Connected To Him (ManxMan)

Part 1: Chapter 7

Chris had easily deduced that Ethan was closing himself off when he wore the first expression, but the second one was far more confusing. What did he see when he looked at Chris that made his bright eyes grow so wide? Chris desperately wanted to find out but he had to keep his desire contained to two simple words.

"No problem."

They didn't even come close to telling Ethan how curious Chris was about him. Ethan had given him stories and jokes but they were never about him, not really. They were about things he was interested in or found funny, but Chris still had a long way to go before he knew who Ethan Sterling was.

He wanted to figure out why Ethan was making that face and why it was directed at him. Some of this want must have been translated in his eyes because Ethan's gaze shifted to the floor between them and his head ducked to follow.

Ethan had closed himself off.

"Y-yeah ok, breakfast is in Aiden's parents' room so, yeah . . ." Ethan blushed and wrung his hands at the sound of his own voice. He had rushed the words out and pushed them all into one awkward sentence because he felt embarrassed—and slightly ashamed.

He had spent the last few seconds practically undressing Chris with his eyes and had gotten a bit heated by his own thoughts. He had no idea that Chris' desire to get to know him may also include getting to know Ethan's lips and body as well. There was only one way to find out, but Ethan was oblivious to the fact that he even had a chance!

As Ethan spoke and took some steps away from the door, Chris had gotten enough space to walk out of their doorway and into the outdoor hall. Seeing the new opportunity being presented, Ethan walked into the room. This made it very clear to Chris that he was ending that conversation.

"Alright-"

Chris began to talk, not wanting to take the hint, but Ethan was already closing the door on him and cut him off. At this point, Chris was forced to accept it and went off to the other room with a heavy sigh. The second the door clicked into place, Ethan sighed and let his forehead thump against it.

"That was rude." He muttered softly to himself, thumping his forehead against the door again. He had to stop letting how nervous, crush-crazy he felt get the best of him. Putting the crush aspect aside, he really wanted to have Chris as a friend.

The black boy was sweet, funny, and had fantastic music taste. That was hard to come by these days. Ethan wasn't going to let his crazy feelings ruin a good relationship, he silently promised himself.

Feeling far more confident than he was a couple of seconds ago, Ethan turned around and called Courtney. He didn't really feel like going through the suite looking for her, and he especially didn't like the idea of accidentally seeing her before she was ready. He saw straight porn once and that was the last time he hoped to see a girl naked.

Courtney came into the room faster than what was normal and Ethan's eyebrows raised at the sight of her. Courtney was one of Scarlett Hale's close friends and, being quite popular, it was no surprise that she liked to dress nicely and wore makeup often. Today, however, Ethan could tell that she had put in more effort than usual.

She wore a full face of "natural" makeup, a loose crop top, and a pair of sweatpants that clung to her thighs and ass like a second skin. Mentally, Ethan's brain looked like a wall in Sherlock's study. He was trying hard to figure out why she was so done up. He went through the options in his head as he asked a casual yet important question.

"Where are you going?"

Courtney tugged on and shifted her crop top as her gaze left Ethan's to float around the room.