SURPRISE!
ETHAN’S POV
I thought I’d never fall in love. I always thought it’d take a lot of time for me to fall for someone. But with Juliet it was so easy. I hadn’t even realized I was falling until it hit me during Brian and Brooke’s wedding.
Initially I just liked her. Then more. Then more and then finally it couldn’t be anything more but love.
I realized it during all those dates she took me on. She cared and she remembered everything I told her, even the things that I forgot that I told her. No woman had ever started with hating me, to making peace with me, to taking me on adventures I never got to experience, to making me fall for her. No woman had ever given me a piggyback ride, except maybe my mom when I was little.
As I watered our little flower garden I couldn’t help but smile at the thought of her. I bent down and observed the plants. They were starting to sprout tiny buds which would turn into beautiful flowers in a matter of days. I took out my phone and captured a picture of our entire flower garden. Then I swiped to the previous pictures I’d taken everyday after watering them. The growth made me happy.
I slipped the phone in my pocket and took a few moments to admire our work. I wiped some dirt off of the plaque which held the words ‘Juliet And Ethan’s Flower Garden’. We had made the board because we wanted to make it more special and exclusive to us. Under the words, Juliet had made a comical danger sign with the skull with tiny words warning to not touch our ‘children’.
After I put away the watering can, I made my way inside the house.
I saw Juliet coming out of Olivia’s room with a tray in her hands.
“Did she finish eating everything?” I asked.
She smiled brightly and nodded. “Yes, she ate everything and is looking better than before. She even took her medicines without much fight.”
“That’s good. I’m glad she’s getting better.”
“Yeah. Where are you coming from?”
It was a Sunday and I was feeling lazy and happy. It felt nice to not work everyday. “I was watering the plants.”
She pouted. “I’ve not been looking well after my children.”
I chuckled. “I’m looking after them for the both of us.” I said, showing her the picture I clicked a few minutes ago.
“Wow. They are growing nicely.”
Her eyes had a bright twinkle in them and for a moment I couldn’t look away from the joy in her eyes. She had beautiful long lashes and sometimes I found my eyes following the movement when she blinked which was a little weird and creepy.
But then her smile dropped and her once bright eyes dimmed into a dull shade and I wanted nothing more than to bring the twinkle back.
“What’s wrong?” I frowned.
“What if I forget to water them when you leave?” She stared down sadly at the picture.
“I’ll call you everyday to remind you.”
“What if I’m too lazy?”
I let out a laugh. “Even if you feel lazy I know you’ll still get up and water them and send me a picture everyday.”
She smiled but it didn’t quite reach her eyes. “You’re leaving next Sunday, aren’t you? And today is the party.” Her expression turned grim. “I’ll miss you.”
“We’re still going to see each other often.”
“Yeah but it won’t be the same. Here we can sleep together every night and kiss whenever we want and have dates whenever we want.”
“Maybe I’ll try to sneak into your room some nights.”
Juliet thrust the tray into my hands and before I had time to react, she grabbed my face and pulled me down to press her lips against mine. I smiled into the kiss.
There was some urgency under her movements and I felt a little uneasy. She was kissing me as if it were our last kiss. My smile dropped and although I responded to her feverish kissing I was still a little worried over it. It wasn’t like I was going somewhere far off for a long time. I was just going home and she’d still get to see me a lot so why was she kissing me like it was the end of the world.
A loud throat clearing made us spring apart from each other. Her father was sitting on the couch and we hadn’t even noticed him walk in. Although he couldn’t have seen us easily because we were at the bottom of the stairs and the stairs blocked the view for him but I guess our kissing noises had disgusted him.
Juliet took the tray from me and fumbled into the kitchen to place it in the sink while I stealthily escaped to my room thanking God that Mr. Jenson didn’t call out to me.
At lunch I noticed that Juliet was more busy checking if Olivia was eating or not, neglecting her own plate. I knew Olivia needed to get better but Juliet should look after herself too. She didn’t even notice that I scooped up some food in my spoon from her plate until it was in front of her eyes.
“Oh, thanks.” She said and smiled at me, wrapping her lips around my spoon and I gulped.
Now is not the time for inappropriate thoughts? especially? during? lunch,? I chided myself internally.
The rest present at the table didn’t comment on it which I was grateful for.
I felt a hand wound around my own on my thigh taking me by surprise. I looked at Juliet who was now focusing on her food.
It took great effort to wipe the huge smile from my lips.
I squeezed her hand tightly and we stayed like that for the remainder of lunch. It got awkward when either of us reached out for something and had to use the hand which wasn’t holding each other’s but thankfully no one noticed.
A few hours before the party which was basically an extravagant gathering of socialites and known names from various industries disguised for a chance at broadening business and catalyzing profitable partnerships, Juliet knocked on my door and when I opened it she waved a suit in front of me.
“What’s this for?” I asked, taking it from her to examine.
“Well you gave me a gorgeous gown and a puppy on my birthday and even if today is not your birthday I still wanted to give you something.”
“You could’ve just given it me on my birthday. It’s only like a couple months away.”
“I don’t want to give you gifts only on your birthday. There are times like these where I feel like giving you something even if there’s no special occasion.”
Her reply made my heart melt. I quickly pulled her to me and planted a kiss on her temple. When I pulled away she stood up on her tippy toes, grabbed the sides of my head and kissed my forehead.
“I know you’ll look the most handsome in this. I even chose the tie the color of my dress.”
“You know that it’s just a boring party, right? I’m never this excited for it as you are right now.”
She shrugged. “I know but I don’t want us to waste our time so when you’re done socializing with everyone, maybe find me somewhere in the back where we can be alone.” She smirked at me in a way she’s never had. It was almost sensual.
I shivered. I hadn’t snuck out of a party before to do something else. Juliet never failed to surprise me. She always found a way to make me do something I never had before. It was one of the reasons she was so intriguing to me. Or it might be because she was my first real girlfriend and so I was overly smitten with her and everything she did amazed me.
Tonight I found myself taking extra effort to look good. There were times when no matter what I did, I somewhat thought I looked ugly and there were times where I thought I looked decent and thankfully tonight I knew I looked good.
Growing up I had a lot of insecurities about my appearance. Owing to my ambitions of doing well in college, I often used to neglect my health and just eat whatever greasy and fatty food I could find. It was to the point where I could’ve been considered obese during my high school and college days. But then after that I realized it wasn’t healthy to keep going like that and so I started going to gym and slowly my body got into shape. I might’ve never had a six pack or an overly drool worthy body but I liked myself this way and was okay with just having a healthy weight and a lean physique.
Lucky for me, Juliet thought I was good looking no matter what I thought. She didn’t seem to have any expectations when it came to my body and it was likewise for me. I loved her just the way she was and even if she was a little different, I would’ve still loved her.
After I was done modelling in front of the mirror and checking which angles make me look good the most, I grabbed the things I needed and entered Juliet’s room where she was sitting in front of the vanity in a beautiful chocolate evening gown.
She turned to me and her eyes raked over me from head to toe. “You look so handsome.” She said, excessively stressing on the word ‘so’.
I couldn’t help the happiness blossoming in my heart at her approval. “And you look so beautiful.” I said in the same tone.
“Not yet. I’m not completely ready yet. I still have a bit of makeup to do. I’ll be done in a few minutes.”
She turned back to face the mirror while I sat on her bed and patiently waited for her to finish.
“Done. How do I look?” She said after a few minutes.
I stared at her. “There’s no difference. You are the same level of beautiful as before.”
“You’re just trying to flatter me. I know I look a bit better with the makeup.”
I shrugged.
Once we were ready, I led the way down where I stopped to kiss her before we appeared in front of her parents.