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  I know things were bad for you, but I want to make them better.

  I thought about that for a minute. I got that he wanted to make me happy, hell, even I liked making him smile, but life had a way of keeping smiles to a minimum. What if they never are?

  His mouth twisted as he read that and typed his answer. Then I guess we suffer together. I fell in love with who you are. Even the miserable parts.

  Thanks, I sent back.

  Well, not the calculus parts though.

  His math-hate didn’t matter. He still wanted me. And I really wanted him. With a glance to see if the man was back to focusing on the floor, I reached over and squeezed Ethan’s thigh. I think it was the first time I’d ever touched him first in public, deliberately.

  He smiled at me and I knew it—we—were going to be okay.

  I pulled my hand back.

  Ethan leaned back in his chair and stretched his legs out in front of him. “God. Four more weeks of break.”

  “Three and a half. And I didn’t even need calculus.”

  He drew a leg back and kicked my ankle. “Do you think your uncle will let me visit?”

  “Maybe.”

  He sighed.

  I checked the time on my phone, and then sent him another text. Do you want to go make out in the car?

  Ethan jumped to his feet. “Hell yeah.” He grabbed my hand.

  Chapter 13

  We texted and talked during winter break but Ethan didn’t make it out to Pittsburgh. Uncle Owen had said he could visit and stay for a few days, but Ethan’s impromptu trip taking me to the bus station had cost him car privileges and he’d blown all his cash on our hotel night. He didn’t mention his parents much when we talked.

  I got a little better at sexting, but things weren’t going to feel right until we were back at school. So much for me liking the quiet. I missed the fuck out of Ethan.

  The first night after break, Connor went off to spend the night with Amy and I made my way to Ethan’s room. I was hunched under my hoodie in a way I hadn’t been in a long time. What if in all that time he’d forgotten how I looked, or decided I was too freaky looking. It wasn’t just my eye colors, Waardenburg gave me weirdly spaced features. One time a guy in juvie said I was two pointy ears shy of an elf head, and he hadn’t even been trying to start something. He’d thought it was cool.

  “C’mon in,” Ethan said to my knock. He sounded distracted.

  I held my breath as I pushed open the door, hoping his not very excited tone meant he was setting up some kind of surprise like his Christmas tree and not that he’d had second thoughts about us not being broken up.

  No surprise, unless you counted that Ethan was at his desk.

  “Hey.” The word came out of my throat sounding thin and not the casual thing I’d been aiming for.

  “Hi.” He looked up from his folder and smiled at me and my throat loosened a little.

  But then he looked down and swallowed. “I’m trying to not be pushy, but I can’t do that again. Not all summer.”

  Oh. Would it have been better or worse if we’d had reunion sex before he dropped the hammer? I shrugged. “Okay.”

  He stood up. He was wearing that shirt I’d bought for him. Nicely tight, and he did look jumpable as hell. My hands were hidden inside my sweatshirt pocket, and I tightened them into fists to keep from touching him. I could remember how the material had felt. Textured but soft. In that moment I could remember everything about how Ethan felt. His mouth, his body, his cock. I had to get out of there. At least he was breaking up with me face-to-face.

  “What the fuck?” He came toward me. “Wyatt, I don’t want to break up.”

  How had he seen that? I knew I hadn’t let anything show on my face. Stupid voice. I didn’t have as much control over that.

  “What I’m saying is I missed you too much. And my parents—well my mom—she’s being protective. I’m working on her. But I’m going to be nineteen. Even if she thinks she can make things difficult to keep me safe, I’m not letting her stop me.”

  If he’d missed me, why wasn’t he kissing me? And what was in the folder he couldn’t seem to let go of.

  “I really want to have my tongue down your throat and my dick in you, but I don’t want to do that thing again where I just assume you’re going along with stuff so I wanted to talk first.”

  This was freaky. I needed a mirror. All that signing must mean I’d started to make expressions all the time.

  He sat on the bed, folder on his lap. “So I did this for Pittsburgh, but if you want to go somewhere else...”

  “Did what?”

  “I’m going to find someplace to rent and get a job there for the summer. I’ve been checking listings and if I stop getting lattes and save my work study money, with my birthday money I should have enough for a security deposit and a month’s rent. Of course, I still need to find a job, but I’ve been looking at that too. A city is better because of the public transportation though the living expenses are higher. Of course if you wanted to get an apartment with me, we could—”

  I kissed him. I had to. Not just to shut him up—though with Ethan that might always be necessary—but because of what he’d been saying. He was giving up a summer spent hanging out in that big house in the suburbs and maybe that trip to Stone Harbor or wherever on the shore. For me. Because he missed me.

  I pushed him onto the bed, the folder smushed between us. “Too much?” he asked against my mouth.

  I pulled away enough to answer and he filled the space with words.

  “I don’t want to be anywhere you’re not comfortable, even if it’s not easy. I felt like shit even after you said we were good. I’m trying to show you I’m serious about making this work. So is this okay? Can we do this?” His eyes searched my face so hard I wished my hood hadn’t fallen back when I kissed him. “Oh my God.” He was almost laughing. “You’re doing it. You’re making an expression. You’re happy.”

  “Maybe I’m just happy I’m going to get some.”

  He nodded. “I do give one hell of a blow job.”

  “You do.” I sighed, then surrendered. “Okay. Fine. I’m happy.”

  He threw the folder on the floor and rolled me under him. “I’m going for ecstatic. I like a challenge.”

  * * * * *

  Look for the last installment of Ethan and Wyatt’s romance from K.A. Mitchell and Carina Press Spring 2017.

  Author’s Note

  Ethan and Wyatt will be back for thirds.

  Acknowledgments

  Thanks as always to BFS and Erin for the reads and critique.

  Also available from K.A. Mitchell

  and Carina Press

  Getting Him Back

  The Christmas Proposition

  Wish List

  Coming soon from K.A. Mitchell

  and Carina Press

  Ethan and Wyatt’s final installment

  About the Author

  K.A. Mitchell discovered the magic of writing at an early age when she learned that a carefully crayoned note of apology sent to the kitchen in a toy truck would earn her a reprieve from banishment to her room. Around the same time, she decided that G.I. Joe and Ken made a much cuter couple than Ken and Barbie and was perplexed when invitations to play Barbie dropped off. She never stopped making stuff up, though, and was pleased to find out that people would pay her to do it. Over twenty books later, she’s still in love with writing. Reviewers and readers alike have called her a “gateway drug” to gay romance. Although the men in her stories usually carry more emotional baggage than even LAX can lose in a year, she guarantees they always find their sexy way to a happy ending.

  To keep up with K.A. and all of her imaginary friends, please sign up for her newsletter at www.kamitchell
.com.

  Follow her on Twitter: @ka_mitchell.

  Find her on Facebook: Facebook.com/kamitchellauthor.

  Whether you’re looking for a male/male romance that’s sweet, sexy or somewhere in between, you’ll find it at Carina Press!

  The Ethan & Wyatt series by K.A. Mitchell

  An unexpected fresh start leads to an unlikely-but-absolutely-perfect pairing in this male/male new-adult duology from bestselling gay romance author K.A. Mitchell

  GETTING HIM BACK (Ethan & Wyatt, book one)

  BOYFRIEND MATERIAL (Ethan & Wyatt, book two) (August 2016)

  “It is well written and entertaining in all the ways. But there is also an extra…sweetness to the tone which fits with the youth of the characters.”

  —Dear Author

  The #gaymers series by Annabeth Albert

  A new geektastic series from multipublished male/male romance author Annabeth Albert.

  STATUS UPDATE (#gaymers, book one)

  BETA TEST (#gaymers, book two)

  CONNECTION ERROR (#gaymers, book three) (October 2016)

  “This book was a perfect mix of sweet, angst and sexy. This book had it all.”

  —Gay Book Reviews on STATUS UPDATE, recommended read

  The Sassy Boyz series by Elizabeth Varlet

  Meet the Sassy Boyz, a group of androgynous male dancers in New York City who struggle to overcome difficult pasts to show that even damaged boys can find love.

  FIERCE & FABULOUS (Sassy Boyz, book one)

  DARK & DAZZLING (Sassy Boyz, book two)

  The Boundaries series by A.R. Barley

  Featuring an enemies-to-lovers romance, a professor–student relationship and a silver fox who falls for a drag queen, this series is all about testing—and breaking—all the boundaries.

  OUT OF BOUNDS (The Boundaries Series, book one)

  AGAINST THE RULES (The Boundaries Series, book two)

  OUTSIDE THE LINES (The Boundaries Series, book three) (October 2016)

  “A sweet, feel-good story of two young men who help each other heal.”

  —Gay Book Reviews on OUT OF BOUNDS

  The Letting Go series by j. leigh bailey

  These young men will have to let go of who they were to become all they can.

  NOBODY’S HERO (Letting Go, book one)

  RECKLESS HOPE (Letting Go, book two)

  FIGHT TO FORGIVE (Letting Go, book three)

  “I highly recommend this new-adult story to anyone who enjoys seeing the awkwardness of the late-teenage years blossom into young adulthood and the love for another that will not be denied.”

  —USA TODAY on NOBODY’S HERO, recommended read

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  In A.M. Arthur’s male/male romances, friends learn that there’s more to life and love than just sex—no matter how steamy it is!

  “In depicting the hurts of living and the healing comfort of love, [A.M.] Arthur hits all the right notes.”

  —Publishers Weekly

  The Belonging Series (New Adult)

  NO SUCH THING (Belonging, book one)

  MAYBE THIS TIME (Belonging, book two)

  STAND BY YOU (Belonging, book three)

  The Restoration Series (Contemporary Romance)

  GETTING IT RIGHT (Restoration, book one)

  FINDING THEIR WAY (Restoration, book two)

  TAKING A CHANCE (Restoration, book three)

  The All Saints series (Contemporary Romance)

  COME WHAT MAY (All Saints, book one)

  SAY IT RIGHT (All Saints, book two)

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  We think you have a good book in you!

  Do you write in the below genres? Harlequin’s Carina Press wants to see your manuscript.

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  ISBN-13: 9781460397459

  Boyfriend Material

  Copyright © 2016 by K.A. Mitchell

  All rights reserved. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, down-loaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of publisher, Harlequin Enterprises Limited, 225 Duncan Mill Road, Don Mills, Ontario, Canada M3B 3K9.

  All characters in this book have no existence outside the imagination of the author and have no relation whatsoever to anyone bearing the same name or names. They are not even distantly inspired by any individual known or unknown to the author, and all incidents are pure invention.

  This edition published by arrangement with Harlequin Books S.A.

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