Chapter 09: When The Music Stops, What Next?(18+)

Ethan's POV

“Lila?”

I stood there like a confused figure, my brain splitting in two. I didn’t know if I should be jealous, angry, or just disappointed in myself. I had done everything humanly possible to be the type of guy she should kill for....the guy she should thirst and hunger for. And yet here she was, kissing a man who wouldn’t drop a penny if she was kidnapped or killed.

I masked my expression the moment her gaze landed on me. No way I’d let her see me crack. These were girls’ games..I knew them too well. Still, it ached. Ached that no matter how much I tried, I could never bag a woman for real. They always ended up choosing someone better, and somehow, “better” always meant Damien.

My stepbrother. At least that’s what they called him. But I never understood why. Damien acted nothing like a brother. He wasn’t family, he was a rival wearing the same last name.

I walked to her as Damien stood up.

"Are you okay, Lil?" I asked as she nodded.

Then Damien’s voice cut sharp, “I thought I ordered you to take her home.”

I squared my shoulders and told him flat, “And I didn’t. Do you have a problem with that?”

He held my stare for a long second, then finally muttered, “Not today, Ethan. Take her ass home and save me from further embarrassment.” Then he left, like he always does...cold, detached, like he owned the air around him.

I helped her up and asked if she could walk. She nodded. My hand stayed around hers longer than I intended. I didn’t want to let go. I wasn’t built for the nonchalant game; I wasn’t built to watch a girl’s tears fall and just walk away. Life had already been unfair enough to her...hell, to women like her.

We walked quietly to the car. I opened the door, watched her slide in, then shut it softly and walked around. When I sat behind the wheel, I stared at her for a second before starting the engine.

Silence. Not the awkward kind, though. With her, silence always felt like music, like a rhythm we both understood.

Finally, she broke it. “I’m sorry,” she whispered. “For embarrassing you.”

I shook my head. “It was my fault. I left you alone.”

I hesitated, then added the words I instantly regretted: “At least Damien saved you… as always.”

Fuck. Why the hell did I say that?

I could feel her eyes burning into me. Then came her faint reply, “Mhmm.”

Quiet, but enough to slice me open.

I pulled the car to the side and killed the engine.

She jerked. “What...what’s wrong? Are you okay?”

I scratched my head, gripping the wheel. “Do you… have a thing for Damien?”

Her mouth opened but no words came out. Then, finally.. “Why would you think that?”

“Because I saw how you kissed him.” The words were out before I could stop them.

Her cheeks flushed. She looked away, then back at me. “It’s weird, right? That I… like Damien. I don’t even know if he sees me that way.”

I swallowed hard. Did she actually Brother-zoned me? Just like that.

Heaven help me. My heart pounded so loud I thought she could hear it. She was talking to me like I was her best friend, like I was auditioning her to win another man.

“Do you even know,” I muttered, “that you’re not the type of girl Damien would look at twice?”

She flinched, lowering her gaze like I’d slapped her. “I know,” she said softly.

I leaned my head against the steering wheel, my chest tight.

“You okay?” she asked, her voice small.

“Yeah,” I lied. “Too much to drink. Dizzy.”

“Should I drive?”

I forced a laugh. “Not ready to die tonight. Got McDonald’s deals waiting on me.”

She smacked my arm playfully. “Bet I drive better than you.”

“Not betting on our lives, Lila.”

“C’monnn,” she teased, holding out her pinky.

I groaned but gave in. “Fine. Show me what you got.”

We switched seats. She slid behind the wheel, eyes glinting. “You ready, baby?”

“Ready to die,” I muttered, making her burst into laughter.

She started driving, and damn...she was smooth. Confident. Dangerous. I clapped, egging her on. “Go, baby, go lil baby!”

She screamed, “Type shii, type shii, you feel me?!”

I cracked up, blasting the aux. Out of nowhere, I started screaming, “LULULEMOOOOONNNNNNNNNN!”

She joined in, “He said he tossin’, pull me back!”

I fired back, “Seems like a Lulu on his ass!”

Together we howled, “LULULEMOOOOOONNNNNNNNNN!”

We laughed so hard we could barely breathe. She wiped her eyes. “We’re singing rubbish, not even the lyrics.”

“Fuck it,” I said, grinning. “As long as we lululemonning the road.”

That’s when the sirens blared behind us.

“Shit, the cops!” I yelled. “Switch!”

“No, baby. Watch me.” She pressed the pedal harder, and my jaw dropped. She was good.

I stuck my head out the window and flipped the cops off. “FUCK YOU!”

She cackled. “Tell them they’re potty hollow bitches and they should kiss your balls!”

I screamed it out, both of us losing our minds with laughter. By the time we swerved into our apartment’s road, the cops were long gone.

She parked, face flushed with victory. “Rate me.”

“You broke the scale,” I admitted.

We fist-bumped. “Clock itttt.”

We snuck inside, laughing, dodging my dad’s radar. But when we collapsed onto my bed, the laughter refused to die.

“Yunno, the police... They’re probably like,” she mocked, “what the helly helly helly yo....”

“No, they’re like,” I cut in, “that bitch high on shii, I swear...”

We fell apart laughing, rolling until she smacked the carpet.

Then I tuned in to my song. Drake. That playful, bouncy track that always had her wiggling.

I hopped up and started goofing around, sliding across the floor like I was on stage. “Look, Lila, watch this!” I waved my arms, clutched my chest dramatically, then started hitting stupid hip thrusts.

She covered her face, laughing so hard she almost cried. “Ethan! Oh my God, stop...you look insane!”

“Nah, nah, I’m him. I am Drake,” I said, pointing at her before breaking into another dance move.

She finally joined me, shaking her head, her laugh filling the room. Soon, we were bouncing off each other, matching silly steps.

When the track ended, we collapsed again, panting, cheeks aching from laughter.

Then music shifted again, the room filling with the one song she loved most...Lil Tjay’s Sex Sounds.

Her smile softened. She laid her head on my chest and started singing low, almost shy...

🎶 “Girl, you shock me, I’m so wow…”

I answered back, grinning,

🎶 “Let the haters run they mouth…"

Her voice trembled but kept going,

🎶 “You should know you somethin’ different, ‘cause I brought you to my house…”

I tilted her chin.

🎶 “Serve you breakfast' on mycouch…”

She giggled, the sound breaking me open.

I tugged her hair gently, whispering back,

🎶 “Anything you ever need, you know I’ll be there with no doubt…”

Together we chorused, staring at each other like nothing else existed,

🎶 “I need you by my side, I hope you here to ride…”

Then I leaned down, murmuring against her lips,

🎶 “I hate to see you hurtin’, my lil baby wipe your eyes…”

Her smile vanished, replaced by something deeper...something raw.

And then… we kissed. The world Ceased. Slowly, passionately, I cupped her cheeks as I trailed my hands on her back sleeve.

She lifted her chin, her eyes locking into mine. Those eyes…damn. They weren’t just looking at me, they were inside me, pulling out the truth I’d been trying to bury.

I cupped her jaw slowly, afraid she would vanish if I moved too fast. Her skin was silk, warm, alive.

“Lila…” My voice cracked like it didn’t know if it wanted to beg or confess.

She didn’t answer. She just leaned in, the corner of her lips brushing mine like she was testing the waters. My hand slid to the back of her neck before I could stop myself, holding her in place as our mouths finally, finally collided.

The first kiss was slow. A test. A stolen piece of heaven. She tasted like sweetness mixed with danger, like the very thing I wasn’t supposed to want but couldn’t stop craving.

Her lips parted under mine and that was it....I was gone. My tongue slid against hers, desperate but careful, like I was memorizing her. She let out a soft whimper, and it lit every nerve in me on fire.

I tilted her head, deepening the kiss, swallowing every sound she made. She tugged at my shirt, pulling me closer, and I pressed my chest against hers until I could feel her heartbeat racing as wildly as mine.

When we broke apart, both of us gasping, she didn’t pull away. She climbed onto my lap, straddling me. Her weight settled on me and I swear I almost lost it right there. My hands found her waist instinctively, holding her like I’d been waiting my whole life to.

“Ethan…” she whispered, her voice trembling, unsure.

“I got you,” I whispered back, my forehead pressed to hers. “Always.”

Her hips shifted just slightly against me and I groaned low in my throat, gripping her tighter. She kissed me again, deeper this time, desperate. Her fingers tangled in my hair, tugging, pulling me into her like she never wanted to let go.

I slid my hands up her back, tracing the curve of her spine, committing every inch to memory. She shivered, arching against me, and I kissed down her jaw, then her neck, drinking in the way her pulse raced beneath my lips.

She gasped my name, her nails digging into my shoulders. I didn’t care if it hurt...I wanted it. I wanted all of it, every mark she left, every sound she made.

Her thighs tightened around me, her breath hot against my ear as she whispered something that melted me completely: “Don’t stop.”

God help me, I wasn’t planning to.

The kiss grew hotter, hungrier. Every move, every shift of her body on mine, dragged me deeper into a place I could never crawl out of. My hands gripped her hips, guiding her as she moved slowly against me, her rhythm sending sparks through my veins.

She buried her face in my neck, whispering little gasps, little moans, sounds that made my head spin. My fingers dug into her waist, not hard enough to hurt but firm enough to claim, to keep her right where she was.

Our breaths tangled, sharp and needy. The room spun around us but I didn’t care. All I saw was her, all I felt was her, all I wanted...was her.

When she pulled back just enough to look me in the eye again, her lips swollen, her hair messy, I knew I was lost. Completely.

She kept riding as I held her waist and at that time I realized I would do anything to keep this woman in my world.