Ask

"So, who told you about this place?"

"Ah." Alex looks away for a moment, sighing, "You mean to say: 'Who brought me here to hook up with me'."

That's not exactly what Ethan had in mind, but...

"Well..." she turns back to Ethan, her blue eyes looking slightly serious, "Do you want the short version or the lon-"

A massive bolt of thunder rumbles the sky.

"O-Kay. Long version..." Alex shrugs. "So, Bobby found out about this place sometime after your last summer here."

Ethan had been thinking about why his friends didn't bring him here. He wasn't going to hold it against them, on account of how creepy it is, but still.

"Bobby made a point that as long as he was here, I wasn't. I don't think I need to tell you how much of a buzzkill he thought it would be to have his thirteen-year-old sister sitting on the couch next to him while he was trying to make out with Samantha Cole."

Ethan raises a brow. "He got with Sam?"

"Tried to. She never gave him the time of day." Alex snorts, "Anyways, once my brother dipped, everybody he had bitched to saying 'don't bring my fucking sister here or I'll kick your ass' invited me." She shrugs. "Sort of as a 'fuck you' to him."

"Hm," Ethan nods, "So, they invited you out of spite?"

Alex sighs. "Yeah... Although I was given every assurance I would have been invited anyways... Cause you know," she smiles, "I'm quite cute."

She really is. Ethan had, somehow, forgotten that what with all the storm, the creepy mansion, and the fact he was **** to strip to his boxers to avoid getting sick. Looking at her, Ethan suddenly feels warmer.

"So," the warmth emboldens him, "Is making out as far as it goes here?"

The corners of Alex's mouth do something weird, one side curling up and the other down. "Well... It would be awkward to do much more with people around..."

"True," Ethan ceeds, "But it's a big house... And that's not an answer."

"Hm," Alex smacks her lips, her eyes turning heavy. "Why don't you ask me what you really want to ask me this time."

Ethan pauses, but the look she's giving him makes the warmth in his core flare up. "Okay..."