Page 91 of Sliding Into Love
Ethan rolled his eyes at Isaac but still felt his lips curve into a half grin.
“So, Fisher,” Harkness said, finally speaking. “Are you ready to leave with the rest of the team?”
On a rare summer morning off, Ethan found himself with Lily, Jase, and Janna at the park. Ivy was having brunch with his mother, and Ethan had volunteered to hang out with the kids while she was out.
“So, Sasquatch,” Lily said as they walked through the grassy area between the parking lot and the park’s entrance. “What are your intentions with Ivy?”
“My what?” Ethan blinked down at her.
“Your intentions. You know, like in all the old movies, someone asks the brooding, scowling man who’s after the girl what his intentions are.” Lily waved her hands in the air while she spoke, her dark bangs swaying on her forehead.
“Umm.” Ethan’s face and neck grew hot. They’d already slept together and declared their love, what other intentions did there need to be?
Unless she meant…
“You mean, like, getting married?” A man with a voice as deep as his shouldnothave been able to squeak. But the m word came out in a much higher pitch than he’d ever heard out of his mouth.
Lily grinned like a she-devil.
“Well, you’ve had mind-blowing sex, you told her you loved her, and she loves you, so that’s the next step, right?”
Could she read minds?
“No, I can’t read minds, but Ivy is like a sister to me, and I know things, okay?” Lily leaned down to re-tie her sneaker. “Have you thought about it?”
Ethan would have been lying if he said he hadn’t considered it. Well,beingmarried, not thegettingmarried part. He knew he wanted to be with Ivy; she was it for him. But a big ceremony with tons of people watching sounded terrifying. Which, when he thought about it, was even more ridiculous since his job was playing a game for people to watch. He sighed through his nose and ran his hands through his hair. Their talks of the future hadn’t included awedding.
Lily eyed him with one brow raised.
“I just want to be with her, okay?” Ethan said desperately.
“Hmm.” Lily stared up at him, her dark brown eyes assessing him. “That works for now.” Then she scampered off as if she were one of the kids and joined the group on the playground.
Ethan followed behind her, helping Janna empty sand out of her shoes and then hovering while she climbed the tallest slide. Jase wandered off and found a couple of boys his age to play with, and Ethan made sure to text Ivy because he knew how excited she’d be.
Seeing Jase acting like a child was a far cry from the solemn, nervous boy he’d been a couple of months ago. He was so proud of how far the boy had come since he’d invited Jase to the stadium. He knew Ivy was too, and he made a mental note to mention it somehow without embarrassing Jase.
When the sun got too high, Ethan invited Lily to lunch and extended the invitation to Derek as well. They met at a local burger joint. Lily bullied Ethan into ordering cheese fries, then proceeded to steal half of them since she’d ordered sweet potato fries instead. Derek kept giving him a side-eye until Lily spoke.
“I’ve already given him the intentions shakedown,” Lily said, popping a particularly cheesy fry into her mouth.
“Hmm.” Derek considered him, then swiped a fry from Ethan’s plate. Derek had ordered a chicken sandwich and had been stealing bites from Lily and now, apparently, Ethan.
He didn’t mind, though.
“But is he taking care of her?” Lily waggled her eyebrows, letting him know she didn’t mean ‘putting bandaids on a paper cut’ caretaking.
Thankful for the surrounding children, Ethan crammed his burger into his mouth to hide the heat creeping over his cheeks.
Heknew he took care of Ivy; the sheer number of orgasms he prided himself on giving her accounted for that, but he wasnotsharing that with Ivy’s best friends.
“You aretaking careof her right?” Lily glared, pointing a butter knife at him.
“Mmf,” Ethan said through his burger.
“I’m not sure if he is, Lil.” Derek’s deep brown eyes bored into Ethan’s.
But then he caught a look pass between the pair, and—they were fucking with him.
