Page 48 of Half Notes and Highlights
A few seconds passed as Ethan watched the small dots bouncing on his screen. They disappeared, and then reappeared.
WOLF: I’ll be there in a few
Great. He threw his phone on the couch and plopped down next to it, feeling as if there were a brick in his stomach. He reminded himself that Wolf deserved better. He loved Wolf, but he was never in love with the guy. He’d been foolish and oblivious not to realize that Wolf’s feelings were deeper, and it cut him to think that he was going to break his best friend’s heart.
When he heard the knock on the door, he squeezed his eyes closed briefly in order to ready himself for the conversation before answering the door. But it wasn’t Wolf. It was Ruby, and she looked pissed.
She marched into Ethan’s room clutching her ever-present tablet to her chest and spun around. “Are you reading the posts on social media? The fans are livid. They hate that you’re with someone else. They want you to be with Wolf.”
“I don’t care what they want.” He screwed his face up and looked at her as if she were crazy. Because she was. “It’s my life. They can’t tell me who to date. Neither can you.” He was fed up with Ruby and her agenda. He knew she was only doing her job, but enough was enough. It was fine when there wasn’t a significant other in his life or just random guys, but he wasn’t going to jeopardize his relationship with Tyler by propagating the idea that he and Wolf were a couple.
“I’m not telling you to break it off with him, Ethan. I’m just telling you to play into the dynamic with Wolf. You two lost that since you’ve been with Tyler, and the fans see it. They miss it. There’s barely any chemistry on stage between you and Wolf anymore and the fans feel it. Don’t you care what they think? What they want?” She pressed her tablet to her chest. “Without them, you don’t have a career.”
The remark infuriated him because first and foremost, the fans were there because they loved Wolf Pack’s music, not to play into a romance. “It’s about the music, not who I’m sleeping with or who I’m rubbing up against on stage. By the way, if it’s any of your business, I’m not just fucking around with Tyler. It’s serious. So, do whatever you have to do. Wave your magic wand. Get on the phone and issue a statement. Or don’t. But I’m not going to disrespect Tyler by acting like there’s something between me and Wolf. Because there’s not. It’s over. God!” he huffed in frustration, throwing his hands up. “It wasn’t even a big deal to begin with! We were just fooling around! It was nothing!”
“Nothing?” a familiar deep voice asked. “Wasn’t a big deal? So, I never meant anything to you? And that’s it? It’s over? And you don’t even have the decency to tell me to my face?”
Ethan swung around, and his heart plummeted at the sight of Wolf standing in the doorway. But it was the hurt and sadness in the guy’s voice that did him in. “I didn’t mean it like that. I just meant that it wasn’t anything serious. You know that. We were just messing around because it was fun.”
“So, I was just a convenience? Someone to fuck when you were horny and one of your boy toys weren’t around?” Although Wolf sounded angry, his voice wavered, and the pain that showed on his face was palpable. “Let me make this perfectly clear. When this guy moves on—because theyallmove on—don’t come running back to me and think you can jump in my bed. I’m not your fucking doormat. This isn’t the way you treat someone you’ve known practically your whole life. That’s not a best friend. That’s a tool. You’re a tool, Ethan. I’m done. Stay the fuck away from me. On and off stage.” With that, Wolf turned and sprinted down the hallway, leaving Ethan and Ruby staring after him with their mouths hanging open.
“Fuck! Wolf! Wait!” Ethan ran after his friend, heart pounding. He needed to make things right. He couldn’t lose Wolf. “None of that’s true! Of course, I care about you!” He caught Wolf by the arm and the guy spun around so fast Ethan almost plowed into him.
“What the fuck else do you want to say to me? Do you want to tell me I’m a lousy fuck too? Just take the knife and plunge it into my heart, why don’t you?” Wolf twisted his upper body to the side. “You can take it out of my back first.”
“I’m sorry.” Ethan’s chest deflated, like someone let the air out of a balloon, and his heart ached for his best friend. “You’re taking everything the wrong way. I understand why you’re upset. But you have to know that none of what you said is true.” Hetook Wolf’s hand and held it between his palms. “Of course, I care about you. I know you know I care about you. You know me better than anyone. You’re my best friend. We’ve known each other forever. We’ve shared every milestone, every hurdle, all the ups and downs. I was always there for you. When you had no one, I was there. I’m still here.”
“So, I was just a burden all these years?” Wolf pulled his hand away. “I don’t need your pity. I’m not that scared little kid anymore. I’m a big boy now. You don’t need to take care of me.”
Wolf turned and walked briskly down the hall, but Ethan followed, desperate to make things right.
“Of course you weren’t a burden. You’re my best friend. How many times do I need to tell you that? I need you, Wolf!”
Wolf stopped and turned around, his eyes glistening and his lips turned downward, but his voice was ice cold. “No. You don’t. You don’t need me at all.”
“Of course, I do!” Ethan shouted. “You’re like my right arm. It was always you and me, since we were kids.”
Wolf stared at Ethan with narrowed eyes and his arms folded across his chest, assessing Ethan’s declarations. Finally, he said, “You’ve changed since you met that twink.”
Wolf’s attitude, not just right now, but since Ethan started seeing Tyler, began to piss him off. “You’re the one who’s changed. Instead of being my crazy and fun best friend, you’re angry and hostile and fucking rude. Tyler tried to be your friend. He was nice and cordial when you guys met, but you were an asshole to him. And you’re being an asshole to me right now.”
“That’s because youarean asshole.”
Exasperated, Ethan let out a huff of air. “Why am I the asshole? I’m trying to talk to you. To have a conversation. And you won’t listen to me.”
“Because you let that twink get in the middle of a 20-year friendship. You’re so fucking infatuated with him you can’t thinkclearly. Did it ever occur to you that he’s only along for the ride? That he’s trying to get whatever he can from you? Like exposure for his own benefit. And when that happens, he’ll be done with you. Just like the rest. But I’m not going to be here to pick up the pieces anymore. You’re not going to crawl back into my bed ever again.”
Ethan started to connect the dots, and his brows pinched together. “You think Tyler is using me for my connections in LA in order to build his clientele? You think he doesn’t really care about me?”
“I think he’s a gold digger. I think he’s phony AF.”
The thought almost cut Ethan’s heart in half, but Wolf was wrong. Dead fucking wrong. Tyler was the most blunt and honest person he ever met. “That’s so fucking untrue. If you ever took the time to get to know him, you’d see that.” The accusation began to sink in and not only made him defensive, but a little angry too, and he poked his finger in Wolf’s direction. “You couldn’t be more wrong. What me and Tyler have is real. We’re in love.”
Wolf recoiled as if slapped in the face. The fire in his eyes extinguished like water on a flame, and pain painted them an agonizing color. “You’re in love with him?”
“Yes.” Ethan tugged on the roots of his hair. They were still in the hallway, and everyone was listening, but he didn’t care. “Fuck! I didn’t want to tell you like this. Can we please go to your room so we can have some privacy?” He glanced at a few of the security guards, and they immediately looked away.
Wolf slowly shook his head, and when he spoke, his voice was barely a whisper. “I don’t want you in my room.”
