"I must say," Dell grins at me where I'm sitting across from her and her mother at their kitchen table. "I'm rather impressed how you sat next to Ethan through an entire church service and didn't pinch him even once."

I wanted to, many times, but he was holding my hand, clutching it tighter each time I tried to free myself to do that pinching. The guy has ants in his pants, I'm sure of it. No, I'm not going to check to confirm. He also has a way of making unexpected and strange comments which always causes Pastor Ed to erupt in laughter mid-sermon. Granted, it does often prove the point he is trying to make, and I think our pastor enjoys and appreciates Ethan's input, warped as it sometimes might be.

The problem is, it has the added effect of causing too much attention directed at us, which is why I never sit anywhere near the guy and wasn't exactly thrilled when he joined us. Dell, her parents, Simon, my dad and I usually sit together if we can. Ethan always makes sure that he is well out of his father's glare range, which suits me just fine. But this morning, he scooted Dell and Simon one seat over and planted himself between me and his sister... and took my hand!

I was mortified!

My father was right there next to me. If he noticed, he didn't show it, but I was painfully aware of it and tried to push our hands between our seats, which caused too much proximity between the back of Ethan's hand and my thigh. It felt way too intimate and blasphemous. Dell always holds Simon's hand in church, and I've never thought anything of it. Then again, Simon is a decent, upstanding young man, and Ethan is a demon.

I finally just gave up and let him have my hand and do with it what he wanted to. Ethan struggles with ADHD and often needs something to distract him from getting distracted. Holding my hand with his left hand and toying with my fingertips with his right hand actually kept him busy enough. A bit like the baby in front of us, playing with his mother's necklace. I'm really glad Ethan didn't play with my necklace... that would've been way too awkward.

I survived the service... and lunch.

I made sure to sit way out of his reach at the Fletchers' long dining table. We always have Sunday lunch together. Daddy and I supply some of the ingredients, and Aunt Gemma, Dell, and I cook together. Mr Fletcher always does the meat dishes because nobody I've ever met can do a roast or any other cut of meat the way he does. We, girls, take care of the vegetables and other dishes while Daddy and Ethan set the table and clear up afterwards. We all have our roles.

Daddy is good at making eggs, and Ethan is the best at making coffee and toasted cheese sandwiches, but their culinary talents end there and having Ethan in the kitchen while one is trying to cook usually leads to injury... his...

I give Dell a look, informing her that I know that she knows why I couldn't pinch Ethan and that I'm not enjoying her enjoyment of those things I know she knows. Honestly, the girl is having too much fun observing her brother and my feeble attempts at being boyfriend and girlfriend. She might be just as evil as he is.

"Did I hear Ethe say he's taking you to the mudflats?" Delia asks, giving me an amused grin. Really? She has to ask that now? She didn't hear him say that. I told her that myself... in detail. She knows that he's doing it because I went to the rugby match yesterday. She knows everything! Well... almost everything. "Are you going skimboarding?"

That would've made sense. Ethan loves any form of gliding around on surfaces. Surfing, windsurfing, skimboarding, skateboarding, ice skating... sliding down staircases on a steel tray; literally anything.

After lunch, I went home and changed into shorts and an old t-shirt for our trip and am having coffee in the kitchen with Dell and Aunt Gemma while I'm waiting for Ethan, which is why I am now trapped in a warped conversation with Delia who is apparently suffering from amnesia.

"No, I want to dig for crabs and molluscs and see if I can spot any migrating bird species I haven't seen there before."

"Does he know that, Honey?" Aunt Gemma asks with a slightly concerned frown on her gentle face.

"Yes, Auntie," I smile. I can understand her confusion. Digging for crabs and watching birds are not exactly Ethan's kind of activities... unless those birds are wearing sexy bikinis and have perky breasts, I suppose. I take a deep breath and try to look her in the eyes, but I'm blushing too much to do that successfully. She may or may not have seen us holding hands in church, but I think I should just clarify things regardless. I don't normally hide things from her... except when I'm holding hands with her son... I really would love to hide that. "I don't know if Ethan or Dell told you, but we... I'm..."

Delia snorts into laughter, and I glare her into silence. Well, I try... it's not very effective. "Ethan and I... we're dating now... Each other."

Aunt Gemma's frown is no longer concerned; it is now puzzled.

"I know, Dear," she says, looking at me as if I've just fallen from the sky and landed in her coffee, and she's not sure whether she should dunk me or save me. "You've been dating since fourth grade, haven't you?"

Delia is spraying coffee from her nose, and I am gnawing on my lower lip, trying to keep my breathing neutral, while I watch her mother pat her back, saving her from drowning in her laughter.

Really? This again?!

My father is the stereotypical scatter-brained genius; what is Aunt Gemma's excuse? She is usually quite alert and observant. Surely, she knows that her son dates everything in a dress, and that excludes me... even on the odd occasion when I am wearing one.

"It was a fake wedding," I finally hiss, clenching my teeth. Looking at Aunt Gemma's sparkling blue eyes and her amused grin, I realise that she is indeed Ethan and Delia's mother.

"I wasn't sure whether the two of you knew that, Kiki. Ethe's been calling you his wife ever since," she explains sweetly.

"Mom, my wife sent these muffins she baked."

"Is my wife going with us to visit Grandma this weekend?"

"I'm going next door to play games with my father-in-law..." they take turns pretending to be Ethan... being a moron.

"That's just to annoy me!"

"Even when you're not here?" Delia asks, wiping her eyes with a serviette her mother dug out of a drawer near the kitchen table.

"Especially then," I say, narrowing my eyes at them, daring them to ask me how that makes sense. "Honestly," I add when they both continue to giggle happily, enjoying their fun. "I cannot understand how my father could be so irresponsible as to let me marry into this strange family."

I'm happy when Ethan comes thundering down the stairs from his bedroom and noisily charges into the kitchen, saving me from his mother and sister's laughter.

"Ready, Kicks?" he asks, wincing when I glare at him. The poor idiot has no idea why he's being glared at. I say goodbye to the crazy people still smirking at the kitchen table, loop the strap of my satchel crossways over my shoulder so that my hands are free, and grab Ethan by the arm, fleeing from the house.

"Where are you going?" he asks when I drop his arm and march towards their gate. I stop, turning to look at him, not understanding his question, and then I see that he is carrying two helmets I never noticed, one of which he's placing on the seat of his motorcycle, parked near the back door, while he puts the other on his head.

"No way!" I exclaim, backing away towards the gate.

"Way," he says, grabbing my wrist and pulling me towards him. "Come on; the tide is going to start coming in; walking there takes ages. We could miss... your mud."

He is not wrong, but...

"I'm not riding on that thing with you."

"I'll drive very safely, I promise," he grins, but I'm not that gullible.

"You guys are always sharing stories about your epic falls," I remind him. "I'm not interested in falling epically or mundanely... I'm not interested in falling at all."

Ethan laughs, taking the other helmet and fastening it on my head.

"That's when we're doing hurdles and tricks and weird things. I'll never do stuff like that when I'm giving you a lift. I promise. There will be no falling."

"Accidents happen," I mutter and am surprised when his expression softens sympathetically.

"I know, but I'll be very careful and stick to good roads, I promise. We'll be there in less than five minutes if we take the bike. It takes at least 17 if we're walking."

He slides onto the motorcycle seat and nods his head to the side, beckoning me to get on behind him. Sighing, I obediently get onto the seat and wrap my arms around his waist. I've done this before on a few occasions when I was desperate for a ride... and I survived... fall free.

The last time was when my one and only disastrous date with Cole Sadler ended with me running from the movie theatre. He'd become increasingly invasive in every way possible in a darkened public space, and when my "no" was not taken seriously, I finally just bolted. I was disappointed because I thought I might finally have a boyfriend I could possibly like, and I felt horribly exposed standing alone outside on the pavement.

Our coastal town is one of the safest in the world, but it is not without problems, and a young woman all by herself in the dark on a mostly abandoned street could become a target for opportunistic crime. Egret's Rest is not known for its lively nightlife; the young people usually have their fun in Silverview, the city less than 20 minutes away. We have a good restaurant and two coffee shops, and there's the old cinema and Game Galaxy, a space hardly big enough to contain 10 electronic game machines. It's a very small galaxy.

My father wasn't answering his phone because he'd fallen asleep in front of our TV, so I called Delia to save me, and she, in turn, sent Ethan. I didn't know at the time that he was at Game Galaxy, hanging out with his friends until he came running outside to find me. He didn't pressure me for answers when I avoided his questions and took me into the gaming centre for a couple of rounds of air hockey and some shooting games. He also bought me ice cream, flipping off Jet when he asked him if he was still with them or on a date with me.

I felt a bit better by the time he took me home on his motorcycle, insisting that I wear the helmet. He tensed a little when I rested my head against his back and used the noise and speed to hide the fact that I was crying. He never said anything about it, not even after Delia must've told him about Cole humiliating me in class that Monday following our failed date.

Well... apparently, he said a lot to Cole... using his skateboard.

Smiling to myself, I settle into the warmth of Ethan's back, marvelling at the fact that I'm actually feeling really quite safe right now, regardless of the trees and houses flashing past us.

♂♀