“Don’t keel over,” I warned as he walked off. “Something going on that I should know about?”
Cade grunted. “I don’t know if yashouldknow about it...or if he’d want ya to know.”
“So, something is going on, but you’re reluctant to tell me and risk betraying your boyfriend’s trust.”
Cade stared at me before snorting. “Ya know, I thought ya might be a good influence on him, but ya might actually be worse than he could ever be.”
I winked. “Oh, you have no idea; you probably should have considered that before you decided to pull me into things.”
“Somethin’ to keep in mind for the future, I guess,” Cade snorted, his eyes drifting around the room before settling on where we could see Clay slowly walking the circuit I had been running on earlier. “But, uh, yeah...he’s fine. He just...has moments when he’s not okay, but then he gets better. It just takes some workin’ out.”
“Ahh, so that's why he was going harder than I’ve seen before,” I said with a nod. “Don’t worry, I wasn’t actually expecting you to tell me. Or, well, I was hoping, but I understand why you wouldn’t. Plus, it would probably be better if he told me in his own time, right?”
“Right,” Cade said with a grin that was relieved and grateful. “Speakin’ of?—”
I snorted. “I’m still not making any promises.”
“Look, all I wanted?—”
“You asked that I be his friend so he could have more than just you, but not to forget I deserve a friend too. I remember,” I told him with a shrug. “But here’s the thing, I’m going to slap a price on it.”
Cade leaned back, looking surprised. “Ain’t ya supposed to negotiate?”
“Sure, but so far nothing is keeping me here, is it?” I asked, knowing damn well my threat was empty because I would be Clay’s friend with or without Cade agreeing to my terms. It had only been a week since the shift in my relationship with Clay; it was a small shift, but it was significant, and I was curious where it would lead.
“Er, we talkin’ money?”
“Nope. See, you’re worried about him not connecting with people,andyou have enough insight and empathy to realize I struggle with identity issues. You wanted to make sure I had the mental and emotional space to be myself with someone.”
“Right.”
“So,” I said, turning to him with a smirk. “I think it’s time you showed that same compassion and care to yourself. If we deserve that level of care and interest, then you do too. We’re all here because we know, orsomeonein our lives knows, something's wrong with us, something that’s getting in the way of living a happy and fulfilled life. Which means it’s time you turned your attention inward. I’m not saying you have to fix yourself in a month, but maybe it’s time you start.”
Cade frowned. “Who said I ain’t?”
“Me,” I said with a shrug. “You can only hide behind that easy smile and warm, friendly personality for so long, big guy. At some point, you’re going to have to acknowledge that you’ve been damaging your life and start doing something about it. Just agree you’ll try, no promises, just like I gave you none, that’s all I ask.”
Cade stared at me before looking away with a sigh. “You’re somethin’ else, ya know that?”
“You wouldn’t be the first person to tell me that,” I said with a light laugh. “But I’m keeping up my end of the deal, so I’m asking you to have a part of the deal you have to be responsible for.”
Cade snorted. “You’d really just walk away if I don’t?”
“No,” I told him, smirking when I saw the surprise on his face. “Did you expect me to lie? You did. Well, I wasn’t going to risk making this a dick-measuring contest where you felt the need to call me on my bluff rather than just agree. So just accept that someone is trying to help you and go with it. Maybe that’s all any of us really need, someone who’s willing to be in our corner.”
“Clay’s in my corner,” he protested, sounding offended on his friend’s behalf.
“And you and Clay don’t seem to be willing to push each other. You support each other, but that’s not the same as pushing each other to be better, is it?”
“Naw, I guess not.”
“Well, there you go.”
“Fine,” he grunted. “I’ll try.”
“I appreciate that,” I told him, meaning it. “Is he okay now?”
“I think he’s thinkin’, or tryin’ not to think. Hard to say,” Cade said with a frown as we watched Clay make another slow circuit. “I can never figure out if he’s thinkin’ too much or not enough.”
