8. Pesky Boner

Chapter 8

Pesky Boner

Libby

T he doorbell rang, slicing through the chaos around me. I shuffled to the door, stepping over a precarious pile of old textbooks, and swung it open, already knowing it was my fae prince in shining armor.

Ethan stood there, his smile fading as he looked past me at the mess that was in my entryway. I’d dubbed it the “donation zone”, and it had gone from manageable to barely being able to open the door.

Normally, my place was neat and organized, so the fact that I’d let packing erupt into a mess said a lot about where my head had been over the past week. The contents of the boxes were even spilling out like the thoughts that swirled in my head.

Leo. Ethan. My breakup. My new job. A new place.

It was all too much, and now here I was, the day before the moving company came, and I wanted to curl into a ball and cry. So, I did the only thing I could think of and called my most trusted friend to come help me.

“Hey, Ethan.” My voice was a mix of relief and embarrassment.

He stepped inside, navigating through the labyrinth of my moving mess with a careful grace before stopping in the middle of the living room. His eyes scanned the space as he turned around in a circle, the usual twinkle in them replaced by a hint of concern.

He set his overnight bag on the coffee table and then put his hands on his hips. “When you said you needed help, I didn’t know it was this bad. I was expecting organized chaos, not actual chaos. I should have brought reinforcements.”

“I know it looks like a tornado passed through here, but it’s not that bad.” It really was, though, and I bit my lip to stop it from quivering.

“We’ll get it all packed in no time now that I’m here.” He picked up a shirt that was hanging from the flap of a box. “We’ll call this packing strategy chaotic chic.”

I rolled my eyes, my anxiety melting away. I grabbed the shirt from him and tossed it into a random open box—not where it belonged, but who was keeping track anymore? “The good news is my bedroom and office are all packed.”

“Let me guess, you spent four days on your books and moved most things out here.” He moved around, looking into boxes and pulling out a stapler to back up his assessment.

“Don’t judge me. I started strong and had a system going, but then... I don’t know, it all exploded into this, and I just started throwing things into whatever box was closest.” I gestured helplessly around the room, my original attempt at organization now a distant memory.

Ethan stopped in front of another open box and snorted. Somehow, that box had become a temporary home for a bizarre assortment of items. He reached in and pulled out a whisk with a roll of toilet paper on its handle, some of it wrapped around the whisk part in a tangle. It was an unfortunate consequence of me spinning it on the end, trying to rewrap some of it after dropping the roll.

“Is this for a new fusion cuisine for Leo’s restaurant? A combination of two of the most essential rooms, kitchen and bathroom, side-by-side. Their world-famous faucet fajitas and shaving cream soufflé will be the talk of the town.”

My cheeks felt hot at the mention of Leo. “Always have to stay ahead of the culinary trends.” I took the whisk from him and put it on the end table.

Ethan watched me for a moment, the humor in his eyes softening into something more concerned. “How are you doing?”

“Everything’s fine. Just the usual moving chaos.” I hoped my smile looked more convincing than it felt.

Besides the stress of moving, I hadn’t told Ethan about kissing Leo and wasn’t sure if I could. A part of me wanted to spill everything about the mess of feelings I couldn’t seem to neatly pack away, but the words caught in my throat.

Ethan didn’t seem entirely convinced, but he didn’t press further. He was always good at reading me, and right then, I wasn’t ready to dive into it. Especially not with the way my heart did somersaults every time I even thought about telling him.

“Let’s get this mess under control. I’m half tempted to send a picture of it to your brother.” He pulled his phone out of his back pocket.

“Oh my God, don’t.” I lunged for him and nearly fell over a box.

“What I’ll do is take a before photo and then an after... that way he will only freak out for a minute or two before, boom! I send him rows of neatly arranged boxes.” Ethan backed up to the entryway. “Grab that whisk toilet paper thing and lift it in the air like you’re Libby, Warrior Packing Princess, ready to ride off into battle.”

I couldn’t stop my giggles as I grabbed the whisk and stood in the middle of my living room, one foot propped onto a box, arm in the air.

“Perfect. This is going to be your new contact photo. And now for some packing music.” Ethan put on a playlist, and we got busy packing the rest of my life into boxes.

Time flew with the company, and an hour later, we had made some serious progress. I was halfway through packing a kitchen cabinet when the unmistakable opening beats of one of Ethan’s favorite songs came on. It had only been a matter of time.

I groaned in protest before I even turned around to find Ethan already swept up in the choreography. He pointed at me, his teeth bared before making monster hands and jerkily moving toward me.

“Nope!” I escaped around the other side of the island.

The grin he shot me didn’t bode well for me. “Oh, come on! It’s a sin not to dance to this!”

I tried to suppress the smile that was fighting its way through. “We have like a gazillion more boxes to pack. I can’t stop to?—”

But he was already striding after me with determination. “Dance break now, pack later. It’s a necessity. We don’t have that much left.”

He extended his hand with a flourish as if he were a prince asking for a dance. The music’s catchy nostalgia mixed with Ethan’s undeniable energy was my undoing.

“Fine. One song, and only because it’s this one.”

We moved around, dodging boxes and laughing as Ethan’s dance moves grew more outrageous by the second. My movements were just as ridiculous.

“You’re dancing like a dad at a wedding,” I teased between laughs. He was doing it on purpose to make me laugh; he usually tore up the dance floor.

Ethan spun around so wildly that he nearly hit me in the face with his outstretched arms. As the song neared the end, he grabbed my hand and twirled me around.

I wasn’t the best dancer in the world, and the momentum of the spin caused me to trip over my own feet. I reached out for something stable to keep me from falling, but there was nothing in arm’s reach. The only thing left to do was fall into Ethan. We tumbled onto the couch, Ethan grunting as I landed on top of him.

We both lay there for a moment, our faces inches apart. Ethan’s gaze moved from my eyes to my lips and my breath caught in my throat as he brushed hair out of my face.

“Ethan,” I whispered as his fingers lingered on my cheek.

“Libby.” His voice was low and husky, and there was something in his eyes that I couldn’t quite read.

He’s in love with you.

“I kissed Leo,” I blurted.

His hand fell away, his brows furrowing. “Did you... want him to kiss you?”

“It just kind of happened. It’s not like we discussed it before it happened.”

“He didn’t force himself on you, did he?” His jaw clenched.

My eyes widened at the accusation, and I struggled to get off him. “No, he didn’t.”

“Stay still.” He grunted, widening his legs underneath me.

And that was when I felt it. The unmistakable press of his erection against my thigh. I sucked in a sharp breath, stopping my movement.

His cheeks flushed as he looked away. “We should probably get up and finish packing.” He shut his eyes and took a deep breath in through his nose.

I nodded and rolled off him, my heart pounding in my chest. “I’ll uh... get back to the kitchen cabinets.”

He jumped up off the couch as soon as I’d rounded the island and disappeared down the hallway and into the bathroom.

I sat down on the couch, my mind racing with the possibilities of what could have happened if I hadn’t ruined the moment.

The good news was everything was packed and ready to move. The bad news was that things had become awkward between me and Ethan.

He hadn’t said much after our moment on the couch, and I had no idea what he was thinking. I wanted to ask him about it, but I was afraid of what his answer might be. So, I avoided the topic altogether, pretending that nothing had happened.

It was time to go to bed, and I was nervous to share a bed with Ethan. It wasn’t like we hadn’t shared before, but maybe sleeping on the couch would be a better option.

My mind made up, I grabbed my pillow and a blanket. I couldn’t expect Ethan to sleep on a couch he could barely fit on.

The bathroom door opened, and Ethan cleared his throat. “What are you doing?”

I stopped at the door, looking back at him. He was wearing only basketball shorts like he usually did when we had sleepovers, and I was no longer immune to how good he looked.

He was tall and lean but also had muscles peeking through in all the right places. He didn’t enjoy working out, but when he did, he’d go for a run, practice yoga, or do bodyweight strength movements.

“Libby?” Ethan’s voice held a note of confusion, and I turned to fully face him as he leaned against the bathroom doorframe. “Where are you going?”

“I thought I’d sleep on the couch. It’s been a long day and... yeah.” The words felt clumsy, and I wanted to bury my face in my pillow and scream at how awkward I was making this.

“We’ve shared a bed before. Is this about what happened earlier? Because if it is, we can talk about it… or not. Whatever you need.” He pushed away from the doorframe and walked toward me.

Was he talking about telling him about my kiss with Leo, or about me feeling his erection? Both were embarrassing, and I wanted the ground to swallow me whole.

I sighed, my face heating. “I don’t know what I need.”

He stopped right in front of me, his gaze searching mine before he reached out and tucked a lock of hair behind my ear. His fingertips ghosted along my jaw, and it was all I could do not to lean into his touch.

“How about we just get some sleep, and we can talk in the morning.” His voice was gentle, like he was talking to a scared puppy.

Part of me wanted to dive into the conversation, to unravel the mess of feelings between us and get it over with. But another part wanted to keep it all buried.

I nodded and followed him to the bed, both of us getting under the covers and lying on our backs. I focused on slowing my breathing, but my heart continued to race.

Ethan turned on his side, his hands tucked under his head, his eyes on me. “I’m sorry if I made you uncomfortable with uh... the little situation on the couch.”

My cheeks burned because there was nothing little about it. “No worries. Pesky boners happen all the time, right?”

He snorted a laugh. “Yeah, I guess so.” He reached across the space between us and took my hand.

I shut my eyes as he rubbed his thumb over my wrist. “We should get some sleep. The movers will be here at eight.”

He let my hand go and rolled onto his back. “Goodnight, Libby.”

“Night.”

As we both got settled to go to sleep, the closeness of being in the same bed with him felt different. It was charged, uncertain, and yet somehow felt right.