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“He’s lucky to have you.”
“I’m lucky to have him too. He gave me something to fight for.” It was hard, thinking about everything he and Ethan had endured. It wasn’t something he usually brought up. There was something about Felipe that made him feel at ease.
“What do you mean?”
“Growing up, it was me and my mom. My mom had two jobs so she could pay the rent and buy food, so I was on my own a good deal of the time. We lived in whatever shithole we could afford, though sometimes we were barely able to pay for that much. There were a few months when we were living in my mom’s car. We moved around so Social Services wouldn’t take me away from her. She did her best, and she was clean. No drugs, no booze, no string of deadbeat boyfriends. When my dad left, he took everything but the car. He would have taken that if she hadn’t chased after him with a shotgun.”
“I’m so sorry to hear that.”
“Yeah, I wasn’t always the shiny agent you see before you,” Calvin said with a laugh. He moved his gaze to his fingers, feeling embarrassed. “Anyway, Ethan wasn’t much better off. His dad lost his job after he was left paralyzed by the Melanoe virus. It slowly ate away at his immune system, affecting his leg muscles. Took years, working beneath the surface. You know what Therian medicine was like back then. Imagine being a little kid and hearing your dad screaming in pain day in and day out. No one could do anything about it. Ethan’s doctors believed he was traumatized by the ordeal, bringing on the SM. The hospital bills bankrupted them. They lost the house and everything in it, forcing them to move into a shitty complex, right next door to us. We met at school.”
“And now?”
Calvin couldn’t help his smile. “We got out. Together, we made a pact. We always wanted to help people, protect them. Ethan’s older brothers worked for the THIRDS, and Ethan wanted to follow in their footsteps. I wanted to be someone my mom could be proud of. My dad had let her down. I wasn’t going to do the same. Rafe, Seb, and Ethan worked to get their parents a new house, and I’d been saving every penny I could for years. With the THIRDS, I managed to buy my mom a nice little brownstone on the same block as Ethan’s family. By then our moms had been through almost as much as we had. They’re best friends, help each other out. We didn’t want to separate them. We’re family.”
“Can I ask a favor?” Felipe leaned in close and placed his hand on Calvin’s.
“Um, sure.”
“Would you come to my youth center and talk to the kids?”
“Me?” Calvin couldn’t help his surprise at the request.
“Yes. Your story is inspiring. Everything you and Ethan suffered, where you came from, it’s not defined you. Look at you. You saved my life. These kids need to see that, no matter where they are in life right now, it can get better. You’re living proof of that.”
“I, uh, sure. Of course. Call me, and we’ll set up a date.” Wow. Calvin didn’t know what else to say. No one had ever looked at him as a role model before. He’d never pictured himself as anything other than a survivor. Though he often wondered if he would have ended up where he was now without Ethan at his side.
There was a distinct clearing of the throat, and Calvin turned his head up at a disgruntled-looking Ethan. He narrowed his eyes at Calvin before he dropped his gaze to Calvin’s hand. Felipe swiftly pulled away. Calvin had been so lost in thought he hadn’t noticed Felipe’s hand had still been on his. He hadn’t felt Ethan approach either.
“Felipe, this is Ethan Hobbs. Ethan, you know Felipe Bautista.”
Ethan looked Felipe over, his expression guarded.
“It’s an absolute pleasure to meet you, Ethan. Calvin’s told me so much about you.”
Felipe smiled widely, and Ethan wrinkled his nose in response. This was going well. From somewhere close by, someone called over to Felipe.
“My friends have arrived. Please excuse me.”
Calvin was pretty sure it wasn’t just the arrival of his friends that had Felipe taking off in a hurry. Ethan stepped in front of Calvin, blocking his view of Felipe. Well, this was new.
“What?”
Ethan motioned behind him, where Calvin could just about make out Felipe hugging his friends and smiling brightly. They chatted before going off to find a table. When Calvin turned back to Ethan, his best friend put his hand on Calvin’s as Felipe had done.
Wait, was Ethan jealous?
“We were talking. He’s been having a hard time since the incident with Collins.”
Ethan removed his hand and turned to the bar. His expression hadn’t changed. He was jealous. At times Calvin had no idea what to do with Ethan in these types of situations. With a sigh, he got up.
“I’m going to the bathroom.” He left Ethan at the bar and headed for the restroom. How was he supposed to process this information? Ethan was jealous. So he didn’t want Calvin getting close to another guy, yet he was afraid to be with Calvin. Was it that big a step? They’d already kissed and fooled around. They had their friendship to keep them grounded. He wished he knew what Ethan wanted from him. Whatever it was, he hoped Ethan decided soon. Calvin didn’t know how much more his heart could take.
“I SEE you two are getting nowhere fast.”
Great. Just what Ethan didn’t need. He let out a grunt in response to Ash’s tease.
“Don’t get pissy with me. If you don’t make a move on your boy, someone else will. I got a feeling there’s a certain wolf Therian who wouldn’t think twice. Bautista’s alre
