“No. It’s about Jay.”
“Go ahead then. I love gossiping about the team.”
“Do you think Jay cares about me more than she should?” Fuck, he felt like he was in high school again. But the question had been running through his head all night.
He expected Joel to laugh in his face. Call him a self-absorbed prick or something.
“You want the truth?” Joel asked.
“Yes.”
“I think she loves you, man. I think she’s loved you for a long time.”
Shock hit him so hard he was almost winded. “You’re serious?”
“You don’t see it. We always figured it was because you were blinded by your love for Maggie.”
“We? The team knows about this?”
Joel angled his body toward Ethan. “She messages you.Onlyyou. All the time.”
“We’re friends.”
“She’s my friend too, doesn’t messagemeevery day. Doesn’t fill my drawers with granola bars and check in after a mission to make sure I’m safe. Hell, she doesn’t kiss us.”
Ethan shook his head. “No. We were drunk, and we both agreed that we felt nothing.”
“Who said it first?”
“What?”
“Who said they felt nothing first—you or her?”
“How the hell would I remember?”
“I’d put my money on it being you, and her agreeing was an attempt to save the friendship. You probably told her that she’s just a friend, and she knew that if she didn’t say it back, she’d lose you completely.”
Was that true? Was hethatfucking blind?
Jay suddenly gave Ryan the pool stick and moved to the far end of the bar.
Ethan threw back the last of his beer before stepping away from the table. “I’ll be back.”
“Good luck.”
He crossed the bar and stopped beside Jay. There weren’t a lot of people at this end, and it almost felt like they were alone. Good. He didn’t need anyone overhearing this conversation.
She grinned at him. “Hey, Squid. Tell me again why the TV in here is a brick and only plays in black and white?”
“Dusty likes to think he lives in the forties.”
Dusty stopped on the other side of the bar, arms folded, white beard hitting his gut. “Hey. Don’t tell me you wouldn’t live in the forties if you could. No cell phones. Cadillacs on the road.”
“World wars, major racial and gender inequality and discrimination,” Jay added.
Dusty frowned. “Well, I didn’t say it was perfect. What can I get you guys?”
“Another Coors Light, please.” She turned to look at Ethan. “You want the same?”
