Supernova

Someone poked my head and I groaned. The poked me again and I swatted their hand away. They laughed.

“You really ought to wake up, Nova,” they said. “This can’t be good on your ribs.”

I snorted and opened my eyes. Elias stood beside me, looking incredibly amused. I rubbed my eyes and wiped drool of my chin, blushing in embarrassment.

“How long was I asleep?” I asked.

“Not too long,” he answered. “You know, you shouldn’t sleep while on the job.”

I pouted and tapped my pen on my desktop. “Looks like Ethan and my parents were right. Damn it.”

He laughed. “Do you need me to call a cab?”

It was noon and I sighed.

“Can you give Ethan some time to take me home?” I asked nervously.

“Yes, of course. But why, if you don’t mind me asking?”

“I can’t be in cars,” I sighed. “So he’s been driving me to work in my parents’ van.”

“Well, let’s get you home,” he said, being careful not to pat me on the arms.

I logged off my computer and sighed in frustration. Damn it. I didn’t want to have to go home. I liked working with Elias and, even though the other two men were assholes, it was nice working here. I could only assume that the pillow was the reason behind my sudden nap.

“Sleepin’ on the job, huh?” Ethan teased, helping me to my feet and handing me my cane.

“Yeah,” I sighed. “Looks like you guys were right. Maybe I can work remotely….”

“Nope, sorry.”

“Why not?”

“Board members can’t work remotely,” he answered.

I wrinkled my nose, putting my seatbelt on. “I thought that was supposed to be a board member perk.”

He chuckled. “Nah. Having an awesome boss like Elias is the perk.”

I smiled and looked out the window as he drove. I yawned again but I couldn’t lean back; the seat was too hard. When we got to my house, I had dozed off and Ethan woke me.

“I’d carry you but I’m sure it would just agitate your ribs,” he said apologetically. “And it looks like your parents aren’t here. Do you have a key to the house?”

“Yes, sir,” I said and got it out, passing it to him. “Hey, can I ask you something?”

“Anything,” he nodded.

“Why is your mom staying with you?”

He sighed and opened my bedroom door for me. I sat down and winced as I took my flats off. He turned his back while I changed out of the skirt and into some pajama pants. I struggled with the buttons but managed to get that off and groaned.

“Shut your eyes,” I said.

“Okay,” he said slowly.

I turned him around and gave him my shirt.

“I can’t put it on myself,” I said. “I need your help with getting my arms through my sleeves.”

He bit his lip but stood up and lifted the shirt. I instructed him how to get to my head and he helped me get my arms through. He was blushing and I’m sure I was, too: he had brushed my stomach. I cleared my throat.

“Okay, it’s safe,” I said and he laughed a little.

“Um…. My mom,” he sighed, shaking his head and sitting back down. I got under my covers but had to readjust my pillows. “Turns out…. Well, my dad was beating her when I was growing up.” My jaw dropped in horror. “He was also having multiple affairs. When I graduated high school, they gave me the house to move and do marriage counseling. It didn’t work. Recently, he’s taken in his recent bitch and my mom hasn’t even been sleeping in her own room.” He shook his head. “I can’t let her do that to herself. So, she’s staying with me until she finds a place of her own.”

“Come here,” I whispered and he rolled the desk chair over. I held out my hand. “I’m very sorry, Ethan.”

He smiled. “Thanks, Nova.” He sighed. “I remember thinking life was perfect,” he said, his eyes going out of focus as he laced our fingers. “Everything was great. I had an awesome best friend, I was on the basketball team, my grades were top notch, my parents were the model couple…. Everything couldn’t have been better. That all shattered the day of graduation.”

I frowned. “Is that why you were drinking at the party?”

“Yeah. My dad didn’t come to my graduation and I asked my mom why. That’s when she told me everything.” He shrugged. “So, I went to the party. When I saw you, though, that just reminded me that you were leaving, too. It kind of felt like everyone I loved was leaving or hurting others.”

I pulled on his hand until he leaned close enough for me to kiss his cheek.

“I’m sorry I left you,” I breathed.

He caressed my cheek carefully. “You don’t need to apologize, Nova. You were confused and hurt. We both were,” he added and looked down for a second. “Nova, I really want to kiss you right now.”

“Why?”

For some reason, I was both excited and terrified as I waited for his answer.

“Because I like you a lot,” he muttered. “But I don’t want to fuck up again. So can I kiss you?”

I thought for a second. I took a deep breath.

“First you have to answer a question,” I said and he looked at me, still touching my cheek. “Where are we?”

He frowned. “What?”

“In our… relationship or whatever,” I clarified. “Where are we?”

He moved so that he was sitting beside me and took both of my hands in his.

“Like I said, I like you a lot. I want to be with you. I always have. But we had… have a great friendship. I don’t want to lose that again. If kissing you and trying to be your boyfriend could make me lose it, then it’s not worth it.”

“What if we don’t make it?” I asked, my voice shaking.

“You mean if we break up?” he asked and I nodded. “Then we can be friends again. We reconciled after an awful car accident, you jumping to the other side of the planet, and my stupid jealousy. Do you- Do you want to try?”

I looked into his eyes. They were sincere and also a little scared. I was scared, too. After all this time, I really did want to be with him. Very badly. But there was still the issue of our parents. As if he could read my mind, he shook his head.

“Our mothers have nothing to do with this, Nova,” he said. “I’d ask you even if our mothers weren’t constantly breathing down our necks.”

“I know how hard it is to become friends after a relationship,” I said. “But, after 20 years of friendship, I think we’re strong enough.” I gulped and looked him in the eyes. “Yes, I want to try,” I said in a quaking voice.

He grinned and leaned in to kiss me. I smiled into his kiss. I enjoyed the feeling of his bangs brushing against my forehead. He ran his tongue along my lips and I parted them gently. We moved together and he slid his hands up my arms. I winced when he got to my scratches and I gasped.

“Oh, I’m sorry!” he breathed. “I got-I got caught up and-”

“It’s okay,” I assured him, smiling.

He kissed my forehead. He opened his mouth to speak but we heard the front door open.

“Nova? Are you all right?” my mother called and hurried in. “What happened?”

“Sleeping on the job,” Ethan teased, ruffling my hair and I swatted at his hand.

“I told you,” she said and I rolled my eyes. “Well, we’ve got everything for dinner. Let me know if you need me. Bye, Ethan!”

“Bye,” he said and she closed the door again.

“When do you want to tell them?” I asked and he shrugged.

“Who says we have to?”

I smiled and yawned.

“Excuse me,” I said.

“Get some sleep,” he said, helping me get comfortable. “I’ll stop by after work and see how you’re doing.”

“Okay,” I whispered and he kissed my lips one more time before leaving.