Chapter 5 Jordan
Jordan
Jordan watched as Ethan tried and failed to cover up his laugh with a series of coughs.
Shaking his head, Jordan narrowed his eyes at his lunch partner. “It’s on. You will pay for that.”
“Maybe I will.” Standing up and pushing his chair back, Ethan added, “But first we have to get through the rest of the day. Come on.”
“We don’t have to,” Jordan said.
Ethan merely grinned and started toward the door, shrugging his raincoat on over those broad shoulders of his and moving confidently toward the exit. Those shoulders had always killed Jordan and nothing about that had changed over the years since he’d last seen the man.
He hurried to match Ethan’s stride.
“Oh, yes, we do have to. Let’s go back through the garden, then I want to check out the library again. Too many people were in there earlier.”
Shoulder to shoulder, they pushed out the double doors. Outside, Ethan pulled a small Moleskine notebook out of one pocket and then his waterproof pen.
“Always prepared,” muttered Jordan.
“Of course I am,” Ethan said. He began reading back through his indecipherable scrawl. “We should definitely check out the gazebo. I overheard a couple people mentioning it, although to be honest, I think it’s a red herring.”
Now it was Jordan’s turn to laugh.
“What?”
“It seems to me that your coworker knows you well. Not only do you solve mysteries in real life, you like to solve them as a pastime too.”
Ethan shoved the notebook and pen away again. “And? Do you have a problem with that?”
Without waiting for Jordan to reply, he turned and headed down the manicured walkway. The gazebo was located at the back of the grounds, and Jordan had also heard talk of it being where the “murderer” had hidden.
Jordan caught up with Ethan once more. The rain they’d been warned about had arrived during the lunch break. It wasn’t a pelting winter deluge, but it did seem extra wet; even the air was saturated.
He grabbed at Ethan’s sleeve to get his attention. Ethan swung around to look at him, his glasses steamed up and covered with raindrops.
“What?” Ethan frowned at him.
“No.”
“No, what?”
“No, I don’t have a problem with what you like to do. I love you, Ethan. I’ve always loved you, never stopped loving you.”
Jordan wished he could see Ethan’s eyes, but they were hidden behind the lenses and mist.
“Jesus, Jordan.”
“I prefer just Jordan.”
To his utter shock, Ethan’s face crumpled and tears began to flow down his face. Not a gentle eye-wiping weep, but deep, dark sobs that seemed to emerge from the depths of his very soul.
“Ethan?”
Jordan glanced around, not wanting to inadvertently embarrass Ethan.
No one was coming their way, so he tugged him close and wrapped his arms around him.
Holding him tight like he’d always wanted to.
Always wanted. Those shoulders he’d so recently admired shook, Ethan’s entire body quaking and trembling while Jordan embraced him.
They stood together and blocked the pathway for many minutes, maybe ten, while Ethan rested his head on Jordan’s shoulder and cried.
Of course, Jordan eventually joined in because he had plenty to cry about as well.
For being a coward. For hurting the person who meant everything to him. For wasting so much precious time.
Finally, Ethan pulled away, taking his glasses off and swiping his face with a tissue he produced from yet another pocket. “I can’t see a fucking thing. Sorry about that.”
“About not being able to see? Because if it’s about crying, my therapist always says crying is a good thing.”
“Look.” Ethan dried his glass lenses with his shirttail and put them back on. “I’m not trying to get out of talking, but I am trying to get out of talking right now. Can we table this until after I win this game?”
Joran felt himself smile. Still so competitive. Then again, so was he. “Yeah, we can table things until I win.”
Then, because he couldn’t help himself, he reached down and tucked Ethan’s shirt back into his slacks. “We can’t have you looking like you’ve been ravaged.”
“I suppose not,” Ethan said, looking down where Jordan was straightening up the fabric. “I wouldn’t mind doing some ravaging later though.”
Jordan smiled and did a mental fist bump, but all he said was, “Let’s check out this gazebo.”