Total pages in book: 65
Estimated words: 65429 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 327(@200wpm)___ 262(@250wpm)___ 218(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 65429 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 327(@200wpm)___ 262(@250wpm)___ 218(@300wpm)
Despite how often I asked Ethan over the years, he never spoke about his father. Since his uncle was not part of my father’s elite country club or an important figure in our town, my dad wasn’t fond of our friendship.
However, this was where my mom came through for me. She stepped in to remind Dad that this was my life, and I could choose who I wanted to be friends with as long as they weren’t a bad influence, which was the only reason my father didn’t object. Ethan’s family wasn’t on the same status as mine, but he was wicked smart. His grades and academic achievements were in the top 10 percent of our middle school, and everyone knew who he was.
Teachers.
Principals.
Parents.
They all wanted their kids to use him as an example. My mom always had my back when it came to our friendship. I think what bothered my father the most was that Ethan was a boy instead of girl best friend like most girls my age had.
Thank God he worked around the clock, so I never really worried about him running into Ethan in our house, but even when they did cross paths, my mom was the housewife and caretaker at the end of the day. My father might make the rules, but she enforced them, and lucky for me, she liked Ethan a lot.
“Come on, Livvy!” Ethan shouted. “You’re dragging your feet!”
“I’m just trying not to break my neck on this dumb skateboard!”
“Stop being so dramatic and kick your foot faster like I taught you!”
It didn’t matter how fast I kicked my foot. I’d never be able to catch up to him. My legs were much shorter than his, and he knew it too. Ethan was baiting me. It was one of his favorite things to do, along with endlessly teasing me.
I yelled back out of breath, “I am kicking my foot, Ethan!”
“Stop being a girl and kick your foot faster!”
“Ugh!”
By the time I caught up to him, it was only because he stopped at the end of the street to wait for me. This was Ethan to a T. One minute, he was picking on me. The next, he was handing me a ladybug that he always seemed to find for me. They meant love and good luck, and he knew how much I loved them.
I smiled. “How do you always find them?”
“What can I say?” He grinned. “The ladies love me.”
I rolled my eyes, scoffing out a chuckle. “Humble much?”
“I’m just stating facts.”
He wasn’t lying. Girls had been flocking to my best friend ever since I could remember. They never mattered, though. Ethan didn’t show any interest in their attention. He wasn’t like normal fourteen-year-old boys obsessed with boobs and getting to second base.
Despite being popular and having friends who were exactly that, Ethan was quiet.
Reserved.
Kind of broody.
Very serious.
Especially when we were around other people.
He could always read them for what they were, and he didn’t let anyone see the sides of him that he openly showed me when we were alone. I loved having him to myself when I didn’t have to share him with anyone. I never thought anything of it.
What girl wants to share her best friend?
I thought the feelings I had for him were normal.
“I’m going to punch you,” I playfully sassed.
He smiled, handing me the ladybug. “Yeah… well it wouldn’t hurt even if you did.”
Before I could jokingly hit him, he took off on his skateboard. Ethan was a much better skater than I was, but there weren’t many things that he wasn’t good at. Our teachers called him gifted.
After what seemed like forever, we reached the waterhole in the woods . Ethan found this place a few years ago, and it sort of became our secret spot. Nobody knew about it but us.
This was the place where lines were crossed, boundaries were blurred, and limits were tested. The tightrope of our friendship would eventually snap in our faces without us ever expecting it for one second.
I slid off my shirt and shorts, throwing them onto a tree branch by the grass. Wearing a purple one-piece bathing suit, I made my way to the water when I heard Ethan haul ass from behind me, jumping headfirst into the river. As soon as he appeared from under the water, he whipped his hair back away from his face and swam closer to the bank, waiting for me.
I scrunched my face and tottered through the swampy grass, my feet sinking to the bottom of my slippery steps. Ethan jerked his head to the side, causing me to smirk. It was our silent agreement for me to hang off his back. I smiled and swam up behind him, putting my arms around his neck and my legs around his torso.
I watched him swing off the rope into the water for the next hour. He had tied it to a tree last month, but I had yet to do it.