Page 5 of Desperate Temptations (Immoral Starts)
FIVE
TRENT
We find him easy enough, considering he works at the same company as Lyndsey. Ethan didn’t take it well when we tracked him to the same office she helped open a few years ago. He’s been sitting at the bistro, silently drinking his coffee for over an hour now.
“There’s no way her parents don’t know,” Ethan says, the anger causing his voice to rise.
I set my sandwich on the plate, chewing slowly as I keep my gaze on my food.
I agree with him. It seems unlikely that her parents would be unaware of their own grandchild, but confirming his suspicion seemed like lighting a match to start the fire.
So I try to redirect his focus because Lyndsey’s parents can be dealt with later.
“What about the guy? When was he hired? There’s no way he didn’t know about you.”
Ethan’s jaw grinds back and forth. “If he knows about me, and everyone just allowed me to live my life like a fucking fool…”
“And they’re not your family anymore, so fuck them if they did.”
He nods, finishing up his food and standing. “Let’s get this over with. They should be leaving soon.”
I shove down the last few bites of my food and follow him out of the cafe.
We’re only a few blocks from the building where Lyndsey’s family company is.
I hold up my phone, showing Ethan the photo of the guy again.
Unlike Lyndsey, he doesn’t have a private account because the man has nothing to hide.
The only good thing is that he had the decency to keep his kid off social media.
I’m not sure if it was to hide her from Ethan or just the general notion to prevent the clutches of the dark web from grabbing the pictures.
“What’s the plan?”
Ethan shrugs. “I just want to talk. He might try to run.”
“So what? You want me to try to block him in?” I ask, taking in the parking lot filled with cars. I’m not familiar enough with the laws or procedures in London to know how long or even if police would be called for a minor scuffle.
“I’m hoping we don’t need all that. I just want a simple conversation,” Ethan says with a sigh. He seems exhausted already, as if the mere thought of confronting his wife’s affair partner is draining him.
“And if he doesn’t want to talk, then we’ll talk to a lawyer about it, okay?”
He nods and we settle closer to the building. It’s not long before people start to wander out, hitting that time that everyone seems to get off work.
The guy stops short next to his car, knowing exactly who Ethan is. He tucks his shoulders back and juts his chin up. “What do you want?”
“To talk, fucker. Obviously.” Ethan sneers.
I glance around and then point to the side of the building across the way. “Let’s move away from listening ears.”
He sighs, opening his car to toss his laptop bag in then follows us to the more secluded spot.
“I’ll be right over,” I tell Ethan, wanting to give them a little privacy for whatever he wants to ask.
His eyebrows flicker, as if confused why I would move away, but then he nods.
I walk a few feet away, crossing my arms as I lean against the wall.
My best friend says something and the guy smiles, unease curling in my stomach as I watch the exchange. He’s getting too much pleasure from Ethan’s pain.
Ethan pulls his arm back and socks the guy in the face before I realize what’s happening.
“Bro, what!” I shout as I rush toward them while Ethan follows him to the ground, throwing another punch. Wrapping my arms under Ethan’s, I pull him off, using the weight of my body to throw us back and we stagger to our feet a few steps away.
Lyndsey’s fake husband stands, wiping the blood off his lip. “I’m going to fucking sue you.”
Ethan struggles to get out of my hold. “If she’s mine, I’m taking her.”
The guy has a decency to look slightly worried before sneering. “She’s not. Lyndsey told me all about how you used to fuck her. Wrong hole, wanker.”
It takes all my strength to hold Ethan back as I throw my body at him again, so we stumble into a wall.
“Get the fuck out of here before he kills you!” I yell at the guy before moving to stand in front of Ethan. Grabbing his face, I rest our foreheads against one another.
“Look at me. He’s trying to provoke you. Think, Ethan.” My words are low, not knowing if the guy actually left after I told him to.
His breaths came in quick pants, fanning across my face as we stay like that.
“It’s okay. We’ll figure it out, okay?” I whisper. Meeting his dead wife’s affair partner is affecting him more than he probably thought it would.
Ethan’s eyes shift up to mine, only a heartbeat away as we stare at each other.
“It’ll be okay,” I assure him again. “I’ve got you. I’ve got you. We’ll figure it out, but not if you’re in jail.”
Something flashes in his gaze, and then he shifts his head, his nose dragging along mine before our lips brush against each other. I jerk back, letting go of him as my heart beats wildly. My fingers ache to trace my mouth and feel the still stinging heat of our brief touch.
Ethan clears his throat, standing straighter and keeping his attention away from me.
Glancing over my shoulder, I realize the guy left us at some point. “What’d he say?”
Ethan grimaces, the flicker of pain back on his face. “He knew who I was. Said I was her loser ex-husband that wouldn’t sign the divorce papers. Then he called… It doesn’t matter. He made it sound like Lyndsey and I have been over for years.”
“I have a friend who can probably set us up with a good lawyer. Let me talk to her, okay? But I think we need to stay until then.”
He nods, blowing out a breath. When I walk away, he grabs onto my arm. I blink at him, confused as his cheeks pinken. Ethan lets go of me and shakes his head.
“I just… nevermind. It was dumb.”
His behavior has been strange for the past couple days, but I can’t begin to imagine what he’s going through. I figure he wants to open up, and while I’m not the best person to speak about feelings, I’ll be damned if my best friend shuts down on himself.
“Whatever you have to say, you can say it. Nothing’s dumb if it’s bothering you,” I say, trying not to cringe at how fucking lame I sound. It’s as if I read it from inside a Hallmark card.
Ethan grimaces, scratching at the back of his neck. “It’s just something he said. It’s wrong. Lynds and I only did anal a few times.”
My breathing skips, stalling in my lungs because what the fuck did he just blurt out? Noise quiets to a static ringing as I take in Ethan’s embarrassed face and try to make sense of the words he just spewed. My mouth opens and shuts a few times before my eyebrows knit together in confusion.
“Okay?”
What the fuck else could I say? I’d been too busy trying to keep him from going to jail to be bothered to listen to whatever that man was saying.
Ethan nods once, laughing nervously. “I just—I don’t know why I needed to clarify that.”
“Did she imply that you wanted to fuck her in the ass… because of me?”
His face pales a bit and his throat bobs with a harsh swallow. “Yeah, I think so. I can’t remember exactly. It’s been years, but I remember getting mad at her comment. Then I didn’t talk to her for weeks.”
I lick my drying lips and step away from him, rubbing a hand down my face.
Blowing out a breath, I look at my best friend with uncertainty.
It’s something that should have been addressed years ago, but I let it go for him.
I made sure I had little interaction with her family, but now I can see some of their ideology might have confused Ethan.
“You know that plenty of straight people have anal sex, right?” I ask hesitantly, an embarrassed flush working up to my ears.
He grimaces then groans, holding his face in his hands. “Fuck. I know this. I didn’t mean—I’m just?—”
“Look, no disrespect to Lynds and her family. Well, maybe a little disrespect, but I think they have some homophobia they need to address. And that’s on them to fix, but if you like to fuck your wife in the ass, it’s not because your best friend is bi, okay?”
Ethan lets out a hollow laugh and stands up straight, glancing at me with red cheeks. “Right, that was stupid to say.”
“I’m sure it won’t be the last either. That guy just hit a nerve. Let’s get back to the hotel and take some time to think about our next steps.”