Page 63 of Still Bruised
Foster’s eyes glittered as he held Jude’s gaze.
“Ashley’s dad got his start on Wall Street and knows a lot of powerful people in the city.Andhe’s pissed at me for divorcing his daughter and him having to fire me. I sense he’s got the word out that I’m persona non grata at most of the financial institutions in the area.”
“Compounded the stupid mistakes, hmm?”
Foster narrowed his eyes like he didn’t follow.
“I heard Ashley finally found out you liked having sex with men and kicked you out? So not only did you marry the wrong person, but you committed your income to her family, too.”
“Something along those lines, but the split was mutual. Something happened to make us both see we didn’t belong together any longer.”
“And what was that?”
“I really don’t want to get into that…”
Jude scoffed. “Was it another man?”
“Kind of.”
“Did you marry Ashley for cover?”
“No,” Foster said before he paused. His eyes widened a bit. “Maybe. I don’t know.”
Jude leaned against the wall and watched emotions swirling over Foster’s face.
“She broke things off before we left for college. She said we needed to be free to explore life and what it had to offer.” Foster chuckled, but there was no humor in it. “I didn’t really explore anything. I kept my head down. Dated a few girls here and there, no one special. I played a little ball, got my degree, and did all the things I was supposed to, but I had no idea what came next. Right after I graduated, I ran into Ashley at a party here in Eastfield. We started seeing one another again. It was easy. Comfortable.” Foster scoffed. “Nothing with Ashley was ever comfortable, but… I suppose it was familiar.”
Foster was silent a few seconds, his eyes unfocused. He looked so sad that Jude had to fight the urge to comfort him.
“Ashley wanted to go to California to see her dad and spend a few weeks there that summer. She invited me to tag along. I’d always wanted to go to Los Angeles, so I went. Her father soon decided that I was husband material and dangled offers of employment, money, and whatever else we wanted if I played my part and took care of his darling daughter. Ashley wanted it, too, or so she said. It was what I was supposed to do, I thought. Get a job, get married, settle down, and there it was being handed to me on a silver platter. Seemed easier to just go with the flow and act appreciative.”
“Well, youarea self-proclaimed coward.”
Foster eyed him.
“You can’t even stand up for yourself.”
Foster sighed. He opened his mouth to say something, but nothing came out.
“You’re sure she didn’t kick you out? Walking away sounds like too brave a thing for someone like you to do,” Jude said.
“She convinced me to bring a third into our bed. It ended up being some guy she’d been sleeping with already. When he was more interested in me than her, it pissed her off.”
“And you fucked him?” Jude asked.
“I had to,” Foster whispered. “I had to know what it felt like to be with a man.”
Jude knew that feeling, only Foster had been that one for him. A kiss and a dick in his hand and he’d known. “So one fuck and you found your courage, hmm? He must’ve beensomelay.”
“I was tired of living the lie,” Foster said. “He was simply the last straw before everything went up in flames.”
“And how many men have you been with since? Have you racked up a body count yet?”
“Him. And you.”
Jude met Foster’s gaze. He didn’t believe that for a second. “You’d only been with one guy—and hopped, skipped, jumped all the way toan orgy?”
“Cary invited me. I knew I was in over my head before I ever said yes but… what else was I going to do with my Saturday night? Sit in here with the geese?”
