He seemed to startle out of some reverie he’d been caught in but recovered with his quick smile.
“Hey, James, I’ve been okay. How have you been? Heard you’re jewelry side gig is doing pretty well these days. I saw a few of your pieces in Gwen’s the other day. Man, they’re beautiful.”
I blushed a little at the compliments for my work. I loved every piece and secretly liked to hear when someone liked them as much as I did.
“That’s very kind of you, Dalton. It’s going very well. Working on the pieces is like therapy for me. Gives me time to think.”
I let my gaze drift back to Ethan’s direction and saw him staring intently at me, and then he gaze switched to Dalton, then back to me. The more he looked between us. the more pronounced the lines between his eyes became until they were real wrinkles between his cognac eyes. Remy saw where he was looking and glanced down the bar also, just when Dalton raised his eyes in that direction. All of a sudden, we were in a staring standoff. Remy held Dalton’s gaze, and I held Ethan’s for what seemed like hours but could only have been a minute or two.
The stalemate was broken when some new guy behind the bar came up to us.
“Hey, I’m Billy Wayne, what can I get ya?”
I broke eye contact with Ethan finally, and I decided I needed to make a new start, here and now.
“I’ll have whatever beer Dalton here is having and put his on my tab, too.” Billy Wayne lumbered away to get my beer, and I directed my next lined to Dalton, but a little louder than usual.
“Dalton, you’re not dating anyone right now, are you?”
He seemed startled at this turn in the conversation, so his response was slow.
“Ummm, no, not right now, why?”
The look of confusion on Dalton’s face was so similar to the frown I’d just seen on Ethan’s beautiful face, I almost stopped myself, but I needed to move along and let Ethan know there were no hard feelings that he’d already moved on, too.
“Would you like to go out next week, if you’re free?”
Dalton stared at me for a second to see if I was sincere, then we heard a loud noise at the other end of the bar., We both looked to see Remy with his hands clenched on the edge of the bar, and every muscle in his body pulled tight. He was looking at us and huffing like a bull about to be let into the rodeo ring. Ethan said something too soft for us to hear and put both his hands on the back of Remy’s neck, forcing his head to come forward until their foreheads were touching. They stayed like that until Remy had finally calmed down.
As soon as Ethan let him go, Remy jumped up from his stool, toppling it onto the ground, and practically ran out of the bar.
That was when Ethan turned his gaze on us again. He walked around the bar, righted Remy’s stool, then he started to sashay down the bar. His black, skinny jeans were painted on tonight, and his Star pub tee was just as tight. He was wearing those gorgeous high heeled boots he’d been wearing that night in the alley, and I was instantly struck with all I had lost out on because of a stupid memory and a scar.
Ethan stopped right in front of my stool, so I turned around to face him fully. I was ready for his rejection.
That was not what I got.
“Jay, honey, it took you fucking long enough to make it back here. You kept me waiting for a fucking week, then you get back, finally, and you jump to stupid conclusions and make dumb decisions.”
He patted me on the cheek, then turned toward Dalton.
“Dalton, honey, Jay is my man. He doesn’t know it yet, apparently, but he is, so can you just ignore that whole date thing? I don’t think Remy would like you going out with Jay anyway, do you?”
Once Dalton picked his jaw up off the floor, he shook his head before realizing what he was doing.
“I can forget about it, not a problem, Ethan. But as for Remy, he hasn’t cared about what I do for years now. He made that perfectly and abundantly clear when we broke up. I see you two have some things to talk about, so I’ll just go.”
“Thanks, Dalton, I’ll take care of your tab for you for all the trouble. You have a nice night.”
Dalton left as fast as his boots could carry him, and then I was alone at the far end of the bar with Ethan. His hands were on his cocked hips, he was tapping one of those fuck me heeled boots, and he now had fire in his eyes. I loved this look on him. But I didn’t know if I was going to like what he was about to say to me.
“Okay, Jay, listen up because I’m only going to say this once. As of right now, you’re mine, and I’m yours. Until I met you, I didn’t realize what I needed in my life was someone like you. I needed a home, family, and love. You’ve shown me everything you have to give, and I want it so bad I can taste it. I want you more than my next breath, Jay. I waited for you to tell me you wanted that, too. But I’m tired of waiting. You want me. Everyone knows it, and I’m willing to convince you of the truth.”
“And what’s the truth, Ethan? I’m so confused, and I can’t seem to make any of the right decisions on my own. Tell me what my truth is.”
Ethan’s fire banked in his eyes, and the same sweet and loving look I’d seen not too long ago came back. His head cocked to the side, and his soft right hand caressed the long scruff on my left cheek. I nuzzled into that loving gesture, needing that contact with this beautiful man.
“My Jay, your truth is that until you met me, you never knew how lonely you were. Now that you know what, and maybe who, you want, you’re scared shitless at the change. But I know a secret that should make you feel better.”
