Page 63 of Boss and Brat

“Yeah,” Ethan said. “But… are you sure you’re okay?”

Carter exhaled through his nose. “Just thinking.”

“About what?”

Carter hesitated. Then he said something he immediately regretted. “About how much you trust me.”

Ethan blinked. “Is that… bad?”

“No,” Carter said, voice low. “It’s not bad. It’s just… a lot.”

Ethan’s expression softened, and Carter felt that dangerous warmth again. He turned back to the stove before Ethan could see it.

They sat down at the table a few minutes later, plates between them, facing each other. The silence wasn’t awkward—just charged. Like both of them were waiting for the other to say something first.

Ethan pushed his food around with his fork. “Can I ask you something?”

Carter’s gut clenched hard enough to steal his focus. “Depends.”

Ethan looked up, eyes steady. “Have you ever been to a gay club?”

Carter froze.

Completely.

His fork hovered halfway to his mouth. His breath stalled. His mind blanked. He didn’t move, didn’t blink, didn’t breathe.

Ethan’s face fell instantly. “Sorry. I shouldn’t have—”

“No,” Carter cut in, voice rough. “It’s not that.” He set his fork down slowly, carefully, as if any sudden movement might give him away. “We’ll talk about it after dinner.”

Ethan nodded, but worry crept into his expression—the kind that tightened his mouth and pulled his shoulders in. The kid clearly thought he’d messed up, like he’d stepped over some invisible line Carter hadn’t even drawn.

But the truth was… Carter didn’t know what the hell to say. If he lied, he’d break the trust Ethan had just given him. If he told the truth, he’d open a door he wasn’t sure he had the right to open. He battled himself hard. He wasn’t ashamed of who he was. He wasn’t ashamed of what he’d done or where he’d been. But he was terrified of what it meant now—here—with Ethan sitting across from him, looking at him like the answer mattered. Because it did. To both of them.

Carter picked up his fork again, but his appetite was gone. His pulse throbbed in his ears. He didn’t know what he was going to say after dinner. He just knew one thing for sure: Whatever he said… it was going to change everything.

Dinner had been quiet—too quiet—until Ethan broke the silence.

Ethan pushed a piece of chicken around his plate, shoulders tight like he was waiting for someone to snap at him. “It’s my fault,” he muttered. “I shouldn’t’ve brought up… stuff like that at dinner.” He kept his eyes down. “Growing up, we weren’t allowed to talk about anything that might make my dad angry. No sad stuff. No real stuff. If I said the wrong thing, he’d tell me to get up and go to my room. No dinner.”

Carter set his fork down again, the scrape louder than he meant. That hit harder than he expected—too familiar in wayshe didn’t want to unpack. “Ethan… that’s not how a family’s supposed to be.” He kept his voice steady, but something in his chest pulled tight. “My parents had their own strict rules too. Ones I’d rather forget.”

Something twisted in Carter’s chest.Jesus.He looked down at his fork, trying to keep his voice steady. “Ethan… that’s not normal.” It was a toss-up as to which of Ethan’s parents was more problematic.

Ethan shrugged like he didn’t want to make a big deal out of it. “It’s just how it was.”

“I haven’t returned to Texas since I left.”

That earned him a quick glance from Ethan—curious, soft, almost grateful—but Carter looked away before he let it linger. He didn’t want to open that door. Not tonight. Not when he was already fighting the urge to reach across the table and touch the kid’s hand.

When the last dish was dried and the counters wiped down, Carter exhaled like he’d been holding his breath the whole time.

“Let’s go outside,” he said. “By the lake. We should talk.”

Ethan nodded, almost too quickly, like he’d been waiting for that.

They pulled on their boots and stepped out into the cool night. The air smelled of pine and damp earth, and the lake reflected the moon in broken silver pieces. They walked until they reached the trees near the shoreline, then sat down opposite each other, backs against separate trunks but close enough that Carter could see every shift in Ethan’s expression.