Page 22 of Kissing the Beach Town Fire Chief
“Hey, Ami. I knew I would find you here.” Suddenly, I hear Ethan’s voice from behind me. My stomach does somersault as I hurriedly try to hide the piece of paper. I was not prepared for someone to find me with what I’ve just written.
I get up instantly and hide the paper behind my back. Giving Ethan a flustered smile, I notice that he is trying to take a peek at my hand.
“Oh! Hi, Ethan. Didn’t see you coming,” I tell him with a smile. My face probably looks flushed.
“I went to find you at your place. I didn’t see you there. I assumed you would be here,” he replies with a shrug. His eyes are scrutinizing me as if I have stolen something.
Well, you're probably acting like you have stolen something!
“Is anything the matter?” I inquire because I know he would not just decide to find me. He must be there for a reason.
“I need your help regarding something,” he grins as he says that.
Woah! Never thought he would require my help.
“Yeah sure, what is it?”
He sits on the couch. Meanwhile, I grab the book and discreetly put the paper inside. I finally let out a breath of relief when I successfully hide the paper. Putting the book beside me, I turn to him.
“Tell me, how did you conclude that you required my help!” I ask with a playful look. He lets out a hearty laugh.
“Why? You think I can’t ever need your help?” He asks with a questioning look.
“Well, we never used to need the other’s help, so I just assumed,” I shrug. He shakes his head.
“That was in the past. Now, it appears that we might need the other’s help after all.”
He’s right. He also helped accompany me while I talked to Aunt Maggie the other day. Thinking of that, I didn’t even thank him, I was so frustrated with the situation.
“Thank you for being there with me while I talked to her yesterday. I needed that a lot.”
“Don’t mention it. Glad to give you the moral support you needed. I hope things get easier on her, and she eventually accepts,” he smiles, making me smile, too. He is indeed considerate.
“I hope so too. Anyway, tell me how I can help. I can’t believe I am repeating myself for the third time,” I let out a chuckle. He joins me as well.
“Okay, the thing is that I’ve already decided to change my election campaign strategy. My supporters are divided right now. Some of them seem to accept the new direction of my campaign. Others are totally opposed to it. They’re justified because they joined me for my original campaign, not for this.So you can say that things are quite complicated right now. What I need for now is a renewed campaign speech. Since you're a writer, I thought why not get your help? Will you help me?” He asks with a hopeful look in his eyes. I bite my lips looking at the book beside me.
Am I really a writer? Yes, I love writing. I just wrote a piece. However, I am not that confident to help him in his campaign speech.
“Ethan, I don’t think I can—” I am about to finish my sentence when I see him grab the book. I look with horror as he opens it and takes out the page.
“Ethan, give it to me!” I try to grab the paper from his hand when he moves his hand so high I can’t reach. He gets up from the couch with a mischievous glint in his eyes.
“I was wondering what you were hiding earlier. You also kept looking at the book time and again. I was sure there was something you were hiding. What is it? A love letter?” He wiggles his eyebrows playfully making me want to smack either him or myself.
A love letter? Seriously?
“Ethan, I swear! If you don’t return it, you're going to regret it!” I threaten him with the hope that he will listen to me. Did he listen though? No!
“Let me see what you’ve written. Who is the lover boy?” He chuckles as he tries to look at what is inside. He looks so curious. However, there is another look that I cannot decipher.
Jealousy?
No! Why would he be jealous? He never showed any interest in me. There is no way for him to feel jealous if indeed he thinks I’ve written a love letter for someone. I snatch the paper from his hands with a victorious smile, making him glare at me playfully. Some people inside the bookstore pass us disapproving looks.They’re probably wondering why we are fighting in the middle of the bookstore. I flash them a guilty smile.
“Are you not going to show me?” He huffs dramatically while sitting down. I chuckle at the childish tactic.
“Why do you want to know?” I ask, enjoying his utmost curiosity.
