Page 8 of Eternal Hoptimist

I stood and walked to the bar without thinking. I heard Mom call out a beer order but didn’t catch it. I felt the weight of everyone’s stares as I crossed the room, but I was focused on Ethan. He tracked me while pouring a beer.

I couldn’t take my eyes off him. I was attracted to him in the bar's darkness last night, but he was even hotter in the daytime. His smile was wide and open. He had light scruff and small dimples below the edges of his smile. The deep creases in his eyes proved smiling was a frequent occurrence. The way he eyed me sent heat licking over my skin.

“Hey. Fancy seeing you here.”Way to bust out the grade A material.

“Do you live in town?”

I shook my head. “From here, but I live in Portland. My family still lives here.”

He glanced over my shoulder and smirked. “Ah. That explains why they’re all staring at us.”

I whipped my head around, and they all immediately looked in different directions.

“You’re Nate’s brother?” His smile was even more potent in daylight. “He’s mentioned you.”

I groaned. “Don’t believe a word he says.”

“Where’s the fun in that?”

“Parker? No way! Good to see you, man. It’s been a while.”

I turned to the voice and saw one of Nate’s high school teammates, Tyler, holding out his hand. He’d spent a lot of afternoons and summer days at our place playing video games. I shook it and remembered Nate mentioning that Tyler had opened the brewery with his cousin and a couple of others.

“You too. This place is great. Sorry it’s taken me so long to make it in.”

Tyler waved me off. “No worries. I don’t expect a Portland hot shot to make it into our little ole place.” He wrapped his arm around Ethan’s shoulders.

Are they together? Why does that prospect make me feel shitty?

“You two know each other?” Tyler asked.

“We’ve met,” Ethan said.

At the same time, I said, “We met last night.”

“Last night?” Tyler’s eyes grew as wide as his grin. “Oh!Oh. So this is the hottie I heardallabout last night.”

Ethan squeezed his eyes closed. “Austin has a big fucking mouth when he’s drunk.”

“Hey, I wasn’t drunk. I was delightfully tipsy.” A guy looking worse for wear said as he carried a tray of dirty dishes. I recognized him as the person who’d interrupted our midnight kiss. My cheeks burned at the awkward reunion.

Tyler winked at Ethan, then pulled Austin away, mentioning something about checking on the food.

“What can I get you?” Ethan asked as he placed a light beer in front of me.

“What’s this?”

“It’s what your mom wanted.”

“You heard that?”

He shrugged it off. “It’s my job.” He enthusiastically talked me through the beer options and how they would pair with the buffet choices while gushing about the chef who made the food—a co-owner’s boyfriend who would soon open a restaurant in town.

Something about his endearing energy had me smiling so much my cheeks hurt. Being a lawyer for commercial developers didn’t lend itself to much smiling.

“Those all sound great. Why don’t you pick for me? I trust you.”

Something in his eyes flared at my words. “No problem.” He studied me for a moment like he could read my food and drink preferences on my face. What did I know? Maybe he could. With how highly Nate spoke of the place, I wouldn’t be surprised if Ethan had some sort of superpower.

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