2 | Exposed ( ETHAN DOLAN )

FIFTEEN

E X P O S E D
C H A P T E R F I F T E E N

DURING the early hours of the morning, Andrea had awoken with a dryness in her throat. She peeled her eyes open, attempting to adjust her vision to the darkness of the room. A warmth from beside her made her look over to where it radiated from.

Reaching for her phone that sat on the bedside table, she shone the bright screen onto what was revealed to be Ethan's face. He was fast asleep, and looked remarkably relaxed. He looked beautiful, even while he did absolutely nothing.

Andrea wanted to reach over and touch his face and kiss it all over, however she didn't want to risk pulling him from his dreamy state. He looked too much at peace, and she knew how rare sleep was for him. So rare, in fact, that he hadn't gone to sleep on the couch in his living room.

Andrea took a few moments to simply observe Ethan's perfect features and take in his flaws that made him seem all the more perfect. She loved his tiny button nose, the faint acne scars he had on his forehead, his gorgeous, plump lips, his long eyelashes, and the light stubble along his jawline.

Then, as a cough made its way to her throat, she was reminded of why she had woken up in the first place.

After shining her phone all around Ethan's room with no success in finding a single water bottle, Andrea resorted to climbing out of Ethan's bed and tip toeing her way into the kitchen and flicking on the light there.

She knew the twins' fridge had a water dispenser, however she didn't know where they kept their glasses. After a short while of searching through cupboards and being disappointed, she finally came across their glassware and poured herself some water which was instantly refreshing as she drank it down.

The entire apartment was deafeningly silent and Andrea could hear everything, including the light footsteps as they padded across the dark, wooden floors of the home. She spun around only to find a shirtless Grayson standing there, with heavy eyes and messy hair.

"Hey," he croaked out, his eyes drifting down to observe the 4OU hoodie she wore, Ethan's one, along with a pair of pyjama shorts. She'd never looked more beautiful.

"Hi," she replied, taking a sip of her water and smiling lightly at the boy. "What's up?"

"Just thirsty," he told her, and began to reach for a glass, but Andrea offered him her own, her thirst apparently quenched. He took it from her, a grateful smile on his tired face.

Andrea leaned back against the marble counter as she watched Grayson gulp down the water.

"This looks good." Grayson pulled at the hem of her hoodie, and Andrea's face grew red.

"I never got to say thank you, by the way," Andrea spoke lowly, almost whispering. "For taking me to the beach."

"It was my pleasure. I loved spending time with you. . . and also watching you fall off a surfboard," Grayson chuckled, placing the glass down behind Andrea, who was giggling and red with embarrassment.

"Yeah, well, it was nice to learn how to surf. . . and to fall off a surfboard."

When their quiet laughter died down, neither of them spoke for a few moments. Andrea's eyes focused on the ground and she fiddled awkwardly with her thumbs like she always did. Grayson's eyes were locked onto Andrea's face, and he was curious as to why she appeared nervous.

"I'm gonna miss you when you leave," Grayson admitted.

"I'll miss you, too, Gray. I'll be back, though, I hope," Andrea assured him, looking up. "Who knows, I might even be studying here."

"I hope so," he said, glancing down at her lips, and all of a sudden the space between their faces was getting smaller.

Andrea closed her eyes and waited until she felt the warmth of Grayson's soft lips against hers. She kissed him back straight away, with no hesitation. She never stopped him, not when his arm snaked around her waist and pulled her body flush against his, and not when his hands moved down to the backs of her thighs and raised her up to sit her on the counter.

He kissed her like she'd never been kissed before. Her body was tingling like mad with what she could only describe as electricity and sparks. With every one of Grayson's touches, the fire inside her grew. She suddenly became overwhelmed with desire and passion.

Grayson's hands travelled up Andrea's bare thighs slowly until they found the skin of her hips, where his thumbs rubbed circles there.

Andrea's mind had become so muddled with thoughts and emotions that it had gone numb, until finally she cleared it all and came to her senses. She grabbed Grayson's hands and forced them away from her, scurrying off of the counter.

"Grayson, I–"

"What is it? What's wrong?" His eyes were wide with alarm and confusion.

"I don't know, I just. . . I'm confused."

"About what? Is it Ethan? Do you like him?"

"I. . . don't know."

Grayson scoffed at her indecisiveness, and Andrea wasn't sure whether she wanted to punch him for it or run away with embarrassment and hide from him.

"Good night, Andrea," Grayson sighed and exited the kitchen, leaving Andrea alone with her thoughts, which were nothing but a jumbled mess once again.

[ some tea: maggie and grayson follow each other on twitter, but maggie and ethan don't :( ]