Crazy things when you're in love

[Raerae]

Ethan slept deep and soundlessly, though you know he was alive by the rise and fall of his chest. He didn't even notice Lottie had moved, nor was he aware of when he'd actually fallen asleep between scanning boredly through Netflix and playing with her ponytail. Eventually, he'd shifted though, whacking a pillow in accident and shooting up with wide eyes when he thought he'd hit her. "Sorry! Charlotte I--"


Noting the couch was void of the blonde he cocked his head upwards, meeting her eyes almost instantly which had apparently been on him for a while. "...Morning?" His fingers combed out his slightly messy blonde locks, of which were a little greasy with the gel he'd used to slick it back James Bond style yesterday. "What time is it? How long have I been out? ...How're you?"


---


Exhausted as she was, the sunlight had decided to pour in even through the half drawn curtains, and had nearly blinded her that morning. Amazingly enough, she had hardly heard his snoring, about as sacked out as he'd been till she was enveloped in the mornings light. Carter was more than perfect last night. And had he not been so out of it that morning, she would've begged for a round three. What could she say? The man knew what he was doing!


When glaring for ten consecutive minutes at the window didn't do anything, she came to the conclusion it was time to get up, rolled out if his grasp (cause he'd probably sleep through an earthquake) and headed towards the shower, grabbing a change of clothes and her phone on the way. Amidst the bond they'd strengthened through intimacy, Rae felt like she'd truly let the Ethan thing go last night. Carter deserved her heart one hundred and ten percent, and although she'd always miss the man she adorned for years, it was time to move on, she didn't want to miss what she was blessed with now.

 

[PrincessKaty]

Charlotte jumped, snapping out of her gaze when Ethan suddenly sat up and started apologizing. She laughed, putting a hand over her chest, a little spooked from the suddenness of it all. "Good morning," She responded, smiling shyly at him because he'd caught her staring at him,"It's not that late, like nine something? I've only been up for like ten minutes so don't panic." She grinned and headed to the kitchen.


"I'm great. How are you? Did you sleep alright?" She asked him curiously, wanting to know if he'd been too uncomfortable with her on the couch as well. It wasn't a huge couch but they'd done it before. She pulled open the fridge and pursed her lips in thought, trying to decide what she should make for the two of them. "Does anything specific sound good?" She asked Ethan, closing the fridge and walking over to the counter that faced the living room.


~


Carter woke up in one of those states where he'd been so hard asleep that he wasn't totally she where he was. It didn't take but a few seconds though and he looked over to his side, assuming that he'd find Rae there but she was already gone. He pushed himself so that he was sitting up straight and ran a hand through his dark hair. "Man.." He mumbled, tilting his head from side to side which resulted in a few cracks. He heard the shower running in the bathroom and considering the door wasn't shut, he very vaguely see Rae's blurred figure from the glass of the shower.


He smirked a little bit to himself, giving himself a mental highfive because he'd tapped that last night. Twice. He pulled the covers off of his body and made his way into the bathroom where he leaned on the doorframe and crossed his arms. "Morning gorgeous," He said with a smile, his eyes trailing over what he could see of her body. He didn't have any clothes on either but it was obvious that he wasn't to shy when it came to being butt-ass naked. He didn't have anything to be ashamed of either though so it wasn't like he had a reason.

 

[Raerae]

Ethan swung his legs over the couch, his feet hitting the floor with a thud and his arms angled in his lap. "Only nine? Feels like I slept for two days, you'd think I drank a ton last night." He persistently continued to try and style his hair without a mirror, but a shower was definitely in order to remove the product that wasn't anymore than a burden today. "I slept great, I think I'm breaking your couch in for you," He laughed slightly and rose his arm up, but the three distinct pops in his left shoulder gave away he fabricated how comfortable it was. Her couch suuuucked.


"Aha... I'm not starved. Do you want to go out and eat though? Or make something? Just a heads up I avoid the kitchen at all costs," He started to rise up and paused for a moment, getting a bit of a head rush and placing a hand to his forehead. "If you're dead set on it though, we could split a smoothie. I have one every..."


Well, had one every morning. Untill... You know. He wrapped his arms around her waist and kissed her temple after swiftly entering the kitchen, "Forget the smoothie, maybe just a cup of coffee? Please?"


---


Rae had been bombarded with texts and voice mails from Ethan's family last night unbeknownst to her. They were questioning her like mad about who that girl was at the wedding, why she didn't show up, and Daphne made it a point to tell her she was hurt that no one filled her in about an obvious break up. Like the wimp she was, all she did was text her mom good morning and then silence her phone. Of course she forgot about the wedding! She wasn't going to keep tabs on his family after all that, even if she genuinely did love them. Rae just couldn't deal with it this morning.


"Morning handsome," She was massaging conditioner into the ends of her hair when he stepped in, having obviously made no effort to get dressed, though she wasn't complaining. "I was gonna wake you up for a rematch but you looked so cute passed out like that," She was merely teasing of course, and poked her head out of the shower, that mischievous look on her face just like when she was four. "I had planned on us hiking today... But considering what's out there, maybe we should just stay inside, and wing it. At least drive if we wanna explore."

 

[PrincessKaty]

Charlotte pouted a little bit, listening to his arm pop and crack terrible. "Next time we should just opt for the bed," She told him and then laughed a little bit, hoping that he didn't find it too straight forward. Considering he'd planted one on her last night without any hesitation, she didn't think he'd mind it. She tapped her nails on the countertop, trying to think of what she could put in a smoothie for Ethan. She never really made smoothies but she figured she could find something.





She watched him get up from the couch and then grinned when he put his arms around her. For the moment, her mind pretended that this was totally normal and that the two of them were like a thing. She turned around his arms and smiled up at him. "I could make us some coffee," She assured him. She reached her hand up and ran her fingers through his blonde hair in an attempt to push it back to the position that it'd been in last night but she liked the messy look anyways. "I like this," She noted, moving her hand to his chin and moving his head to the side to observe the facial hair that was growing in. She giggled and winked, then slipped out from his arms and moved towards the counter. She grabbed the Starbucks coffee from her cabinet above the coffee machine, put it in, added water, then pressed the button to get it started.


She turned around and leaned against the counter, looking over at Ethan with a grin. "So, what's on your busy-bee agenda today?" She asked him curiously.


~


Carter chuckled, listening to Rae. He winked at her when she poked her head out and grinned. "Yeah, maybe inside would be a good idea... Or we could go to the actual like, hangout spot for the lake on the otherside where other people will be. If you still wanted to go out, I mean. I like the inside too so whatever floats your boat, hun."


He moved over to the shower and let himself in without invitation and a smile on his face. "All about conserving water, you know?" He told her playfully as he moved his arms around her waist to stand under the water with her. He kissed her cheek then her lips before letting go and grabbing the soap. "We're not crazy, right? Like that shit really happened right?" He asked and then shook his head, still not really able to wrap his brain about it all. What was it? He put some shower gel in his hand and started to lather it about while he pondered all the possibilities. His mind kept it rational at first; some kid to something causing trouble and trying to scare the visitors.

 

[Raerae]

"Me too," He answered with an indulgent smile, but she slipped away all too soon to go and started the coffee. It was kind of pathetic how deprived he felt, of a woman's touch, of a little intimacy in both the physical and platonic sense. He didn't expect to just lay all of that on her, but then again, she was the one that said they should for the bed. Would he argue? Heeeeeell naw!


Leaning back against the counter, Ethan rolled his shoulders a bit, the soreness from that sofa really starting to settle in. "I'm using my vacation days bouncing around till I can call up to the office about that lease. I need a certain someone's okay, but after that I should be obligation free and able to choose somewhere new to live. I'm thinking something simple up in the heights a little closer to home, but I'll only be twenty minutes from here and the stadium so..." He nodded, letting her know he wasn't just taking off. She'd care, right? "So... Aside from apartment searching and stopping by Gary's to change, nothing much. Why, what's your day looking like?" He reached up and pulled the sugar out of the cabinet, and then headed to the fridge where he pulled out her creamer. "You've got to try pumpkin spice, tasted waaaaay better."


---


"We didn't drink that much," She stepped aside as he came in, not really gutsy enough to ask him to, but that's what she'd been hoping for. After massaging a little more conditioner in the tips of her hair, her gaze fell and she mirrored his disbelief. All jokes aside, she feared just how close they were to being mauled or murdered last night. God only knows what was right outside their cabin, and what would've happened if they'd dismissed it like every stupid horror movie couple and kept eating their dinner.


"Hey, I want a logical explanation too. But we didn't camp out in the bathroom for fun-- well, not at first. You know, I bet you we'll find foot prints in the dirt outside! Or.. Maybe marks on the back door where whatever it was beat the hell out of it." All she knew was they probably wouldn't reserve this place for a second time, especially if the rangers- the rangers! "We should ask the office if there were any reports from the people they sent out last night. If... They even really did." She blew a couple giant bubbles she made between her fingers his way as she spoke.

 

[PrincessKaty]

Charlotte nodded, listening to Ethan's plan of getting a new place. She smiled a little bit though when he slipped in there that he'd only be twenty minutes away. It was sweet of him to consider letting her in on that information. She wouldn't lie. She'd be pretty heartbroken if he decided to just pack up and head out, even though she was pretty sure that wasn't possible right now with baseball and all. At least not until he got signed which she had a feeling he definitely would.


She shrugged. "Nothing really, to be honest," She admitted. She figured that Ethan would have gone home last night but there'd obviously been a change in plans. If he hadn't been here, she'd probably lounge around on her computer all day but she wouldn't going to admit to being that lazy to him. Not yet, anyways. She made a face and shook her head when he mentioned pumpkin spice. "Yuck," She commented, moving from the counter and to another cabinet to grab them mugs,"Totally not my thing but just for you, I'll make sure to grab some at the store." She laughed, grabbing a white mug for him and a pink one that had "princess" printed on it for herself. She knew that it was a bit of a stretch saying that because it hinted at him being around enough in the morning to need his own creamer but.. Well, fuck it. She didn't feel like overthinking anything right now. She put their mugs in front of the coffee maker and grinned up at him.


"I could give you a massage if it really hurts that bad," She offered, gesturing to his shoulders that he kept moving whether he knew it or not,"Wouldn't want a baseball star all sore before his game."


~


Carter made a face, finding the whole thing just mind blowing. "Ooh yeah! I'll have to call them back. Totally forgot. We were too busy having fun," He remembered with a little smirk, popping the bubbles that Rae blew in his direction. He switched places with her, hands on his hips, so that he could move to rinse off the soap. He moved his hands over his body to help wash away the soap while his eyes were basically stuck on Rae.


You know, he almost felt bad for Ethan. Rae was one of kind and he'd honestly truly loved her, as it was nearly impossible not to. There was still part of him that was scared that Rae would back out of their relationship due to second thoughts about Ethan. They never really did get closure on anything. Well, as far as he was concerned anyways. He knew that Ethan had dropped by to get his things a few times and hung out next door but Rae said that she was never around when he was. He didn't thinks she'd lie either. Still. It was just hard to see either of them cutting their ties over one fight and never saying another word.


"I love you," He said suddenly as he stared at her, all the thoughts provoking him to kind of prove that he would do a better job than Ethan. He may not be as successful or life his life spelled out for himself but he could make her smile and laugh and feel loved.

 

[Raerae]

"Heeey, I want a custom mug," Ethan whined light heartedly, holding his in comparison to hers and then grinning as he recalled all the references she's made to being a princess. Normally those kind of girls nauseated him, but she was pretty convincing what with the sweet face and effortless glow. Unless he was just twitterpated and was the only man to see that feminine veil.


"...If you want to," Finally he'd tosed modesty out the window, deciding it was absolutely acceptable for him to indulge in little gestures that she offered, after all she did offer. And upon her suggestion he really started to feel that tightness from the back of his skull down to his mid back- what the hell had he slept on, a rock? "I'll pay you in cushions, I've got to replace that thing in your living room. Wouldn't some plush loveseat be a lot more comfortable?" After filling hisbmug a little more than half way and doctoring it to his liking, he nudged past her and headed to her little table and chairs instead, deciding, despite the sweet moments, that couch was now his enemy.


---


I love you.





Her head snapped up and she was grinning, expecting that boyish smile of his and for the friendly, playful banter to begin. They always told each other that, had been for years just like family. But he was just staring at her with all the seriousness she'd ever seen him muster, no follow up laugh or light hearted flirting, and gradually her expression began to match his, though her eyes were cast downwards, focusing on the water that splashed against the tile flooring with that glazed gleam again.


When was the last time she had heard that? She hadn't known that'd truly be... the last time she'd hear it...


"...Do you?" She felt her bottom lip quiver a little, and leaned her lissom body back against the wall, gripping the shelves for better balance, "I wanna say it, but I... Don't want to be thrown away to easily this time around," And although she managed to laugh a little, it immediately turned into a slow slide down the wall 'till she landed on her rear and just started bawling noiselessly.

 

[PrincessKaty]

"Oh yeah? And what would you want yours to say?" Charlotte asked him teasingly with a smile. She'd gotten the mug... Hell, she didn't even know where. She was pretty sure it might've been a gift or something. She'd always been joked to be a "princess" whether it be her attitude or looks and it was a good thing, so she never fought it. It was all in good fun, of course. She smiled when Ethan, for once, actually accepted the massage offer. "Yaaaay," She sang, taking the coffee pot after him and pouring herself a cup about half way full. She felt like it was the least she could. She felt like Ethan had done a lot for her lately.


She laughed and shook her head when he offered to buy her a whole new couch. She grabbed his wrist before he reached her table and instead began to pull him to the bedroom. "Not necessary," She assured him,"Honestly, I don't even sit on it that often. I'm usually in here." She led Ethan into her bedroom that seemed to match her personality almost too well, decorated in pinks, whites, and golds. It was obvious that she'd spent the most time putting this room together out of all the rest and that was because it was honestly where she was most of the time when she was alone.


"Lay down," She told him, pointing to her king sized bed that was currently dawned in a floral comforter with matching pillows,"Oh, and take off your shirt." She put her mug down on her desk and then headed back out and into the bathroom where she grabbed a bottle of lotion that smelled the least like a girl before returning back to the bedroom. "So, I don't have any sassy fancy massage oil so I guess this will work," She told him with a laugh, holding up the bottle.


~


By the look on Rae's face, Carter was nearly 100% positive it was what she wanted to hear. But the smile went as quick as it came and she averted her eyes down. Wait, what? "I.." He began to say, obviously confused with the fact that she'd even question him after everything. Eight years. Did she forget about that part? And then the fact that she didn't say it back was just like a huge slap to the face. He finally got the balls to say it honestly and seriously and she.,. Couldn't? He guessed that he couldn't be mad because she had just left Ethan and all, but it seemed like she was pretty much done with the jerkoff. The way that they ended it, he thought that she would've been happy to have himself... Well, fuck. Wasn't he wrong?


And then she started crying. What. The. Fuck. Had he really messed up that badly already? Usually it was the guys running for the hills when a girl said that they loved them but he'd literally brought Rae to tears, in a really shitty way too, because he'd said it. He just stood there, watching as she sobbed on the floor while his heart simultaneously shatter. This really wasn't how he envisioned this trip going. This was really just going to the shittier. Everything was going wrong.


"Rachel, I'm sorry," He finally spoke up, moved to sit across from her on the ground,"I take it back. I shouldn't have said it.. Please don't cry.." He wasn't even sure how to comfort her given the situation. Was it because he'd said it too soon or because her fuck of an ex had ruined love for her all together?

 

[Raerae]

"Don't have to tell me twice," though he was a little turned on by all the assertive comments, if he was being honest. After a moment of one sided deliberation he loosened his long sleeved, white top and pulled it over his head, carved to perfection from the belt to his skull. He may not have been a health nut, but he took care of his body, that much was obvious. After dealing the top over the end of the bed, carefully so as it was quite an expensive piece, he kicked back and folded his arms behind his head, appreciating Lottie was true to her feminine theme, but it kind of reminded him of the wedding. Pink? Not his style! Cute though, for her.


"Your room is... Nice, reminds me if you. Feels like a safe haven to be honest," Along his abs that bruised had entirely cleared, leaving for those indented bronze muscles that should've made him a hot shot in a Hollister magazine. Too bad he couldn't stand any of that. "Hey, 'long as I don't walk out of here smelling like a Victoria's secret model, we're good. And... Thanks. You'd never guess just how many stress knots a strike can give a man."


---


In between her words, she was doing that hiccup thing like she just couldn't catch her breath, her voice cracked once in a while too, but she was persistent enough to respond. "Don't... Take it... Back! I didn't even," She inhaled, and then sobbed a little, "Get to say it back yet!"


"You didn't... Do anything. My feelings are just... hurt still," And that just led to her throat swelling up and the water works making the shower look like a raindrop. She hated those girls in the movies that basically made the guy their therapists and demanded they listen to everything, and so she avoided the breakdowns and the pity parties, it wasn't like Carter ever hurt her... But love is a trigger word.


"I just... Feel like it won't be enough... If I say it... He hasn't called me one fucking time, we were together for years! I told him every fucking day I loved him so he wouldn't leave, and he just... Just took off like it's nothing? Cause he was bored? How is that fair? What the fuck did I do?" Her voice escalated a little but with the hyperventilating came more of a whisper. "I can't do it again Carter, I need security, he left 'cause he thought I'd take off, but I... Was just getting comfortable. And then like everyone else he just... Left."


"And don't think I'm saying I miss him or regret last night, I'm crazy about you. You're... The only person that's always there." There, that felt better. "I just don't want to say it, and then my one rock gets bored again and leaves... That's why I never considered dating you before. You're my safety net and I love you."

 

[PrincessKaty]

Awestruck was probably the best way to describe Charlotte when she walked back into her room and found Ethan, lounging shirtless on her bed like a model. Her eyes lingered on his chiseled chest long enough to make her all flustered because he was just too attractive for his own good. "I, um. Thanks," She managed out, beginning to walk over to the bed where she ended up running her hip into her desk and she dropped the bottle like a klutz. She laughed awkwardly and bent down, picking it up. "I think you could pull off lingerie," She told him playfully as she stood back up and ran a hand through her hair, in regards to smelling like a model.


She grinned, stopping at the side of her bed. "You should lay on your stomach, probably," She advised him with a little smile. It was weird, like, being in control and him just following directions. It was kinda fun actually. She flipped the cap of the lotion and put some in her hand, then closed the lid and put it on her nightstand.


~


Carter furrowed his eyebrows, obviously confused with what he was supposed to be saying and doing. Wow. Girls were confusing. He'd always pinned Rae as the... Tom-boyish type? This was just, weird for her. Not that it was a bad thing. He wasn't surprised that she was hurting. She was only human.


"Okay then, I take back taking it back?" He said in more of a question than a statement. He just didn't want to make things worse. He frowned as he listened to her, realizing just how broken up she was about the break-up. He wanted to be mad that she wasn't completely over Ethan but he couldn't. Ethan had been really rude about the whole thing and moving on so quickly was just an even bigger stab. Like, yeah, so did Rae but it was different. And she was actually still sad. He doubted that Ethan even blinked an eye.


He took in a deep breath and reached over to Rae, and moved her so that she was in his lap rather than across from him. "Rae, I can guarantee I'm not just going to up and leave. I've been here for you for this long and we weren't even together-" Which reminded him that he never got around to asking her last night "-I'll always be here. Before anything else, you're my best friend and you always have been, always will be. And if you're not ready to say it or commit to anything than it's fine, honest. I've waited this long. What's a few more years going to hurt?"


He wasn't really good at comforting or words or anything but he thought was pretty good for him. He meant it all too. As long as she knew how he felt, he could live with whatever she gave him in return. At least she trusted him enough to refer to him as her safety net. "I love you too," He told her again with a little smile this time, not wanting her to freak out over it being too serious.

 

[Raerae]

"Hah, right, my mom so wouldn't kill me for that. Hey, I passed up the Angels do join up with Calvin Klein." He'd spent a few moments laughing, unaware of the extent of her clumsiness, but didn't hesitate to do as she said. After rolling onto his stomach, he fluffed up one of her extremely soft pillows underneath his face, inhaling with a bit of a grin when it emitted her extremely familiar scent.


"Just... Do me a favor and go easy on the left arm, alright? I don't know why, but it's been really tender lately. Wouldn't it be a bitch if I couldn't play for the season?" He remarked suddenly, a little out of character even as she could probably hear the slight worry in his voice. "I should probably get it checked out or something, just in case you know?"


"Aaanyways..." He wanted to fixate this on an interesting subject, but what exactly? "Tell me about home. Or, I mean, where you lived before. I mean if you want, but I'm... Curious. Other than family vacations I've never really left the city."


---


She felt really shitty for breaking down on him, these weren't his kind of situations, and it made her feel weak and clingy for putting him on the spot. But that's exactly how she felt, so she just went with it, latching herself onto him like a little baby sloth would and barely budging an inch. "I know, I know, I'm being stupid," She managed a tiny laugh and tucked her head under his chin, the hugging was good, lame as it sounded, she liked the closeness.


"I don't want either of us to wait a couple more years for anything... Ugh, I hate waiting. I think... We're really just perfect together and we have fun, whether we're... Running from a Sasquatch or... Cuddling. I'm just kinda waiting on you to say it's official, and then I can start getting comfortable again, yeah?" She tilted her head up, baring puffy eyes, and a rather red nose. "And then we can stop sitting here apologizing in the nude and go watch Netflix like productive adultish people."


Yeah, she was alright. Kinda pitiful at the moment, but generally ooootay.

 

[PrincessKaty]

Charlotte giggled a little bit, listening to him. She thought that he could pull off being a model but she knew he wouldn't actually. She felt like he was kind of a modest guy anyways.


She pouted a little bit when he said that his arm had been hurting him. "I'll be nice," She promised him sweetly,"But yeah, you probably should. You can never be too careful." That would be pretty crappy if he ignored it and then ended up sitting out for a season because he didn't just make a quick trip to the doctor.


She put her lotioned up hands on his back and began and massage his shoulders and back carefully. She didn't think that she could seriously hurt the guy, considering their difference in size but if he was hurt than maybe she could. "Well.. There was like a solid thousand people that lived there. We lived on a pretty big property but didn't have any farm animals or anything. I lived with my parents and my younger sister, who still lives with them now. We had three schools, elementary, middle, and high school, and a strip mall, and other than that it was up to us to find stuff to do. Honestly, it wasn't that glamorous. It was hot and boring," She started to tell him and then laughed, feeling pretty lame. She was sure his childhood had been far more interesting than her's.


~


Carter grinned more to himself than anything, listening to Rae say that she didn't want to wait and that they were perfect together. That was all the verification he needed from her to know that she honestly wanted to be in a relationship. He chuckled a little bit as he listened to her. "Ah yes. Nothing says adult like Netflix bingewatching," He teased softly, leaning down and kissing her temple.


When she looked up at him, he ran a thumb over her cheek, as if he tell the difference between water from the shower and her tears. He supposed that it was just the gesture that counted. "Rachael Elizabeth," He began, trying to make it all official and stuff,"Will you do me the honor of being my girlfriend?" He had a cheesy smile on his face and even felt kind of nervous, even though she'd basically just told him that she was waiting for him to ask and say yes.

 

[Raerae]

"I went to the same three school's, too. But after hearing some of the stories of kids bouncing around, I was really glad I didn't have to be uprooted and thrown off course, you know?" He winced a little as she kneaded against his skin, more so unused to the touch than it was she'd been rough. It felt odd being physical with anyone else, even if it was a massage. No, he don't have regrets. But it feel a little... How could one describe it? Like spending your whole life eating chocolate, and then abruptly switching to strawberry. Not bad, just... Different. Man, this was why English wasn't his best class, couldn't make a metaphor to save his life.


"What're your parents like? Laid back and chill? Or overprotective of their little princess? Mine verbally kick my ass over everything, even still. But they always let me make my own decision's, so I don't screw up often." He laughed a little, surprisingly indulgent for a guy. "And your sister? I'm an only child so I don't know about all the bathroom hogging and sibling rivalry. Well, no, that's not true. Garrett is basically my brother. Guess that counts."


(He'll be cute next post. Trying to char develop here lol)


---


Rae's answer had been a definite yes, and after a few mushy moments she initiated the two had finally left the shower. They'd gotten loosely dressed and headed into the living room, where Rae willingly cooked up the rest of the steak stashed in the fridge and provided the dinner they'd missed out on, for breakfast. Two glasses of wine and a chosen Netflix series later, they were stretched out and comfortable on the couch, until Carter's phone rang and the rangers informed them that upon their arrival, whatever had antagonized them last night was gone. However, upon closer inspection the next morning, their back door had been aggressively thrashed on the outside, and Carter's vehicle...


Well, let's just say he'd definitely need a new paint job. Scratch marks lined his trunk and hood with silver streaks, and two of his tires had been thoroughly decimated. Now the question was whether or not the park would take responsibility or if he and Rae woudk have to see them in court...