“I have to get to class,” he said, raising his hand to get the check.
I pulled out my wallet and dropped the cash, plus the tip, before he could reach for his phone.
His eyebrows shot up.
“My treat. You can get the next one.”
That shy smile he gave me, caught between genuine pleasure and mischief, felt powerful enough to tilt the world on its axis.
We stood and started walking in the direction of my apartment.
“So,” Ethan said, “you’re gonna keep running in those clothes?”
I bit down on my smile. “While the weather is this hot? Yes. I’m going to keep running in these clothes.”
“I might take this route again then.” Ethan smirked and added, “For the scenery.”
I laughed, loud and stupidly pleased, and without giving it much thought, I draped my arm over his shoulders and pulled him closer. His body seemed to move on instinct—he chuckled and wrapped his arm around my waist as we kept our pace.
More than the flirting, it sounded… nice. Like this could be a new part of our routine. That wouldn’t be too bad, would it? We weren’t trapped in a confined space with all the tension simmering between us—it was easier to run and forget what he was wearing next to me. This way, I could keep him at my side from time to time.
Not too bad.
Also, nobody was awake at this hour to witness it.
As soon as that thought crossed my mind, we turned the corner, and my building came into view. Standing by the entrance was my brother, holding two to-go coffees. His eyes landed on us—on Ethan pressed against my side—and his easy grin dropped clean off his face.
Fuck.
Ethan stiffened beside me. I watched the ease drain out of him in real time, replaced by that stony, cold look he got when he was angry and trying to hide it.
Seems like no matter how much any of us wanted to avoid it, Henry was undeniably wedged between Ethan and me. And from where I was standing, it didn’t look like a particularly comfortable spot to be in right now.
CHAPTER SIX
ETHAN
We stepped into the apartment.
Henry dropped his keys on the counter with a careless clatter, then turned just in time to catch the look on my face. “I feel like I’m the one who has the high ground right now, since you were the one caught in your secret rendezvous with my brother this morning. So why are you the one with the frowny face?”
The irritation simmering in my chest kicked up again. “Did you tell Sebastian to stop talking to me?”
Henry blinked, thrown. “No. Why the hell would I tell him that?”
“Not now, Henry,” I said. “After he left.”
I watched the realization drop into place as his shoulders sagged.
“You’ve got to be fucking kidding me,” I muttered, shaking my head and pacing toward the couch.
Henry followed me. “Would you give me a little more context about what's happening right now? Because I feel like I have a perfectly good explanation, and this is being blown way out of proportion.”
I spun around to face him. “Was that you not interfering? You telling him to fucking ghost me? You know how fucked up I was over that, Henry. What were you thinking?”
“I never told him to ignore you. Never.” His hands lifted, palms out. “Look, E, you were fucking miserable, alright? Youbothwere, and that toxic bullshit of having broken up but talking every single day wasn’t helping either of you move on. So I told him you needed a clean break, but I didn’t tell him to do it like an asshole.”
Somewhere in the back of my mind there was a little voice speaking up, acknowledging that maybe what he was saying made sense, but unfortunately it was being drowned out by the other voice yelling?—
