14 Chapter 14

Ethan let out a sigh of relief when he finally spotted the ranch further up the road. Thanks to his car's crappy GPS and zero cell reception in this part of Montana, he'd been flying blind - or rather, driving blind - for the last two hours or so. It was only when he'd stopped at a farmhouse and asked for directions from a kindly old couple that he'd managed to make his way to the Nature Shade Ranch.

From the outside, it was a lot more different than the place Rob had shown him in the brochure. The main house and its attached buildings looked a lot more modern than the other farmhouses Ethan had passed by, and there was a gruelling-looking obstacle course in the field, instead of grazing cows and sheep. Around the perimeter of the property was a rough jogging track. Ethan smiled at the thought of Rob and his friends being made to run out here at some godforsaken hour before dawn - Rob had complained about it often enough in his emails.

A security guard came out to the gates when he saw Ethan's car idling outside. "Can I help you, son?" he offered as Ethan rolled down his window.

"Hi, I'm here to visit my friend Rob." Ethan passed the guard his ID and the print-out of the invitation email Rob had sent him. The guard's wrinkly face lit up when he spotted Rob's name.

"Oh, you're Hutch's buddy," the guard said with a grin. "He's been looking forward to meeting you. Go right on in, son."

Ethan took back his ID. "Thanks, sir." Once the gates were open, Ethan drove in, wincing as his car crawled through the mud on the driveway.

There were quite a number of cars parked in the visitors' lot, and Ethan spotted Rob's red Toyota immediately. It was stupid how seeing even just Rob's car made Ethan smile and get all excited about seeing his friend again. Fuck, maybe Julia did have a point about Ethan being obvious.

Dragging his luggage out of the trunk, Ethan locked his car doors with a press of his key, his heart racing in his chest at the prospect of seeing Rob again. He didn't know why he felt so giddy, anxious and excited, just like how he'd felt the day before taking Michelle Salazar to the prom. Rob was just his best friend. Ethan shouldn't be getting knots and butterflies in his stomach over his best buddy.

"Get a hold of yourself, Shaw," Ethan muttered to himself, frowning as he trudged up the driveway with his luggage in hand. He had to put aside whatever confusing feelings he had accidentally uncovered in the past month. It was just his break-up with Julia messing with his mind, that was all. And he'd missed his best friend, understandably.

A blond guy with his hair in a man bun was walking up to Ethan with the biggest smile on his face. Ethan thought it was one of the ranch's staff, waiting to welcome him - Rob must have told them about Ethan's imminent arrival. He plastered a polite smile on his face, getting ready to greet the staff member.

Then when he got closer, Ethan's jaw dropped when he realised it wasn't one of the staff.

The man running up to him, beaming from ear to ear was Rob, who had dropped so much weight that Ethan almost couldn't recognise him. "Oh my god, Hutch?" Ethan said in shock, stopping in his tracks and dropping his suitcase.

Laughing, Rob closed the few steps between them and grabbed Ethan for the biggest, tightest, warmest hug in the world. "Ethan!"

They stood there hugging for the longest time. Rob was so happy to see him, and Ethan couldn't stop trembling for some reason. He was overcome with so many emotions: shock at seeing this new changed Rob, happiness at being reunited with his best friend, as well as sheer comfort and safety at being held by the one person he knew would never hurt him or desert him. Ethan shamelessly stole as much comfort as he could in Rob's arms, his eyes shutting in complete bliss.

"Hey, you okay?" The concern in Rob's voice was palpable. He must have felt Ethan shaking in his hug. "Bud, what's wrong?"

Ethan forced himself to get it together. What the hell was wrong with him? "Nothing, um-- nothing." His voice was hoarse with emotion, so Ethan cleared his throat, hoping Rob didn't hear it. "It's just really good to see you."

Rob's bottle-green eyes softened. "I know, me too."

Shaking himself out of his stupor, Ethan blinked before pushing Rob away, stepping back so he could take a better look at Rob's new body. "Jesus, look at you!" Ethan whistled. "How many pounds did you lose, man?"

Rob's grin grew shy. "Uh, about eighty pounds? Give or take a few. I had a heavy breakfast, you know?"

Ethan laughed, smacking Rob on the arm as he helped to pick up Ethan's suitcase. "Shit, you lost so much in, like, a month?"

"Six weeks," Rob said, guiding Ethan towards the reception. "My trainer says big guys like me always lose a lot in the first month or so, then we'll start plateauing in the second month. It won't be so fast from now on."

"Still, it's an awesome accomplishment," Ethan told him sincerely, as Rob blushed. "Hey, don't do that. I know that look."

"What look?" Rob tried to play it off with a laugh, although his face was still tomato-red.

"That look where you try to downplay your achievements," Ethan told him gently, reaching out and rubbing his back. "You worked hard, Hutch. You deserve this. You look really good."

Rob had his mouth open, looking like he was ready to brush off Ethan's praise as usual. But he shut his mouth again when he saw the look on Ethan's face. "Um. Thank you," he said quietly, shifting his weight from one foot to another.

"You do." Ethan couldn't resist letting his hand drift up, cupping the back of Rob's neck. His skin felt so warm and nice, and he felt like a major pervert for taking advantage of his friend like this. Still, his hand lingered a bit before it finally dropped back to his side.

Rob was still blushing furiously. "Come on, this way. I'll show you to my room."