"I'm gonna catch you!" Ethan laughs as he chases me. I scream and giggle like a child, holding on tighter to my birthday balloons.
"You gotta be faster than this!" he smiles from all his perfectly aligned teeth and I pick up the pace and run faster.
When I feel my heartbeat increasing, I decide to stop. I slow my jog to a walk and turn around to look at him who runs a few last steps to catch up.
I switch my ballons from my right hand to my left one and keep walking towards the olive trees.
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"Why do you still carry them with you? Your birthday was yesterday..." Ethan softly chuckles behind me and I turn to him with a toothless smile.
"Oh sorry for being excited! I just turned 18, doofus, I can do whatever I want now." I raise an eyebrow at him.
"You didn't even get drunk for your 18th birthday, what is wrong with you?" he laughs and I roll my eyes in annoyance.
"We're not in Canada. The legal age here is 21." I turn around and walk backwards as I give him a sassy face.
"Still..." he looks away with a cute little smile. I softly shake my head and turn around to walk forward. He walks up to me and interlock our fingers together. We swing our hands back and forth between the small space separating us.
"There it is!" I shout and run to the biggest olive tree in the lot. I start to escalate it, clumsily missing a step by here by there. Ethan walks to the bottom of the tree and looks at me acting like a monkey.
"Careful. I don't want you to get hurt again." he places a hand above his eyes to protect them from the sun. I roll my eyes and as I'm about to snap back, I miss a step and my foot slips. I try to hold onto a branch to keep myself from falling down; but no success. I let out a scaredy scream as I fall down the tree.
Ethan rushes himself under my falling weight and catches me in his arms, bridal-style. He gives me a fearful look and I cover my mouth with my hand as I try to muffle a giggle. He closes his eyes and softly start to laugh before we both burst out laughing like idiots.
"Nice catch!" I pat his chest and hop down his arms. I take a step towards the tree but a hand wraps around my wrist and pulls me backwards, making me spin around at the same time.
I spin and fall on his chest, our faces only inches apart. My cheeks turn in a light shade of pink. His wide hand grazes the skin on my jaw as he runs a thumb over my blush, his hazel brown eyes devouring my gaze. My lips slightly part open and I notice his gaze left my eyes for my lips.
He slowly leans in.
I close my eyes and wait for our lips to connect.
Ring! Ring!
He closes his eyes and clenches his jaw while removing his hand from my cheek. I quickly open my eyes while he takes his phone out and rolls his eyes when he checks the caller ID. He picks up the call and irritatedly presses the phone on his ear.
