Page 21 of Joey

Ethan met his gaze, and something sparked between them, but Joey didn’t answer. Instead, he strode for the kitchen, trying to push down the butterflies in his stomach at the words. This was a stopgap only. He couldn’t put down roots here. He had a life. Though he didn’t feel the urge to go back as harshly as he had before.

And that was a problem he would eventually have to face.

****

Two days later, Joey knelt by a socket while he swapped it out for a new, unbroken one. He’d done it many times in the tattoo shop, so it wasn’t a hardship to do it here. It didn’t hurt that he was in earshot of Ethan, whose voice was like a balm to his hurts.

Listening to Ethan was the excuse he gave himself for not paying attention to his surroundings. From one minute to the next, he went from screwing the socket back in place to hearing a squeal and being surrounded by three women who were all talking over one another.

“Oh, my god! It’s you! I can’t believe you’re here! I never thought I’d see you in person! Oh, my god! Is it really you? You’re amazing! You have so much talent! I can’t believe you get to work with all those celebrities! Oh, my god! Oh, my god!”

Joey couldn’t differentiate which woman said what, but his heart hammered in his chest, and his mouth went dry. He’d let his guard down, and now he’d have to leave. He tried to extricate himself from the woman, but they were tugging on his sleeves and had their hands on his chest as they spoke. His brain threw images at him, and he lost track of what was the present and what was the past. Memories of him laughing on a night out, drinking with friends, smiling for photographs with his clients, crying with his head in his hands, sobbing through the pain of his loss.

Until a voice blasted through it all.

“Excuse me, ladies. I think it’s time for you to head to your rooms, don’t you?” Ethan said.

“But we just—”

“You just got overexcited and need to rest now.” Ethan’s voice was firm, and the women stepped back, shocked. “Please head over to the reception desk, and my colleague will see that you are checked in quickly. Just over there.” He pointed towards the desk and herded the women off. They kept looking back but followed his lead. Ethan turned back to him and rested his hand on his biceps. “Come with me.”

Joey couldn’t do anything else. Lethargy claimed his body, and he stumbled next to Ethan, who kept a grip on him. They entered the staff room, where they took their breaks, and Ethan led him to a chair in the corner.

“Sit. I’ll get you a drink.”

Joey stared at his shaking hands, clenching them into fists and spreading them again repeatedly. His breath heaved in and out of his chest, and he tried to slow it down, but his heart had no qualms about continuing to pound hard enough to jump out of his chest. He ran his fingers through his hair, clenching at the strands and resting his elbows on his knees. What the fuck was he going to do? He had to get out of there before the media turned up because there was no way those women were going to keep quiet about his whereabouts. All he needed was for one post on social media to mention seeing him, and everyone would be here quicker than Concorde used to fly.

“Here you go,” Ethan said, plucking Joey from his circling thoughts. He knelt in front of Joey and held out a glass of water.

Joey’s hands shook as he took it, but Ethan cradled his hands around the glass, helping him to drink a few sips. The liquid was icy enough going down his throat that it settled him a little. His heart rate decreased, as did his breathing.

“Sorry,” he said.

“You need to stop apologising.”

Joey glanced up at Ethan, who had taken the glass once Joey had enough and set it on the table near them. “I have a lot to apologise for. This especially.” He waved in the approximate direction of the hotel foyer.

Ethan laid a hand on Joey’s arm and squeezed. “You have nothing to apologise for.”

Joey snorted. “I haveeverythingto apologise for. Except maybe bringing business to the hotel once my whereabouts are made public.”

Ethan raised his eyebrows but didn’t comment. He had every right to ask. “Let’s go home, and we can figure out what’s going on from there.”

Joey shook his head. “You have to work. I’ll be fine. I’ll—”

“Do as you’re told, for once.” Ethan’s expression brooked no argument, and Joey found his mouth twitching up into a smile.

“Yes, sir.”

Ethan nodded. “Stay here for a moment, and I’ll speak with Meredith.” He handed Joey the glass, which he took with now steady hands, and said, “Drink it all. I’ll be back in a minute.”

Joey blew out his breath once Ethan had closed the door behind him. There was no “figuring out” what he should do because there was only one option. He needed to leave before he brought more scrutiny to Ethan than the man deserved. The journalists were no joke to deal with, especially when they found a worthwhile story.

And Joey’s story was worthwhile in that he’d gone “missing” for far too long.

“I hear we have a celebrity in the house.”

Joey jerked his head up, having not heard the door open, and stared at David. Of all the people he hadn’t wanted to see, that man was at the top of the list. There was something about him that Joey didn’t like, and he was the last on the list of those he wanted to find out about what happened. Luck wasn’t in his favour that day, it seemed.

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