Are you a good man? Teri sent back. Did she know? Did Dylan tell her anything about their time together, or him? If he had, wouldn’t she already know that answer? Unless Dylan hadn’t thought of him as a good man. Shit, he’d nearly died of a heart attack on that trail; didn’t that say something to Dylan about the kind of man he was?
I’m not as good a man as him. I’m not sure anyone I’ve ever known can compete on his level. What’s this about? Tristan typed and hit send before he had time to rethink this whole exchange.
Do you use Secret? Teri emailed back, and Tristan smiled. There would be no history if they used Dylan’s social media site.
Of course. I’m logging in now. What’s your screen name? he asked.
MondayBlues. I’m logging in now, Teri sent in reply. Tristan searched her name and friended her. He heard his email ding again and switched over. Teri had sent another email. Are you TalkNerdyToMe?
Yep, he responded and switched back over, waiting for her to accept his request. When she did, her profile opened to a background picture of their family together. Tristan was mesmerized by the genuine smile Dylan wore as he laughed with all three of their children at some sort of theme park. He did a quick save as on the photo. Secret had technology disabling even screen shots of their site except on the profile pages. He then looked at each of the children, then at Teri. The boy looked most like Dylan, tall with rich auburn hair, a strong jawline, and full lips just like his father’s. The daughters were darker like their mom. He looked closely at Teri. She was beautiful. Tall, with a porcelain complexion, long black hair, and delicate features. In the picture Teri was smiling with the kids, probably at something Dylan had done.
Tristan hit the other photos as the chat box opened. The concepts of the site were incredible. Things were so basic and the apps were phenomenal. He wanted his hands on that emoji application—what a remarkable concept. He smiled when he saw Dylan’s picture had an emoji graphic surrounding his head announcing Secret’s newest game. He saved that picture too.
“Hi,” Teri chatted.
“Hi. You have me curious.” Tristan replied back, still completely unwilling to out Dylan. He hadn’t had enough history to truly know Dylan and Teri’s relationship.
“You have me a bit frustrated,” Teri replied. And that had Tristan furrowing his brow.
“Why is that?” he finally replied back.
“You shouldn’t have played with him like that.” Teri’s words appeared on the screen.
“How did I play with him?” Tristan asked.
“Please stop. I know what happened. He’s too good a man to be played,” she replied. Okay, Dylan’s wife was a spitfire.
“I can assure you, I didn’t play him at all. I’m following his rules, not mine,” he responded. Then there was a delay.
“What are his rules? And why aren’t they yours?” she asked. Now, he delayed. These were two very intimate questions. Dylan’s rules were simpler.
“You and the children. The code of ethics he follows. They have no place for me.”
“I see. Dylan’s a nester and monogamous by nature. What are your rules?” Teri questioned and Tristan let out a groan. He looked at the ceiling before responding. It was only a small break, but he needed the time to think.
“That’s a much harder question. They seem to be changing,” he answered honestly.
“How so?” she asked. The attorney in her wouldn’t stop asking until she had what she wanted. He’d figured that much out over the emails he’d seen between her and legal this week. The problem was that these questions were too personal. He was pursuing a man who didn’t want to be pursued. Logically, he got that Dylan needed to make the next move since he was the one with barriers between them. Illogically, he was spending money he didn’t really need to toss away just to stay close to Dylan. How did he say that?
“It’s not a hard question,” she responded when he didn’t answer.
“I disagree, it’s incredibly hard,” Tristan replied, giving nothing away.
“Then let’s try this before I shelve this contract and hold everything up.”
“Why would you do that?”
“I’ll answer that question in a minute. Do you have feelings for Dylan?” she asked, straight to the point.
“Yes,” he answered. He felt the truth was the easiest way to answer her.
“I couldn’t imagine you would see him as a passing fling. No one can be that shallow, and if you were, he wouldn’t have been interested.” He agreed with her words even though they came with quite an impact.
“I’m not sure how to respond to that. I know many people that are shallow. I hope I’m not one of them,” Tristan replied.
“Why haven’t you called him?”
“I left my door open to him. He needs to make the next move,” Tristan typed.
“So you do play games?” she fired instantly back.
“Not at all. He’s freaked, skittish, and very clear there can’t be more between us.” There, Tristan bared the root of their problem.
“I see. So it’s him. I suspected that could be the case. He took the blame. I just needed to know for sure.”
“I’m doing what I can. He was adamant he’s got too much to lose—per him. I did try to make him see I was willing to be discreet, but he spooks easy.”
“In nine months our youngest will graduate and go off to college. I’ve told him this week that I’m out as soon as she’s settled. How do you feel about that?” Teri’s straightforward words blinked at him on the screen. This whole family first thing they had going on was beyond belief to him. He’d never met two people who’d sacrificed as much as Teri and Dylan to do the right thing.
None of the pictures he’d seen showed anything but a happy, healthy, successful family.
“Again, I don’t know how to respond to you. I guess I’m a bit selfish. Nine months doesn’t seem that long. I’m hopeful for me. Perhaps concerned for Dylan, he’ll be completely alone if something doesn’t change.”