The Problem with Sports - M.E. Clayton Page 0,42
to have to throw yourself on the sword and talk to the ex,” he said.
“What?”
“He’s right,” Gideon remarked, agreeing with Sayer.
“How do you figure?” While that shitshow earlier could have been worse, I wasn’t quite ready to become BFFs with Steven Hansen.
“If he can forgive you for overstepping with their son, then Andrea might be willing to give you the benefit of the doubt. If the one man, who has no reason to like you or spare you, is willing to listen to you, then maybe she will, too.”
I hated how their jacked-up advice was making sense. The last thing I wanted to do was ask Andie’s ex to help me fix my relationship with her, but what else could I do? I just told Sayer I’d do anything to make it right, right?
Fuck, maybe I was a spoiled little shit after all.
“I guess that’s still better than the plan I don’t have,” I grumbled, hating the idea.
Gideon let out a deep sigh, and I knew I was exhausting him. He was not a fan of drama. That’s why he was always yelling at us when Mom got on him because her theatrics were too much for him sometimes. “Look, Nate, even if she doesn’t forgive you, this way, at least you can say you tried everything, right?”
I looked between my two brothers and asked the one question I really didn’t want an honest answer to. “Do you think she’ll forgive me?”
It was Sayer who delivered the blow. “No, Nate. I don’t think she will,” he said sadly.
“But if she does,” Gideon said, their roles reversed. “If she does, Nate, then you better appreciate that gift for what it is for the rest of your fucking life.”
“You think I won’t?”
“I think you’re finally going to learn the hard way what it’s like to be responsible for other people,” he replied, back to being the dick.
“I don’t even know how to get a hold of Steven,” I grumbled.
“You know how to get a hold of Grant, right?” Sayer asked.
“Yeah. We exchanged cell numbers a couple of weeks ago.”
“Well, there you go.”
I pulled my phone out and sent a text to an eight-year-old, asking him to have his dad-who he thinks I’m friends with now-to call me.
This was going to suck.
But the alternative?
That would suck even more.
Chapter 23
Andrea~
Well, I wasn’t expecting this.
Steven walked past me into the living room, no Grant in sight.
“Where’s Grant? With your parents?”
He eyed me and blurted out sadly, “You look like crap, Andie.”
“Geez, thanks,” I grumbled. “You sure know how to flatter a lady.” The jerk grinned and I just shook my head.
Some days I didn’t know how to take him. At times, we felt like old friends, and at other times, we could seem like distant strangers. I suppose it could just be a matter of mood swings or good days versus bad days, but I knew that me and Steven were probably always going to be a work in progress. At least, for a few more years.
His face softened when he asked, “Crying all night?”
“This feels really weird, talking to you about this, Steven,” I replied sardonically.
His grin widened. “Well, it’s about to get even weirder.”
My eyes narrowed. “What do you mean? And where’s Grant?” I asked again.
Steven’s green eyes regarded me closely as he informed me, “He’s upstairs with Nathan.”
My stomach rolled.
“What?”
He threw his hands up in surrender. “Calm down-”
“Then you better get to talking, Steven,” I bit out.
“Nathan texted Grant last night, asking him to ask me to call him,” he said, throwing me into complete shock.
“What?!” I screeched.
“Andie, hear me out,” he implored. “Just…hear me out, and…and if you still want nothing to do with Nathan, I’ll support you completely. Okay?” I was staring at my ex-husband as I was trying to accept that he was here on Nathan’s behalf.
This was too weird by half.
I took a deep breath and decided to ride this train wreck until it crashed. “Okay.”
“It took me a long while to finally pick up the phone and call Nathan back,” he began. “It sort of felt like…I was betraying you, or something. But then…”
“But then, what?”
His face looked so emotionally sincere, I almost choked up. “But then I remembered what it felt like to lose you. His call took me back to those desperate memories where I knew I had fucked up beyond what I could repair. I felt for the man, and so, I called him.”
“Steven…” I didn’t really know what to say, but to say