“You’re right, it’s not. Not anymore.” Blake turned and stalked off, but before Ethan could breathe a sigh of relief, he was back.
“I want to take this to the next level,” Blake said firmly.
Before this was over, Ethan was going to have whiplash. Was he talking about work again? Probably not.
“And what’s that?” Ethan dared to ask.
“You. Me. A couple. I want more, Ethan. I want you to pull your head out of your ass and admit that you’re fucking gay. No matter how much you hide, it won’t change it. And I’m tired of being your plaything.”
So it would seem they had entirely different views of the situation and as much as Ethan wanted to stand back and take Blake’s bullshit, he couldn’t. Not today.
“You think you know me?” Ethan barked. “You think I keep my head down because I don’t accept the fact that I’m gay? Well, you’re about as perceptive as a fucking rock, Blake. I keep my head down because I don’t want people in my business.”
“Well, I’m tired of you hiding me.”
Ethan laughed without mirth. “Hiding you? Is that what you think I’m doing? Care to explain what people see when you fucking follow me everywhere? Do you think they don’t know? Do you think they can’t figure it out? I’m not naïve enough to believe that, Blake. But I can tell you this, we aren’t together. I thought you understood that going in. I’m not looking for anything more. And I don’t want to share my private life with anyone. At. All.”
“Well, I want more,” Blake stated, his eyes narrowed to slits. “I fucking want more. And if you’re not gonna give it to me, I’ll just find it elsewhere.”
“Fantastic idea,” Ethan said calmly, all of the anger draining out of him.
For the months that he’d been seeing Blake, they’d had sex, but not once had Blake ever attempted to get to know him. He didn’t ask him questions, didn’t try to understand him. And despite Blake’s accusations, Ethan wasn’t interested in him for anything more because the connection wasn’t there.
“I should,” Blake yelled, his temper igniting worse than Ethan had ever seen it. “You’re right. I’m done. Done playing with you. I’m done spending time in your fucking closet. You want me, prove it. Come out, Ethan. Admit to the world that you’re gay. That you’re proud of who you are.”
Ethan couldn’t even come up with a response.
“Stop being a fucking pussy, Ethan. Admit it to everyone, or we’re done.”
“Looks like we’re done,” Ethan said softly, his hands balled into fists at his side. “Thanks for the good time,” Ethan added for good measure, immediately regretting the statement.
“Good time? Is that what you thought it was? It was pathetic, Ethan. Fucking pathetic.”
Ethan nodded, moving away from Blake. He knew what Blake was trying to do. He was pushing him, and Ethan’s thread on his anger was frayed. If he let him keep on, he’d snap, and that was the last thing either of them needed.
“I’m done,” Blake repeated, sounding defeated. “I quit. As soon as you realize that I’m the best you’ll ever have, the only man who will tolerate your bullshit, you’ll be back.”
Ethan sucked in a breath. He’d heard it all before. Blake was verbally abusive when he didn’t get his way, but Ethan had never considered them a couple, so he’d always been able to ignore it. Now… This… this was beyond anything he could’ve predicted.
Ethan took a deep breath, forced himself to focus on the road. He was grateful he didn’t have to deal with that anymore.
For the last two weeks, he had enjoyed not having someone up his ass about every move he made. That was only one of the things about Blake that irritated him. The man was possessive. Always wanting to know where he was going, who he was with, who he might run into. It had been suffocating.
And now Blake was showing his true colors, following him like some creepy stalker. Ethan had no doubt that Blake was going to follow him all the way to Dillinger’s. There wasn’t anything he could do about it either. It wasn’t like Coyote Ridge was big enough that he could hide and since Dillinger Automotive was just off of Main Street, the flatbed would be a little noticeable.
Turning on the radio, Ethan tried to ignore the black Ford now just a couple of car lengths behind him. When he braked at the four way stop just before downtown, he considered getting out of his truck and telling Blake to go home. He didn’t.
If nothing else, he figured Blake was about to learn a lesson. He knew it wasn’t going to go well once Blake realized Ethan was going to help Beau out, but he couldn’t very well leave Beau stranded. After all, Ethan was doing Zane a favor. Not Beau.