think they’re tired,” Cody said, as he sat next to Ryan and draped his arm over her shoulder.
“Good. I know Berkley needed to get rid of some energy.”
They both turned quiet again, lost in their thoughts. Ryan had a feeling the conversation about Laura was over and Cody was ready to ask his question. He hadn’t identified the topic, but given she told him last night she had been hurt pretty bad by someone, she figured it would be about that.
“So,” Cody started. “My turn to ask a question?” He squeezed his arm around her a little tighter.
“Sure,” Ryan answered, a little dejectedly.
“I can wait,” Cody said. “One big conversation per day?”
Ryan chuckled quietly. “No, I said I would answer your question. Have at it.”
Cody was silent as he determined the best way to ask the question. He knew what the brunt of it was, but didn’t want it to come out insensitive. “Last night when we were talking…”
Ryan nodded. Yep, she had nailed this one on the head.
“You mentioned being hurt by someone.” Cody paused. “Can you tell me by who?”
She inhaled a deep breath. “His name was Jaxon.”
He nodded silently. “Tell me what happened?”
She inhaled again and said. “I met him at a club. I didn’t know Madison at the time, and I was out with a bunch of people I would classify more as acquaintances than friends. They were nice enough, but, anyway…”
“I offered to get the next round of drinks at the bar and while I was waiting for the bartender, Jaxon came up and introduced himself. There was something about him I immediately liked. We talked for so long one of the other girls from the group eventually came down to get the drinks. He asked for my number and I gave it to him.”
“We went on a few dates and seemed to be getting along pretty well. I could tell he was interested in a more physical relationship than I was ready for so we talked about it and agreed to take things slow.” Ryan looked hesitantly at Cody as she said that last part.
Cody nodded knowingly. He understood the connection.
“From there, it seemed as though things were fine. It was probably about three or four months later that we finally slept together.” Ryan looked at Cody again but he did and said nothing.
He knew he asked the question, but the last thing Cody wanted to talk about was her sex life with some other guy.
“So we dated. We were like most couples in their mid-20s: hanging out with friends, hitting the clubs, that kind of thing. The lease on my place was about up and he asked if I would move in with him, but something about it just didn’t feel right. I couldn’t put my finger on it, so I said no. I didn’t want to break up with him, I just wasn’t ready for that next step.”
“One afternoon I left work early to make a surprise dinner at his place. Things had been tense between us since I declined the offer to move in with him, and I thought this would help smooth things over.”
“I heard noises as I approached the door. I recognized Jaxon’s voice and the other voice sounded familiar, but I couldn’t place it. I opened the door and Jaxon was sitting on his couch, buck naked with his neighbor, Kaley.”
Ryan got really quiet and fought the urge to cry. She looked down at her hands and picked at her fingernails.
“As I walked toward his kitchen, I slid his apartment key off my keychain and put it on the island. I turned around, never looking at him, and walked out the door.
“That was about four years ago. I haven’t spoken to him since that day.”
“Ryan … wow. I’m sorry.”
“I found out from mutual ‘friends,’” she said making quotes in the air with her hands, “that Kaley wasn’t the first girl he’d slept with while we were dating. It seemed the reason he was okay with taking things slow,” she looked up at him, “was because he had plenty of extracurricular activities to keep himself satisfied.” She looked back down at her hands.
They were
“Good. I know Berkley needed to get rid of some energy.”
They both turned quiet again, lost in their thoughts. Ryan had a feeling the conversation about Laura was over and Cody was ready to ask his question. He hadn’t identified the topic, but given she told him last night she had been hurt pretty bad by someone, she figured it would be about that.
“So,” Cody started. “My turn to ask a question?” He squeezed his arm around her a little tighter.
“Sure,” Ryan answered, a little dejectedly.
“I can wait,” Cody said. “One big conversation per day?”
Ryan chuckled quietly. “No, I said I would answer your question. Have at it.”
Cody was silent as he determined the best way to ask the question. He knew what the brunt of it was, but didn’t want it to come out insensitive. “Last night when we were talking…”
Ryan nodded. Yep, she had nailed this one on the head.
“You mentioned being hurt by someone.” Cody paused. “Can you tell me by who?”
She inhaled a deep breath. “His name was Jaxon.”
He nodded silently. “Tell me what happened?”
She inhaled again and said. “I met him at a club. I didn’t know Madison at the time, and I was out with a bunch of people I would classify more as acquaintances than friends. They were nice enough, but, anyway…”
“I offered to get the next round of drinks at the bar and while I was waiting for the bartender, Jaxon came up and introduced himself. There was something about him I immediately liked. We talked for so long one of the other girls from the group eventually came down to get the drinks. He asked for my number and I gave it to him.”
“We went on a few dates and seemed to be getting along pretty well. I could tell he was interested in a more physical relationship than I was ready for so we talked about it and agreed to take things slow.” Ryan looked hesitantly at Cody as she said that last part.
Cody nodded knowingly. He understood the connection.
“From there, it seemed as though things were fine. It was probably about three or four months later that we finally slept together.” Ryan looked at Cody again but he did and said nothing.
He knew he asked the question, but the last thing Cody wanted to talk about was her sex life with some other guy.
“So we dated. We were like most couples in their mid-20s: hanging out with friends, hitting the clubs, that kind of thing. The lease on my place was about up and he asked if I would move in with him, but something about it just didn’t feel right. I couldn’t put my finger on it, so I said no. I didn’t want to break up with him, I just wasn’t ready for that next step.”
“One afternoon I left work early to make a surprise dinner at his place. Things had been tense between us since I declined the offer to move in with him, and I thought this would help smooth things over.”
“I heard noises as I approached the door. I recognized Jaxon’s voice and the other voice sounded familiar, but I couldn’t place it. I opened the door and Jaxon was sitting on his couch, buck naked with his neighbor, Kaley.”
Ryan got really quiet and fought the urge to cry. She looked down at her hands and picked at her fingernails.
“As I walked toward his kitchen, I slid his apartment key off my keychain and put it on the island. I turned around, never looking at him, and walked out the door.
“That was about four years ago. I haven’t spoken to him since that day.”
“Ryan … wow. I’m sorry.”
“I found out from mutual ‘friends,’” she said making quotes in the air with her hands, “that Kaley wasn’t the first girl he’d slept with while we were dating. It seemed the reason he was okay with taking things slow,” she looked up at him, “was because he had plenty of extracurricular activities to keep himself satisfied.” She looked back down at her hands.
They were
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