Total pages in book: 95
Estimated words: 91864 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 459(@200wpm)___ 367(@250wpm)___ 306(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 91864 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 459(@200wpm)___ 367(@250wpm)___ 306(@300wpm)
“I’m not going to lie about how I feel, and maybe I’m falling more than I should be, but clearly you’re doing the same thing.”
“You’re damn right I am.” He leaned forward, and I did the same, meeting him in the middle of the table for a kiss.
I thought it was going to be a light peck, but he grabbed the back of my head and held me close, giving me so much more, demanding it.
As he slid his tongue past my lips, I welcomed it eagerly. And it wasn’t until he pulled away that I realized we were kissing in the middle of a busy eatery, even earning a few stares. Ethan’s eyes were so fixated on me that he didn’t seem to notice the way I did.
“So you’re good for this weekend?” he asked. “I say we get our crews together. We’ll make an evening of it.”
“That would actually be really nice. I know that Lee has been giving me shit about not bringing you around.”
“You’ve been talking to Lee about me?” The way he said it, he sounded surprised, but like he appreciated that I was talking about him. Like he enjoyed knowing someone cared about him enough to talk about him. I couldn’t help but wonder if it was somehow related to his experience growing up with his grandmother, who evidently didn’t show him that kind of affection.
“I tell Lee everything,” I replied. “Of course I’ve been talking to him about my boyfriend. And the only reason he hasn’t dragged his ass around is because he’s had to bounce around the country to visit a few clients, but he’s been blowing up my phone about this weekend, so I think he’d be happy to hang out.”
“Perfect. How about bowling and then we hit the bars?” Ethan asked.
“Bowling?”
“Yes, bowling.”
“Let me guess. You’re really good at bowling and know you’re going to kick my ass.”
He shrugged. “Maybe.”
I laughed.
“But you’ve liked everything I’ve done to your ass so far, so why not give this a go, too?”
“You make it sound very appealing, Mr. Harris.”
“I’ve learned a thing or two about marketing from my boyfriend,” he teased. “But don’t worry. We might be spending the night out, but I know who I’ll be taking home. And I’ll make up for the time lapse with something extra special.”
That enticement was enough to satisfy me.
We finished our lunch, and I texted Lee to give him a heads-up about Friday. He was all in, surely because he was as interested in meeting Ethan as Ethan’s friends were to meet me. But nice as it was to know I was going to meet his friends, share another part of his life with him, it meant even more knowing we were both equally enthusiastic about it. That everything between us seemed to be unfolding so naturally—that like fucking around, one thing just seemed to lead to the next, and neither of us was holding anything back.
When Friday came, we met up with Lee and Ethan’s friends, Sadie and Owen.
We bowled a few games, chatting and getting to know each other before heading to a nearby bar.
Sadie and I sat next to each other at the bar while Lee and Owen downed some shots.
Before bowling, we’d all agreed the two players with the lowest scores had to down four shots of tequila. Ethan drank some sympathy shots with them, which I thought was real nice of him considering he’d kicked all of our asses, as he must have known he would.
Sadie wore a knowing smile on her face. “I’ve known Ethan for years, and I’ve never seen him like this before.”
“Drinking?”
She laughed. “No. He’s been practically skipping around the office. I mean, it’s Ethan. Obviously he’s not actually skipping. But he’s been in such a good mood. And there were rumors going around. I had my suspicions there was someone, but I really didn’t expect a guy.”
“Didn’t take Ethan for the type?” I asked. “Neither did I. That was my first mistake.”
“So how did you guys meet?”
I shared the story about that night—about the guy who’d held him up at gunpoint. And how I’d intervened. As Sadie expressed her shock and concern, I started to realize how truly scary that night was. It seemed so distant then—like something out of that nightmare I had about Ethan.
“I’m glad you both made it out without getting hurt,” she said.
I turned to Ethan, who downed another shot.
Typically, I avoided thinking about that night, but sharing the story with her reminded me of how fucking lucky we both were. Rather than winding up having shared all those wonderful moments that we had since that night, one of us could have just as easily ended up like my brother, six feet beneath a tombstone.
An uneasy tension rose within me, which was interrupted when Ethan turned to me after setting his shot glass on the table. He smiled, his eyes glistening in the bar light.