Page 73 of Fierce-Hyde

He wanted to be pissed over that comment, but it was Ryder who said it.

Ryder who understood the most of what it was like to have a past you were trying to outrun.

His best friend who was smirking now.

“Both,” he said, laughing. “And that is all I’m saying about it.”

“I wouldn’t want to know anything else,” Ryder said. “I’m surprised you even said what you did. I expected you to tell me to mind my own business.”

So it was a test of sorts.

“I wouldn’t do that,” he said. “I did just walk down here to tell you about it.”

“Fill me in then,” Ryder said. “Since you came down here to do it.”

“Not much to say,” he said.

“Bullshit,” Ryder said. “What’s going on?”

“I don’t know. I think we are both feeling things out on a lot of levels. I thought it was me, but it’s more about men in general for her now.”

“You’ll have to explain that,” Ryder said.

“Without going into too many details, I thought she was holding back or having issues with me and my past, but she just admitted that it’s not me as much as men as a whole. I know she hasn’t had any relationship with her father since she was eighteen and before that, not much of one.”

“That does make it hard,” Ryder said. “And if anyone knows how hard it is to get people to not see the reputation you had for years, it’s me.”

“Marissa knew you prior though,” he said.

“I’ll admit I got worse after Marissa and I split,” Ryder said. “My hurt and anger after the split with Marissa led me to go after anyone who differed from her,” Ryder said.

“None of the type of women you’d bring home to Mom,” he said. “Trust me, I get that.”

Not that Hyde did that on purpose.

Never.

He was more about having fun and enjoying his life.

He had relationships with women before Ryder did, it’s just they didn’t last. No one was taking anything seriously.

In between those relationships, he’d meet women out and hook up. He wouldn’t lie about it.

Maybe he was ashamed of that now, but he couldn’t go back and change it.

“Nope,” Ryder said, laughing. “I did it now and again though just to tick her off and get her off my back. Never you though.”

“No,” he said. “My mother only met people who I was serious about. She didn’t know about half the women I was with.”

Because as a teen when he was dating someone new every month, his mother warned him that just like girls get reputations, so do boys. He didn’t believe her.

No, that was wrong.

He believed her, but he thought it was cool rather than something to be embarrassed about.

Just went to show the double standard he had in his eyes.

Thinking that women wouldn’t care so much about it, but now he was learning differently.

---