Mismatched Compatibility (9)

Dana:

Splash!

I moaned.

Splash!

My head turned, feeling the soft fabric against my cheek. I frowned and slowly opened my eyes. It was dark. The only light in the room came from outside the window.

Hold on . . . I was in my room at the Tyler Residence . . . How did I get here?

Splash!

My eyes instinctively followed the sound. I climbed out of bed and walked towards the window. The moon and stars were already out to enjoy the night. I looked down and saw a broad bare back swimming in the pool.

No doubt it was Ethan.

My assumption was right when he stopped swimming to catch his breath. He leaned his head on the edge of the pool and just relaxed there.

Hmm. He looked quite handsome – and sexy. It saddened me a little bit that he didn't want commit to any girl. And by the time that he would decide to settle down, I would undeniably envy that girl.

I didn't realize I was watching him for several minutes already until I heard myself sigh. I backed away from the window, quickly going to the bathroom. I went to the sink, turned on the faucet, and washed my face.

“Why did I sigh?” I murmured to myself.

To my dismay, I received no answer from myself – which made me a bit amused, wanting an answer from my own self. How silly.

When I was convinced that I've finally woken up, I turned off the faucet. I straightened up and looked at myself in the mirror.

“You are not allowed to be attracted to Ethan Tyler,” I firmly told myself. “Do you understand?” I took a deep breath and nodded. My hand then grabbed the face towel, and gently rubbed my face with it. When done, I put it back neatly.

I shook my hair as I returned to my room. To my absolute surprise, someone else was in the room with me. And he wasn't wearing any shirt on, only a towel draped around his hips. The lights were turned on, making me have a full view on his gorgeous body and well-packed abs.

It was only then that I realized he had tattoos on his right shoulder. The more noticeable one was the bold numbers of 26. Below it were Greek characters: ΘΗΑ.

Hmm. Theta Eta Alpha. It must be the fraternity he belonged to.

All of a sudden, he was nearing me. It was getting harder for me to breathe. I wanted to step back, but my feet were rooted on the spot. Why for goodness' sake wouldn't they move?! I was hyperventilating!

He reached his right hand up.

What – What is he going to do?

He placed his hand on my chin . . . to close my mouth.

Oh, heavens. My mouth was open? Please save me from this humiliation.

“I know you think I'm some sort of sex god,” said Ethan in a low voice, pulling up my chin so our eyes could meet. He smiled crookedly. “But you don't have to be so obvious about it.”

I felt my face heat up from deep embarrassment, while my body stiffened. I was quite sure that the color of my entire face was scarlet red, if not only my cheeks.

How. Mortifying.

It took all my will power to compose myself and keep my head held high. I looked at him straight in the eye as though he was nothing but an unwanted disturbance.

“What do you want?” I spat.

He tilted his head and gently pulled my chin a little bit closer to him.

My heartbeat accelerated even more. This wasn't at all fine. Goodness, he had such smooth features. How could he have acquired such a face?

“Do you really want to know what I'm craving for right now?” he said in a husky voice, his eyes wandering dangerously to my lips.

I gulped.

Curses. If I hadn't experienced that kiss with him, I would still be able to think rationally without these butterflies meddling with my thoughts.

“I'm quite sure it involves perverted thoughts,” I said a-matter-of-factly. “So no, thank you.”

Ethan laughed out loud as he removed his hand from my chin and leaned away. “Probably not as perverted as your thoughts after seeing me half-naked,” he countered back, winking at me.

“Right, because I have nothing better to do than fantasize about you.”

“The truth will set you free, babe.”

I sighed. “What are you truly doing here, Ethan?”

I want you out of my room before I lose all sense of rationality!

“Psh, you're no fun,” he pouted. “I saw your lights come on from the window and figured you're finally awake.”

“About that . . . What happened exactly?”

“Ah, you fell asleep at Evans' house while you girls were watching a movie.”

Did that mean that he carried me to my bed? Oh, what I would give to have seen his face while he was doing that. I wondered if he was complaining about my weight. He wasn't exactly a gentleman . . .

Ethan was about to say something when the phone in his hand rang. He looked at the Caller ID, grinned, and answered immediately.

“Speak,” he arrogantly told the other end of the line. “Yeah, of course I'm coming . . . C'mon, when have I ever arrived early for a party? Do I look like a geek to you? . . . Aight. Later, man. By the way, I'm bringing someone with me.”

My eyes automatically found his. But then, he frowned and looked away.

“Whatever,” he continued. “Just do me a favor and shut up. I'm on my way.” After the last word, he hang up. Without looking at me, he said, “Get ready, princess. We'll leave for the party in fifteen.”

He didn't wait for my reply. He just left the room without another word.

If truth be told, I was getting used to his rudeness. I wasn't quite sure whether that was a good thing or a bad thing, though.

Since it was their reunion, I decided I should wear a dress. Something that would project that I knew how to have fun, and at the same time still look like a respectable lady. So I settled for my white Futura party dress with gold-beaded shoulders and slit cutouts. And then, I paired it with my four-inched ankle-high black boots.

I put on just enough make-up, not too dark and not too light. I left my hair loose, but shook them a little bit to make them look curlier and full.

I looked at the full-length mirror in the bathroom one last time, tilting my head to the side as I examined myself.

Hmm. I must admit . . . I looked amazing.

I smiled to myself, amused.

Little make-up can truly do wonders.

Confident, I grabbed my black pouch and went downstairs. Ethan must have heard me come down because he called out to me from the kitchen. As I made my way to the spacious room, I remembered my first time coming in here this morning where I officially met Attorney Henry Tyler.

When I finally entered, I smiled at the neat surroundings. This was the kind of kitchen that every good chef would want – with all the steel and shiny appliances. At the same time, it looked very cozy. It acquired that homey feel to it.

My eyes landed on Ethan. He was busily pulling out a plate of burger and fries from the microwave, and placing it on the high counter. He was wearing a white polo shirt and jeans, with white sneakers that I strongly guessed he wore earlier.

Even I couldn't deny that he looked very good-looking.

As soon as he finished what he was doing, he eventually looked up and noticed me. He stared at me for a moment, before looking away and shaking his head. He let out an amused smile as though he was having his own private joke about something.

“What's so amusing?” I asked, slightly paranoid that it might be about me.

“Eat up,” he simply told me, completely ignoring my question.

Hmph. Wasn't he even the tiniest bit affected by how I looked?

Hold on. Since when did I care about what he thinks? Stop, Dana!

“Aren't we late for the party?” I queried.

“Nah,” answered Ethan nonchalantly. “We gotta get some food in you first.”

I sat on one of the counter stools across from him as I tried to figure out what he meant by that. Giving up, I said, “Why is that?”

“A full stomach means less chances of you getting drunk and throwing up,” he explained, snatching a couple of fries from my plate. “And you not drunk means less trouble for me. I don't want to babysit you all night. I got a life too, you know.”

I wasn't an idiot. That clearly meant he was planning on getting some tonight – with some random girl. And it was absolutely none of my business so there was no point in thinking about it.

My eyes wandered around all the food laid out. There was pizza, a bowl of macaroni and cheese, some lasagna, the burger in front of me, and fries. They all looked delicious, but also full of carbs . . . Oh, I'll make an exception this time. After all, it's not all the time I get to eat like this.

I looked at Ethan. “Am I supposed to eat all of these?”

“Just eat what you want until you think you've had enough.”

“All right. Aren't you going to eat, as well?”

“Nope. Unlike you, I don't go crazy stupid when I'm drunk.”

My brows slightly furrowed. “You haven't seen me drunk, so don't judge.”

He snorted. “You wanna bet on it?”

I was instantly reminded of the birds and the bees.

“No, thanks!” I quickly replied, and then began eating the burger.

“I know what this is about,” he laughed. “You're scared to make a bet with me 'cause you think that if I win, I'll get you to have sex with me.”

How could he be such a good reader? I could swear, it was as though he had the gift to read minds. Then again, every ladies man knew how to read girls very well.

I swallowed and raised an eyebrow. “Does everything around you revolve around that?”

“Of course not,” he responded indignantly. He made a sad face and continued, “I'm hurt that you think so little of me.” Then, the pouted lips slowly turned into a grin. “See, my life also revolves around Basketball.”

“You're an athlete,” I concluded, right after I took another bite. “Oh, yeah. The ladies at the luncheon today mentioned something about you and your friends playing at the event tomorrow,” I added mockingly, reaching for the glass of water.

“First, you suck at being sarcastic,” commented Ethan seriously, absentmindedly pushing the glass I was trying to reach closer to me. “Second, I almost forgot about the game tomorrow. Thanks for reminding me.”

I stopped drinking and almost – almost spluttered. With the glass of water firmly in my hand, I blinked at him.

“Did you just – thank me?”

He froze for a moment. “Shit,” he whispered.

I burst into a giggling fit, while Ethan stood and ruffled his hair.

“Careful, Ethan,” I warned, grinning. “You're inner politeness is showing.”

“I can't help it if I was raised half my life to be like that,” he defended. Then, he waved his right hand dismissively. “You know what I mean.”

“Touché,” I nodded, before having another bite of the burger.

I did know what he mean. In our world, even the most disdainful human being was polite in his own way. From the second we were born, we were taught how to act properly. It was in our nature.

On the corner of my eye, I saw him watching me as I ate – which was very uncomfortable, mind you. Before I could tell him off, he spoke.

“I thought you're a vegetarian.”

He was clearly referring to my choice of food yesterday. It was quite obvious that he disapproved of what I ate because of the disgusted look he wore whenever I took a bite in the Diner.

“I like healthy food,” I shrugged. “But I also like delicious food. I make an exception every once in a while. Besides, I don't see the point of acting all prim and proper since you've already seen my ferocious side. I'm almost done, by the way.”

I didn't add the fact that this was ME, whenever I was alone. Just . . . a normal girl. Not a princess-y type who was always aloof.

He nodded. “Okay, I'll start the car. Just put the dishes in the –”

“I know what to do,” I cut him off, as I jumped from the stool. “I'm a college student, remember? I somehow learned to be independent.”

I didn't know if it was because of what I said, but he studied me for a minute. He didn't say anything, he just kept his eyes on me.

I raised an eyebrow at him as I tried to search his facial expression and read what he was thinking, but I couldn't. He was so hard to read sometimes that it was unfair.

For one tiny moment, I thought that perhaps Badass Ethan was in front of me. I didn't see him drink any alcohol, though.

Finally, he nodded indifferently and left.

It made me wonder . . .

What if Badboy Ethan was maturing into the Badass one?