Chapter 03: A unwanted guest

ELLIE 

On Tuesday, we agreed to have lunch together. When I arrived at the bar with Anna, Zoe and Ben were waiting with Will, already seated at a table in the corner. Anna leaned in to kiss Will without any shame as we approached. I greeted everyone with a general 'hi.'

"Is everything okay, El?" Will asked after a few minutes, noticing my silence while they talked. My mood was terrible this week, probably PMS.

"Just a headache."

"Maybe my gift can make that better," Zoe said, leaning down and returning with two bags from Victoria's Secret. She then handed one to Anna and one to me.

"It's not my birthday or anything..." Anna said, not understanding as she opened the bag. "But thank you." She took out the box and put it on the table as I thanked her.

"Wow! It's... pink," Anna said after opening the box and unwrapping a tiny lingerie with lace and bows in baby pink. It hardly covered any skin.

Zoe laughed from the other side of the table. Will had a naughty smile and Bennett shook his head in disapproval. He did that a lot, partly because he was grumpy, and partly because he disapproved of these silly things.

"That color really captures my personality," Anna joked, while Will held the pieces up in the air to observe.

"I think Will liked the gift more than you did," Zoe still laughed. "But what about you, Ellie? Aren't you going to open it?"

"I think this kind of gift makes total sense for Anna... But it will probably end up being eaten by moths in my closet." I put the box on the table.

"Shit..." Bennett muttered, making all of us turn our heads in the direction he was looking, at the entrance of the restaurant.

Great. Ethan was coming towards us. Who invited him? My eyes almost rolled automatically at the sight of him. He was wearing a black suit that made him ridiculously hot, and his hair was combed back, with rebellious strands falling on his forehead. His appearance gave off an arrogant air. Why did it always seem like he had shaved the day before and now his facial hair was almost nonexistent, making him even sexier?

Damn it. It's the hormones, Ellie. It's just the hormones. His presence magically made me more aware of my own body.

"Am I interrupting?" He approached, kissing Zoe on the cheek. "Hello, sis-in-law!"

"Bennett said you weren't coming."

"Did he?" I noticed a quick exchange of glances between them. There was something there. "Changed my mind." He smiled at Ben. "What did I interrupt?"

"Take a seat. We're waiting for the orders. You can still make yours." Will indicated an empty chair at the end next to Anna, directly facing me.

"Ellie was about to open the gift I gave her." Zoe gestured for me to continue, winking at me. Embarrassment hit me. Opening it in front of them, whatever it was, would make everyone imagine me wearing it. It would make Ethan think of me wearing it.

"I can check it out later. Thank you so much for the gift."

"No... I want to see your reaction. Please?" Zoe pleaded.

"Come on, Ellie... open it." Anna encouraged with an almost smile. I gave her a disapproving look.

"Okay." I gave in. I opened the box as if a bomb were waiting for me inside. I unwrapped some papers and took out a set of black lingerie, a bra, panties, and sheer stockings.

My eyes flew from the lingerie to Ethan's face, which was in the same line of sight. I could almost swear I saw him shift in his chair. And then I knew he was imagining me wearing it. My face must have been red when I stuffed the pieces back into the box.

"Um... thank you, Zoe. I love it... but the moths will make better use of it."

"Moths?" Ethan asked, confused, with his eyebrows furrowed.

"Ellie thinks she won't use the gift. But I say that just this reaction was worth it," Zoe smiled, satisfied.

"We know why," Ethan murmured from the other side of the table, with a sarcastic smile.

"What did you say?" I asked.

"Ethan... damn it!" Bennett muttered between his teeth.

"I'm just kidding."

"Just because I'm not going to use it with you... doesn't mean I can't use it with someone less of a jerk," I smiled. "I'm just kidding." Everyone held back laughter around the table. Except for Ben, he seemed to disapprove, shaking his head once again.

"That's enough. Where's the food?" Bennett looked towards the kitchen of the place.

"I think I get it," Will said with a smile, looking between me and Ethan. I narrowed my eyes at him, and he shrugged.

Minutes later, the waitress brought our orders. I tried to ignore how Ethan was smiling excessively at her as he placed his order. Jerk, he couldn't resist a pair of breasts.

The conversation shifted to work as we ate. When his order arrived, I couldn't help but notice the piece of paper discreetly handed to him, which probably contained the waitress's phone number. It seemed like not everyone was avoiding Manhattan womanizers or had problems sleeping with someone after exchanging smiles. It made me feel sick. It made me seem weird. He called me crazy. Can you believe it?

"Did you know that more than one million new cases of four sexually transmitted infections are contracted every day? Isn't that scary? That's equivalent to over three hundred and seventy-six million new cases annually. On average, one in every twenty-five people in the world has at least one of these four STIs." I said, looking down at my own plate. When I looked up, everyone was staring at me with looks of strangeness or surprise. "What?" I asked.

"Well, in any case, I'm glad I'm married," Will said, looking at no one in particular.

"Are you sure this is a lunchtime topic?" Zoe laughed.

"It might be useful for someone here," I shrugged. But there was only one other single person at the table beside me, and that was exactly who I was trying to target.

"So that's why single scientists don't have sex," he said from the other side of the table, almost making me smile because I was already expecting a response.

"And yet we remain healthy," I pointed my fork in his direction, smiling.

"Just use a condom," Anna chimed in, almost making me choke on my drink. "The solution to the problem... the cases you mentioned, of course," she finished, smiling. I was going to kill her.

We finished lunch. Anna had to go back to the lab before me, so Will took the opportunity to give her a ride. I still had to stop by my house before going back to work. When I left the restaurant, I left Zoe, Ben, and his brother behind. I was waiting for a taxi on the sidewalk when I felt a presence behind me.

"What happened to 'there will be no conflict on my part'?" The deep, provocative voice made me turn to face him.

"Are you stalking me?"

"You clearly give yourself too much importance."

"Are you trying to insult me?"

"Another question."

"I think I've been polite enough with you."

"In what part? When you called me a jerk or when you hinted that I may have an STI?"

"Well... every action generates a reaction. Or do you think insinuating that I don't have sex and that I'm grumpy is a form of kindness?"

"They weren't insinuations. It's just the truth." He said, smiling. Son of a bitch.

"You don't know anything about me."

"Wanna know... I was taking it easy on you, baby, but I decided that I won't anymore because you're being a shrew." He approached with a sideways smile.

"Well, it seems that this relationship is well-defined. Why are you still here in front of me?" His proximity caused things in me that I would deny to death.

"Tell me... do you hate all men who invite you to have sex?"

"No, just the ones who can't admit their lousy attitudes."

"What do you expect? An apology? Was refusing not enough?" Why was he doing this? I didn't want an apology, I wanted him to go screw himself for being such a jerk.

"Why are you insisting on this? To me, it's clear that you're a jerk, and I accept that, end of story."

"So, I'm a jerk just for wanting to have sex with you?" He was trying to make me look crazy for thinking that inviting someone you just met to have sex isn't normal.

"I'm just tired of guys like you."

"Guys like me?"

"Guys who think all women are sex toys."

"That's a completely hasty conclusion."

"Just pretend I don't exist."

"That's not going to happen. You started this."

"I didn't start anything, and what does that mean?"

"That you have an amazing ass to pretend doesn't exist." Huh? Did he just say... He didn't?

"What?"

"See you around, crazy scientist." He said before crossing the street. I watched as he got into his car."

Was I really being hasty in judging him as a scoundrel just for inviting me to have sex? Shit. He was making me question myself. But it didn't matter. He really was a superficial jerk. We weren't at a club, and he wasn't some random stranger, we were at his brother's house, and he had just met me. Did he think I was easy?

Why did this bother me so much? Shit. I knew why. I couldn't stand that type of man anymore. The type of man who hides his true intentions until he gets what he wants. The type who disappears the next day after getting what he wants. The type who isn't honest and hurts a woman just to have her as an option to fulfill his needs. The type who hurt me just over a year ago, using me, making me waste my time, after all the effort I put in, opening up to him, like an idiot.