Long Way to Perfect-Ch3 (Whitney/Ethan)
by soaphater
 
 
 

CHAPTER 3
From the corners of their vision, Whitney and Ethan saw Theresa Lopez-Fitzgerald-Crane making her way over to them, from the entrance door to the cafe. She was all smiles on her thick, luscious red lips, her large doe-brown eyes wide with amazement, fringed with thick bristly-starred lashes, matching the multitude of dark waves and curls atop her head. She was, as usual, impeccably dressed, her tiny frame encased in the finest of designer threads - from Versace to Muse' to D&G. She waltzed up, arms spread wide, expecting a warm and welcoming hug from Ethan.

Things hadn't changed, Whitney thought sourly, as she watched Theresa take an unwilling Ethan in her arms for a tight, inappropriate full-frontal hug.

"EEEEEEETHAN!" she squealed, pulling back, her long-fingered, perfectly manicured nails grasping his arms, bunching up that perfect camel sportscoat in their grasp. Her smile covered her face, ear to ear, and an outsider not knowing her would think that Ethan had made Theresa the happiest woman in the world.

But Whitney knew better.

"Theresa....uh..hey there, how are you?" Ethan was confused, which was his usual manner around the pomp and circumstance that epitomized his ex-fiance', who also happened to be the ex-wife of his ex-father, Julian Crane. Ethan hadn't laid eyes on the lovely Theresa for as long as he'd been away and momentarily, his knees felt like they were going to give way. Why, of why, did she always *do* that to him?

"Hey, Theresa," Whitney replied, in a short, brisk manner, slightly offended that Theresa was being so rude as to pretend she wasn't even standing there. (Perhaps she would have been even more offended, even angry, had she known the effect Theresa was privately having on Ethan...)

Theresa then turned her dazzle and tornado-force personality full speed at her ex-best friend. As if deciding whether she would even speak to Whitney, or not, she offered Whitney an oh-so-slow smile, half turned down at the corners, as if the sheer force of smiling at a woman she believed had stabbed her in the back, was simply too great.

"Whitney, I hope your mother and *sister* and *father* are doing well," Theresa replied, in a cagey and almost surly tone, lifting her perfect little chin a bit higher, as if to try and compensate for the inches in height Whitney had on her. She emphasized harshly, the words "father" and "sister", intentionally meaning to make Whitney flush painfully, which Whitney promptly did.

-Damn! Whitney swore under her breath, hating herself in that moment for being so easily ashamed of her family.

"And your mother? How are she and my throw-off husband doing? Fine, I hope," Theresa was mercilessly continuing.

Whitney felt like crying. No, she felt like begging a God she'd thought had betrayed her, to allow the earth to cleave in two and swallow her up whole.

It was Ethan who made the situation a bit more comfortable, by replying to Theresa for Whitney:
"Don't you mean EX-husband, Theresa?" he questioned her, at once feeling fiercely protective over Whitney, but at the same time feeling a twinge of jealousy over why Theresa still called Julian her "husband", and why she continued to bear the Crane name, rather than dropping it like her family had begged her to do.

Theresa let her gaze linger a little longer on Whitney's frozen face, as if making sure she'd hurt her deeply enough, then she turned to Ethan, all dazzle and smiles, to address him.

"Of course, my dear, of course I mean ex-husband! It was nothing but a farce, but things just took so long, you get into saying a word for a while, and it's hard to break the habit, you know!" she laughed at her own humor, a little forced she knew, but she hoped it would assuage Ethan's concerns.

-But, God, didn't he look incredibly sexy? Theresa thought to herself. The same as he did months and months ago. She was so ecstatic to see him, and to be near him, to feel the heat cascading off of him, knowing it was because of her nearness to him, she almost felt giddy with love and lust and anticipation.

-Some things never change, she thought smugly, stealing a glance over at Whitney. Whitney, that bitch who'd momentarily stolen his affections! Theresa thought suddenly, vehemently! But not for long...it's obviously ME that Ethan has been pining away for all of these months...she thought, once again comfortable that the only person who could have that giddying, dazzling, overpowering effect on the romantic Ethan was her, Theresa Lopez-Fitzgerald-Crane. And no one else. Not a bumpkin-ninny like Whitney Russell, that was for sure! The whorish Eve Russell might have stolen her Julian, who was to be her financial security blanket, but she sure as hell wasn't going to let Eve's bitch daughter steal the one shred of light and goodness in her life!

Theresa turned, resolved, back to Ethan.
"Ethan, could you be a dear, and walk me out to my car? Mama is out there waiting for me, along with Ethan Martin, and I'm sure they'd both love to see you!" she cooed up at him, laying a slight, flirtatious hand on his forearm. Even though Ethan Martin wasn't Ethan's son (and Theresa still remembered that devastating day when she'd had the paternity tests completed, a day when it seemed like darkness had clouded out the sunlight forever), Ethan still continued to treat him as his own, and despite how angry he'd gotten at Theresa, he had nothing but warmth, affection and love in his heart for the innocent little boy.

Theresa's touch was almost electric on his arm, and Ethan, in spite of himself, felt its effects almost immediately. Uncomfortable between the two women now, Whitney and Theresa, and not knowing what else to do, he found himself (as he'd always done in the past) nodding mutely before following Theresa out of the door.

He looked back behind his shoulder to Whitney, as if to say,
"I'm so sorry, Whitney."
Instead, he called back to her:
"I'll call you later so we can catch up!"
Theresa joined his glances by throwing one of her own over her shoulder, a triumphant one.