Waiting for Hope

Hanging By A Moment (part 1)

Hanging By A Moment - lifehouse

Friday dragged on and on. Ethan had been filled with nervous excitement all day knowing that he would be driving back home to take Hope to the hilltop. And although she had seemed pretty comfortable with him last night, he hadn't really been alone with her, for an extended amount of time, in close quarters, in his truck. Oh man, she's gonna freak. His worry increased as he thought about it.

He had stayed up late the night before trying to study for his morning class, in vain. He couldn't get his mind off of Hope. He was so exhilarated by how open she seemed that his mind went back over everything the two of them said. He was fairly certain that she was interested in him, but he couldn't tell how deep that interest went. She did agree to go on a drive with him, and he was glad that she didn't act like it was a lame date idea. He had wanted to take her to the hilltop for years, and that was finally his chance. He knew that once he got her up there that she would love it.

As he got up and was preparing to leave for class, he wondered if she had gone down to the beach for her morning quiet time. Ethan felt a ripple of nerves wash over him as he wondered which beach she went to. When she mentioned it at dinner the night before, he assumed it was the campground beach but he suddenly wondered if it might be THAT beach. He wasn't ready to broach that subject, especially with her, so he decided not to ask her.

Ethan's day went by as slowly as possible and he found his thoughts wandering to Hope frequently. Continuously. He was having a tough time concentrating on much. He had a lot to do and he didn't have time for distractions. However, if the end result was a great evening with Hope he would handle the distraction. He got through his class, without remembering a thing the professor said, and made his way to the library to study and make up for the lack of focus he had the night before. He figured it would end up being a lost cause but decided to make the effort regardless.

He ran into Josh on the way to the library. Josh stuck around that summer, since the two of them had an apartment and rent to pay. He had a job on campus in the Engineering department and spent most of his time there.

"Hey man, you on your way to work?" Ethan inquired.

"Yeah. We have a big project to prep for the beginning of the school year. What's up? Where you headed?" Josh asked while elbowing Ethan's stomach.

Grimacing from the contact with Josh's very pointy elbow, Ethan replied "Library. I've got to go back over my notes. I can't remember a thing lately."

Josh smirked and nodded knowingly, "I got ya, its a girl. Am I right."

"Basically" Ethan answered casually. Josh raised his eyebrows.

"Fine. Exactly. I'll tell you about it eventually, just not yet." Ethan didn't want any interference from Josh, or to jinx anything with Hope.

"Whatever. Catch you later. What time will you be home from work?"

"Um...pretty late." Ethan avoided Josh's eyes.

"Again, got ya. Have fun with her" He called over his shoulder as he walked into the Engineering building.

Ethan shook his head and continued on to the library to get absolutely nothing done, most likely.

A few hours later, and nothing productive to show for it, Ethan was headed to Novo for his shift. It was going to be a long 9 hours, he could feel it. He usually enjoyed his job and interacting with his co-workers. He even liked the conversations he was able to start with customers. Many of them ended up becoming regulars and requesting Ethan's section. It was a fun job for him.

But today it just served as a road block to his time with Hope and he resented it. He was tired of life and circumstances keeping them apart. As he had that thought he shook his head incredulously. I can't think like that, we aren't even a couple. Without thinking, he added the word yet in his mind then silently chastised himself. SLOW DOWN! You're gonna scare her off!