Page 58 of Banter & Blushes #1
MIA
I can’t stop staring at my phone as Sophie drives me back to my place.
Ethan…
Oh, I like his first name. True to my nature as a teacher who loves words, I switch to a browser and look up the meaning of his name.
Strong. Firm. Enduring.
A girl could get behind a guy like that. Or in front of.
Heat floods my cheeks as I type a reply and imagine myself on a date with Ethan.
Would he rest his hand on my lower back, guiding me to our table at a restaurant?
Would he hold my hand in his as we take a walk on the beach during a blazing sunset?
Would he ask if he could kiss me at the end of the evening?
Mia: Hi, Ethan. Great to meet you, too.
Almost immediately, those little dots show up, telling me he was waiting for my reply. Gotta say, I’m liking this so far. A lot. An attentive guy is hard to find, and I’ve had my fill of inattentive ones.
Like George, the guy I dated briefly last year. I didn’t really care for the meaning of his name—farmer or earth worker. Nothing against farming, but this girl doesn’t enjoy getting dirty. George wasn’t really a farmer, per se, but he did like his plants. Maybe a little too much.
When a guy says he has to spend time with his plants so they don’ t feel rejected, you start to rethink things. I know I did. Very quickly. Goodbye, Georgy.
Then there was Steve, which means wreath or crown. His ego certainly fit that definition. He acted as if I was put on this earth to serve his every need. We lasted all of two dates. Last I heard, Steve’s still searching for his subservient queen.
But Ethan… My heart does a little swoop in my chest, making my stomach flutter. It’s pretty obvious he’s strong. I mean, hello? He’s a hockey player, so I’m sure he’s loaded with lots of firm muscles. The thought makes me giggle.
“What’s so funny?” Sophie glances at me before switching on her car signal to turn into my apartment complex.
“Oh, you know me. Having fun with words in my head again.”
She snorts. “You’re such a teacher.”
“I know,” I preen, then point to my phone. “His first name is Ethan, which means strong, firm, and enduring.”
Sophie parks in front of my apartment to drop me off. “And which one of those made you laugh?”
I feel a blush coming on again. “The firm part.”
“As in, confident?”
“Nooo…more like muscled.” I grin.
Sophie blurts out a laugh. “I’m pretty sure that’s not what it means.”
I shrug. “I know, but it’s my head, and I can make it mean whatever I want.”
“True enough. By the way, thanks for helping me out today. Send me all the photos and videos you took when you get a chance.”
“Sure thing. Thanks for picking me up.”
“You really need to get your car fixed, Mia. Sounds like your starter is going.”
“I know, and I will. Next week with all my free time.” A hefty dose of sarcasm accompanies my eye roll.
Sophie shakes her head at me, just like she always does when I try to wiggle out of some aspect of adulting. Maybe it’s because I spend my days with seven- and eight-year-olds. They’re way more interesting than most adults I encounter nowadays.
A thought hits me as I open the car door. I turn to Sophie. “Are you going back to the arena to finish things up?”
I figure it can’t hurt to ask. What if my BFF needs more help? And a certain hockey player happened to be there, too…
“No. Sorry. You’ll have to see your hockey guy the old-fashioned way.” She leans toward me. “On a date.”
I wrinkle my nose. “Just this once, can I bypass all the boring and inconvenient bits of dating and move on to the engaged and marrying part?”
“I don’t think it works that way. Unless you want an arranged marriage.”
I lift my brows at her. “I wouldn’t even know where to start.”
“Then stop trying to hurry things along.” She pats my leg.
“I don’t do that.”
Her expression shifts to disbelief. “Not directly, maybe, but you don’t give the guys you date a chance to show you who they really are.”
“Soph, I don’t have time to kiss a bunch of frogs to see which ones are truly toads. And I don’t want to risk the warts.”
She giggles at my pun. “Some princes take time to reveal themselves.” She lets out a noisy sigh. “Or maybe there aren’t any princes out there.”
My heart aches over the tinge of despair in her voice. I squeeze her wrist. “You just haven’t found yours yet.”
She shakes her head vigorously. “I’m done with dating. My next love interest will be a miniature Chihuahua named Sparky, and he’ll wear a bright pink, gem-studded collar.”
I point to her oversized brown purse in the back seat—the one anomaly in my pink-obsessed best friend’s life. “And fit in your bag?”
“Exactly.”
I pull her into a hug. “Oh, girlfriend, you are so in need of a prince.”
She blows my hair out of her face. “Find one for me?”
Hands on her shoulders, I lean back. “I would if I could. Maybe if things work out for Ethan and me, I could fix you up with one of his teammates.”
Another emphatic shake of her head ensues. “You forget I covered the sports beat for my college paper. No, thank you.”
“Now, who’s not giving the guy a chance?”
She frowns. “What guy?”
“The fictional one I’m imagining in my head right now. Won’t it be great? We’ll go to the games together and do all that stuff the girlfriends and wives of hockey players do.”
“Which is?” Her expression turns skeptical. Probably because she knows I don’t have a clue what I’m talking about.
“I have no idea, but I’m sure it’s a blast.”
“Unbelievable. You haven’t even met the guy in person, and you’re already planning your future with him, as well as mine. I think you’ve gone over the deep end.”
I giggle. “The water’s great, Soph. Jump in with me.”