Page 113 of Ethan

“Sure,” Ethan said, pulling his phone out. Shot Hank a text.what are you doing? charlie’s heading up there hot—you should come down here.

Hank shot him back a????message.

Ethan sent another, the message going through just as the front door shut behind Charlie.hanging out with me would be better than listening to dumb and dumber cry on each other’s shoulders before they take their pregame nap.

He gave it about three minutes. And then, sure enough, a knock on the door got him off the couch.

He opened it to Hank, who was making a face. “You werenotkidding. Sometimes I wonder how you and Barney are brothers. He’s so . . .ugh. Way too freaking dramatic.”

“You’re welcome,” Ethan said and didn’t hesitate to reach down, tangle his fingers with Hank’s. “Come on. Let’s go watch something on my iPad and fall asleep.”

“You wanna pregame nap together?” Hank asked, raising an eyebrow.

“Do younotwant to?” Ethan asked as he led him to his room. The blinds were already closed—he’d never opened them this morning before he’d dragged his ass out of bed for morning skate—and it was warm and cozy.

“No, I do,” Hank said. He wiped his palms on his sweatpants-covered thighs and looked around. “I just—I didn’t know if we were doing that. Iwantedto.”

Ethan rolled his eyes. “Anything you want, I probably wanted it first.”

And maybe he should feel ashamed about that. Maybe he should be less open and honest about how much he craved Hank, but that would be dumb and would probably also mean that they’d end up both wanting so much and not getting any of it.

One of them had to be straightforward, and clearly that person was going to be Ethan.

“It’s kind of hot, how clear you are about this stuff, the stuff you want,” Hank admitted settling down on the bed next to Ethan.

“Good, ’cause I’m gonna keep doing it.” He yanked Hank higher up, cuddling up against Hank’s chest as he reached for the iPad. “You wanna watch another episode of Charlie’s terrible TV show while we fall asleep?”

“Probably not, but sure,” Hank said. His voice had grown drowsy too, as one of his hands found its way into Ethan’s curls, messing them even more. He’d have to wear a beanie over them tonight, for walk-ins, but that seemed like a good tradeoff.

Hank let ten minutes of the episode play before he turned to Ethan, curiosity gleaming in his hazel eyes. “What was up with Barney?”

“Whatisn’tup with Barney?” Ethan asked.

It wasn’t that he didn’twantto tell Hank what the three of them had discussed about Avery’s situation, but it felt . . . sensitive. Too many feelings and emotions and worries balancing on a precipice and Ethan didn’t know which way the whole thing would fall.

And when it fell, if everything would crash and break.

“If you don’t wanna talk about it—or youcan’t—you don’t have to—”

Clearly Hank had guessed what it was about. Which made sense, since Charlie had a voice that carried and Hank’s presence in Max’s apartment had overlapped Charlie’s by about two minutes. Plenty of time.

“It’s not that I don’t want to, or that it’s a secret.” Ethan paused the show and set the iPad down. Curled more tightly into Hank’s side, enjoyed the way his arm went around Ethan’s back, pulling him in even closer.

“Then?”

“I’mworried,” Ethan said. “About them. About me. About what this means. Charlie’s gonna freak out if he ends up here, and he’s gonna freak out if he doesn’t.”

“I would say that sounds like Charlie’s problem, but we all know that Charlie’s problems are your problems, too, kinda,” Hank said softly. “But there’s something else too.”

“Hmm?”

Hank dropped a light kiss onto Ethan’s curls. He exhaled in a noise that sounded very much like a surrender to the inevitable. “Your problems are my problems now, too.”

Ethan hadn’t expected him to say that. His heart went all gooey soft in his chest. He was a hockey player. A tough guy. He’d fought hard to make it here, despite so many people who believed he’d skated by because of his last name, and he could hold his own against anyone. Against the Crosbys and the Mackinnons and the McDavids of the league. He could take anything that anyone could dish out and shove it right back in their face. Or hewould, anyway. Give him another half a season, and he felt confident about that.

But Hank made him feel . . .well. Soft. Vulnerable. Butprotected.

“You really want to sign up for all these Barnes-sized issues?”