ETHAN
Why the hell did I say that out loud?
"Don't do this. You don't like her, and she's not like Jess and Emma."
Hearing him mention what I had with Jessica and Emma made my blood boil. Why did he think he could talk about that as if he understood?
"This isn't your business, Will. You're starting to piss me off, acting like you're her father. Do me a favor and stay out of this; she can very well make her own decisions."
I stood up, not willing to listen to Will tell me who I should or shouldn't get involved with. I could make my own decisions, and this matter concerned no one but me and Miss Brown. I left the restaurant, leaving him sitting there.
*
During the morning, I channeled all my anger into focusing on work. I was pissed at Will and didn’t want to think about Miss Brown; she was causing me more problems than I’d imagined. To avoid running into Will at lunch, I ordered Italian food. I was eating in my office when my brother knocked on my door.
Maybe staying for lunch wasn’t the best idea. I left the food on the table as he walked in. I closed my eyes, leaning back in my chair, and sighed heavily. I knew exactly why he was here, but I asked anyway.
"Is there a problem?"
"Good to see you too, little brother." I waited for him to continue, feeling my mood worsen by the second. "Will told me."
"Of course." I scoffed. "Good to know you’re discussing my private life when you should be working." He sat in the chair in front of my desk, making it clear I wasn’t going to escape this conversation.
"I guess my warnings didn’t mean anything to you."
"Go fuck yourself, Bennett."
"Don't worry, I agree with you on one thing. You’re both adults and can handle this yourselves. I just hope you’re prepared for the consequences. One of them is having to deal with our friends interfering. They care about Ellie because we’re like family."
"I’m touched," I said sarcastically.
"You can mock now, but from here on out, I’ll be the one laughing at your expense."
"First Will, now you. Who’s next? Zoe?"
"Will said you already got what you wanted. So why not leave her alone? End this while there’s still time."
"Can I finish my lunch in peace? First Will during breakfast, now my brother. My patience was running out.
"Do I have to mention your engagement to make you stop?" Bennett knew never to bring up that subject.
"Enough! If you’re not leaving, I will." I stood up, feeling the rage consume me. He did the same.
"You chose to live like this. If you can't offer something beyond sex, leave her alone," he said before turning his back on me. "We'll be waiting for you at the bar tonight," he added, stopping near the door as I sat back down.
"I’d rather spend a week in hell," I said, staring at the ceiling.
"It’s not like you have a choice," my brother said before leaving.
I knew exactly what they were trying to do. I understood that they cared about Miss Brown—well, partly because, to me, she seemed very capable of making her own decisions and even acting like a jerk when necessary.
She was always ready to show her claws, at least with me. But I wasn’t going to back down, even if they harassed me. I’d do things my way. There was no reason for them to interfere in this. I’d been honest with her; I hadn’t promised anything I couldn’t deliver.
I was getting ready to leave after staying an hour later at the office than everyone else. It was just after seven when Bennett's name appeared on my phone screen. I sighed, staring at it before reluctantly sliding my finger over the green button.
"What do you want?"
"We're waiting for you. Don’t tell me you’re still at work."
"We? Does that mean you and Will?"
"And Jack."
"Let me guess... He wants to kick my ass too?" The line was silent for a few seconds before I heard Will's voice.
"If you're not here in twenty minutes, we’re coming to get you, Morgan," he said before hanging up.
Great. Will was still pissed at me. Shit. Who would have thought that spending a night with a woman and then having a quickie in the bathroom would be enough to make all my friends want my head? To make it worse, I still wanted her. Even now, I just wanted to put my hands and mouth on her and take out all my anger.
I drove to the bar, deciding that going home wouldn’t help. I knew Will; he’d drag Jack and Bennett to my apartment if necessary. I was tired, and listening to my friends’ opinions about my life and what I should do with it was the last thing I wanted.
I entered the bar where we usually met. With each step toward the table where they were sitting, my shoulders felt heavier.
They managed to go at least ten minutes without bringing it up, always keeping my glass full, but I felt their probing glances at me now and then. I’d only relaxed a bit, listening to Jack talk about little Sophia and how fast she was growing. She was just over two now, and I felt like an asshole for not meeting her yet.
"When can I meet her?" I asked.
"Zara’s thinking of having a dinner on Friday, getting everyone together. I didn’t know you liked kids, Ethan," Jack said, looking confused and surprised.
"That’s because you’ve never seen him with our niece," Bennett grumbled. I smiled, remembering Annabel; she was our younger sister's daughter, and she was the cutest little thing in the world. With blonde hair and huge blue eyes, she looked like a little angel.
"Don’t be upset just because I’m the favorite uncle, Benny," I teased, and he rolled his eyes.
"If you like kids so much, why not start thinking about having your own?" Will said, finishing the rest of the whiskey in his glass.
"I thought it was taking you a while to start telling me what you think I should or shouldn’t do with my life."
"If you weren’t so stubborn, I wouldn’t have to worry."
"I don’t want your concern. Not from any of you," I said, looking around the table.
"We wouldn’t have to worry if Ellie hadn’t made it clear she doesn’t plan on continuing this before she left here."
"What? She was here?"
"She said she knows you can’t offer her anything and that you two were just having fun." I didn’t know how to feel about that, but her words seemed to align with what she’d told Will earlier.
"So you also brought her here to tell her what she should do with her life?" This was ridiculous. We were adults, and we could certainly handle this. Why the hell couldn’t they see that?
"Unlike you, she understands our concern. And since she made it clear she doesn’t want anything with you, you’re going to leave her alone, right?"
"You’d love that," I taunted.
"If you just want someone to fuck, find someone else. Ellie deserves and wants more than that. You don’t know what she went through, but I do. I saw her suffer because of an asshole who didn’t deserve any of the tears she shed."
The ex-asshole again. I was aware she’d suffered, and even if I cared, that had nothing to do with me. It wasn’t my fault.
"You know I don’t intend to hurt her."
"It doesn’t matter. If you don’t care about her or care enough, just stay away." Will seemed more upset with each word. "Say it!"
"What?"
"That you won’t go after her again," he demanded.
"He can’t say it. Can you, little brother? Because you’re starting to like her," Bennett interrupted.
"Bullshit!" I scoffed.
"No? Then what is it?" He gave me a challenging look. I knew he was enjoying watching Will torture me.
"Go fuck yourselves!"
"Then tell us why."
The three of them stared at me, waiting for an answer. I hated feeling pressured about something that was none of their business.
"It’s just... Well, the sex is good." It was the truth, but at the same time, I was lying because it was much more than good. It was probably the best sex of my life, but I couldn’t admit that because they’d start thinking I was falling for her, and who knows what would come next.
"If you weren’t my friend, I’d be punching you right now," Will threatened, with a glint of anger in his eyes.
"It’s clear you two want different things," Jack interrupted after spending the entire time quietly watching us. "And since Ethan doesn’t care, he won’t mind if I want to introduce a friend to Ellie."
What?
"Anthony is an old friend; he’s a lawyer and has been looking to meet someone for a while. He intends to get married and start a family as soon as possible. That seems more in line with what Ellie’s looking for, don’t you think?"
The idea made me grit my teeth as I felt my stomach churn and anger cloud my vision.
"That way, we let her decide what she prefers. Since you don’t care, right?"
"Careful, little brother, you’ll break the glass," Bennett said, looking at my hand, making me realize I was gripping the glass too tightly.
I let it go, setting it down on the table.
"Whatever," I said to Jack, with as much indifference as I could muster, before turning away and seeing a smile on Bennett’s face. The bastard was enjoying this.