Matt
MATT
Once they walked to the small restaurant, Ethan allowed to order for them. The appetizers came out quickly, and they reached the first roadblock of their date.
chuckled. “They’re not going to bite.”
Ethan poked the oysters, trying not to wrinkle his nose. “I’m...not a fan of oysters.”
“How can someone be a fan of seafood but not oysters?” asked in wonder.
Ethan grimaced. “Because they’re gritty, taste like salt and sand, and feel like swallowing snot.”
laughed, looking at the oysters sitting on a bed of ice. “I’ll give you the snot thing. It’s an acquired sensation. But everything else tells me you’ve never had oysters done right.”
“And these are right?” Ethan asked, eyeing the plate warily.
“Here,” offered, taking one of the oysters. “Try it. If you don’t like it done right, then I’ll never bother you about it again.”
Ethan eyed the half-shell. “Boy, that sure does look appetizing.”
“Only looks gross because you’ve never had real oysters.”
“Pretty sure the ones I had before were real.”
“Good oysters, then.”
“How is raw different from raw?”
“In the prep.”
Ethan grimaced again as he picked it up. “Well, can’t be any worse than some of the shit I’ve eaten before...or drunk.”
watched as Ethan, with one more moment of hesitation, tipped the shell back and let the contents fall into his mouth. watched as the man wrinkled his nose then swallowed. A beat later, Ethan’s eyes widened, his jaw going slack.
“Good?” asked.
Ethan’s face underwent a series of twitches, flicks, and minor contortions. Truth be told, found himself fascinated by Ethan’s face. It could be the stillest thing, barely expressing even a flicker of emotion. Yet when it came to life, it was one of the most expressive things he’d ever seen. And that he rather liked the man’s defined jaw, thick brow, and the shape of his lips didn’t hurt either.
“What the fuck,” Ethan muttered, looking down at the oysters. “Where the hell have those been waiting all my life?”
laughed. “Alright, I guess I’ve made my point.”
“Damn right you have,” Ethan proclaimed, grabbing another oyster. “Show me how so I can get some more.”
laughed again, delighted by the sudden vehemence and even the vulgarity of Ethan’s reaction. He lived and risked life and limb beside men who had no problem swearing like sailors. Up to this point, Ethan had been so well-behaved had begun to wonder if all the talk about Marine and sailor’s mouths was exaggerated. Now, he was beginning to suspect there was still more to be found and considering the group at the fire station, it made him feel more at home.
“Gotta make sure not to stab yourself,” told him. “Find the right spot, then give the blade a twist.”
“Is it a bad sign that I already poked myself?” Ethan asked, looking at his thumb.
sighed, taking the man’s injured hand and staring at the wound. “No one gets into oysters without risking life and limb at least three times. This is a baby wound.”
Ethan’s eyes, which realized with a start, were so much like his brother’s, sparkled in amusement. “Good to know.”
felt a thrill shoot through him as he let go of Ethan’s hand, albeit with some reluctance. The eyes might be similar in color and shape, but nothing about Ethan reminded of Keith. It was the one reason he was willing to accept Ethan’s offer for a date rather than wondering if there was some ulterior motive. had been fooled by people in the past, but his gut told him there was no malice in the other man.
Well, and his hand had felt nice in ’s.
When they were halfway through the plate, Ethan eyed the next one. “Aren’t these supposed to be aphrodisiacs?”
grinned. “Damn. You’ve caught on to my master plan before I could execute it successfully. Foiled again.”
Ethan chuckled, draining the oyster. “Truth be told, these things are good, but they’re not that good. Kind of hard to get turned on when you’re eating snot.”
“Boy, you know how to set the mood,” told him, cracking another open.
Ethan looked over his shoulder. “I think the view makes up for it.”
smiled, turning to face the boardwalk behind them. Just past the boards sat the beach, quiet as most of the beachgoers had gone home for the day. The waves crashed lazily on the shore several yards out, and the sight of the cliffs that dotted the outskirts of Port Dale’s shoreline towered in the distance.
“Just wait till later,” told him. “It gets even prettier when the sun starts to set.”
“You come here a lot?” Ethan asked.
leaned back against the counter, staring out at the sea. “Yeah. This place has been here since I was a kid, and they’ve always served really good food. My parents brought me here when I was younger, and I’ve just never stopped coming. Isn’t that right, Ricardo?”
The man behind the counter chuckled. “ and I were practically siblings growing up with how much his family came here. And then he started showing up on his own.”
“Your family owns this then?” Ethan asked Ricardo.
He nodded. “Taken over for my dad after he decided he wanted to live on the beach instead of working on it.”
Ethan smirked. “He brought anyone else here?”
Ricardo raised his hands from the cutting board, holding them up. “I know better than to tell ’s date his business.”
“That there,” said, pointing to Ricardo, “is loyalty.”
Ethan hummed. “So I see. But uh, will it be a problem, you being out late?”
blinked and then understood. “Oh, my dad? No, it won’t be a problem. Kelly is one of his favorite workers.”
“When you say workers?”
“Care worker. People trained to watch people who need help while still letting them live independently, or as independently as they can anyway.”
“Sounds pricey.”
smiled. “On a firefighter’s salary alone? Yeah, it would be. But my dad worked at the university out in Greenford. They have really nice coverage for their professors, and most of what he needs is covered.”
He could see Ethan’s curiosity, though the man was apparently too polite to ask. smiled in understanding, and after all, he had asked about Ethan’s problem, so he supposed he owed him a story.
“It was an accident,” explained. “My parents were coming back after going to some...cocktail party or something. My dad loved attending those things, but it had to be the right people.”
“What’s the right people?”
laughed. “Interesting people. His work was in theoretical physics, but he loved people. Some of those parties were places where he could meet someone interesting. My mom loved to go, get dressed up, and feel fancy and pretty for the night. Dad said she always shone so bright she stole all the attention in the room from the moment she first laughed.”
“She sounds like a lovely woman,” Ethan said softly.
“She was,” said, clearing his throat. The years were enough to soften the pain, to take the sharper, more jagged edges of grief away, but not completely. “They were driving back from one of those parties, and it was raining. Dad doesn’t remember how it happened, but he lost control, and they went off the road into a small ravine. My mom, she, uh, didn’t make it out of the car.”
“Oh,” Ethan breathed.
“And my dad,” continued, thanking Ricardo as he silently set a beer down for him and Ethan. “Well, he took quite a beating. Ended up with a TBI, traumatic brain injury. It changed him. Sometimes he can’t remember what’s going on, forgets every little thing, and there’s the…” grimaced, chest squeezing. “Personality changes. Sometimes, he’s not the man I knew growing up. He can be...incredibly helpless at times.”
Ethan’s hand fell to ’s knee, squeezing gently. “I don’t know what to say, . That has to be hard.”
took a drink, careful not to down it. “It can be. But with medication and learning how he works now, he can be comfortable and happy. There are bad days, but there are good ones too. Ones where he’s the man who taught me to appreciate other people for their differences, think for myself, and not judge others harshly. My mother taught me to laugh, have fun, and enjoy myself, but my dad taught me how to enjoy others and appreciate life. It seems only fair that I do all I can to return the favor.”
Ethan stared at him for what felt like forever before a crooked smile spread over his face. “Nice to know I was right.”
“About what?” asked.
“That you’re a sweet person.”
’s face warmed. “Flattery will get you nowhere, sir.”
“Is it flattery if it’s true?” Ethan asked.
“Quit,” laughed, pushing Ethan’s hand off playfully.
Ethan grinned, turning to Ricardo who was handing their main dishes over the counter. “You’ve known him most of his life. Would you say he’s sweet?”
Ricardo laughed. “? This guy still calls my dad and mom on their birthdays. Probably the nicest person I ever met. Gets it from his parents. Trust me, if he were a woman, I’d be all over that.”
“Well, I guess it’s nice to know I don’t have to worry about having my chances swept out from under me by the handsome cook who can feed him,” Ethan said.
snorted into his bowl of bisque. “Already trying to stake a claim? I wouldn’t be so sure. I might be able to convince Ricardo to come over to the dark side.”
“For you, good buddy, I might just be tempted,” Ricardo said with a wink before retreating into the kitchen.
Ethan was still smiling as he looked over his smoked snapper. “He seems to like you.”
chuckled, nudging Ethan’s leg with his own. “He’s a good guy, but a tragically straight one.”
“Tragic, huh?”
eyed Ethan. “Life’s a little less tragic at the moment.”
“Just for the moment, huh?”
laughed. “I guess we’ll see how long the moment lasts, huh?”
Ethan smirked, cutting into his fish. “You know, for someone who’s supposedly so nice, you know how to put the pressure on.”
“You were the one who started the whole ‘ is nice’ thing,” he pointed out.
“I’m not the only one.”
“Ricardo doesn’t count. He’s biased.”
“Everyone at the station says it too.”
raised a brow. “Everyone, huh?”
Ethan wrinkled his nose. “Okay, fine, Keith doesn’t talk about you much. Or at all.”
“Which is probably nicer than if he did say something,” muttered.
“You’re,” Ethan began, then sighed, “not wrong. He’s my brother, but he can be...well, you already know.”
“I do,” said. “Though he might just be trying to be nice because Elias threatened him a couple of years ago.”
Ethan’s eyes bulged. “He what ?”
chuckled. “Surprised the hell out of me, actually. Regarding Elias and Cade, Elias is normally the calmer, more laid-back one. But that day? I actually thought he might lay Keith out. Told him if he heard any more from Keith about the whole gay thing, he really would hurt him.”
Ethan grunted, poking at his fish. “I love my brother, but I’d be lying if I said he didn’t deserve it.”
Once more, wondered what sort of relationship the two brothers had. Keith was clearly and unashamedly not comfortable around gay guys and actively disliked them. Yet here was his younger brother, a man who loved Keith, and who Keith loved dearly, and was gay. What sort of life must Ethan have had growing up with a brother like Keith?
Ethan looked up, one corner of his mouth curling up. “I’ve wanted to say this since I first met you, but you have the prettiest eyes I’ve ever seen.”
blinked. “What?”
“That first day I saw you at the station,” Ethan explained, looking off into the distance. “I saw you standing with everyone else. And I was so taken aback by how green your eyes were. All those sappy romance books talk about eyes being like gemstones and all that crap, but yours really are. I can’t help but think about them as being anything but emeralds.”
“That,” began slowly, “is probably the greatest compliment I’ve ever received about my eyes.”
“You can’t tell me no one has ever complimented them before.”
“There have been…” hesitated, stomach squirming at the thought of calling them compliments, “comments about them before, yeah.”
Ethan smirked as though he knew why had changed the phrasing. “Comments. Well, I was into them the moment I saw them. And I was so mad at Keith for interrupting us when we talked briefly after that introduction.”
laughed. “Yeah?”
“Not that I could tell him that,” Ethan shrugged. “And I like being around the station. Finding something to do is better than sitting around the apartment.”
nodded. “I think that’s probably why Chief Irons doesn’t object. Used to be in the Army, did you know that?”
Ethan grunted, frowning. “That explains a lot.”
“And he’s a pretty decent guy, even if he likes to act like he’s not.”
“Yeah, I kind of figured that out on my own.”
eyed him. “And I’m glad being around us helps. I know what it can be like feeling lost and adrift and finally finding somewhere to call home.”
“Is that what the station is for you? Home?”
“It’s a home. And the guys there are like family to me, even if it doesn’t always seem like it. And even if your brother isn’t my biggest fan, he’s part of that too. He might not like me personally, but he’s been there at my side through a lot of things, and he’s never hesitated to have my back.”
Ethan looked up, and a flicker of what thought was relief flitted across his eyes. “That’s good. Sounds like him, but that’s good to hear.”
“You think that’s good to hear,” said as Ricardo reappeared. “Wait until you hear about the parfait they have here.”
Ethan’s eyes widened, sparkling with interest. “You have my undivided attention.”