Page 79 of Ethan

“Um, sure. Yeah.” Ethan hesitated. “I’m notsulking. It’s just not how this was supposed to go. We were supposed to be doing this together.”

“Right, I get it. Tuck got shafted by the trade shit,” Dom said.

Ethan’s heart nearly burst with a sudden pulse of anxiety. “What?” he demanded. Hank was going to be traded? It was obviously always a possibility, but Dom saying it? Out loud? He must’ve heard something, and Ethan wanted to die.

“No, no,” Dom said chuckling. He reached out and nudged Ethan’s shoulder. “Stop freaking out. He’s not going anywhere. I mean, Tuck got caught up in the trade shit, because Inverness wants to make Niko look more appealing.” He paused, gave Ethan a meaningful look. “Can’t imagine who he might be dangling Niko to. Maybe a West Coast team?”

Ethan followed the first part of what Dom was saying, but not the second. “A West Coast team?”

Dom rolled his eyes good-naturedly. “Come on, Eth. You know what the big rumor is.”

Andoh,duh, of course Ethan did. That same rumor dogged their steps, all three of them, every single offseason, and with Avery’s contract negotiations coming up, it had been even worse this year. And not improving the situation, the way the Mavericks’ GM kept hounding his brother about making promises. Making offhand comments to the media about he wasn’t sure if Avery was committed.

Avery had onlyeverbeen committed, and Ethan hated that everyone was doubting him now.

“I know what it is,” Ethan bit off. “Doesn’t make it true.”

Dom’s expression softened. “And here I thought Barney was prickly about it.”

“He’s not,I’mnot, it’s just . . . we’re good. I mean, I miss him, sure, and in some future, it would be good, right, to all play together. We’ve not made a secret of that.”

“No, you haven’t,” Dom agreed.

“It’s just we’re not even thinking of thatnow. Avery’s not thinking of that now.”

“Listen, kid, I like you,” Dom said, “but don’t be naive, okay? You know what kind of attention, what kind of media circus Inverness would create if he pulled off the trade of the century and got you all on the same team?”

Ethan had some kind of idea.

“Just saying,” Dom said. “He’d be stupid to not even try. And Niko’s a perfect fucking trade piece, if he keeps going this way. It was the right call for Inverness to keep his options open, and it just sucks that Tuck got caught up in that.”

Ethan didn’t know what to say. He did hate it. At least though, nobody was talking about Hank being the trade bait instead.

“You’re gonna be good, and so is he,” Dom said, reaching over and patting him on the shoulder. “And when he comes back to town, make sure he takes you to that place I suggested. Good wine. Better food. Nice and quiet.”

Dom slid out of the booth then, saving Ethan asking if what he’d meant wasromantic, though he was pretty sure he had.

Ethan pulled his phone out and nearly texted Hank that he’d just found out that the restaurant he’d been planning to take them to had been real first-date territory, but at the last moment, he switched over to his text convo with Avery, instead.

do you ever wish people would stop speculating about us playing together?

Avery’s first game of the season wasn’t until tomorrow, so Ethan wasn’t surprised when he texted back almost immediately.

is someone giving you shit about it?

Not surprisingly, Avery hadn’t answered the question. But even when he hadn’t, his answer was kind of obvious.

no, we were just talking about niko being trade bait.

Ethan didn’t give his brother a chance to answer that.tbh that seems like a real downgrade for the mavs.

Meant it, too.

ha. sucking up to me. it’s just—the mavs think I’ll never be able to resist going east. they’d rather take someone now than get nothing when I leave.

Avery had never saidwhenbefore. He’d only ever saidif. Ethan stared at the screen. Wondered if it was just a word that Avery had used, and it meant nothing at all, or if Avery was trying to tell him something specific.

doesn’t mean you like it. I hate how they talk about it. like you aren’t loyal.