Page 25 of Ethan

Ethan frowned. “What would I even say to them about him? Tell Charlie to use his magical alternate-captain powers to force him to text me back? Not fucking likely.”

Hank Tucker hadn’t done anythingwrong. He just was exactly what Ethan had guessed at the very beginning, when they’d first met, and that was a guy who thought he was too cool to hang around a nineteen-year-old who was still in college. That was annoying, but not a capital offense.

“Oh for God’s sake,” Wally complained. “I’m not talking about him not texting you. I’m talking about that youwanthim to. That you’ve been mooning about him ever since you got to Portland.”

Oh.Ethan hesitated. “He didn’t text me back, so there’s nothingtosay.”

Wally elbowed him hard in the side and Ethan let out a half groan, half gasp. He had a nasty bruise there from the Denver game, two weeks ago. He’d think that Wally accidentally hit it, but he had a feeling that Wally’s aim had been anything but accidental. “That’s bullshit, and you know it. So you haven’t told your twoqueerbrothers that you are, also, in fact,queer.”

“Why would I do something stupid like that?” Better to brazen this out, Ethan decided. “All they’d do is become living,breathing PSAs and Charlie’s already likethat, about me, and me playing with him. Don’t need to make it any worse.”

“You don’t know they’d be overprotective about it,” Wally said, the statement of the blissfully ignorant only child.

“Sure, I do,” Ethan said. “Besides, I don’tknowthat I’m queer. I haven’t ever liked a guy, not like that, not until . . . well, until the guy whose name we’re not saying.”

“You mean the guy whose name we’repretendingwe’re not saying?” Wally asked archly.

They turned into the path that led to the Gamma Sigma house. There were already crowds spilling out of the front porch and onto the lawn, along with the pulsing beat of the music.

Ethan recognized some of the women’s volleyball team. Half a dozen guys from the football team. A few of their own teammates. There was always a good crowd at Gamma Sigma. It should’ve been a good spot to find someone to at least make him forget about Hank for the night. But the problem was that every single person in this house knew who he was. Knew his last name.

And Ethan could never be sure that was why anyone wanted to talk to him. Maybe Hank wouldn’t talk to himnow, but he’d never gotten the impression, not once, that Hank had only been friendly because he was EthanBarnes.

“Sure,” Ethan said.

“You like him, though?” Wally questioned, like he hadn’t just complained less than five minutes ago that Ethan wouldn’t stop bringing Hank up.

“Likedhim,” Ethan said firmly.

“Time to find another guy then, or hook up with a girl. I won’t judge.” Wally grinned at him.

Ethan groaned. “I don’t know about that. I just wanna have a drink and relax, okay? Maybe leave the hooking up to you.”

Wally just elbowed him again, right in the bruise.

“I hate you,” Ethan said.

“If you really did,” Wally said as he led them up the porch stairs towards the open front door, “who would listen to you complain about the guy?”

Ethan had to admit that he had a point.

“Come on,” Ethan said, changing the subject. “Let’s grab a drink.”

Wally nodded, and they turned towards the kitchen.

Brody—one of the senior d-men on the Evergreens—was there, leaning over the counter, watching something on his boyfriend’s phone. The boyfriend was huge and had a possessive arm slung around Brody’s waist. The boyfriend was Dean Scott, defensive end on the Evergreens football team.

Brody’s eyes flicked up. “Hey, guys,” he said. “Didn’t know you’d be coming tonight.”

“Sick of this one being pathetic,” Wally said, poking a thumb in Ethan’s direction before he leaned down to rummage through the cooler on the floor.

“Hard to be pathetic when you scored the game-winning goal,” Dean pointed out in his deep voice.

“He’s still managing it,” Wally said.

“Andheis right here,tryingnot to be pathetic, but it’s hard when it’s all anyone will talk about,” Ethan retorted.

“I didn’t say it,” Brody said, moving away from his boyfriend’s loose embrace, and approaching Ethan, lifting his fist for a quick bump, “but that was an absolutely murderous play in the third. Stealing the puck right off Andrews’ stick. Kept him from scoring.”