Page 6 of Taking Care of You
“Mhm,” he says, standing to stretch. I make it a point to look away so he doesn’t think I’m checking him out. I mean, I have, but I’m not right now. “Want something to drink or are you ready for bed?”
“A drink is fine. A water, if you have it?”
“Yeah. Give me a minute.” He strides to the kitchen and I don’t even try to drag my eyes away. His shoulders rolling under his shirt, how his long legs stride across the floor, how sure he moves in his own skin…it’s mesmerizing.
I let out a shaky breath when he steps out of my line of sight and I can no longer ogle his body.
Seriously, what am I doing here? Am I really in Ethan King’s house like we’re friends? After what happened with the last guy, I should probably ask if we even are friends. I don’t want to look stupid Monday morning if I try to speak to him at school. It would really suck if he ignored me around his friends.
His return breaks me out of my thoughts. He tosses me a bottle of water and laughs when I fumble to catch it. “Guess it’s a good thing you didn’t try out for the football team.” My cheeks heat again and he sits down. This time, he doesn’t leave any space between us. “Hey, I’m sorry. I’m only teasing, I promise.”
“It’s fine,” I murmur. I know he’s joking, and not in a mean-spirited way. I’ve seen him interact with other people, and he always seems to go out of his way to make people laugh and feel comfortable. Maybe in another setting, I’d think he’s making fun of me, but not here. Not right now.
“Did you have a good time at the party?”
I turn to him with a deadpan expression. “I never have fun at the parties.”
He chuckles. “Then why go?”
“Crystal,” I answer simply.
Ethan hums and takes a sip of his drink. He sees me looking at it with a raised eyebrow and grins. “There’s no alcohol in it, I promise. I don’t really drink like that.”
“You smoke, though. Why? That can’t feel good while you’re running or playing football.”
Shrugging, he swallows what's left in his cup and slides it onto the coffee table. “I mainly smoke when I drink. Since I don’t drink often, I don’t smoke often. But I won’t anymore. I don’t want to make you uncomfortable at parties.”
I shake my head. “Uncomfortable at parties?” Huh?
His smile is disarming, but I can’t get a read on it. I don’t know if it’s friendly, flirty, or teasing.
“You don’t want to hang out with me anymore, creep? Ouch,” he teases with his hand on his chest like he’s wounded. “That hurts.”
A laugh bubbles up my throat and escapes past my lips. The smile he gives me is almost smug, like his goal was to get me to laugh.
Getting myself under control, I say, “No, that’s not it. I didn’t think you would…you know. Want to.”
He frowns and tilts his head. “Why not?”
I give him an incredulous look. “You know why.” My palms start to sweat and I run them over my pants to dry them. I don’t want to say aloud why he wouldn’t want to hang out with me.
Ethan doesn’t have that issue. “Because you’re gay? What does that have to do with us hanging out? We can’t be friends?”
That’s the million-dollar question, isn’t it? Can we be friends? I’m sure I can put aside my attraction to him to be his friend. I like talking to him.
Again, I shrug. “I know some of your friends will question us hanging out because I’m gay.”
“Doesn’t matter what they think. You’re my friend, not theirs. They don’t dictate who I hang out with.”
“Why do you want to hang out with me?” There. I ask the question that’s been on my mind since he invited me here.
He drops his head against the back of the couch and stares at me for a few seconds. I try to maintain eye contact, but it’s too intense. I lower my gaze and play with the label on the water bottle, unwrapping it from the bottle, then rewrapping it, even though it won’t stick anymore. I don’t know what to do with my hands while he’s staring at me like this.
After what feels like forever, he answers, drawing my gaze back up to his. “I don’t know. I’ve noticed you at parties andyou always look…lonely. Like you could probably use a friend.” Ethan looks down, not meeting my eyes. “Maybe I could use one too.” He says that last part quietly, almost like he didn’t mean to.
“What do you mean?” I ask. I’m still taken aback that he picked up on the fact that I’m lonely. While I don’t really like people and it’s hard for me to open up, it would be nice to have someone other than Crystal to hang out with.
When he finally meets my eyes, he just shakes his head. “Doesn’t matter. You tired or you down for another movie?”
