Glutton for punishment that he was, Beau continued to make his way to the far side of the group where Ethan was standing alone, doing his best to resemble a post – holding up the wall he was leaning against.
“You ok?” Beau asked in an attempt to make conversation, not looking directly at Ethan, instead pretending to be watching what was going on in front of him.
Too bad he could barely focus as soon as he got a whiff of Ethan’s rich, spicy scent. Not to mention, he could see Ethan in his peripheral vision. The tension that settled in Ethan’s shoulders was apparent, but Beau pretended not to notice the way the bulky muscles bunched. He let the silence consume them until he wanted to fidget from the discomfort.
Risking it, Beau looked over at Ethan, admiring the chiseled features of his face, the heat – whether it be anger or desire – that smoldered in his seductive eyes. He wanted to touch him, to put a hand on Ethan’s shoulder, something to let him know that he wasn’t a threat.
After a painfully long second, Ethan jerked to face him. Beau swallowed hard, but forced himself not to be offended by Ethan’s affronted reaction. He’d come to expect Ethan to be defensive around him. It was actually one of the things that turned him on, oddly enough.
Before Ethan said a word, Beau continued to study him, trying to figure out the range of emotions that played across Ethan’s ruggedly handsome face. “You ready to talk to me yet?” he asked nonchalantly, crossing his arms over his chest as he leaned back against the wall and crossed his ankles, mirroring Ethan’s pose.
“Back off, Bennett,” Ethan said faintly. “This isn’t a good idea.”
No, maybe not. But Beau didn’t really give a shit about good ideas or not at this point. He’d spent his entire life not knowing what he wanted, and when he finally figured it out, he found himself up against a brick wall. A sexy as fucking hell brick wall.
“Good idea or not, you’re gonna have to talk to me eventually.”
“I don’t have to do shit,” Ethan bit out.
When he turned to walk away, Beau put a hand on his arm. He didn’t grab him, just let his hand settle on Ethan’s bulging bicep.
“Relax,” he said softly. “It’s not like I’m gonna jump you in the hallway.”
Ethan glared at him, his eyes shooting sparks of anger. It was a given that Ethan tried to avoid him, but he wasn’t known to lose his cool quite this easily.
It wasn’t surprising that Ethan wanted to evade him, but Beau could sense there was something else wrong. Letting him walk away was probably the best thing he could do, but Beau couldn’t stand seeing Ethan quite so angry.
“Is everything ok?”
With what sounded like a resigned sigh, Ethan turned back to face him, and Beau tried not to count that as a win, but considering everything they’d been putting each other through these last couple of months, he couldn’t help himself.
“I’m sure Zane’s already told you,” Ethan said quietly, his blue-gray eyes churning like storm clouds.
Beau knew his disappointment was apparent. “He mentioned Blake quit.” The fact that it was bothering Ethan that much didn’t make Beau feel any better.
“Then you know what’s bothering me, don’t you?” The torrent of anger seemed to have dissipated and Ethan met his gaze head on.
“You got another mechanic lined up?” Beau asked, aiming for subtle conversation and ignoring the way his stomach twisted with excitement at the opportunity to talk to Ethan. When Ethan didn’t answer right away, Beau followed up with, “Sorry, not trying to be nosy.”
“The hell you’re not,” Ethan alleged, breaking the eye contact and looking down at the floor.
“Just making conversation,” he argued without vehemence. “Why’d he quit?”
“Difference of opinion,” Ethan muttered, and Beau could’ve sworn he heard something along the lines of “bastard” following the statement.
That was promising.
The simple answer didn’t fool him either. Beau figured their differences didn’t have a damn thing to do with how they fixed cars. He wasn’t going to mention that to Ethan though. He knew, based on the look in Ethan’s eyes that his input wasn’t warranted.
At the risk of repeating himself, Beau asked, “You working to get someone else in there to help out?”
Beau knew that since Zane’s departure from Walker Demo, Ethan had been working overtime just to take care of the work that piled up. With Blake, at least Ethan had the potential for a little bit of a life outside of work. Not that Ethan would’ve taken time off anyway. As far as Beau knew, Ethan enjoyed working himself into the ground. That was another thing they had in common. Seemed that keeping busy was one of the surest ways to force the demons that haunted you away.