<em>It was impossible to remain straight faced listening to James tell about the rat, but Ethan tried.  He really wanted to focus on Anna, but knew James had the power to distract her with his funny stories.  So he stood aside and listened, at least until James brought him back into the conversation.  And then Ethan gave his friend a sly look, and just shook his head.</em><br/><br/>"Date? Yea, if you call going out to dinner with your family a date.  I did ask my sister if she might have any available friends she could introduce me to, but thirteen is still a little young for me."<br/><br/><em>Ethan rolled his eyes at Anna, but grinned as well.</em><br/><br/>"And sun?  It's overrated.  Haven't you heard, vampires are totally in vogue these days."<br/><br/><em>To give Anna some breathing room, Ethan moved to the other side of the bed, and sat on the edge.   There was only one chair in the room, and in case James wanted to take it back, Ethan elected to use the bed.  Besides, it put him that much closer to Anna, and gave him the opportunity to hold her other hand, or the fingers of it, which he gently squeezed.  He held the cup with water and a straw in it in his other hand, for her convenience.<br/><br/>While James and Anna talked, Ethan wondered, for about the fiftieth time if not more, how he managed to make friends with a girl like Anna.  She was more than beautiful, and her beauty went all the way deep into her soul.  She made Ethan happy just to be around, and he wished more than once why she couldn't see him as more than just a friend.  And then he would remember James, and know he shouldn't be thinking like he was.  He and James had never spoken about Anna, not in that way, but the way Ethan often caught James gazing at Anna...he knew.  He was sure he knew how James felt, and that being the case, he also knew he would never be competition for his smart and witty friend.</em><br/><br/>"No, thanks, I had enough pizza to feed the Vatican, really, I'm good."<br/><br/><em>It occurred to Ethan then, that he should probably go get the food, and give James and Anna some alone time.  Yet James had spoken of taking a cig break, and selfishly Ethan wanted some alone time with Anna too.<br/><br/>He would let her decide.</em>