Page 83 of Playmaker

Richard nods in agreement. “And happy for you both.”

My brows fly to my hairline. “About what?”

“Don’t act naive,” Mary says with a watery smile. “Ethan may be upset, but that doesn’t meanwehave to be. I’ve always known there was something between you two.”

“You’re not mad?”

Richard scoffs. “How can I be mad when you just carried her threemilesto ensure she was okay? You’re already doing pretty damn well in my book.”

“You’ve always been a son to me,” Mary adds, tears in her eyes. “I couldn’t have chosen anyone better for her myself.”

What are the odds that Maddie’s parents accepted us against Ethan’s opinion? Then again, I didn’t attempt to hide this from his parents the same way I did to him. He knew there was a mystery girl, and rather than being up front and honest about it, I schemed my way around it. He has every right to be upset.

“That means a lot. I hope I don’t let you guys down.”

“You won’t,” Mary reassures me. “You never could.”

My eyes are burning when I look away from them and into the hallway, where Ethan is sitting on the floor with his legs stretched out in front of him. Maya is beside him, attempting to calm the anger that’s still written on his face, but it doesn’t seem to be doing any good. His arms are crossed tightly over his chest and his jaw is set in a firm line. Dirt smears his cheek, and the hair on the top of his head is disheveled. It wasn’tonlyme walking as fast as possible to the car, so I know they’re both exhausted too.

“He’ll come around,” Mary says, following my gaze.

As if he can sense us speaking about him, Ethan’s head lifts then his eyes meet mine, nothing but betrayal and fury staring back at me.

“I’m gonna go talk to him.” I rise to my feet, and Mary squeezes me tightly while Richard claps me on the back. “Wish me luck.”

“You won’t need it. We’re going to grab some dinner, but we wanted to stop by and drop off the coffee. Do you want us to bring you back anything to eat?”

“No, that’s all right. I’ll wait for Maddie to wake up and probably order something with her.”

After another crushing hug from Mary, I abandon my coffee cup on the makeshift desk in the room and step into the hallway. Maya takes the hint at the tense expression on my face and heads back into the room with Maddie, giving me a pat of encouragement before pulling the curtain closed behind her.

“Can I sit?”

He scoffs. “Oh, you’re asking me for approvalnow?”

“Ethan, come on.” I sigh and slide down the wall to sit beside him, resting my head and turning to look at him. “I didn’t tell you because I was scared of this exact reaction from you.”

“Then why do it at all?” he shoots back.

“Are you really going to pretend you didn’t realize I had a crush on her too? It’s been obvious to everyone around us, including your parents, and they seem to be just fine with us dating.”

“Because they don’tknowyou, Cameron. Therealyou. You put on an act in front of them, but me? I witnessed firsthand the guy you became in high school. You’ve done nothing but fuck everything in sight with no regard for those girls’ feelings. And I get it, you’re emotionally scarred and have this fear of commitment, but I wouldn’t be a good brother if I said I was happy you’re messing around with my sister. Her definition of a crush andyourdefinition of a crush mean two very different things.”

“And you’re any better?” Twisting to face him fully, I can feel my anger burning beneath the surface. “We’re the same people, Ethan. We both fucked around in high school and broke girls’ hearts, and you’re screwing around with Maya now. How is this any different? Don’t act like you’re a saint when weboth—”

“I haven’t.” Ethan cuts me off, silencing my words before they leave my mouth. The sound of monitors beeping and nurses chatting at the station nearby fill the silence before he takes a deep breath and says, “I haven’t fucked. I’m a virgin. Well, Iwasuntil last night.”

A virgin.

No matter how many times I mentally repeat his words, they don’t sink in.

How the hell can he be avirgin? I mean, he never went into details with me about the girls he claimed to sleep with, but I always assumed that was because he was uncomfortable speaking about it. I never thought he was lying to me.

Slowly, the sense of betrayal hits me too.

“I never told you because I felt like if I did, you wouldn’t want to be my friend anymore. That sounds stupid when I say it, but you weresodifferent after your mom died, Cameron. We went from playing video games to you wanting to party and fuck every weekend, and I went along with it because I thought it was part of your healing process. But as time went on, you stayed the same, and telling you the truth became more intimidating.”

“Why?What did you think was going to happen? You thought I’d make fun of you or something?”

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