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Ford raised a brow and lifted his finger to point at me. “That’s bullshit, and you know it. You didn’t tell her because you wanted to find a way to be with her. Newsflash, Cade, there is no way, and now you’re fucked because someone else knows.”
I closed my eyes and rubbed my palm over my face. He was right, I hadn’t told her because I always thought deep down we’d find a way to be together. If she didn’t know what could happen, then she wouldn’t protect me from it. It was ironic that now it was precisely what she was doing: protecting me.
“What the hell am I going to do?”
“What did the teacher say?” Ford asked, and when I looked up at him, gone was the fury and emotion in his gaze and features, and in its place a mask he’d perfected over the years. He was putting a plan together in his head, finding a way to make something work, but I wasn’t sure there was a way out.
“She…” I frowned when I thought back to how Willow had acted. She’d taken Aria’s word at face value and not even doubted it for a second. “She…I…I’m taking her out on a date next Saturday.”
“What?” Ford frowned. “Jesus, how did that happen?”
“I’m not really sure.” I pushed my hand into my hair and gripped it, needing to feel the burn on my scalp. “I was listening one minute, and then the next she was telling me to pick her up at eight and I…agreed?”
“So she’s blackmailing you.”
“What? No, she wouldn’t—”
“She is,” Ford cut me off and placed his arms on the table. “And you have no choice right now but to go along with it. She has something on you that could ruin everything, and not just for you. Imagine what it would be like for Aria. I get the feeling she doesn’t have it easy in that school, especially after what happened with that girl—”
“That girl.” I laughed and shook my head, not believing what was happening right now. “That girl is the teacher’s sister.”
Ford’s mouth opened and closed, but he didn’t say anything. For the first time ever, he was speechless, and I wasn’t sure what to make of it. It definitely wasn’t a good sign. “The girl Aria knocked out is the sister to the woman who caught you kissing?” Ford said, summing it all up in one simple sentence.
“Yep.”
“Well, fuck.” He leaned back, his eyes glazing over. “Then you have no
choice at all. Butter this woman up, make her feel like a million dollars, because there’s no way this won’t come back on both you and Aria if you don’t. I warned you, Cade. You messed with fire, and you’re getting burned.”
I knew what he was saying, but that didn’t mean I liked it. I didn’t want to be in the situation I was in. Taking Willow out on a date didn’t appeal to me one bit, but he was right, I had no choice. I had to do what was best for both me and Aria. I was doing it for us. Everything I did from now on would be for us, she just wouldn’t know it.
“I’m so fucked,” I groaned, downing the last of my beer. It wasn’t strong enough for the situation I’d found myself in.
“That you are, Cade. That you are.”
“Jeez, thanks, Ford.”
“What?” He shrugged. “I’m not gonna blow smoke up your ass. You fucked up, and now you have to deal with it. Life isn’t fuckin’ rainbows and unicorns.”
“I know that.”
“Do you?” Ford asked. He tilted his head to the side. “Because from where I’m sitting, you’re bitching like a little girl who didn’t get a goddamn pony. You’re a fuckin’ man, Cade. Start acting like one.”
My heart beat faster in my chest, anger rushing through my veins at his words. He knew I hadn’t had it easy growing up, or while I was away at college. Shitty things had happened to me in my life, but as I sat across from him and really took in what he was saying, I realized I hadn’t had it half as bad as the people who I considered family.
“You’re right,” I told him, pushing my shoulders back and resolving on what I would have to do. I needed to suck it up and play the cards I’d been dealt.
“Damn right, I’m right. You need to protect yourself, Cade, but you need to protect her too.”
“Her?” I asked.
“Aria. I know you were there when she had that meltdown in her apartment. You heard the shit she said.” A muscle in his jaw ticked. “I don’t know the ins and outs, but from what I can see, she’s fuckin’ lost.” He paused and pointed at me as he stood. “But you can’t be the one to make her find her way. You gotta cut your losses, for her sake and yours.”
He flung some money on the table and pushed the stool back under it, then sauntered away without another word. He’d thrown so much shit at me in such a small amount of time, but he was right.
I needed to protect her too, even if that meant pushing her so far away she’d never be able to come back.
Chapter Three
