“Then why are ya actin’ like you do?”
I opened my mouth, realized I was effectively trapped by his logic, and then glared at him. “Fuck you too.”
“Look,” he said with a heavy sigh. “I ain’t worried that you got someone else to care about, or to care about you. I’m worried because if you’re suddenly gonna start...I don’t know, gettin’through all the crap in your head, is it really a good idea to be doin’ whatever you and Isaac are doin’ at the same time?”
I frowned. “You’ve never been bothered by me sleeping with someone before.”
“Naw, naw, I wasn’t bothered when it was just screwin’ around with people ya didn’t care about, especially when ya weren’t even botherin’ to deal with your messy head stuff. But now you are, and c’mon, anyone can see that whatever’s goin’ on between you and Isaac ain’t just sex.”
“Aren’t you being a little, I don’t know, jumping to conclusions like?”
“He stayed overnight.”
Thatshut me up, and I hated the smug look on Cade’s face because he knew he had me, and there was nothing I could do to argue. The only man who hadeverbeen allowed to stay in my room overnight was the one standing next to me, looking far too pleased with himself. I could sit here and pretend away or dismiss a lot of things, but even I had to admit Isaac’s presence in my room for the entire night and into the morning was a massive sign.
“I don’t…” I stopped because I didn’t know what I thought or what to say to that. “Okay, but?—”
Cade sighed. “That’s kinda what I’m talkin’ about, Clay. If you’re gonna think about things, then ya need to start thinkin’ about everythin’. It’d be one thing if ya were friends?—”
“Hey now, we are,” I said in annoyance. “He’s my friend.”
“Ya stopped bein’ friends when ya slept with him,” Cade said, raising a brow. “We both know that shit gets messy when ya bring sex into things. Even if I was into guys, I wouldn’t have slept with ya, because I know that can be a big problem. But now you an’ him crossed that line, at a time when you’re figurin’ other, big shit out. Or at least, figurin’ out more than before.”
“So, I just stop hanging out with him? Cut off any future sex?”
“I think ya probably could talk to him and say sex stuff ain’t a good idea and that ya need a friend right now,” he said thoughtfully. “I don’t know, that kinda thing can’t be taken back, ya know? It might change things for both of ya in a way ya won’t like...more than it’s already changed.”
“Then what?” I demanded, annoyed because it felt like he was avoiding saying what was really bothering him.
He sighed heavily. “Then...ya need to think.”
“You already said that.”
“Look, you two have been gettin’ close, and now ya slept together. Ya were stressed out by talkin’ to Reggie, and the first thing ya did was want Isaac, and he didn’t hesitate to come runnin’.”
“Okay, and?”
“And people say I’m thick,” he said, glancing at the door when the panel lit up and announced that the maintenance staff was here. “Ya can’t move on from the past while you’re still holdin’ onto it. How can you an’ Isaac be anythin’ more than friends who aren’t friends ’cause they’re sleepin’ together when ya just now started tryin’ to move on from the fucked up stuff that happened in the past? Neither of ya are gonna be happy like that, and it’s just gonna end up with someone gettin’ hurt.”
He walked over to the pad and opened the door, leaving me no chance to refute what he said as I glanced down at the picture. I-I wasn’t trying to move on from them...was I?
The thought turned my stomach, but there was no time to focus on it. I had to put the picture away so I could help with the cleanup and think about what Cade had said.
Well, maybe think about it.
