KeiraFinally moving to stand up, squeeze past Ethan to head to the booth. Chris’s time is almost done, but I know he’ll keep it moving until I’m ready.As I slip past Ethan, a hand grips around my wrist stopping me effectively. “Hey, Keira, we’re okay, right?”“Huh?”Ethan lets go of my wrist like he’d been burned. It’s like he’s only realizing now what he did. With the same hand, he scratches the back of his head, sitting awkwardly as I stare curiously at him.“Just— I’m sorry about the other day, I was a dick to you when you were just protecting yourself,” he says, as his eyes dart from mine to the wall, then back to mine. I think it’s cute how he couldn’t hold eye contact. “I didn’t realize exactly how dangerous this deal is for you.”Though a little irritated at how he used my real name, I’m too surprised to care. I know I’ve thought of it, but I didn’t think that he’d actually spent time to ponder on his actions toward me. Is that why he was aloof these past few days?“Um, wow.
Keira After that encounter, I turned my phone off and stayed at home for the next two days. Thankfully, it’s a weekend. I guess the universe is still on my side. I spend that downtime focusing on my music. I manage to produce two complete beats, undistracted before my mind wanders back to my encounter with Ethan. Why the hell did he do that? But I really can’t come up with anything so I blamed it on him being drunk. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have done that. He wouldn’t have held me like that. He wouldn’t have tried to kiss me. However, despite all my best efforts, I can’t get him out of my head. “You know what? Fuck it,” I mutter to myself as I make a dive for the bedside table where my phone is. I turn it on and ignore all the other notifications except those from Ethan. ETHAN REED [12:40 AM] Hey, can we talk? ETHAN REED [12:52 AM] Keira, I’m sorry for earlier. Why do I never run out of things to apologize for? ETHAN REED [1:30 AM] Keira, please call me back. Thank fuck f
Keira“Okay, so for our first order of business, maybe we can talk about the things that you love to do,” I say as I take out a notebook and pen from my mini leather backpack.“That’s cute,” Ethan comments, and I can’t help but gush over my bag.“The bag? Thank you for noticing!” I reply, holding the bag higher for him to see. “It’s one of my favorites.”“Cute.”“What?”“Nothing. You were saying?”Okay, weird. But I brush it off with a pout.“Anyway, I was thinking we could list down your hobbies, maybe there’s a clue hidden there somewhere.” Ethan nods as I speak, appearing thoughtful as I continue. “Or something that brings out the best in you. Like how I feel about music, even if I’m sometimes shit at it, I feel most comfortable when making or listening to music.”Ethan is silent for a moment, then huffs out a small laugh before shaking his head.“I don’t know. All I’ve ever had is dance, it’s the only thing I know,” Ethan says, his voice small as if he was embarrassed.“Don’t talk
KeiraTime surely flies by when you’re having fun. We didn’t even notice that it has started to get dark outside. After exhausting ourselves on the DDR machine, Ethan pulled me toward several others until we tried out every game in the arcade. All but one.“Do you want to know another thing that I’m good at?” Ethan asks, proudly smirking at me after winning the basketball game.I scoff at his confidence, competitive spirit awakened after he wiped the floor with me at most of the games. “What?” I ask in a challenge.Ethan grins, then points his arm straight to his left without breaking eye contact. “Wanna bet?” he asks, eyebrow quirking in a challenge, as my eyes land on the shooting game he just pointed at. “Loser buys snacks.”I bark out a harsh laugh. “Oh, you are so on!There are many things I’m good at, but it appears killing zombies isn’t one of them. In the end, Ethan wins and I whine all the way to the snack bar.“Not fair,” I whine as Ethan places an order for burgers and drin
KeiraGoing to work the next day seemed like the hardest thing for me to do. I wanted nothing more than to lay in bed and start a pity party for myself over a guy I could never have.I know I have no right to feel the way I do because Ethan already has a girlfriend, but having a crush never hurt anyone, right? I mean I’m the only one getting hurt from pining over someone like Ethan Reed. But after spending hours binging on Ethan’s dance videos available online, eating a tub of ice cream to match, I realized that I still have work to do. Maybe not now, but the future isn’t set in stone. Maybe if I wasn’t a nobody, Ethan would look my way.So, I fix my eyes on the prize, got my shit together, and went to work with renewed drive.“That’s good!” The producer says into the mic, then signals for the next member to go inside the booth.When no one reacts, I turn my head to the members seated on the studio sofa. All of them are on their phones, and I had to stop myself from rolling my eyes.
Keira“I still can’t believe Aiden is working with you on a song,” Alina says. “Is he as scary as the rumors say?”It has barely been a week since my encounter with Aiden. After I sent him the song, he contacted me immediately and scheduled to meet me in the studio. He told me my song could be good and that’s when he started to help with making it better. Granted, it sounds very different now from when we started but the song still carries the original sound and soul.I smile at Alina. She’s one of the new managers in the company, and this company dinner is to welcome the new employees to the team. Along with her, two others started out as interns but have now been absorbed into the company. We don’t usually celebrate but apparently, one of the members of RAZE insisted. And it’s certainly uncommon for the artists to celebrate with the staff outside of their activities.“I can’t answer that, Alina. I don’t want to get fired.” I tell her as I take another bite of my chicken. And that’s
KeiraIt has been a full week since the company dinner. A full week since I promised Ethan that I’d look into other things he could do to bring out that free side of him, and to be honest, I’m scared to see him because I’ve been slacking.Aiden and Alexander had me locked in a studio most days with other senior producers and it has been intimidating. You know that feeling when you think you’re good at something, then you meet other people sharing that passion with you and you suddenly find out you’re not even near their level.The whole experience so far has been extremely humbling. That being said, I’m up to my ears with work and assignments from the seniors that I barely had time to think about Ethan.“You okay? You seem tired.”“Huh?”Alexander chuckles at my clueless expression. “I’m sorry, I don’t mean to sound rude, it’s just that you’ve yawned three times in the last fifteen minutes. Are we boring you that much?”Shit, was I yawning? I didn’t notice.“No, of course not!” I imme
Keira“Do you trust me?” I ask as we settle inside the train. Looking around, there are not a lot of people given it’s a weekend, but I’m still worried that we might be discovered.Ethan looks over at me. With only his eyes visible through the disguise, he’s wearing, I can’t really tell much about his expression.“I wouldn’t be taking this mystery train ride with you if I didn’t,” he says softly and I could swear that my heart melted from his words alone.He has been so sweet and understanding since I texted him to wear something plain and to wear a mask. And he arrived at the café in a cream-colored Chanel sweater with a puffy dark jacket over it, black pants, a cap, and a mask.“So, will you tell me where we’re going yet?”With a sly grin, I shake my head at him. “It’s a surprise, but I promise it’s somewhere obscure that nobody will ever find out about it.”Ethan chuckles, “Should I start getting worried?” he asks. “It sounds like you’re about to kill me.”He makes me laugh too. “I