Page 24 of Wicked Flirt
Marcus turned off the treadmill. “Stuffyoulike?” That went counter to all of his experiences with women. He went out of his way to do what they liked. Had he gotten it wrong all these years?
“Yeah. I invited her hiking with my hiking club, real low-key, no-pressure situation. Did that a few times.” He frowned. “She hasn’t been hiking with me for months though. She has a fifty-degree rule. Has to be fifty degrees or higher.” He lifted a hand, showing a certain level. “I even got her these thin thermals and kick-ass hiking boots. It’s all about the right clothes to enjoy the outdoors, ya know? But she’s like, no go, her face is cold, but she won’t wear the face mask because it feels weird.” His forehead crinkled for a moment like he was still trying to figure out a solution to the hiking problem. “Anyway, as soon as it warms up, we’ll get back to it.”
This was the longest conversation he’d ever had with Ethan. The longest sentences his friend had ever uttered too. “What else did you do?” Marcus asked.
Ethan went back to rowing. The man was a machine. “I took her fishing.”
Marcus puzzled over that. Ethan loved fishing, but Marcus didn’t know a lot of women who did. Ethan was a real outdoors enthusiast. “What else?”
Ethan rowed merrily along. “I took her to a cookout. She loved the s’mores.” He turned to Marcus, smiling so big his blue eyes crinkled at the corners. “You were there. Remember the party by the lake?” Ally and her friends had organized that party.
“So you basically made zero effort?” Marcus had put in tons of effort with women, making reservations at all the best restaurants in the city, pulling strings when he had to for a primo table. Not only that, he bent over backwards to find the right compliments, and didn’t he make sure the woman got off first every single time? How was that fair? Ethan had done zip.
Ethan stopped rowing and scowled. “I made an effort. Geez. Aren’t you listening? I took her to all of my favorite things. That’s how she got to know me.”
“And then she’s madly in love with you? Eth, I’ve seen the way she looks at you. It’s like you can do no wrong.” He put his hand up to the ceiling. “Like you’re up here.”
Ethan smiled, stood and stretched. “Yeah, well, she’s like that for me. We’re sure of each other. We both really appreciate what we have.”
He still couldn’t believe making zero effort had gotten Ethan to where he was now. “So how did it get to that level?”
Ethan shrugged. “When I knew she was into me, I made my move. You’ll know when the time’s right.”
“Yeah, I guess.” Except he was more confused than ever. He’d made plenty of moves before, and none of them had gotten him a woman who loved him and only him. “So then, one day you were just in love.”
Ethan shifted closer. “It’s like, I thought about her all the time, I got psyched to see her, I got to a point where it was hardnotto be with her. Plus I had all this stuff going on with Peggy’s death.” That was his foster mother. “It made me more open to love. You have to be open to it. But once you are, you feel everything.”
Marcus blew out a breath and turned off the treadmill. “Deep.”
Ethan nodded.
Marcus headed over to the dumbbells. “What do you do now that it’s too cold for hiking and fishing?”
“Hang around here.” Ethan looked away, mumbling, “Other stuff.”
Marcus pounced. “What kind of stuff? Could you possibly be doing things she likes?”
Ethan dropped to the floor in a plank position, holding his body perfectly still. “It’s not like there’s a game on every night.”
“You watching girly shows?” Marcus teased.
Ethan held his plank, his voice defensive. “I’m just keeping her company. Some of those house shows teach you stuff. We’re saving for a house, you know. And she’s been helping out Hailey on the weekends with the wedding planning and sologamy stuff, so ya know, there’s shows that can be helpful for that too. There’s like a show for everything.” He switched to rapid push-ups.
Marcus grabbed a pair of dumbbells and did some slow arm curls. “Uh-huh. Wait, sologamy?”
Ethan grunted, finished his reps, and then stood, explaining how women marry themselves in a sologamy ceremony and commit to their own happiness. “It’s all about empowerment. Ally and all of her friends did the sologamy ceremony together. Now Ally offers it as an add-on to weddings for a bonding thing for the brides, bridesmaids, and any other woman who wants to join in. It’s legit.”
Marcus was speechless. To hear Ethan speak with such authority on women’s empowerment was a shock. He was just such aguyguy. He’d definitely changed since being with Ally. It wasn’t good or bad, really, just different.
Ethan picked up a barbell and lifted it over his head. “And we still go out. Like, you know, the mall and shit.”
He was getting the girly picture. “You go shopping with her?”
“Shut up.” He lowered the barbell to the floor. “You asked me for advice, I gave you advice.”
“All right, touchy. I’m happy for you, man. Really.”
Ethan heaved the barbell overhead again. “I don’t care what we do—shopping, fishing, whatever. I love her, and her happiness means everything. I would watch every home show, every bridal show, every sappy romantic movie.” He lowered the barbell to the floor and met Marcus’s eyes with a serious expression. “I would hold her purse and watch her try on clothes until the cows come home. I would run out in the night to buy her favorite ice cream or tampons—”
