Connected To Him (ManxMan) ✔️

Part 2: Chapter 37

Chapter 37: Gelato

Ethan was pretty shaken up at work as he waited for his lunch break to start. He'd been receiving messages all morning about the brunch he had with Chris, Aiden, and Aaron and with each little ding he grew more tense. Not to mention that Clark told him about a date he had with Santiago that morning. Ethan's brain decided to produce an image of him holding Chris' hand on one of their dates several years ago and the scene hadn't left Ethan all morning.

The amount of stress coursing through his body was quite plain to see. His team's intern, Miley, asked him multiple times if he needed a break and the mom of their group, Tim, kept handing him drinks.

Ethan liked to think that he mellowed out over the years. His energetic, larger than life personality got toned down through maturity and pointed effort but this brunch had him bouncing off the walls. He couldn't stop making noise, whether that was chatting with a coworker or hitting his pen against his desk. If Ethan ever noticed it, he was filled with embarrassment but the nerves took over again and he was back to it in no time.

He was sure that it was a relief to the entire floor when Ethan announced that he was going out for his lunch break.

Little Italy wasn't very far from where Ethan worked but to make sure he didn't get back past his lunch break, Ethan took a taxi. He was immensely grateful that the woman picking him up wasn't very talkative. As they drove to the restaurant, Ethan let the hum of the car tires fall to the background and entertained himself with his thoughts. The thoughts were as stressful as before and without the distraction of work and colleagues, Ethan's mind really ran away with them. By the time they slowed in front of a new restaurant with sleek black windows and a cursive white sign, Ethan was a ball of stress.

Ethan used his car to pay for the ride and got out of the car, all while muttering to himself.

"This is ridiculous. You are a grown man," He told himself, walking up to the restaurant. "You can handle a little meal."

Ethan repeated similar statements as he opened the door, greeted the hostess, and was led to their table. He had actually begun to believe himself until he locked eyes with a tall, dark-skinned man and his mind went blank.

Yeah, no. He couldn't handle a little meal.

Any word spoken to Ethan sounded like it was being said underwater. He nodded when they told him they'd just gotten drinks and started to read the menu himself, but everything felt off. Ethan was simply watching the events take place, not participating in them. His laugh felt forced, his eyes barely focused, and the feeling of sprite touching his tongue was foreign. Ethan brought his hand to his thigh and squeezed, trying to come back to himself.

Aiden was the first to pick up on the strangeness. All analogies relating to tension–the knife, the elephant, etc–seemed to fit perfectly and he looked at Aaron, sending him a quick look.

Do something!

Aaron squinted at Aiden for a moment, trying to decipher his husband's look. When he got it, his eyes widened hilariously and he sprung into action.

"So, Chris, how is the apartment hunt going?" Aaron asked his friend, causing Chris to start a bit with the attention suddenly on him.

"Um, it's going well. It's different being back and having to pay my own rent, you know?" Chris said, chuckling a bit at himself. "Before, this place felt like a free wonderland. Now I'm discovering how much stuff actually costs."

"I hope the guest bedroom isn't too uncomfortable," Aiden interjected with an apologetic smile. "We always had it set up just in case. You're the first person to use it for more than one night."