On the other hand, he'd consumed just enough whiskey to remember how much he missed her.
“Fuck it,” he murmured to himself, typing out, “Good job, brainiac,” and pressing send.
He was back on the couch, browsing shows again before she responded. “I knew high school couldn’t last forever.”
A smile crept across his face as he replied, “The whole world is high school, don’t fool yourself.”
That time her response was immediate. “How have you been?”
Didn’t have to think about that one. “I’ve been better.” Then he added, “How have you been?”
“Obedient.”
He smiled, but it didn’t reach his eyes. “I bet you loved that.”
“Not really. Sorry about disappearing on you, my parents banned me from… well, everything. I had to start building my life up on my own.”
“No problem,” he sent back. “I haven’t been in the best place, probably better that you kept your distance.”
He saw she read his message immediately, but she didn’t respond right away.
After a couple of minutes passed, he thought maybe she wasn’t going to. He remembered that she tended to go quiet when he pissed her off, so he reread the text. Then, to clarify, he added, “I’ve missed you though.”
That time she responded right away. “Same here. I would’ve reached out sooner, but I just got my own phone recently. Didn’t want to risk getting caught.”
“I tried to call your house, but got threatened with a restraining order.”
She made a sad face and answered, “Sorry about that.”
“Not your fault.”
“How’s the family doing?” she asked.
Ethan sighed. “Separated at the moment.”
“I’m sorry.”
“Bachelor pads aren’t all they’re cracked up to be,” he replied, lightly.
“Did you forget to install a stripper pole in the living room?” she shot back instantly.
Cracking a legitimate smile, he replied, “You know what, I did. I bet that’s the problem.”
“Amateur.”
She always made him smile when everything sucked. He had forgotten about that.
“Are you still banned from everything?” he asked.
“No, I’ve finally earned back my privileges. Which, at this point, is just my car and school.”
“That’s good.”
“Yeah.”
He put the phone down and tried to turn his attention back to the television, but his concentration was shot. His mind kept burrowing back to the last time he saw Willow, to the warmth of her body curled up against him, the sweet infatuation in her eyes as she gazed up at him….
His phone vibrated again. “Are you doing anything tonight?”