Page 29 of Ethan

Me: I'll grab you from anywhere.

Ethan: Cheeky.

Me: When it comes to you, I can't help myself.

Ethan: I'll be ready for you.

Me: You have no idea how much I love hearing those words from you.

Ethan: You are devilish today. Love it!

Me: Can't wait to see you. To hold you again.

Okay, Daniel. Take it down a notch.

Me: I'll see you on Thursday.

Ethan: My lips will be waiting for yours.

I smiled. We were like a couple of teenagers. It made me feel good, the flirting. We went through spurts of it in our regular text messages. But mostly, we just shared snippets of our lives. Last night, Ethan had phoned me. Used the excuse that he didn't feel like typing. It was incredible to hear his voice. To fully experience the heartiness of his laughter outside of a typed lol.

"There he is … grinning again," Carl said, laughing. "She's snagged you."

"In the best possible way," I replied.

"I'm happy for you," said Avery.

"Yeah," Lance said. "I suppose it was time for you to get back in the game."

"Doesn't feel like a game," I retorted. It didn't. Ethan and I were playful with each other, but we were both taking what we were building seriously. If I hadn't had family commitments the past weekend, I would have been down at the coffee shop to see him—even if he couldn't get away. I would've been happy to simply sit and watch him work.

I left the bowling alley with a lot on my mind. Ethan's appearance in my life had been the last thing I'd expected when I walked into that coffee shop for the first time. All because the coffee pot in our office had gone on the fritz. I had bad electronics to thank for bringing me to Ethan.

He'd been clearing tables around me, stopped what he was doing, and smiled at me. I thought he was being a friendly employee. Then he'd asked if he could sit with me for a minute.

My heart had nearly dissolved, shaken apart by all sorts of crazy rhythms. I wasn't sure what his intentions were. He'd introduced himself as the owner of the shop. I'd told him about the malfunction of our coffee pot. Then we'd chatted like we'd known each other for years.

Over the next few weeks, every time I went there by myself, Ethan sat with me. I began to look forward to the smile that reached his beautiful brown eyes. I went from simple attraction to aching for his attention. To be the one person he chose to sit with. That I was special in his eyes.

Then my boss told me we were shutting down the office and moving to an office building in Langford where the rent was cheaper. I'd been too crushed to tell Ethan.

I probably owed him an explanation before my absence, but I had wanted a clean break from him to protect my heart. Never seeing him again somehow seemed better than rarely seeing him.

I hadn't believed he was interested in me romantically. Thought he was being friendly. Even if he was attracted to me, a possibility I couldn't wrap my mind around, our age difference meant there could be no future for us. An age gap like ours wasn't unusual in the queer community, but I had my family to consider. It would be enough of a shock to them that I was attracted to a man.

As soon as I'd received the news from my boss, I stopped my trips to see Ethan.

I had been so wrong to walk away.

I'd convinced myself Ethan could have anyone he wanted. Why on earth would he want me? Ethan was young and gorgeous. He was fun with a side of cheek and incredibly intelligent, running that coffee shop with skill and professionalism. He was the kind of guy I dreamed about.

And so sexy. That kiss had nearly dropped me to my knees to worship him. I would have gladly sucked him off right there. Taken his cock in my mouth and felt its weight on my tongue.

Seductive and beautiful.

And he had chosen me.

I released a shuddering breath as I pulled into my driveway.

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