Page 16 of Ethan

“’Course you do,” Ethan muttered, and maybe Hank wouldn’t have heard him say it, but he’d drifted closer, without even really meaning to. Hoping, even though it was kind of stupid, that they’d end up on the same team. Maybe that he’d get close enough to Ethan to get a decent read on him. Honestly, he didn’tneedto. Ethan was a forward, and therefore not one of the guys Hank would be competing with for a roster spot, and on top of that, he was going back to Portland, anyway.

But embarrassingly, Hank wasn’t sure he cared about either of those two things. Not at all.

Charlie shot his brother a glare.

“So, blue and orange,” Max said. “I’ll be taking the blue team and Barney’ll be taking the orange.”

He listed off who’d be playing for the blue team: him, Ethan, Hank, Dom, Emil, Keegan, and Lars. Then the orange team: Charlie, Brock, Pavel, Willy, Sasha, and Danny.

It was a good distribution between forwards and defense—but what was most surprising was that Max had taken Ethan on his team.

“Can you believe that Charlie didn’t insist I play with him?” Ethan asked, nudging Hank, as the orange team went to get outfitted first.

Maybe if he hadn’t already talked to Ethan, he’d have assumed that Ethan would be annoyed that Max had split them up. But Ethan was clearly okay with it. Even pleased about it.

“I thought you guys never wanted to be separated,” Hank said.

Ethan just rolled his eyes. “We miss each other, sure, when we’re apart. I hated that Charlie was out here, on the East Coast, by himself. I already miss having Avery nearby. We’re close, even for brothers. But I don’t ever want to be attached at the hip to Charlie. He’s annoying as hell a lot of the time.”

“Ah,” Hank said. He was slowly beginning to put together that different version of Ethan in his head.

Ethan nudged him again. “Don’t tell me you bought into that bullshit about how we’re like the same freaking person.”

“Of course not,” Hank said. Even though he kinda had, a little.

“As annoying as Charlie can be, the media’s worse about us. Like we’re a three-headed monster. All the same. But we’re not, you know?” Ethan glanced up at him, challenging look on his face, like he already knew that Hankhad. That Hank had bought into the worst of the assumptions about the Barnes brothers.

“Clearly,” Hank said dryly.

“If they wanna talk about being inseparable,” Ethan huffed under his breath. “They should talk to Charlie about Max. Are they like this all the time?”

“Um, yeah, I guess? I didn’t really spend all that much time with them last season,” Hank admitted. He’d been on the main Bandits’ roster for maybe a quarter of the games, sure, but Hank had known his place. It wasn’t in Max and Charlie’s super-special friend circle. He’d been around them during full-team events, but it wasn’t like Max was inviting him over to his condo.

Ethan nudged him again. “We gotta beat the pants off him today. I can’t wait to see his grumpy face. It’s always so good when he loses.”

“Charlie?” Hank told himself he shouldn’t be surprised by this. But he was, kinda.

“Oh yeah.” Ethan grinned, leaning in even closer.

He smelled good—sweet and summery, like sunscreen and fruit. Hank kept trying to clear his head. Remind himself that nomatter how fun and amusing Ethan’s conspiratorial smile was, or how appealing he was, Hank wasn’t into guys. Hadn’t ever been, not like that, anyway.

“Besides,” Ethan continued, his expression going a bit sly, “don’t you wanna beat Willy?”

“Why would I want to beat Willy?” Over the years, Hank had been told he had a great poker face.

But Ethan just laughed knowingly. Maybe it wasn’t that Hank’s ability to lie hadn’t gotten worse, he was just shitty at doing it when it came to Ethan.

Yeah, he wasn’t touchingthatwith a ten-foot pole.

“I don’t know, maybe because you’re competing against him for a roster spot.”

Ethan was not wrong; Willy—or William Blomgreen, originally from Sweden and drafted by the Bandits in the third round four years ago—was Hank’s main rival for the empty slot on the third d-pair, though Hank liked to thinkhewas his own biggest competition.

“Sure,” Hank said.

Ethan just cackled again. “Anyone ever tell you that you don’t give much away?”

All the time,Hank mentally answered,but you’ve already gotten more than most. And even that isn’t enough.