Page 104 of Nailing Heat

“How is everyone doing tonight?” I hear a chorus of “fine” from them.

“I miss you guys, I wish we could be having this conversation in person and not over the phone,” I tell them.

“Why, what else have you done?” Amy asks.

I sigh and say, “I haven’t done anything Am, I’m missing my family lately.”

“Are you having trouble making friends in Tampa, baby?” Mom asks me. “I thought August was there.”

“He is and I’m living at his place now, until mine is ready,” I explain.

“Why isn’t your place ready?” Jo asks me.

Might as well get this over with. “Well, because I came down here so quickly, August couldn’t find me something that fit within the team’s budget and as quickly as I would need it.”

“Have you always been at August’s?” Joe asks.

I swear the woman should have been a detective, not an English teacher. “No, I was in the team housing, staying with a girl who had an extra room. But that didn’t work out.”

“Wanna tell us why?” Meg asks.

“Meg,” my mom scolds. “It doesn’t mean he did something bad.”

“I didn’t say he did,” Meg says defensively.

“It was implied with your tone,” I offer.

“What happened, Dexter?” Mom asks.

I sigh again. “Well, Jo is right, I did something bad.”

“I knew it!” She calls out like she’s been vindicated.

“Meg, please let him talk,” Mom scolds her again. “Tell us what happened, honey.”

I take a deep breath and dive into how I was living with Amelia, a recently injured player on the team, fell for her and then Elise showed up and said we were still married because I didn’t sign one of our divorce papers. Amelia understandably didnot take that well and insisted that I move out immediately. So now I live with August.

“Are you saying that you were never going to tell this girl that you were getting a divorce because you cheated on your ex-wife?” Amy ask gently, always been the one who is more even-tempered.

“It wasn’t that I was never going to tell her, I wasn’t sure how to do it, and I was avoiding the subject. If I’m being honest, I admit.

“You should have been honest with her,” Meg snarks.

“You’re right, I should have been. But I wasn’t and now she won’t talk to me. I love her and miss her, guys. What do I do?” I beg them for help.

“You love this woman?” Mom asks.

“He loved his wife too, Mom. That didn’t stop him from being a big fat cheater,” Jo reminds us all.

“Yeah, I know I screwed up there, I really did.” I sigh and scrub a hand down my face. My heart sinking deep into my chest. “Do you think you all can ever forgive me for cheating on my wife?”

“You didn’t cheat on us,” Meg reminds me.

“Yeah, I know that but when I told you, I saw all that hurt and judgment in your eyes. I knew you were mad at me for doing that to her.”

“I thought I raised you to be a better man than that,” Mom reminds me. She said something similar the night I confessed to them the real reason my marriage ended. I couldn’t let them believe that it was Elise, even though that would have been easier for me.

“You did,” I promise her.