Page 126 of Ethan

Max raised one of his dark eyebrows. “Testy? Don’t worry, his is decaf, but that’s our secret.”

Ethan watched him pick the coffees up and walk down the hall and couldn’t help the thought ofwhy is he so fucking perfect for Charlie?

Before joining them in the kitchen, where he knew Max would already be rifling through their fridge, finding something to make them all for breakfast, while Charlie looked on with amused fondness, Ethan detoured into the bedroom. Pulled on a sweatshirt against the chill of the morning and grabbed his phone. He’d already assumed that Max hadn’t woken Hank up and Ethan wasn’t going to either. He’d find out about the trade sooner or later. One of them should be well-rested.

Sure enough, Max had his head in the fridge, Charlie perched on a barstool, watching him with this sickeningly sweet look in his eyes.

“Ugh, it’s too early for this,” Ethan muttered and made the executive decision if he had to deal with Max and Charlie, then Hank was too.

But before he could pull his phone out and text him, there was a second knock on the door.

Max’s head popped up. “Oh, there’s Tuck. I didn’t think he’d be so far behind me.”

“But you got coffee, from the good place around the corner,” Charlie said, and sure enough, he’d switched his prior cup for Max’s secretly decaf. Nobody should even be surprised.

“Hank said he was going to shower,” Max explained, but Ethan was already heading towards the front door.

When he opened it, Hank gave him a tired but earnest smile. “Hey,” he said and without hesitating for a moment, he reached out, tugging Ethan into his arms.

It could have been a minute or five. Ethan wasn’t really sure. But at some point, Hank mumbled into his neck, “How’re you doing?”

Ethan took stock. If he was just thinking how exciting it was that all three of them were on the same team, finally, then he was really fucking good. Thrilled, honestly. And thrilled, too, for Avery, who’d been fucked around with by the Mavs—who weren’t even in a position to make the playoffs. Unlike the Bandits, who’d just seriously upgraded their defense.

But concern about Charlie and even Max lingered in the back of his head. And even though this was a huge opportunity for Avery, how washegoing to feel about the Mavs’ trading him? And as thrilled as he might be to be reunited with him and Charlie, he was leaving a whole life he’d built in LA.

“It’s a lot,” he finally admitted. “It’s . . . it’s mostly good. I’m really excited, sure, because it’s exciting. But it’s not all good.”

“Charlie’s freaking out?” Hank asked in a low voice.

“Yes, and Max, too, I think. I don’t know why they’re so worried.”

Hank just raised an eyebrow. “You don’t? Avery was being groomed to be the next Mavs’ captain. From everything I hear, he practicallywasthe Mavs’ captain. Logan’s barely around.”

The current Mavs’ captain, David Logan, was in the twilight of his career and had been out for at least a season with a bad degenerative knee injury. Nobody knew if he’d ever play again. In his absence, it was true that Avery had taken on the lion’s share of the leadership.

“You don’t think—Silas wouldn’t replace Max.” Ethan shook his head. “Avery wouldn’t evenwantthat.”

“I don’t know,” Hank said, and on one hand, Ethan loved that he wouldn’t bullshit him, wouldn’t paper over his worry with an easy lie, but at the same time, he wanted to be reassured. Avery wouldn’t ever want to supplant Max. Charlie wouldkillhim, and he knew it.

Then again, it might not be up to Avery.

“Ugh,” Ethan complained. “See? I wanna be happy about. Iamhappy about it. But then, there’s all this other shit, getting in the way.”

Hank pulled him in for another hug. “It’s gonna be okay,” he said. “I know everything feels up in the air right now—”

“Yeah,” Ethan agreed.

“But,” Hank continued, “we have each other. There’s that.”

No, it didn’t fix everything, but Ethan wasn’t going to pretend it didn’t help either.

Ethan tipped his head against Hank’s. Then pressed his lips to Hank’s cheek. “Come on,” he said, “there’s coffee and Max is making breakfast.”

Charlie gave Hank a tip of his head when they slid into the two barstools next to him.

“Tuck,” he said.

“Barney,” Hank said right back. “Big morning.”