I waited a whole day before going to Ray’s house. I used that time to try and figure out what to say to him. He was talking to someone on his cell phone when he opened the door for me. I had keys to his house but, in my distracted state, I’d left them at home. He motioned for me to come in before continuing his conversation. From what I could gather, something was wrong at one of his job sites. I sat on the sofa while he argued with someone about a city permit that, apparently, hadn’t been obtained before work began.

“You need to fix this shit ASAP,” he said to whoever was on the other end of the line. “I’ve got enough problems in my life right now and I don’t need another one.”

I tried to ignore the look he’d given me when he said problems. He ended the call then and tossed his cell phone onto the coffee table.

“Why didn’t you use your key to come in?” he asked.

“I left it at home,” I admitted.

He sighed and folded his arms across his chest. “If you’re here to apologize, save your breath, Case.”

“Can you just let me explain?”

“Explain what? That you’ve been fucking around on me? I got the message loud and clear the other night.”

“I’m sorry.”

“Do you remember what I told you when we started seeing each other regularly?”

I nodded and Ray laughed. “I don’t think you do, so let me refresh your memory. I told you I wasn’t interested in having an open relationship with you and that if that’s what you wanted, we might as well part ways.”

“I didn’t want an open relationship either. Not then and not now.”

He laughed again. “Really? You could’ve fooled me. I suppose you had that guy in your bed for a perfectly innocent sleepover, right?”

“Come on, Ray. It was a mistake.”

“How many other mistakes have you made since we’ve been together, Case?”

“None.”

“So this was just a one-time thing?”

“Yes ... no ... I mean, there were a few other times, but with the same guy. It was just sex.”

Ray was quiet for a few seconds before asking, “Do you know why I hesitated to get seriously involved with you?”

The question was unexpected and, as I shook my head no in response to it, I wondered where Ray was going with it. When he and I met two years ago, there was a mutual attraction, but it wasn’t exactly love at first sight. Despite his initial flirting and forwardness in asking me out, he dragged his feet before agreeing to have an exclusive relationship with me. He was happy for us to hook up and share a meal together, but I had to chase him to get him to commit to more than that. He didn’t introduce me to his family until after we’d been seeing each other for close to a year while I’d introduced him to my mother about two months after we’d been dating. I figured some past relationship had made him gun shy in moving forward with me.

“I hesitated,” Ray said, “because I was afraid something like this would happen. You’re a beautiful man, Case. And, even though I tried to ignore it, I always knew it was just a matter of time before that pretty face and cute ass got you into trouble.”