to them. At what point had that suspicion begun to form in their minds? Had it been years ago, giving them time to come to terms with it? Or had they been open-minded all along, caring only that his partner treated him well and made him happy?
He bet that either way, they probably hadn’t predicted he’d find a man of Max’s stature.
He cupped Max’s jaw and brushed his thumbs along the light stubble dusting his cheeks. Max didn’t grow much facial hair. What he did grow lent him a rakish, sexy look that really got Ethan going.
“The quarters may be cramped,” he said as he slowly ended the kiss, “but I can’t say I minded being squished against you all night.” He propped his chin on his hands atop Max’s chest. “How did you sleep?”
“Very well, thank you.” Max brushed the mussed locks of hair away from Ethan’s face. “How was your sleep?” He brushed a thumb beneath the hollow of his left eye. Ethan figured he must have bags there.
“Took me some time to finally nod off,” he admitted. “My mind was going a mile a minute for a while.”
Though Max’s eyes were blue, they were a rich, deep shade of blue. They appeared darker as he studied Ethan. “Anything you need to talk about?”
Ethan tilted his face down and kissed Max’s collarbone. “Just worried, mostly.”
He groaned appreciatively when strong fingers massaged the back of his neck.
“Tell me your worries,” Max said softly.
He kept his eyes averted. “Worried that you’d find all this beneath you. Worried that my parents would feel beneath you. Worried that you’d remember that I’m not a sophisticated guy and that I used to buy my clothes from the J. Crew catalog and The Gap.”
“That’s a lot of worries.”
“I know they’re mostly baseless—”
“They are all baseless.”
Ethan raised his eyes. Max caressed his nape. “After all we’ve been through, Ethan, you should know better than to worry even for a second that I could be turned off by something so trivial and shallow.”
“I know. I know this. I’m sorry.”
“And please get it out of your head that any of this, or anyone in your life, is beneath me. Don’t put me on a pedestal. I’m as flawed as anyone.” Max smirked slightly. “As you very well know.”
“I don’t have you on a pedestal, but you’re still different. You’re nothing like this place, or this life.”
“That doesn’t mean I can’t adapt. If I were a thinner-skinned man, I’d be insulted about the concerns you have of me.”
Ethan kissed his collarbone again. “You know that’s not what I mean at all. It’s not you I worry about.”
“You don’t think you or your family are good enough for me, is that it?”
Hearing Max say the words aloud ignited a flicker of shame inside him.
“I just want to be good enough for you,” Ethan said quietly, unable to meet Max’s eyes. “I love you so much. You’re so good—you deserve that in return. It’s important to me that I feel like I’m enhancing your life, not averaging it out, if that makes any sense.”
“Take away the money and the material goods—which I know you don’t care about anyway—and I’m a man with an awkward relationship with his parents who has difficulty letting people close to me. Some might say that you’re the better adjusted one, and I’m fortunate that you put up with me.”
“Well, when you put it that way...”
“Exactly.”
Ethan dipped his tongue out to touch Max’s skin. “Okay. I’ll try to move past it.”
“Good. And if you continue to harbor doubts, you’ll talk it out with me before jumping to more conclusions.”
“I will. Promise.” If only people saw this side of Max. He must be the world’s most understanding man. “Your turn to come clean,” Ethan said. “This was a novel experience for you. I’m surprised you haven’t already packed our stuff and made a reservation at the nearest Hampton Inn.”
Max’s smile was wry. He absently caressed Ethan’s hair while his gaze roamed around the small bedroom. “I admit I’ve never spent the night in another person’s home. It took some getting used to.”
Ethan sat up a little. “Wow, never? No sleepovers when you were a kid?”
Max gave him a look.
“Okay, I guess that’s not a thing that happens when you’re at boarding school all the time. But really? Never?”
“No. I wouldn’t dare impose and frankly, I value my privacy too much. I prefer hotels.”
“I knew this, that’s one of the things I worried about.”
Max shook his head at