Page 238 of Sticks and Stones
“You’re not doing it wrong. There’s just that lingering fear that some woman will steal you away.”
Ethan stared into his eyes.
“You know that I could have the same fear, right?” he asked.
Gene laughed.
“No one is going to kick down the door to steal me away from you. You’re the catch, EJ. Let’s face it.”
Ethan didn’t want to do this.
“Let’s just go work,” he said, cutting the whole conversation off because of that comment.
It pissed him off.
“It’s true. You’re gorgeous. Your body is perfect, and you’re incredibly sexy. Compared to you, no one is going to try and steal me away.”
Ethan stared at him.
“You’re an asshole,” Ethan said.
That caught him off guard.
“What?” he asked.
Ethan was to the point.
“If someone said that about me, or said I was beneath you and you were dating down, what would you do?”
He was honest.
“I’d beat their faces to a bloody pulp and enjoy every single second of it.”
Clearly, Gene didn’t get it.
“But you can say it about yourself and think that I should sit here and accept that?”
Uh-oh.
Ethan wasn’t done.
“What you just said about you, and then about me, puts an exorbitant amount of pressure on me. Remember when I told you that I loved your body as it is? When I told you that you were perfect?”
He nodded slowly, waiting for the pitfall.
“Then why would you put that pressure on me. What if I gained weight, or I fell on my face and was hideous? Would that change us?”
Gene laughed.
“Ethan.”
He was done.
Blackhawk needed a few minutes to calm the fuck down before he lost his temper. It was a slippery slope down, and he was about ready to slide.
Opening the door, Ethan got out, and Gene stared in confusion.
“What are you doing?” he asked, but all he got back was a door slammed in his face.
