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Just when he thought the situation couldn't get any worse, Ethan recognized Kayla's parents sitting only a few tables past Ava and Hannah. It was just the two of them sitting there, but he noticed a third place setting and with a sense of doom, he saw Kayla slipping inside the women's restroom. And in that moment, Ethan knew what was going to happen. Kayla would be back any damn minute to witness when Ty inevitably started showing his ass around Hannah. And that would not be good.
As Ava lowered her head and began whispering to Hannah, Ty began prowling their way, his intentions obvious to Ethan. With a groan of resignation, Ethan followed. The last thing he wanted was to witness his two best friends killing each other. Not a fun Saturday night at all.
And this was so no
t the way to stay away from Ava.
Ty strolled up to their booth like a conqueror and fastened his attention on Hannah as he grumbled to his sister, "What are you doing here, Ava?"
Ethan hung back and rolled his eyes. What the hell did Ty think? This was nothing new. The girls were like twins, usually soldered to each other's sides. Ava stared straight at Ty and then cut her brother dead by snapping, "It's a free country, douche."
Ethan studied both girls while Ty dismissed his sister and made his move on Hannah, giving her a searing look. "Hey, Hannah," he rasped in a tone that would have earned him a faceplant had Josh heard it.
"Hey," the younger girl said softly, a bit awkwardly.
Ty dropped down next to the girl. "Scoot over," he said as he nudged her with his hip.
Jesus Christ. Ethan took a stabilizing breath. This had fucked-up written all over it. He stood next to the booth, supremely aware of Ava not two feet away. His abs tightened as he began clenching his hands into fists, not liking the way any of this was going down.
"Sit down," Ty told him, as if Ethan were too stupid to understand the concept of making decisions on his own without direction.
"Do we have to sit here?" Ethan asked, hating the craving that was blasting almost uncontrollably through his system—craving for a girl whose brother would be sitting across from him while Ethan tried to suppress his raging hard-on.
As he continued to drag his feet, Ava piped up to make things so much better. "No, you damn well don't." She pointed across the restaurant as if she'd catch something if he sat down next to her. "I see an empty booth over there."
The entire situation was screwed. On top of trying to control his cock, Ethan felt as if he ought to be protecting Josh's interests, which, at the moment, was Hannah McIntyre. But damn, Ty was technically right, their friend had not actually claimed the girl. What the hell was a bro to do?
"Just sit the hell down, Ethan," Ty grumbled. "It won't kill you to sit next to my sister for a few minutes."
Well hell, it might. Ethan stood still for the space of a couple of seconds while he debated his choices. Fairly certain there was no way to separate Ty from the booth without causing a scene by physically pulling the guy away from where he sat, Ethan momentarily gave up and slid onto the bench beside Ava. She quickly scooted away as if he carried a contagious, terminal disease.
The move irritated the fuck out of him, so to take his mind off his raging boner, he focused on Ty, just as his buddy slid his arm behind Hannah, along the back of the seat. Well, double fuck. Ethan glanced at Hannah to gauge her reaction. She remained perfectly still, staring across the restaurant, as if she wanted to disappear completely. The moment Ty had put his arm behind her, an irritated expression had briefly crossed her face, but now, suddenly, her look turned pained as she stared across the room.
Ethan wasn't about to turn around but he pretty much knew what had put that look of commiseration on the girl's face. Hannah was undoubtedly a smart girl, and he'd bet his last dollar that Kayla had just appeared beside her parents, probably seeing Ty's every move, and Hannah looked as if she wanted to be anywhere other than where she sat.
Well, this shit couldn't get any better, could it?
Oh, but it could. Exactly how long would it take for Kayla to get so hurt and pissed at Ty that she would text Josh to come to the rescue? Everybody and their dog knew that Josh Turner had Hannah McIntyre in his sights. And Kayla wanted Ty for herself, so she wouldn't sit still while her man had his arm wrapped around another girl when she had the means to put a stop to it.
Ethan pulled out his cell, looking at the time. Yep, Josh would be getting off work at the feed store right about now. Shit. Deciding to be proactive, Ethan sent a quick text to Kayla. Don't do it.
His phone vibrated immediately with her answer, knowing exactly what he'd been referring to. Too late. He's already on his way.
Ethan gritted his teeth, feeling torn, stuck in the middle of all this shit. He keyed in one last text to Kayla. Ty can only treat you like shit if you keep letting him. He knew the words were harsh, but goddamn, he felt bad for her.
Ethan lifted his hips and slipped his cell back in his pocket. When he slid his butt back to the seat, he couldn't control the small adjustment that brought him just that much closer to Ava. He was sitting so close now that he felt it when her breath hitched. He glanced across the booth again and knew that Ty's attention was focused on Hannah. Taking the few seconds advantage that the situation gave him, he concentrated solely on Ava sitting next to him.
She was quiet, her hands in her lap, as she looked straight ahead at her brother and Hannah, ignoring him as completely as possible—and yet, he felt it—she was supremely aware of him.
He slid his eyes over her, feeling his muscles seize with tension. She was wearing shorts, and the bare skin of her leg was so close to his blue-jean encased thigh that it was setting him off. She'd been eating french fries, and there was a speck of salt on her thigh. He reached down and brushed it off, trying like hell not to let his hand linger. His guts clenched in need as his cock swelled, pushing against his zipper. She reacted to his touch with an intake of breath that made him wrap his fingers around her knee. And then, unable to stop himself, he slid his hand up and down her thigh, feeling not only her skin, but every breath she took. Instantaneously, the rest of the world disappeared for him. All he was aware of was the soft, amazing skin underneath his hand that he'd fantasized about touching for years.
The moment didn't last near long enough. When he dragged his eyes away from Ava's silky flesh, Josh was standing beside the booth with his hands clenched into fists, his fury evident as he stared down at Ty sitting next to Hannah.
The look on Josh's face portended trouble. Oh, yeah, Ethan had damn well known this wouldn't be good. Just as he had the thought, Ava flinched, undoubtedly recognizing the sudden danger within the parameter of their table.
Josh grabbed an empty chair from the closest table and pulled it to the end of the booth, dropping down onto it with a pissed jerk of his body. He glanced only once at Hannah, as if gauging whether or not she was okay, and then his look pierced Ty and shit began to go downhill from there.
Ethan was aware that Ava's nerves were stretched tight as she saw the murderous glare that Josh was giving her brother. Slowly, without much thought, Ethan began touching her in a way that he thought would be soothing to her.
When she sucked in a breath and shuddered, arousal attacked his system, his fingers tightening on her leg.
In the back of his brain, Ethan heard Josh bark a few words to Ty, but for the life of him, he couldn't seem to care about anything but Ava. As he caressed her bare skin, she swallowed and surreptitiously turned her head and caught his eye—and it felt like a lightning strike to his gut.
They stared at each other for a few heated moments and Ethan's heart began beating so damn fast he couldn't keep his brain on Josh and Ty and the physical fight that seemed imminent. All he cared about in that moment was Ava and the knowledge that he'd never in his life been this close to her for this long—or been allowed to touch her in a way that he'd never forget until the day he died. The fact that she was watching him with those big beautiful eyes like he'd just hung the moon was spreading a possessive fire through his gut.
But the fucking world kept intruding on his bliss. Josh was getting louder and more verbal than usual and Ethan wanted nothing more than for all of it to just disappear.
When Ava's eyes dropped to her leg, watching his hand caress her, Ethan's eyes followed, and as he stared down at the naked skin under his touch he was only vaguely aware of Josh's threat to Ty. "Cuttin' to the chase, Ty. I don't have the time or the inclination to put up with your bullshit. You've got two choices. Get your ass up and away from Hannah on your own accord, or I'll move it for you."
As the tense scene played out in front of them, Ethan tried to give a damn but it was basically impossible. He was too involved with the intimacy of the moment—the fact that Ava was
letting him touch her under the table, away from prying eyes, was like a dream come true. She wasn't moving a muscle, she was sitting still and letting him touch her, which was both astonishing to him and making him damn near come in his pants as he stared down at his fingers wrapped around her thigh. His fingers clenched on her naked skin once again. She sucked in a silent breath that sent fire raging through his system. His cock was as hard as a rock as he moved his hand up and down her leg. The memory of her near-naked body came back to him; he wanted her so badly he could barely stay seated.
Ethan was barely cognizant of what was going on between his two friends, but at Josh's threat, Ty retaliated. "What the fuck, Turner?"
Ethan was brought out of his near trance as Josh slammed his hand down in front of Ty with a force that shook the table. "Don't use that word in front of Hannah," Josh snarled so viciously that it pulled Ethan back into the real world.
He registered that Ty was looking at Josh as if he were insane and Ty's words confirmed it. "It's your favorite goddamn word, Josh. And don't tell me how the hell I should talk in front of Hannah and my own damn sister."
Before Ethan could even think to keep his opinions to himself, his mouth opened and the words shot out, "I don't much care for it either."
Ty whipped his head around as if thunderstruck and narrowed his eyes on Ethan. "Explain that remark, motherfucker," Ty hissed.
Shit. What the hell had he started? "I think it's self-explanatory," Ethan said slowly, not really wanting to start any more shit, especially not in the middle of the crowded diner.
Ty's eyes turned into molten slits of lava as he stared at him, noticing how closely he was sitting next to Ava. Fuck. Just great. Now Ty looked like he wanted to kill him as well as Josh. Ty's look turned fierce as he hissed, "I don't think it is—"
The very second that Ty's attention turned to Ethan, Josh lost all patience and he cut off Ty's words with an order that contained murderous threat. "Get out of the booth, Ty."
