Keeping Casey (Keeping Him #1) - Amy Aislin Page 0,42

all he’d seen. He hadn’t even noticed his teammates until Theo had spoken.

You’re all I see, Ethan.

He clenched his jaw. You’re all I see too, Casey.

Casey had sat up and was staring at him, his movements tentative and slow as he stood. Ethan couldn’t read his expression, but holy shit, Casey was here. He hadn’t run.

“There you are,” echoed from the hallway behind him before a hand landed on his shoulder. “Dude, come back downstairs. Shelley wants to get to know you.”

Britton. Jesus. Did he ever let up? Teeth grinding, he whirled on him and—

“Jesus Christ, Cole,” Harkrader said, exasperation threading through his voice. Tossing his cards onto the bed, he rose to stand shoulder to shoulder with Ethan, arms crossed. “He’s fucking gay. How many times does he have to tell you until you get it?”

Ethan ran a hand through his hair and yanked, a ball of acid burning a hole in his gut. Fuck. Why was this still happening weeks later?

Ignoring Harkrader, Britton turned to Ethan. “Have you tried having sex with a woman?”

“Oh, for the love of—”

“Have you ever tried having sex with a man?” Ethan rebutted through clenched teeth, interrupting Harkrader.

“Well, no, but—”

“Get out.” Apparently fed up, Harkrader planted both hands on Britton’s chest and pushed, walking him backward out of the bedroom. “Get out, get out, get out.” He slammed the door on a sputtering Britton.

“That was amazing,” Theo whispered in awe from where he still sat on the bed. “I think I might be a little bit in love with you.”

Harkrader resumed his position across from him with a snorted laugh and picked up his cards. “Don’t you have a boyfriend at college in Connecticut?”

Theo’s smile went mushy and soft. “Yeah.”

Ethan rubbed both hands over his forehead, hard, done with this whole day.

“Ethan.”

Casey’s quiet voice had him whirling. He stood next to the bed, fidgeting from foot to foot, looking as if he didn’t know if he should stay or flee.

No way was Ethan letting him go without a talk first. “Guys, can you give us a few minutes?”

Theo and Harkrader exchanged a glance, eyed Ethan and Casey, then rose from the bed.

“We’re not far if you need us,” Theo said before he closed the door behind them.

Silence descended over the room, heavy and thick with everything unsaid.

Sighing, Ethan shrugged out of his jacket and flung it at his desk chair. It landed over the Scarecrow’s tunic and pants he’d removed and replaced with a black hoodie and jeans before playing chauffeur.

“I’m sorry about earlier,” Casey said quietly. Ethan met his gaze. “I didn’t mean to laugh. I just . . . I thought you were joking, and by the time I realized you weren’t . . .”

“Why would I joke about that, Casey?”

Lips in a thin line, Casey shook his head. “You wouldn’t, I know that. It was just my first thought when you said . . . what you said. I swear, I wasn’t laughing at you, and I never would’ve laughed at all if I’d known you were serious. I didn’t mean to hurt you and I’m so, so sorry, Ethan.”

Sure. Fine. Whatever. “Thanks for clarifying.” There was a bite to Ethan’s voice, but he didn’t particularly care. Though he might be sorry, Casey had still laughed, and that hurt was worse than any rejection, burrowing into his soul with sharp fingers.

He slipped out of his shoes and kicked them into a corner of the bedroom with force, uncharacteristically satisfied when they hit the wall with a loud thunk, thunk.

Closing his eyes, he forced himself to breathe. “Was that it?”

Is there anything else? Anything at all? Maybe a proper response to my question? An acknowledgment of my feelings for you?

He didn’t hold out a lot of hope, yet his stomach still hollowed when Casey muttered, “Um, yeah.”

Ethan nodded once and went to get his shoes.

“What are you doing?” Casey asked as Ethan pulled them on.

“I’ll take you back to campus.” He grabbed his jacket off his desk and slipped it back on, digging his car keys out of his pocket.

“You don’t have to. I can walk—”

“It’s three in the morning, Casey. Let’s just go.”

Other than Casey’s unsteady breathing, they drove in complete silence. More than once Casey opened his mouth to speak, closing it again without a word. Ethan couldn’t decide if he was thankful or disappointed about it, just drove the short route to Casey’s dorm.

Pulling into the drop-off area, he put the car in park and studiously stared out