Tenshort minutes later he was pulling up to Ethan’s house. His nerves shot toastronomical levels as he stared out the front window. This was a monumentalstep for the two of them. The significance of what they were doing hadn’taffected him until now. They were going out of town. Together.
Alone.
Severaldays, just the two of them. No interruptions. No assholes like Jimmy or Ricky.Only them.
Forcinghis door open, he slid to the ground and headed up the front steps, smilingwhen Ethan opened the door to greet him, a duffel bag in one hand, his keys inthe other.
“Tookyou long enough,” Ethan teased and Beau’s heart did a somersault. Was the guyactually joking with him?
AfterEthan’s outburst that morning, Beau wasn’t sure how hard it would be to get himto smile. It hadn’t taken much apparently. Then again, throw in some intenselysatisfying sex, and he could see why Ethan was smiling. He sure as hell was.
“IfI’m not wrong, I’m the one waiting on you right now,” Beau said on a laugh.
Ethantossed his bag at Beau, and he caught it easily before turning back to thetruck while Ethan locked the front door.
Oncethey were inside, Beau flipped the key and the powerful engine roared to life.
“Thispiece of shit gonna make it to Houston?” Ethan asked, looking serious.
Beau’slaugh rumbled through the truck, rivaling the sound of the engine. “Don’t doubtthe mechanic in me,” he answered when he caught his breath.
Glancingover before backing out of the driveway, Beau noticed Ethan’s smile was brightenough to rival the afternoon sun. Right then and there, he made a point tomake Ethan smile as many times as he possibly could over the next couple ofdays. This laid-back version of Ethan was rare, and although he wasn’t willingto question the personality overhaul, he knew not to take it for granted.
Neitherof them spoke much until they hit the highway that would lead to theirdestination, but once they were on the open road, Beau glanced over at Ethan.Should he risk it? Asking questions? At the moment, he couldn’t see what he hadto lose because Ethan didn’t have the choice of running. At least not untilthey stopped somewhere.
“Isthere a meaning behind the tattoo?” he asked, using the steering wheel controlsto turn down the radio.
Beaufelt Ethan’s eyes on him momentarily, but there was no response. When he lookedover, he noticed Ethan had returned to staring out the window as the treespassed by rapidly.
“Yeah,”Ethan finally said but didn’t elaborate.
“Whendid you get it?” Beau was going for the easy questions first.
“Ihad just turned twenty-one.”
Beauchuckled, frustrated by Ethan’s lack of answers, but fully expecting them. Hefelt the full brunt of Ethan’s gaze on him a moment later, and Beau glancedover, shifting his attention between Ethan and the road repeatedly, waiting tosee what he would say.
“Giveme some time, all right?” Ethan asked, his voice low and gravelly.
“Time?”Beau was confused.
“I’lltell you the story, but not right now.”
Beaunodded as he swallowed hard. He was strangely pleased by Ethan’s response. Thefact that he intended to open up to him was more than he expected. It was proofthat what was happening between them wasn’t just one-sided. Ethan was feelingit too.
Theydrove in silence for about twenty miles, the radio the only sound apart fromthe road noise from the tires. Beau settled into his seat, propping his arm onthe console. He brushed Ethan’s fingers on accident and looked down to seeEthan mirroring his posture, and he had the sudden urge to hold his hand.
Herefrained because he didn’t want to set Ethan off, but a minute later, thewarmth of Ethan’s fingers as they linked with his had his heart thumping tripletime in his chest.
“Surprised?”Ethan asked as Beau white knuckled the steering wheel with one hand and focusedon not squeezing Ethan’s fingers too hard.
“Alittle, yeah,” he admitted.
“I’mnot making any promises for the future,” Ethan went on to say. “But for now,I’m good with this.”
Beauwas good with it too. More than good actually. It almost seemed too easy.Getting Ethan to break out of that steel lined shell hadn’t seemed like an easytask, but the more time they spent together, the easier it seemed to get.
Toobad Beau knew that there wasn’t anything easy about Ethan. And this wasprobably too good to last.
