Football Stars Don't Date Cinderella: Part 7

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“You know what, I’m going to get a salted caramel apple.” Flora effortlessly stepped around both of us. “See you both later.”

She had deliberately left me alone with him.

“I feel like I know you from somewhere,” Ethan said.

“Maybe you’ve seen me around the college.”

“Yeah. In fact, I’m sure…”

Just then, there was a loud gurgling sound. I looked at my feet, cheeks flaming. Why had my stomach rumbled in front of Ethan again?

I knew why – it was because I hadn’t eaten much for lunch, and I hadn’t had a chance to eat anything before Claudia packed me into the car and driven me to the campus – but I was still so embarrassed.

“Do you want to grab a plate?” Ethan asked.

“I’d love to.”

We went over to a table with savoury food on it. As soon as I picked up a plate, something hit me: I could eat anything I wanted, and as much as I wanted. In front of me was a spread of some of the most delicious-looking food I’d seen in ages.

I put a little of everything on my plate until it was almost brimming over with delicacies and chose a drink at random. I honestly didn’t care if Ethan thought I was greedy.

I tried the tear-and-share bread first. It was tomato and herb bread; the whole loaf had been baked into the shape of a wreath. I bit into my piece and flavour flooded my mouth. The bread was light, still pleasantly warm.

“Whoever hosts the other two parties will have a tough act to follow,” I said once the bread was finished.

Ethan chuckled. “You can say that again.” His eyes sparkled warmly. “It must take so much time to set up – and even longer to clear away.”

“Maybe that’s why the parties are held over alternate nights instead of one after the other. The hosts will need a rest before the next one.”

“I hadn’t thought of it like that before.” Ethan frowned. “Hey, are…are you sure we haven’t met? It’s just that you seem familiar.”

This wasn’t right. He shouldn’t be able to recognise me at all. “Maybe I look like someone you know.”

“Maybe, but…”

Suddenly there was someone in front of us. He had bright dark eyes and held a camera in his hands. “Hi, Ethan! Smile for the…”

“Don’t even think about it, Brendan.”

Brendan laughed. “You can’t put me off forever, Ethan. Mum wants at least one photo of you at the parties.”

“Yeah, but not when I’m talking to someone! I’ll catch you later.” When Brendan had disappeared back into the crowd, he gave me an awkward, apologetic smile. “My little brother. He loves photography – well, you probably already figured that. It might even end up being his career.”

He smiled warmly and for a moment, I felt almost jealous of Ethan. I’d long given up on having a sibling relationship with Craig, but there were times when I wondered what it would have been like if he’d wanted to get to know me. I’d tried to get to know him at first, but he’d made it clear he wasn’t interested. We weren’t siblings and we never would be.

“Are you OK?” Ethan asked gently.

“I always wanted a brother or a sister.”

I could tell him that. After tonight, he wouldn’t recognise me at all.

Ethan looked down – and his eyes widened. “Wow.”

“What’s wrong?” I followed his gaze, and my eyes widened as well. The glass beads on my pumps were sparkling like little jewels caught by sunlight.

“Those are enchanted shoes!” Ethan said. “Where’d you get them?”

I shook my head in a numb daze. “They’re…they’re not. I mean, the shoes aren’t magical; the glass beads are. I didn’t know that.”

“Didn’t the designer tell you?”

“I’m the designer.” Had our teacher seriously not known about the magic in the beads before she let us decorate our shoes? “OK, I just sewed the beads on, but…”

“You sewed them on yourself? How long did it take you?”

I couldn’t restrain a laugh. “Hours. I kept getting the needle caught in some of them because the holes in the glass weren’t large enough.”

“What about that top?” Ethan asked me. “Did you design that too?”

I blushed hard. “Yes.”

“It’s amazing. You’ve got a real talent.”

Now I was blushing even harder. “Thanks.” Then I remembered the midnight deadline. “Do you know what time it is?”

“Hang on.” Ethan showed me the time on his phone, and I relaxed. I still had time.

By now, my plate was finished. “I think I’ll have a cupcake, and a salted caramel apple.”

Ethan grinned. “I’ve been wanting to try the apples since the party started, but Mum said always have the savoury stuff first. Guess the habits of a lifetime are hard to shake.”

There weren’t many apples left, and I realised why the moment I bit into mine. They were perfect, and the caramel was the perfect blend of salt and sweetness.

“That’s delicious,” Ethan moaned, his mouth full of apple.

“I know. Let’s go outside, it’s a bit crowded here.”

We stepped out from beneath the marquee and wandered out into the field. Clouds drifted lazily over a silver-white moon, sending patterns of pale light over the fields and over our faces. The air was a little cooler now, and it seemed to tingle against my skin.

“Can you feel that?” whispered Ethan over the talk and laughter inside the marquees.

Oh. That wasn’t the air.

“Flora and her mum put their magic into the earth, crops and flowers on the farm. This place is steeped in it.”

I turned to look at Ethan, at the way his hair and eyes were shining silver, and knew the way my heart was starting to beat a little faster had nothing to do with the magic or the moonlight.

“Will you be coming to the next two nights, Cindy?” he asked softly.

“Yes – but I must get back home before midnight.”

“Really?”

I laughed nervously. “Yeah. It’s kind of a condition.” What was happening to me? How was I able to talk to him so naturally? I couldn’t talk to him like this as myself – only as Cindy.

“So I’m going to make the most of it,” I told Ethan.

His smile made my heart glow.