Summer pressed her lips together and said straightforwardly, "I... I was scared you'd walk all over me, so I asked Nora to come for moral support."
"..." Ethan almost laughed out loud.
Walk all over you? In broad daylight, in a bubble tea shop? How exactly was that supposed to work?
"Alright, just say what you came to say."
Seeing his completely unbothered posture, Summer frowned slightly, took a breath, and got to the point. Her voice was clear and direct: "Ethan, I want you to drop out of the class president race."
Ethan's expression didn't move at all. Still as a deep pool.
Completely expected.
He was just curious what she was actually offering.
Summer watched his face carefully, looking for anything — surprise, irritation, hesitation. There was nothing.
Her original plan had two tracks. If he agreed, great, clean ending, she'd owe him one. If he didn't, she had another option ready. The kind that rarely failed.
But right now Ethan's face was completely blank, like she'd thrown a punch into cotton.
Not being able to read him made her uncomfortable. The confidence she'd walked in with started to waver.
Just as the chill of his steady gaze was setting in, Ethan finally spoke, voice flat and unhurried: "What's your reason?"
Summer felt a flicker of hope. He's asking for reasons. That means he's at least considering it.
She straightened up immediately, her tone taking on the air of someone with the class's best interests at heart: "Because I'm more passionate about it. More willing to put in the time and energy. And you..."
She paused, eyes drifting over his completely relaxed posture: "You look too... unbothered."
The implication was clear. That Ethan was treating the class president position like a casual thing. That he lacked real commitment.
Ethan didn't say anything. Just tilted his chin slightly upward, signaling her to keep going.
That "go ahead, I'm watching" energy made Summer uneasy. Like everything she hadn't said out loud had already been seen.
She gritted her teeth and played her real card: "There's also... a personal reason. I need to be class president."
"Pfft—" Ethan finally laughed. There it is. The real answer. Everything before was just decoration.
He didn't look down on it. Everyone has their own goals.
He already knew exactly what Summer wanted — a strong university resume to set herself up for the career track she had her eye on. That made perfect sense on its own.
From a human nature standpoint, completely understandable.
But understanding it didn't mean stepping aside.
Summer had her reasons. Ethan had his.
This class president role was a part of college he wasn't willing to skip.
Ethan nodded calmly: "At least you're being honest about it. That's something." He paused. "But Summer — I have a personal reason too. I need to be class president."
"What personal reason?" Summer pressed, brows pulling together.
Ethan leaned forward slightly, eyes meeting hers, a faint smile at the corner of his mouth: "Simple. For a complete college experience."
To Summer, that sounded just as empty as her earlier speech about passion and dedication.
But Ethan meant every word of it, and it was genuinely his only real reason. If it were about anything else, he wouldn't have needed this at all.
Summer looked at his expression — firm, settled — and knew arguing logic wasn't going to work.
She exhaled slowly, like she was making some kind of decision, then looked at him directly, every word deliberate: "Looks like we're going head to head then. But I'll be honest — my odds of beating you aren't great. So Ethan — what would it take for you to step back from the race?"
Ethan smiled and slowly shook his head. A silent no is harder to argue with than a spoken one.
Summer's teeth pressed down on her lower lip. A faint flush crept across her face. She looked like she was fighting something out internally.
Then, like she'd thrown all caution out the window, she raised her head and met his eyes directly. Her voice came out slightly unsteady but completely clear: "What if... I agreed to be your girlfriend? As long as you drop out of the race."
Honey trap.
Ethan was genuinely caught off guard for a second. Wow. This girl does not mess around. When she commits to a goal she really commits.
His gaze moved almost on its own — from Summer's sharp, pretty face downward. That long graceful neckline extending down... damn. He caught himself. Eyes continuing down — slender waist, long straight legs...
She was genuinely beautiful. Summer's looks weren't a step behind Ashley or Taylor by any measure.
With an offer like that, Ryan and his whole crew wouldn't just hand over the class president vote — they'd hand over whatever else she asked for.
But... Ethan's mind ran the calculation quickly. Don't move too fast. Wait for the right price.
A playful smile settled on his face. He shook his head, tone carrying just a hint of "you think I don't see what you're doing": "Be your girlfriend? That's too vague. Summer, what happens if you win class president tomorrow and kick me to the curb? I'd walk away with nothing."
Summer felt a surge of energy when she heard that. He's negotiating. Negotiating means there's room to work with.
She pushed forward immediately, cheeks going even redder: "I mean it. There's a time limit — it won't be an immediate breakup. I don't burn bridges."
"Oh?" Ethan raised an eyebrow, leaning forward slightly, something almost businesslike in his manner now. "So... how long exactly?"
Summer's voice dropped lower: "One... semester?"
Ethan said nothing. The smile at the corner of his mouth just deepened as he gave a small, quiet shake of his head.
Too short. Not enough.
Summer's heart was hammering now, face burning, and she practically forced the next words out through clenched teeth: "Then... one year?"
Ethan leaned fully back in his chair, crossed his arms, and looked at her without a word.
Beside them, Nora sat there like a statue, mouth hanging open wide enough to fit a whole egg.
She had come in completely indifferent to all of this and was now in a state of absolute shock, because the conversation in front of her had flipped directions so fast it barely seemed real. And the fact that a deal like this was even on the table — that two people could sit here and negotiate something like this — had genuinely left her speechless.
One minute it was a tense standoff over a class president election. The next minute it was... boyfriend and girlfriend terms?
This was unbelievable.
She already regretted coming. Because now she was sitting on a secret she couldn't tell anyone. Being pulled into something like this felt like being an accidental witness to a crime — guilty by proximity, anxious for no reason of her own, like she'd done something wrong and was just waiting for the consequences.
Summer was burning under Ethan's silent stare, frustration boiling over, and finally she couldn't hold it anymore. Her voice went up just a notch, desperation pushing through: "Yes or no? Ethan, just give me a straight answer!"
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