Thank you for the love and the comments! Jack and Ethan are a slow burn, but it's coming! I actually have this whole story written out but I need to separate it into sections and chapters, and proofread it to be able to upload it here, so you will get pieces of it every few days. Keep commenting and don't forget to vote!
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Jack stopped by the Inn the next day to help Ethan with the fence and between the two of them they were able to finish it by dinner time. Ethan ordered pizza and they sat in the dining area and talked. Jack realized they had not exchanged numbers the night before so they did so.
When Jack got home he sent him a winky face emoji via text.
Ethan texted back: Thanks for helping me today. I appreciate it.
Jack texted: Anytime. You're picking up EJ tomorrow?
Ethan: Yup. I miss my little nugget so much.
Jack: Cool. If you ever want company to take that ride, just let me know.
Ethan: Slow down there kid, I don't know you like that. I don't just put anybody in my BMW.
Jack: Dude. It's an X5. You have a mom car.
Ethan: Shut the fuck up.
Jack: LOL :'D
Ethan: :P
Jack: Is that a tongue? You're soooo gay.
Ethan: :O *eggplant emoji*
Jack: LOL
Ethan: Good night, Jack.
Jack: Night E.
~~~~~~
The following week, Jack stopped by every day to help out, but he ended up babysitting EJ which he didn't mind at all. After a full week of Jack coming around and Ethan giving him tasks, Jack said, "You should just hire me part time."
Ethan scoffed. "As what, my babysitter?"
Jack feigned sadness. "I do more than that around here. I literally cleaned your gutters yesterday."
Ethan liked the idea of having Jack around every day but played it cool. "What about the warehouse?"
"Henrietta is home with her fancy Management degree from Harvard, so she is going to take over running the warehouse. Honestly, I am happy to step aside."
Ethan said, "OK. Facilities Management. Monday through Friday 1pm to 5pm, that's 20 hours a week."
Jack was delighted, he did not think Ethan would go for it that quickly. "Yea? For real?"
Ethan shrugged. "Someone has to clean the toilets around here." He smiled.
Stacy who was within ear shot of the conversation laughed as well. Ethan said to her, "Add Jack name to the system and show him the ropes. Jack, that's your immediate supervisor. Do what she tells you to do." He winked at her. Jack groaned and Stacy smiled slyly.
Jack started working for Ethan the following Monday, second week in June. He did whatever that was asked of him, from cleaning rooms, changing bed clothes, mowing the grass, grocery shopping and repairs around the Inn. But his favorite pastime was was keeping EJ occupied. If Ethan was on an important phone call, or going through the books or had to run an errand, he would put EJ in Jack's capable hands. And Jack would feed him, play games, sing nursery rhymes and rock him to sleep for naps. Ethan gave Jack access to the basement apartment so that EJ would be comfortable, but maybe he also wanted Jack in his space. A couple of times a week, Jack would hang out there after work with Ethan, and they would watch sports or Netflix shows.
The last week of June that EJ was with his grandparents, Ethan had Jack's friends, who were quickly becoming his friends too, hang out in his apartment every night with them, Henrietta and Brayden, Mina and Sam, Connor and Afia, Liam and June. They sat around, ate lots of take out and drank wine and beer. Ethan considered asking Jack to take the drive with him that Sunday to pick up EJ but at the last minute chickened out, still unsure of why Jack made him nervous sometimes when they were just friends.
In July, Jack and Ethan spent Independence Day together making a barbecue for the occupants of the Inn, then on Wincheck Pond with the rest of the town watching fireworks in the evening with EJ between them on the blanket. June teased Jack when he came home and said, "For two people that are just friends, you two sure did look cozy."
He brushed her off. "We're just friends, Junie. If there was something more, you know I would tell you." But Jack was slowly beginning to wonder himself.
Jack and Ethan continued to hang out at the Red Rock in his basement apartment, with or without their friends. Hanging out with others reminded Ethan that he used to be a fun guy and he let down his guard a bit more every day. But the moments when it was the two of them was just as nice, if not nicer. Ethan grew to really like Jack. He was definitely intelligent, thoughtful, and quick with his humor and comebacks.
He also had such a calming personality, very slow to overreact to pretty much anything, from broken pipes to EJ's incomprehensible crying at times. He had the patience of a saint. Everything had a bright side, a positive outlook and Ethan appreciated that. He also appreciated how easy on the eyes Jack was. Whenever his shirt rode up as he stretched for something Ethan admired his washboard abs. His body was fucking amazing, he thought every time he saw pieces of it, and the summer time allowed him to see more and more of it, which he liked a lot.
Jack saw Ethan's fun side as well as his serious side, and liked them both. When he was rolling around on the floor with EJ making him laugh or taking people's money playing pool or making snarky comments, his smile made Jack smile. And when he was going though the books, or repairing a door, his face screwed up tightly, brown hair that was a bit longer in the front falling over his right eye, Jack thought he was sexy. He imagined more than once that face over him while fucking. Then he would laugh the thoughts off or push them down. He had no intention of of turning this into anything more than what they had- a friendship, albeit a close one.
On the first Saturday in August with just the two of them hanging in his apartment, Jack asked Ethan, "You say you are Catholic but you don't go to Mass. Why?"
"Jack, I am gay and divorced. The Catholic Church does not want to see me come through those doors." He sighed.
Jack asked, "Are you going for them or going for your own faith?"
Ethan sighed again. "I don't know. While thinking I was going to change one sin, the other sin happened."
"E, shut up about sins. You can't change who are. But have you ever just thought about getting it annulled? The church will understand why you got married, it was kind of under duress."
"I thought about it once, and it immediately bothered me. How could I say it never happened when the most important thing in the world came out of it?" Ethan said seriously. Jack wanted to point out the conception happened way before the marriage, but Ethan wasn't ready to hear logic right now. Instead he tried a different angle.
"Okay. The divorce thing and communion gets tricky. But the gay part, I mean, I'm in there every Sunday, taking communion, getting my sins forgiven at confession weekly like everybody else. Because I am just like every body else. WE are like everybody else."
Jack paused, then asked, "Are you out?" He had been wanting to ask Ethan for a while now since all this time they had been hanging out with their friends, it had never come up.
Ethan paused, then said, "Define, 'out.' "
"Er...Okaaaay."
"I mean...my friends and family members all know," Ethan said. "They were more shocked that I ended up marrying a woman. I don't broadcast it because my private life is private, but I won't deny it if I'm asked outright. But I'm also not hanging a rainbow flag outside of the B&B."
Jack smirked. "So, don't ask, don't tell?"
"No, I'm not that bad. I'm just not introducing myself as Gay Ethan. I mean, you didn't tell me you were gay until I told you."
"But everyone in town knows I'm gay so you were going to find out anyway. And yea, well I wanted you to know you had an ally, so I told you myself."
"Right, you tell the people who matter when it matters."
Jack couldn't help it. "So I matter to you?" He smirked.
Ethan said, "Shut up." His stomach flipped and he found himself smiling.
"Back to my original question," said Jack. "Come to Mass with me tomorrow. Father O'Donnell knows I'm gay and I still get to partake in communion and get after church crumb cake."
Ethan shook his head. "I don't know."
Jack asked, "Is EJ baptized?"
"Of course."
"Well it's my duty as the good Catholic to tell you as the bad Catholic that you are damning his sweet soul to purgatory unless you get that sweet face into Mass. And you can come too."
Ethan looked over at EJ playing with blocks, thoughtful. "Ok, we'll go."
Jack clapped his hands. "Great, I will come over at 7:45am and walk over with you guys."
~~~~~
Ethan was ready on time with EJ in the stroller. He wore his best dark blue slacks, button down white shirt and a blue designer tie. He was highly annoyed that Jack showed up in blue jeans and a regular button down shirt. At his disapproving look, Jack laughed and said, "Hey, it's you who has to impress Jesus, Mary and Joseph, not me."
Ethan was nervous walking over to St. Cecilia's Church, but Jack as usual in his calm way put him at ease by talking about random stuff. They came in and sat a few rows from the back together. Jack nodded at his family on the other side near the front, his uncle Henry and aunt Marie, Henrietta, Mina and June all took up one row. Stacy, who he assumed has the emergency front desk phone, and Liam along with a couple of others who he assumed were their family members, sat directly behind them. Stacy gave Ethan a thumbs up.
BJ sauntered in late and sat in the row with Jack and Ethan. Ethan noticed pretty much the whole town was here. He wondered who were the Lutherans who went to the other church on the other side of town. He realized he did not see Brayden, which he rarely sees without Henrietta, and figured that's where he and his family were on a Sunday morning.
