18. Chapter 18 #3
“Agreed,” Avery said, even though he’d barely been around yet to know.
Still, Ethan was pleased his brothers liked his boyfriend, because if he had anything to say about it, Hank was going to be around for a very long time. Maybe even forever.
“Next time,” Ethan promised. He glanced at his phone on the table, nudging it so the screen lit up. “Shit, I gotta go soon. Hank’s taking me to the aquarium.”
“Aw,” Livvy said, a big smile breaking over her features. “That’s freaking adorable. And you really moved in with Hank?”
“Well, sort of. I moved a lot of my stuff to his room at Max’s. To give Avery a bed to sleep in,” Ethan explained.
Avery grunted under his breath.
“And how is that going?” Livvy asked cheerfully.
Avery grunted again.
“I think that’s our oldest brother’s way of saying, living with Charlie sucks.”
Charlie made an outraged noise. “What? I’m fucking awesome, how can you even say that? Max says I would be the easiest to live with, because I’m so tidy.”
“Oh, bro,” Avery said sympathetically.
“You’re all the worst,” Charlie bit off and stood suddenly, stomping off towards the front counter of the coffee shop.
“Where’s he going?” Livvy wondered.
“Probably to order coffee for his beloved,” Ethan said, “and speaking of that, I’m gonna go order something for Hank.”
He’d seen the place had these big delicious-looking breakfast sandwiches and had remembered something he’d never gotten to do.
Charlie was looking pissed off, standing in the line, and he shot Ethan a flat look when he approached.
“What are you doing?”
“What does it look like I’m doing?” Ethan asked. “I’m getting breakfast for Hank—like you’re getting something for darling Maxy.”
“I wish you’d stop with that shit,” Charlie said. “It’s not like that with us.”
Ethan emphatically disagreed with the second part of that statement, because it was totally fucking like that between them, but at this point, if Charlie wanted to live in delusion-land, then Ethan was going to let him.
“What are you doing today?” Ethan asked, partly to change the subject and partly to make a point.
“Max and I are going down to that big market by the water. He wants to see them throw the fish,” Charlie said. “I’m going to try to get Avery to come with us so he doesn’t mope around the hotel all day.”
Ethan wasn’t really sure Avery being dragged behind Charlie and Max as they went on their own “date” to Pike Place Market was an improvement over catching up on rest at the hotel, but Avery was a big boy. He could make his own decisions.
“Sounds good,” Ethan said.
Charlie gave him a hard look. “What? No snide comment?”
Sometimes Ethan assumed, maybe wrongly, that Charlie was clueless.
But sometimes, for a split second—blink and you’d miss it, it was so quick—it was obvious that he knew.
Charlie knew—obviously about his own feelings, that video from two summers ago was still fresh in Ethan’s mind, and maybe about Max’s, too—and he did all of this anyway.
That didn’t explain why, but Ethan wasn’t about to demand answers, because he was damn sure he wasn’t going to get any.
“Nope,” Ethan said. He patted Charlie on the shoulder. “I hope you two—well, you three—have fun.”
Charlie looked disbelieving but didn’t say anything else, just stepped forward to order Max’s coffee.
He was already back at the table with Max’s coffee lidded and sealed in front of him when Ethan picked up his own to-go cup and the little bag with the sandwich the coffee shop had packed for him.
“I’m taking off,” Ethan said, setting down both the cup and the bag and wrapping his arms around Livvy from behind. “It was so fucking good to see you, Liv.”
“Don’t be a stranger,” she mock-threatened. “And when the Sea Monsters come to New York in a month—”
“Oh, you’ll definitely be meeting Hank,” Ethan said. “You’re gonna love him.”
“Well, you do,” Livvy said, half joking.
But Ethan didn’t freeze or panic or anything, because yeah, he did, and he wasn’t afraid if anyone knew that. Especially not his sister or his brothers.
Livvy craned her head around to look at him. “I guess you do,” she said. “Well. I didn’t expect that, though I suppose I should’ve.”
Avery’s stupid mouth dropped open. “Are you serious? You just got together.”
But Charlie didn’t look surprised at all. “Well, yeah, haven’t you been paying attention? And maybe sure, Tuck’s new to the Bandits this season, but he and Eth have been talking for ages. They’ve been dating but not actually dating, practically this whole time.”
Really, Charlie wasn’t so bad. Ethan experienced a swell of good feeling towards his brother and let go of Livvy so he could give Charlie a hug, too, who just blustered and tried to push him away.
“You’re the best, Barney,” Ethan crooned.
“Shut up,” Charlie said flatly. “I’m just saying, I’m not fucking blind.”
Normally, Ethan might take exception to this claim, but Charlie was being nice, so he was going to be nice back.
“No, you’re not. And yeah, I do. Love Hank.”
“Aw,” Livvy said, reaching out and squeezing his arm. “I’m so happy for you, Eth.”
“I’d like to officially register my argument that if anyone’s really sappy and annoying, it’s actually Ethan and Tuck,” Charlie said self-righteously.
And that tracked. Nice for about thirty seconds, then flipping back to his normal bullshit. Ethan grimaced.
“Sure,” Avery said. “I’ll get back to you on that.”
“You do that,” Ethan said, picking up Hank’s breakfast again. “I’ve got a boyfriend to wake up.”
The first inkling Hank had that he wasn’t alone in bed any longer was a body landing right on top of him.
“Fuck,” Hank huffed out, his breath forced outwards from Ethan’s weight.
“Hey, baby,” Ethan said, grinning down at him from his perch. “Have a good sleep in?”
“It was fucking great, until you just demolished me,” Hank complained. But he already had one hand on Ethan’s hip and the other trailing up his sweatshirt-clad chest. “How was breakfast?”
He couldn’t get enough of touching Ethan; wasn’t sure he’d ever get enough, even if the guy kept startling him out of sleep.
“Breakfast was good. Next time Liv’s in New York, I want you to meet her,” Ethan said, seriously enough that Hank’s heart rate probably doubled. Or maybe that was the way Ethan kept wriggling around on his lap.
“Of course,” Hank said. “I want to. And um, like in a couple of weeks, we’ll be up in Toronto . . . my parents and Annie’ll be at the game, and you should meet them. Well. Actually. They want to meet you. Demanded it, actually, when I told them at Christmas.”
“Sick. I’d love that,” Ethan said, grinning, even though Hank had already told him that.
Hank kept expecting some of this to be hard.
To feel like a monumental adjustment that didn’t sit quite right immediately, that he’d need to get used to.
But instead, all he felt was comfort and pleasure, an all-encompassing-warm-hug kind of feeling, like he’d sunk into something that already fit him just right.
“I got you something at the coffee shop,” Ethan said, leaning over Hank and distracting him even more.
When he righted himself, he was holding a to-go coffee cup and a little paper bag. Ethan shoved them at Hank’s face. “What’s this?” Hank said.
“Coffee, you idiot.” Then Ethan’s face softened. “And something else I promised you a long time ago that I never delivered on. Not til now.”