“I understand,” he sighed. “It just ... Feels weird, you know? Like I’m the dirty secret.”
I balked. “Dirty secret?”
We sat up as he spoke, but he looked down at the sheets. “You know, because I’m not welcome in that part of your life.”
I hated that he was right. If the situation was different and I was dating someone else, Hayden probably would have invited us to have lunch with him and Tyler. I hated that Ford felt like an outsider in my world when it came to Hayden.
“You’re right.” I blew out a breath. “It’s time that changes.”
Ford’s gaze flicked up to mine. “Really?”
I slid out of the bed. “Yeah. I’m done playing nice about it. I get they were upset, but it’s time they realize all of that is in the past.”
He rose onto his knees. “What are you going to do?”
“I don’t know, but something.”
I really didn’t knowwhat I was going to say because every conversation I’d had with Hayden about Ford had been the same. I hated to think that my friendship with Hayden hung in the balance of his acceptance of Ford, but that was where we were. If Ford had managed to get Hayden fired, then I would have been more understanding of their anger. Sure, Ford had fucked up, but what was it going to take for my friends to move on?
When I arrived at the restaurant, Hayden was already waiting at a corner table. He spotted me and waved me over. Once I got to the table, he stood to hug me. “Good to see you, man.”
“Hey. How are you? How’s married life?”
We slid into the booth across from one another. “It’s been good. Pretty much nothing has changed since we already lived together, but it’s nice I can call him my husband.”
“That’s great to?—”
“What happened to your knuckles? That’s from the game?”
I looked down at my hands that were clasped on top of the table. “Oh, no. Not from the game.”
“What the hell happened?”
“Got into a fight after the game.”
“Really?”
The waitress appeared and took our drink order. Once she was gone, I said to Hayden, “So, yeah, I got into a fight.”
“With who?” I didn’t respond because I was trying to figure out how to tell Hayden what had happened without telling him why, but then he asked, “Is this about Ford?”
“Yeah, but it’s not what you think.”
“What do you mean?”
“There’s so much about him you don’t know.”
Hayden leaned back and sighed. “So, you’re still together?”
“Yeah.” I nodded. “He’s moving in.”
Hayden’s eyes widened. “It’s that serious?”
“Yes, and like I said, there’s so much that you and Tyler don’t know. I’m not asking you to forgive Ford overnight. But he’s trying, Hayden. He’s really trying to make things right in his life.”
A flicker of doubt lit in Hayden’s eyes, but I pressed on. “I know it won’t be easy, but I hope for my sake you’ll try to move past all this once you hear him out.”
He sighed, running a hand through his hair in frustration. The waitress dropped off our drinks and left, giving us a few more minutes to decide what to order.
