When Worlds Collide

Chapter 24

I laughed as Ethan almost ate shit again, tripping over a stray tree root. He looked over his shoulder and playfully glared at me.

"I'm glad to see that my pain brings you enjoyment, Ivy," he pouted.

I smirked, squinting against the bright, warm sun. Everything seemed to come alive after the first couple of warm days in spring, the heated air wrapping around me like a blanket.

We continued tromping through the path until we came to a clearing, the same clearing by the lake we were at last September. Time moves so fast.

I stared at Ethan, who had his back turned to me and was facing the lake, the sun illuminating his tan skin and messy brown hair. I couldn't help but smile to myself, thinking about how far we've come since we were last here.

As if he felt me staring at him, my boyfriend looked at me from over his shoulder as a big grin spread across his face. I threw my backpack down next to his by some tree stump, before walking up to the lake and standing by his side. We watched the water ripple for a while, and I felt Ethan grab my hand before bringing it to his lips.

"You look so handsome right now," he whispered, kissing my forehead and moving over to our discarded backpacks. He unzipped his and pulled out a large beach towel, carefully laying it on the bank so there were no wrinkles.

He bowed, gesturing obnoxiously towards the towel. "Sit, your highness."

I shook my head, walking over to sit down nevertheless as Ethan laid out his towel right next to mine. "You're ridiculous."

He simply ignored my comment as I pulled off my shirt, leaving me in my navy blue swim trunks.

"Did you put on sunscreen?" He asked seriously, while also raking his eyes down my body, which kind've ruined the whole scolding thing he was going for.

"It's seventy six degrees."

"Melanoma doesn't care if it's fifty degrees, and you're whiter than a sheet of printer paper. Come here," he said while putting some sunscreen in the palm of his hand and rubbing them together. I groaned, scooting closer to him and turning so my back was to him.

"Sometimes I think you just use this as an excuse to touch me," I muse.

I heard Ethan gasp dramatically behind me. "Ivan, I'm offended you would think so lowly of me. I simply care for your health, and for your really soft, really smooth, beautiful skin, okay?"

I hummed, closing my eyes as I felt his hands move over my shoulders and neck, slowly starting to knead the muscle there.

"You gotta stop carrying your stress in your upper back," he whispered in my ear, making me jump.

"Jesus, Ethan," I breathed heavily, placing a hand on my chest.

"Oh sorry, shit that probably didn't help," he frowned. I turned around, giving him a kiss, using the distraction to snag the sunscreen bottle from him.

"My turn," I smiled against his lips. He grumbled, but turned around anyway. "Hey, what happened to caring about each other's health?" I questioned, beginning to work the sunscreen into Ethan's skin.

"I was totally using that as an excuse to run my hands all over you," he muttered, picking at the grass.

"Who would've known," I teased.

We laid there for a while, soaking up the sun as much as we could, because knowing Washington weather, it could all be gone by the next day. I was even starting to fall asleep before Ethan piped up. "I had the biggest crush on you when we were here in September. We had just met and I was already head over heels, I'm surprised you never noticed," he was laying on his stomach, head turned towards me and resting on his forearms. I shifted onto my side to look at him better, picking at a loose thread on my towel.