Page 55 of Eternal Hoptimist

Ty:Don’t act like you’re not pissed he didn’t tell us! What else is he hiding? Maybe he wasn’t joking about moonlighting as a sexy dancer in Portland. I deserve to know if my friends are sexy dancers so I can help promote them.

Dom:Ignore Miss Prissy Pants. Things going ok?

Ethan:I told you guys I’m sorry. It’s not a big deal.

Ethan:And yes, things are going fine

Austin:Any news with the house stuff?

Ethan:We went to the city council meeting, and Parker has ideas up his sleeve, but he’ll need to research some things. It sounds like things are moving quickly, though. I don’t think we’ll have a ton of time. They mentioned rezoning her land.

Dom:Fuck. That’s bad news

Austin:What does that mean?

Dom:I’ll explain when I get back to the brewery

Ty:From what Nate says, Parker’s damn good at his job. He’ll come through and save the house

Austin:Caleb says the same thing. Remember, he was the lawyer who helped the developers change his pod last year, ya know?

Ty:Ethan is (fake) dating the enemyyyyyy

Austin:Lol. Traitor!

Ethan:Are you mad?? I didn’t want to bring it up…

Austin:Parker didn’t even know us. He didn’t do anything wrong and is damn good at his job, obviously. With how he’s helping Rosie, it’s clear he’s not some evil minion hell-bent on gentrifying the world.

Dom:Shit, that’s right. Forgot Parker was the lawyer on that food pod situation

Ty:[GIF of someone cringing] Still kinda awkward, though. Can we at least tease him about it?

Ethan:Oh, totally. Tease the fuck out of him. He deserves it

Ty:[GIF of a group high-fiving]

CHAPTER 20

PARKER

Parker:Would these slippers work? Ethan spotted them

Hector:PERFECT!! [GIF of someone making grabby hands]

Parker:You got it. I’ll throw in a Toto stuffed animal too

Hector:You’re the bessssssst! [kissy face emoji]

* * *

Ethan spent the morning showing me his old stomping grounds, which I loved every second of. Seeing where he went to high school, where he used to hang out with his friends, the old burger joint he worked at, and the bar he snuck into and got busted for his fake ID. I got to know a new part of him. I struggled to picture him anywhere other than Dahlia Springs.

Having visited his origins, I knew a part of him that no one else in Oregon did. Each day that Ethan and I faked our relationship, we forged a real one, whether or not we admitted it aloud. I wanted more and more of him. Being the only Oregon friend who’d visited Kansas was an honor I would happily hold.The prized feather in my cap.

As his sister, Evie, gave us a tour of the home she lived in, I learned even more about Ethan.

“I turned this room into a library.” Evie gestured for us to go through the open French doors.

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