Ethan, Who Loved Carter by Ryan Loveless Read Free Book Online

his side. “Hey, Frankie!” Ethan said to the boy. “You have to meet Carter!” Ethan hugged Horatio and Frankie at once. From a safe distance away from the full-throttle greeting, Carter stuck his hand up. Frankie gave Carter an impish smile and Ethan a kiss on the cheek, which made Ethan red with blustery delight. Horatio greeted the rest of Ethan’s family with familiarity and soon tucked into the spread with them. Frankie squeezed up to the table next to Carter.
    “Hey man, you surf?”
    “No.”
    Carter expected the conversation would end there, but Frankie looked aghast. He placed a comforting hand on Carter’s shoulder. “Don’t worry. You will.”
    Before Carter could assure him that he was quite fine on the land, thank you, a trio of women landed on Ethan and smothered him in kisses. Jules, Sal and Rolla, hastily introduced, dragged lawn chairs over. As Liz handed out sandwiches, Carter understood why the family had brought two picnic baskets. He wanted to make a joke about Jesus feeding the masses, but Ethan had told him his family was Jewish after noticing Carter’s Bible, so he didn’t know if they’d be familiar with the reference.
    Ethan sat down next to Carter. He opened his sandwich and spread chips over the meat. Carter showed him that he’d done the same. They shared a secret smile. Secret until Ethan announced that Carter ate his sandwich with chips too, and Carter had to laugh.
    “What’s funny?” Ethan asked.
    “You even make sandwiches exciting.”
    Ethan looked puzzled, but he smiled.
    After dinner, it was back to the sand castle. The tide had washed out part of it, but Ethan simply started over. Carter hauled four more buckets before he collapsed onto a towel. “I’m done,” he said.
    “Okay.” Ethan picked up the bucket and began the slow walk to the water.
    “Ethan.”
    “Let him go,” Elliot said. It sounded like a warning, so Carter scooted over to help scoop out the moat as he watched Ethan from the corner of his eye. Ethan returned with the bucket three-quarters full, having sloshed out some of it, and beaming with pride.
    “Next time you do it,” he said to Elliot.
    “Whatever.” But when the time came, Elliot made the trip without being asked.
    “The water’s cold,” Ethan said. “See?” From his sprawled position, he held up a pink foot.
    Not thinking, Carter pulled it into his lap and rubbed. Ethan jerked like he was ticklish. “Sorry.” Carter let him go, but Ethan plopped the other one down. His toes were painted dark blue. Carter hadn’t noticed them before. He wondered if Ethan had done them himself.
    “Do this one.”
    Carter put on his best annoyed face, which made Ethan laugh. “Fine,” Carter said. “So, who were those people we saw at lunch?”
    “My friends.” He didn’t elaborate, but as Carter was learning, with Ethan there were no qualifiers. Those people were his friends, pure and simple. He dug his thumbs into the sole of Ethan’s foot, which was a good three sizes bigger than Carter’s, not that he was thinking about those implications, not even when Ethan tossed his head back and moaned. Carter hurried to switch to another motion… one less loud .
    Elliot returned with the water. He cast a glare at Carter. “Ethan. Thought you wanted to do the sandcastle.”
    “I’m having my feet rubbed,” Ethan said.
    Carter prepared to say that they should stop because Elliot was making him uncomfortable, but Elliot pivoted to put his back to them and continued working on the castle. Carter returned his concentration to Ethan’s feet. Despite his brother being a few inches away, Ethan’s moans didn’t lose any volume. Elliot put his earbuds in and pointedly turned up his music.
    “Oh, he loves having his feet rubbed,” Liz said. Carter, already tense from Elliot, almost shoved Ethan’s foot away as she came up behind them like a beach ninja, but she leaned down and ruffled Ethan’s hair. “Hey.”
    Ethan looked at her with a dreamy