He Used Me as Practice for Her Chapter 03
Familiar footsteps hurried after me.
Before I could react, Ethan caught up and steered me into an empty private room. He planted one hand against the wall, trapping me between him and the door.
“Are you mad?” he asked.
I shook my head.
“Come on, don’t be like that.”
His fingers tilted my chin up as he leaned closer.
I turned my face away.
His lips brushed nothing but a strand of my hair.
Ethan froze.
Then he stared at me in disbelief.
“And you’re still saying you’re not mad?”
A second later, a lazy grin spread across his face.
“Okay, okay.”
His voice dropped, rough around the edges.
“If you really want to wear something like that…”
His gaze lingered on me, and he swallowed.
“I’ll get you something way hotter.”
His voice lowered even further.
“You can wear it for me tonight. Just me.”
The look in his eyes made my pulse jump.
“And I promise I’ll take good care of you.”
Heat rushed straight to my face.
My mind immediately flashed back to the half-empty box of ultra-thin condoms sitting on his nightstand that morning.
Last night, he’d been relentless.
Messy.
Desperate.
Like he couldn’t get enough of me.
Sweat had dripped from his jaw onto my skin as he buried his face against my neck.
When he reached for the box on the nightstand for the fourth time, I honestly got nervous.
“You’ll wear yourself out…” I’d whispered.
Ethan had laughed.
The kind of dangerous smile that always made my heart race.
“Charlotte.”
His lips brushed my ear.
“No guy can hold back when he’s with the girl he loves.”
Maybe he was right.
Some feelings were impossible to hide.
I’d pushed through the awkwardness and discomfort of my first time and given him everything.
And all night long, he kept asking the same question.
“Charlotte, you promised me, right?”
His expression had been unusually serious.
“You’re applying to colleges in Silverport too, right?”
Eventually I flicked him on the forehead.
“Yes, Ethan. For the hundredth time, yes.”
He pulled me into his arms and started talking about the future.
“Tree-lined walkways. Flower gardens. Late nights at the library.”
His eyes sparkled.
“You riding on the back of my bike.”
“Charlotte, college is going to be amazing.”
I had fallen completely into the dream he painted for us.
Before application season officially started, he’d casually brought it up again one afternoon.
“You’re still planning to go to Viremont?”
He turned toward me.
“Because I really want Saint Jude’s University in Silverport.”
His dark eyes reflected only me.
“Would you come to Silverport for me?”
For some reason, I nodded.
The smile that exploded across his face was brighter than fireworks.
He looked genuinely happy.
The memory shattered when a ringtone suddenly cut through the darkness of the private room.
The boy who used to look at me like I was his whole world disappeared.
“Ethan.”
Chloe’s voice came through the speaker, trembling slightly.
“Are you with Charlotte?”
She sounded close to tears.
“Can you tell her I only posted that Instagram story because I was excited about the bracelet?”
“I wasn’t trying to upset her.”
“I’ll give the bracelet back right away.”
“Please don’t fight because of me, okay?”
“Mm.”
Ethan ended the call without much emotion.
Silence swallowed the room.
It felt suffocating.
After a long pause, he finally met my eyes.
“The bracelet was just a loan.”
His voice softened.
“Chloe has a piano competition in a couple of days.”
“I remembered you saying the Van Cleef bracelet was supposed to bring good luck, so I let her borrow it.”
I bit my lip.
“I bought that for you.”
His expression tightened.
“I know.”
He ran a hand through his hair in frustration.
“That’s why I only lent it to her. She’ll return it after the competition.”
“We’re all friends, Charlotte.”
“Do you really have to make such a big deal out of it?”
I lowered my eyes.
“It took me two years of part-time jobs to save enough money for that bracelet…”
“Why are you being so stubborn?”
His voice rose.
“She posted one Instagram story to thank me and you actually went into the comments to mock her?”
He stared at me like I was the unreasonable one.
“Charlotte, when did you become so petty?”
I opened my mouth.
But no words came out.
Was I really the one making a scene?
Was I really the petty one?
I let out a slow breath.
“Ethan.”
I looked at him.
“Let’s break up.”
