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Brendon shakes his head. "Sorry, Joel already paid."
"At least let me tip," I say.
"He left a generous tip and he made me swear not to let you pay a dime. Can't go back on my word." Brendon looks from me to Ethan. "You have enough to worry about."
I nod. "Thank you."
He nods back then steps out of the way.
Then it's just me and Ethan and the feelings that are ready to burst out of my chest.
"Damn, I was gonna pay," Ethan mumbles. "Joel's making me look bad."
I want to scream out the words, but I'm not ready yet. I swallow hard. "You can buy me a matcha latte."
He smiles. "Deal."
Chapter Thirty-Two
Violet
My parents are surprisingly friendly with Ethan over dinner. It helps that Piper chimes in to sing his praises every thirty to sixty seconds.
We spend the evening with her in the Strong living room. She gushes over my tattoo, listens with rapt attention as I explain my current project, and fills us in on all the entertainment news gossip about the band.
Just like old times, I fall asleep in Ethan's bed, in his arms, and I wake up to the smell of coffee and a very sweaty, post-gym Ethan making me tea.
My jaw nearly drops to the floor as he runs his hand through his hair. I've seen the gesture a thousand times. Turns out time a thousand and one is just as good.
"Hey." He smiles.
"Hey." I smile back. The sun is pouring through the deck's sliding door. The ocean breeze too. It smells like salt. I can hear the faint roar of waves crashing.
And Ethan is smiling at me as he makes breakfast.
It's not our kitchen, but it could be. This could be our life. There are practicalities in the way. At the moment, I don't care. I don't care about tomorrow or what happens after Ethan's show in New York. I don't even care about my birthday next week.
This moment is what I care about.
I nearly squeal with glee when he slides a plate of scrambled eggs and a halved avocado in front of me.
"Rock god, sex god, avocado god." I stare into Ethan's gorgeous blue eyes. "That's a dangerous combination."
He grabs the hot sauce and slides into the seat across from mine. "Shouldn't it be an avocado goddess? They're an awfully feminine fruit." He traces the outline of a halved avocado. "It's got a shape to it."
"Pervert!"
He laughs. "Not in a sexual way. In an all life springs from the womb kind of way."
I stick out my tongue in distaste. "Did you become a hippie when I wasn't looking?"
"No. Still a rock star."
"You really are." I scoop avocado onto my eggs. Then hot sauce. "Don't you get recognized at the gym?"
"There's a fancy gym at the mall next to main street now. I get is that him stares, but people know better than to interrupt."
"Rich people would never want to seem uncouth."
