Ethan looked up and grinned at Blayne, whose genuine smile reached from his lips to the lines around his eyes.
“You know what? I don’t drink much…”
“Me neither,” Blayne admitted. “But sometimes, cocktails are a necessity.” Blayne launched himself off the couch. Ethan caught himself watching Blayne’s backside as he walked away. “Cran and vodka good?”
“Umm…vodka’s always good in my book,” Ethan replied.Dude, stop staring at his ass. He’s a friend. And you don’t want to destroy that friendship.Besides, you don’t even know if you’re his type. Don’t ruin a friendship on a fling that can’t go anywhere.
“Coming right up.”
Ethan leaned back into the couch and thought about what he should tell Blayne about his life. He wanted to be honest, but he still wasn’t ready for Blayne to know everything.
Blayne walked back into the living room with two martini glasses in hand. “I know, not exactly a martini, but I love how festive they look. Something makes me feel like an adult when I drink out of one of these glasses.”
Ethan took his glass and sipped. His face puckered.
“More vodka than cranberry,” Blayne said. “Sorry… Should have warned you. I can water it down if you want me to.”
“Nah, this is fine. I hadn’t steeled myself for it before I took a drink. I’m more used to drinks in clubs where everything is overpriced and watered down.”
“Thankfully, most bars around here don’t water alcohol down. I don’t think ‘the good-old-boys around these here parts’would allow them to get away with that shit,” Blayne said in his best attempt at a thick Texas accent.
“Okay, no making fun of my fake Texas accent after that one.” Ethan laughed.
“Yeah, but I’m from here. I’m allowed to make fun of Texas. You’re a damn Yankee.”
“Not really,” Ethan started, taking another sip from his glass. He looked up and saw the questioning look on Blayne’s face. “I already admitted, I have a lot I need to tell you. So, I guess I’ll start there. I grew up in Louisiana and did my undergrad at Tulane.”
“Nice school,” Blayne interjected.
“Yeah, it was a great place,” Ethan agreed. He placed his martini glass back on the stone coaster Blayne had set out for him on the coffee table. “I was majoring in business and intended to attend law school. But, as often happens, an opportunity opened for a close group of friends and me. After graduating, we jumped on it and ended up living in New York for a few years as we got the venture up and running.” Ethan was still trying to figure out what to say without giving everything away.
“That must have been when we first met onEndZone?”
“Yep,” Ethan said, nodding his head. “Once we were a bit more established, we ended up moving back to New Orleans, where we’re now based full-time.”
“That’s cool. I love New Orleans. Admittedly, I’ve only been there in mid-November, not for Mardi Gras or Gay Mardi Gras. Thought about going to both, but I don’t like crowds much. I found Bourbon Street overexciting on a random Wednesday. I can’t imagine how crazy things are during Mardi Gras.”
“I live in the Garden District, so I don’t have to go very far. I can just open a window, step out onto a balcony and watch the craziness below me unfold. As for what happened that led to this little getaway weekend…I don’t even know where to begin. Let’s say that I had been kind of seeing a guy. Well, not actually. We’re both a bit in the closet.”
“Okay,” Blayne said, staring Ethan in the eyes.
“So, two nights ago, he was murdered.”
“What the fuck?” Blayne blurted as his whole facial expression turned into a mask of shock and incomprehension. “Do they know who did it?”
“I don’t know. And besides, it’s not like I can go into the police station and ask. No one knew we had a thing going. Everything about our relationship was hush-hush and behind closed doors. It didn’t help he was on a soap either… Shit, I shouldn’t have said that.”
“Whoa, Whoa, Whoa. Back up. You were dating a guy who was on a soap opera?”
Ethan diverted his gaze and sheepishly said, “Yeah. On and off again for about three years.” Ethan looked up and stared into Blayne’s face before adding, “But we weren’t dating. We were sort of friends with benefits. Neither of us was looking for a boyfriend, and a mutual friend introduced us. Actually, my best friend Stephanie introduced us.”
“Your best friend hooked you up with a soap opera star?”
“It’s not nearly as seedy as you make it sound,” Ethan said, trying to add a bit of levity to the conversation. “I don’t even know if she knew we were screwing on the side. Everyone thought he was madly in love with his costar, who knew he was gay. His costar was the only one who knew about me.”
Blayne reached out and touched Ethan’s knee. “How are you holding up?”
Ethan took in a deep breath and let it out slowly. “I’m holding up. I’m still a bit conflicted about what I think, anyway. I don’t think I loved him. I never loved him. He was just fun. And I will miss what we had, but I feel horrible for saying I don’t miss him.”
