ERIC

Ethan flips on his heel and cocks his head. “The one with the goofy boyfriend?”

“I wanted to like him.”

“No you fuckin’ didn’t.”

Frowning at the sky I mutter, “Nah, I really didn’t. But I tried to despite hoping I wouldn’t.”

Ethan makes a face. “What?!”

“Didn’t make sense?”

“Barely! You got any water?”

“Yeah, some glass bottles in here.” Unlocking the door I dig around. “You can’t leave plastic in the heat. Chemicals melt into the water. Been known to cause cancer.” Straightening up I catch him staring at me like, dude, you forget my IQ?

Ethan is a genius, literally, a member of Mensa, and he patented an invention that made him a billionaire. Maybe a couple of them by now. I don’t keep up because he doesn’t brag. But he also doesn’t want to be taught anything by me. I hand him the bottle, “I know you’re smart, fucker, but that doesn’t mean you know everything.”

He uncorks it, “It kinda does.” Glugging as much as he can take without throwing up he wipes his lips and grins, “Damn, when you’re really thirsty, water tastes as good as whiskey. Back to the boyfriend—what was his name?”

“Said it was Pete for our benefit. He goes by Peter normally, I’m pretty sure.”

“Yeah I caught that, too. He’s not into her.”

Opening my own bottle I replay everything I watched down there in the park. “You don’t think so?”

“Nope.”

“How can you tell?”

Ethan shrugs, “You know how Dad looks at Mom?”

“Oh, right,” I mutter, picturing how in love our parents have always been.

“Same way I look at my Charlie, right?”

“Yeah.”

“You think that guy is into her? Think back and picture the scene. Now I know he was excited as hell to meet you in person, but still. He never looked at her. Held himself at a distance. When she touched his back he didn’t react! Barely even knows she’s there.”

“You picked all that up?”

Ethan taps his head. “I can read people spot-on when I want to. Practically know what they’re thinking. And I always find it interesting when a woman that hot is with a guy who doesn’t dig her. Dude isn’t into her but she doesn’t know it.”

“Yeah, I felt that too, but I thought I might be biased.”

“You like her? Who is she?”

“I thought she was a waitress—excuse me, they prefer to be called servers I guess. She works at O’Neal’s, but I never saw her after the first weekend we met. The team and I hang out there after home games. I found out she bartends sporadic weeknight shifts—schedule changes. Inconsistent, which is a bitch, you know? She’s there every Friday and Saturday night though. She’s good, real good, keeps her head on straight even when it’s four deep with drunks. She’s got these great laughing eyes, man. They weren’t that way down there when you met her in the park, probably because of him, but normally they’re all cute and crinkly at the edges. Problem is I can’t stay out late on the weekend nights so I’m always leaving early and I fuckin’ hate it. What? What’s with the face?”

Ethan laughs through his nose as he makes the water disappear, head thrown back. Gasping for air he smirks at me, “Where does she live and what window does she dress in front of?”

I push his chest, stepping back as I do it to put more distance between us. “Fuck you, I’m not stalking her.”

“Oh yeah? What do you call it?” he grins.

Exasperated I defend myself, “I can’t drink before a game, so when I found out her schedule I remembered it because it’s inconvenient.”

He laughs, “Inconvenient?!”

“Yeah! Inconvenient!”

“To your plans of getting her into your bed? Am I understanding you right?”

“Yes! That’s all. I think she’d be…fun.”

Shaking his head he starts for his car. “You have no fuckin’ clue. Talk to ya later!”

“Hey!” I run after him, matching his pace as we head toward one of the five Teslas he owns. “What am I missing?”

“I’m not going to tell you if you don’t already know.”

“That’s exactly why you should tell me!”

Throwing his keys up and catching them he chuckles, “Nope.”

He tosses ‘em one more time but I snatch them from the air and start running to the edge of the roof, dangling them. “You wanna search for these? All the way down in those dense-as-fuck bushes? Sound like fun?”

Ethan warns me, “Don’t you dare.”

I jingle them and smirk, “Test me. Take a step closer.”

“Oh you suck.” Raking his wet hair back he stares at the keys then at my face, wondering if he should rush me and see what happens.

“Test me. Come on.”

He paces, teeth grinding until he barks, “Alright! What you’re missing is that you want more than a fuck. You’re interested in her. Compelled even.”

Palming the keys I ball my fist. “You’re wrong. It’s not what you think.”

“Hey I’m not saying forever or anything. I have no idea who you’ll fall for long-term. But Eric, you definitely don’t just want to bang her and run. Something about her has your balls in a vice. She owns you already, yet somehow neither of you knows it.”

As he takes a step closer I dangle the keys again. “That’s bullshit!”

“You wouldn’t be asking about her boyfriend, checking with me to see if I think you have a shot. You’d take the shot, run, and not look back. What’s her name again?”

“Wren.”

Ethan’s forehead wrinkles up as he squints at the sky like he’s reading an encyclopedia up there. “Wren, small cinnamon-colored bird known as the House Wren because it likes to nest near where humans live, or in bird houses. Known for its beautiful song. Quite small though,” he smirks, locking onto my eyes. “Yet here she holds the power over a mighty Falcon. Fascinating.”

And just like that, I drop the keys. “Oh no, what happened?”

My brother loses his shit, half laughing, half pissed as hell. “I can’t believe you just did that!”

Wiping my hands on a grin, I head to my Jeep and mutter as I pass him, “Believe it.”