Page 117 of Ethan
Danny just grinned and patted him on the cheek. It was obnoxious, sure, but it also filled Hank with a feeling that might be belonging. Something he hadn’t had in a while, being constantly shifted back and forth between New York and Syracuse.
“You’re adorable. Giving Max a run for his money when it comes to your Barnes-devotion,” Danny said.
It didn’t sound like an insult, even in Danny’s smug voice. And Hank wouldn’t have taken it as one, anyway. Instead, it sounded damn good to him.
“What are you two chatting about over here?” Ethan approached, a little crease between his brows. Hank had a brief thought that he might be jealous, but that would be ridiculous.Didn’t Ethan know that—well, heshouldknow that Hank couldn’t even look at anyone else.
Not now. Notever, probably.
“Don’t get your panties in a twist, Baby Barnes,” Danny teased. He nudged Hank. “He’s plenty loyal. Only got eyes for you. Besides, I don’t swing that way—I don’t think.”
“You don’t think?” That crease on Ethan’s face deepened.
But Danny just shrugged, like deciding to hook up with a guy would only be a minor thing. No big deal. “Maybe I just haven’t met the right guy yet,” he said.
“Danny, you’re thirty-three,” Hank pointed out.
But Danny just laughed. “Don’t remind me. Besides—I neverfeelthirty-three when I play on Barney’s line. Especially on nights like tonight.”
Ethan rolled his eyes but looked amused as Danny sauntered off. “What was all that about?”
Hank still wasn’t sure. But despite his regular dosage of bullshit, he had a feeling there had been . . . well,somethinggoing on there. He just couldn’t quite put his finger on it yet.
“Maybe he’s lonely,” Hank said.
But Ethan just scoffed. “Yeah, okay. He’s lonely. That seems ridiculous. He’s around us all the time.”
“Yeah,” Hank agreed. He didn’t say that didn’t mean you couldn’t be lonely. He’d been lonely all the time in Syracuse, and it had felt like he’d never actually been alone.
“Hey,” Ethan said, lowering his voice, “you wanna—” He gestured towards the door. “I have it on good authority this’ll go on for awhile and we could . . . you know.”
Hank didn’t need to be asked twice. He nodded. “Yeah.”
Chapter 16
“ThankGod,”Ethansaidand pulled the door shut behind them, pressing Hank up against the wall of his empty hotel room.
Three key words in that phrase.
Empty.
Hotel room.
Hank let out a hysterical little laugh in the back of his throat, and Ethan wanted him even more because of it.
He and Hank had managed to sneak some time here or there—last night, while the party had gone on in Max’s apartment, they’d even snuck downstairs to his and Charlie’s place and had a very, very pleasant make-out session followed by an equally satisfying mutual handjob.
But everything felt rushed. Like they were always on a time deadline. Ethan knew Hank wasn’t entirely comfortable, and he wouldn’t ever want to do anything with Charlie in the apartment, so it had felt . . . notbad, because it couldn’t ever be bad with Hank, but still too quick.
Ethan wanted to slow down. Take their time. Give both of them a chance to experiment and explore.
And now,finally, they were gonna get the chance to do that. Because of Hank’s very empty hotel room.
“Yeah,” Hank agreed fervently, wrapping a big warm hand around Ethan’s neck and pulling him in. Their mouths met, and it was like a spark landing in a bunch of kindling.
Groaning, Ethan slanted his lips across Hank’s, kissing him desperately. The travel day had been kind of long, and he’d tried to keep his distance the whole time, because while he didn’t really care if the team knew about them, he was letting Hank set the pace because he knew Hank was still uneasy and unsure about his place on the Bandits, after spending the first few months in Syracuse.
All the way up until this moment he’d wanted them to take their time—had been looking forward to it, in fact—but when Hank touched him, ninety-nine percent awe and certainty and one percent hesitation, like he couldn’t quite completely believe that this was happening and Ethan washis, control became a joke.
