour ago but he
supposed she had got caught up in one of her social gatherings. Ever since Nel
had returned to Georgia from her tour, there had been social events every
single night with everyone wanting to spend some time with her. When she
finally showed up, Ethan’s theory was confirmed.

“Sorry, cousin,” Nel said as she
threw her bag on the couch and flung down on the bed besides him.

“Caught up in your little fan
gathering?” Ethan scoffed.

“Is this how you greet your
favorite cousin?”

“You’re not my favorite.”

Nel rolled her eyes and talked
idly about her next tour for which she would be leaving at the end of the week.

“So cousin, tell me about this
little girl whose life you’re planning on ruining,” Nel began after a pause in
their discussion. Ethan raised his eyebrows. “George told me,” Nel explained.
“He said you went to her work to threaten her and you’ve been talking about how
insufferable and insolent she is ever since- well ever since whatever it is
that happened. I don’t really care what happened. I want you to leave this girl
alone.”

Ethan glared at her. “If you don’t
know what happened, you don’t get to have a say in it.”

“I know that you’re a spoiled brat
who treats people horribly. Now, what’s her name?”

“Janet,” Ethan replied grudgingly.

“Where does she work?”

“Why?” Ethan sounded suspicious
now.

“Where?”

“The Four Stars.”

Nel gave him an enigmatic look
before changing the subject. “Well, I only left my little party because you
were being anti-social. We’re going back.”

“I’m not going,” Ethan said
stubbornly.

“You are.”

Nel dragged him back to the party
being thrown by Michelle Parkinson in Nel’s honor. Michelle Parkinson was the
head of the little girl club who was presently trying to make Janet’s life
miserable on Ethan’s account. She was also Ethan’s ex-girlfriend. When Ethan
grudging entered the party, he was engulfed by George, Kan and Michelle and her
little club so he didn’t notice Nel slipping away from him and out of the club
where the party was being held.

Janet couldn’t concentrate. The
music blasting from the club opposite The Four Stars was too loud and
distracting. Customers were low today because of the cold weather, she presumed
and so she had found some time to work on her homework during her shift. She
was seated at the reception desk, reading and rereading a single line, trying
to comprehend it.

The town had been celebrating Nel
Reed’s return ever since she had- well- returned. Janet had caught glimpses of
her when she was passing on the streets surrounded by her group of admirers and
fans, mostly people from the affluent class. The fact that she was a TV star
set to make her national debut soon along with her being from the Reed family,
Nel was well known and well respected throughout Georgia.

Janet looked up as the door opened
and for a moment, she thought she was imagining Nel entering the restaurant.
She blinked to make sure it wasn’t a product of her thoughts just moments ago
on Nel’s fame and popularity. Nel was dressed in knee high fur boots with an
emerald scarf wrapped around her neck. Her coat was pulled tightly around her
and her brunette hair was wind swept. She was tall and- Janet couldn’t help
noticing- extremely pretty.

“Hello,” Nel said, coming up to
the reception. “I’m looking for someone called Janet.”

“Er-” Janet was extremely
confused. “I’m Janet.”

“Oh hey Janet!” Nel brightened up
and held out her hand. Shaking it enthusiastically, she continued, “I’m Nel.
Nel Reed.”

“I know who you are,” Janet
replied.

“I want to apologize for the way
my cousin has been treating you.”

“Ethan?”

“Unfortunately, that’s my cousin.”

“That’s-that’s alright.”

“I also want to invite you to the
little party being held across the street.”

“Oh n-no, thank you,” Janet tried to
find an excuse. “I have homework to do, see – ”

“Just for a little bit,” Nel said
with finality, grabbing Janet behind the desk and pulling her outside.

“But I’m not dressed for a party!”
Janet protested.

Nel turned to examine her. She
removed Janet’s apron and adjusted her hair a bit. Then she pulled out some
make up from her purse and set about applying it on Janet’s face. Once she was
satisfied, she started dragging Janet along again. Janet couldn’t do much but
pray that Ethan wasn’t at the party but of course, he was. Her eyes fell on him
the moment they entered. Ethan looked extremely surprised as Nel and Janet
entered arm in arm. Nel went about introducing Janet to other people present
there. Most of them greeted her politely. However, the students of Georgia
University looked plain shocked and didn’t know whether they should be mean on
account of Ethan or polite on account of Nel so they stammered hello and turned
away. Eventually, Janet was left alone as Nel was pushed forward in the crowd
of all the guests who wanted to spend some time with her.

Janet sighed. This was going to be
awkward.

Ethan detached himself from his
group of friends and made his way to a now Janet-free-Nel. Pulling her away
from a few fans, Ethan turned to face her.

“What the hell are you doing?” he
demanded.

“Teaching you a lesson.”

“By bringing the serving girl with
you?”

“That’s exactly why I want to
teach you a lesson. Serving girl, really? Maybe you should deflate your head a
little. You’ll see what I’m doing.”

Ethan opened his mouth to reply
but they were interrupted by Michelle who was pushing her way towards where
Janet stood alone.

“What are you doing, Michelle?”
Nel asked brightly, coming in her way.

“Oh-” Michelle looked around as if
she only just saw Nel. “There’s an uninvited guest. I don’t think we called her
as a server either. I’ll be back . . . ” she said more to herself than to Nel.

“I invited her,” Nel said.

“What?” Michelle looked even more
shocked than Ethan.

“I invited her. Let her be.”

“It’s- it’s my party,” Michelle
said, clearly not wanting to offend Nel.

“Well, I was invited to loads of
parties tonight. I suppose I could go to another one…” Nel trailed.

“Oh no!” Michelle said. “Of
course, any guest of yours is welcome here.”

With a forced smile, Michelle
returned to her friends. Nel threw Ethan an exasperated look before moving away
too.

Janet accepted a glass of punch
from a passing waiter, grateful for something to do with her hands as she stood
awkwardly. Some people threw her curious glances but most just ignored her.
Suddenly, a drunken man a little older than Janet appeared before her. He was
stumbling and clearly out of his mind. Janet stepped out of his way but he
lunged at her.

“Hey Pretty,” he drawled. “Not alone,
are you? Where’s your boyfriend?”

Janet edged away, unsure of what
to do. “You are alone,” the drunken man stated, laughing. He grabbed for Janet
and before she could do anything to defend herself, he was planting a sloppy
kiss on her lips. Janet struggled but he was too big and strong. Suddenly, the
man was pulled away and Jih Baton was standing over him, looking furious. He
roughly guided the man outside the club and instructed the guards to take him
away. People were turning to stare at them now as Janet struggled to comprehend
what had just happened. Nel was by her side, asking if she was okay and
apologizing profusely but Janet didn’t want to hear anything. She wanted to go
back to the safe confines of her room. Nel instructed her to wait outside for
her so she could collect her things and get her car keys. Janet insisted she
could go on her own but Nel was adamant.

Janet stepped outside the heated
club. The drunken man had disappeared and Jih Baton never returned after the
little episode. She was in the back garden, which was a pretty little place
filled with the smell of roses. Janet gulped the fresh air, willing herself not
to cry.  She had always expected her first kiss to be magical and
romantic; not forced upon her by a drunken man. She remembered Marlene’s words
when she had told Janet she was stupid for thinking first kisses are supposed
to be magical. According to Marlene, Janet had been watching too many
fairytales.

She jumped when she realized that
someone was standing at a distance and watching her. Ethan Reed’s eyes pierced
through Janet, as if he knew exactly what she was thinking and feeling as he
walked towards her,

“Go away,” Janet said, turning
away her face.

Ethan ignored her. “Was that your
first kiss?” he asked softly.

“Why do you care?” Janet was
furious now.

“Not exactly how you imagined it,”
he said, as if stating a fact. He leaned closer.

“What are you doing?” Janet asked
her voice shaky. If this was another one of Ethan’s tactics to make her life
worse than it already was, she was going to kill him.

“Just be a good girl and hold
still and we’ll see if we can create something a touch more romantic,” he
whispered, sending shivers down her spine. Before she knew it, he was pulling
her closer, his hand slipping around her waist. His other hand guided her face
up as he kissed her.

She tried to pull away but his
arms held her tight. As his lips moved gently against hers, a strange sensation
came over here, rendering her incapable of anything but reciprocating the kiss.
His thumb was gently stroking the skin where he held her and she found herself
responding as his tongue pushed into her mouth. He deepened the kiss, igniting
a desperate need within her which left her startled and gasping. Janet did not
know how long he kissed her but it was enough to make her (almost) forget the
traumatizing experience with the drunken man.

He pulled away gently, brushing a
lose strand of hair out of her eyes. Janet pushed him away, trying to put some
distance between them. She was gasping for breath and staring at him shocked.

“You’re an infuriating little
serving girl who won’t apologize to me but you deserve a memorable first kiss,”
he said, winking and with that, he departed.

Nel hurried out of the club,
talking distractedly to a few people. She spotted Janet and rushed towards her,
pulling her along. They reached her car and she handed the keys to a man which
Janet presumed was her driver. Once they were seated in the car, Nel turned to
Janet.

“I’m so sorry. I’ll make sure that
man gets what he deserves,” Nel told her.

“It’s not your fault.”

Nel was very interested in Janet’s
studies and job and listened attentively as she talked. Janet reflected on how
different she was from Ethan and pointed it out, though she did not want to
think of Ethan because it made her blush.

“Ethan is immature. I always try
to put some sense into him but he doesn’t learn,” Nel said, rolling her eyes.

Janet didn’t respond.

“But,” Nel continued in a
would-be-casual tone. “Maybe you can drill some sense into him.”

“Me?”

“Hmm.”

Janet laughed. “He hates me.”

“He listens to you. Hangs on to
every word you say. He’s been fuming over everything you said to him for days,
George tells me. That’s a good sign. At least he’s thinking about it.”

“Thinking about it to get back at
me, yes,” Janet responded.

Nel shrugged. “Just a thought.”

Janet couldn’t get the feeling of
Ethan’s lips and touch out of her head. As she went to bed later that night,
she reflected on the fact that Ethan was quite a good kisser though she had nothing
to compare it with. Still, the way he had made her feel was good. She would
maybe even like to kiss him again. Those were her last thoughts as she fell
into an uncomfortable sleep.