2. Ethan
Chapter 2
Ethan
I tighten my tie and barely hold back a gargled choke. I loosen it again, roll my shoulders, and frown at the dark material like it’s personally responsible for everything that has ever gone wrong in my life.
“Ethan, we’re on vacation, not going to a wedding,” Sebastian says as he appears from the bedroom and walks into the living area of our small suite. My friend’s blond hair and navy button-down shirt with matching suit pants are immaculate, which only makes me hate my tie even more. “We’re only going out for dinner. Relax.”
I want to relax, but I can’t stop thinking about this morning.
When I fucked a random woman in the hotel gym.
It isn’t how I thought my vacation would start. This is a boys’ trip, the first in years where me, Sebastian, Zeke, and Ace can catch up. After Sebastian’s wife sucker-punched him with divorce papers a year ago, it seemed like spending time with my friends was long overdue.
The woman in the gym came out of left field. After a tense flight, I’d grabbed a few hours of sleep in the room I was sharing with Sebastian, and when my friend was still asleep, I’d gone to the gym in hopes of beating back the thoughts that had surfaced. No work meant no distractions, and no distractions meant memories. Memories I can no longer bury in the way I want.
So, I’d needed to run, to lift weights, to hit a bag if they had one.
Instead, I’d bumped into her .
And fuck, what a first meeting. I can still taste her sweat, can still smell her, can feel the way she squeezed my cock with every pulse of her orgasm. She’d brought something out in me. Someone stronger than the Ethan I allow others to see. The memory brings a rush of blood back to my crotch.
I haven’t told anyone. Not even Sebastian, and we’ve shared every detail of our lives since we were kids. But that woman, whoever the hell she is, is the first person I’ve slept with in over a year, and I want to keep it to myself. Just for a little while.
But it’s been twelve hours, and I’m choking on the secret.
“I had sex with a woman in the gym,” I blurt out, and Sebastian pauses his hand at the mini fridge door.
“Sorry, you did what?”
Luckily, Zeke and Ace are in the room next door, so I can spill the details without an audience. I just need to tell someone, and I know from experience that Sebastian won’t tell a soul.
I tug off the useless tie and throw it onto the sofa bed. “She was rude to me. I stole her earbuds. She threatened to beat me up. Then… she kissed me. We had sex against the wall of the gym, then she left.” I think for a moment. “Yep, that’s pretty much it.”
“Well, fuck.” Sebastian folds his arms, blue eyes wide. “Was she hot?”
“Incredibly.”
“Did you use protection?”
“Yes,” I say, rolling my eyes. “Do not tell Zeke or Ace. They’ll want a play-by-play, and I’m still trying to get my head around it.”
Sebastian pauses, eyes rounding. “Wait. This woman. She didn’t happen to be a redhead, did she?”
My skin chills. “Yes.”
“Around five foot six? Freckles? Gave off an adorably dangerous vibe?”
“Oh god. Yes. Why?”
Sebastian opens the refrigerator. “I passed her in the lobby earlier. I thought she was your type.”
I arch a brow. “How is she my type?”
“I don’t know, but I thought you’d like her when I saw her. Until she started shouting.”
“…Shouting?”
“Yep. She was yelling at a guy near the front desk. Really yelling at him.”
A pit of dread yawns open in my stomach. Have I had sex with a Karen?
“What was she angry about?”
Sebastian takes two drinks from the small refrigerator and checks each label before holding one out to me. “I didn’t hear the whole conversation, but I think she said he was following her.”
I frown, taking the beverage but hardly feeling the chill of the bottle against my palm. “Following her? Did she tell the hotel staff?”
“It looked like she was handling it pretty well herself.” Sebastian twists the cap off his beer and swigs it. “She said if he didn’t leave her alone, she’d feed him his own dick.”
I pause the bottle at my lips, torn between genuine concern for a woman being stalked and amusement at how she’d defended herself.
“You should probably know…” Sebastian releases a breath. “She was wearing a wedding ring.”
Fuck. “ What ? Are you sure?”
He nods. “Zeke was with me and made a point to check. He was going to ask her out before he saw it. You didn’t spot it in the gym?”
No, I hadn’t. If I had, I’d have run in the opposite direction. I’ve been cheated on before and definitely don’t want to be the other person. “No, I didn’t see one.”
“Well, that’s on her, not you. Let’s forget about Denver Luxe and have a good vacation.”
“Denver Luxe?”
Sebastian nods. “I heard the receptionist talking before I came back to the room. That’s her name. It’s weird, I thought it was familiar, but?—”
Someone bangs furiously on the door.
“Let’s go, you numb-knuckled fuckers!” Zeke shouts.
Sebastian finishes more beer and then grips my shoulder. “You sure you’re gonna be okay tonight?”
Sebastian’s concern is a testament to how good a friend he is, but the last thing I need or want is to be babysat throughout the entire vacation.
I put on my best smile. “I’ll be fine. Let’s go.”
In the hallway, Zeke and Ace wait. Zeke has opted to wear an Armani suit that I know he can’t afford, his brown, wavy hair brushed back, green eyes alight with excitement for the evening ahead. Despite the late hour, he has Versace sunglasses balanced on his head and exudes fuck boy energy that I’m sure, one day, he’ll grow out of.
Beside him, Ace wears an Armani suit he can afford, though he’d never boast about it. He’s recently grown out his sandy blond hair and now looks annoyingly like Brad Pitt in his 90s era, baby blues and all, a fact Zeke somehow twisted into an insult and teased him about the entire flight.
We met on our first day of high school when an older kid dragged a dirty-soled boot over a wide-eyed Ace’s brand-new sneakers. I had hit the bully, Zeke had taken the shot after me, and Sebastian had sweet-talked the teachers into believing we had nothing to do with it.
Zeke scoffs. “You couldn’t have worn a tie, Ethan? Fuck me.”
I roll my eyes as the hotel room door shuts behind me. “I was told to relax.”
Sebastian grins and slaps my back. “And relax, you shall.”
We go into town, we eat, and by the time we return to the hotel, it’s after midnight. Zeke insists it’s too early and goes to the hotel bar for karaoke night, and Ace follows after refusing to get on stage because he’s shy—something we all know is a damn lie. Sebastian collapses into bed, leaving me alone in the room with too many thoughts.
I’d told Sebastian earlier that I was fine, which was true at the time.
But now? I squeeze my trembling hands into fists and will the shaking to stop. If I can’t sleep, I’ll just go for a swim instead.
Stay active. Don’t sit idle and dwell.
Sliding open the glass patio doors, I step into the blue-black darkness. Quiet greets me, the air salty and still, the distant sound of windchimes tinkling happily from God knows where. Our patio is separated from adjoining rooms by metal dividers, and a small set of steps leads to a shallow shared pool that stretches along each room, not deep but big enough to relax in. No lights shine from the other rooms. I’m clearly alone.
Fuck it.
I strip off, underwear and all, and walk into the pool. Swimming to the other side, I rest my arms on the pool’s edge, lean my head back, and close my eyes.
This is what I need—quiet, relaxation, no worries. I breathe in for five and can almost taste the sea salt on my tongue, then exhale for seven. The glowing, barbed wire of tension that is seemingly permanently fixed around my chest eases somewhat.
“Can’t you feel it, Ethan?”
My eyes snap open. My heart seems to have doubled in size, the thumping morphing into an angry beat as it slams against the brittleness of my ribcage. The water feels colder, and the memory of his voice?—
I splash my face, running my hands down my cheeks and then through my hair. I’m okay. I’m fucking fine.
Nope. I need to hit something.
“Fuck, shit, fuck.”
My attention snaps to the neighboring patio door. It opens, and I freeze in place as Denver Luxe appears.