Sums of the Heart (Luv by Numbers #1)

8. Chapter Eight

Chapter Eight

Jax

Meanwhile…

“I refuse to give up. He’s… Hell, we know he’s right for us,” Jax complained to Ford as they sat on the couch after Cade made his grand exit.

Ford chuckled. “He’s got a little drama in him, but it’s cute.”

Of course, Jax laughed as well because Ford had told him one of the things he always thought was annoying was when Jax went off in a snit. Ordinarily, he wouldn’t have believed Ford would have been attracted to such behavior, but it seemed with Cade, it turned Ford on more than anything.

“Yeah, he’s so goddamn amazing. Obviously, we scared the shit out of him, and I can’t blame him for his reaction. If two big motherfuckers had come after me like we did him, and I’d only known them a week? I’d have run for the hills. I suppose we need to calm the fuck down and regroup. I just…” Jax sighed as Ford stared at him, obviously concerned.

Jax reclined on the couch before pulling the handsome blond on top of him. “We just went about it all wrong, but let’s put that out of our minds tonight. I haven’t tasted you in a week, babe, and I’m hungry for it.” Jax kissed the side of Ford’s neck.

Ford hardened against Jax instantly, and it made him smile. They had a terrific life when they worked at it in most aspects except for sex and intimacy. Jax just wondered if maybe it was too much work for Ford?

“Let’s go to bed,” Jax whispered as he sucked on his man’s neck. All thoughts of going to bed were lost when Ford stood and stripped himself. He pulled down Jax’s jeans and proceeded to take him into his mouth, nearly setting Jax off because it had been a week.

They’d been so damn preoccupied with Cade that they’d forgotten about each other. That most certainly couldn’t happen again. They still had a relationship to worry about, even if they were trying to begin one with the hot young guy who had them tied up in knots.

That night, they fell asleep naked in each other’s arms. Jax had indulged in eating Ford’s ass and massaged his prostate while Ford sucked him dry. It felt incredibly good, and Jax resolved he’d learn to love it and forget about fucking if that was the destiny they were facing. If it was just to be the two of them, they’d make it work… or so he prayed.

“I’ll be unreachable until next Saturday, but that’s not anything new, baby. I love you. We’ll figure out what to do about Cade, okay? I’m gonna miss you. Watch out for him.” It was the ass crack of dawn on Sunday morning, and Jax hated the idea of leaving, much less doing it.

It was the first day of training camp, and he had to be there by nine. It was only an hour drive, but Jax needed time to clear his head. He’d undergone the usual rituals to ready himself mentally, but still, something was off. He wasn’t sure what it was, but he’d likely dwell on it during the hour’s drive to the campus.

After he and Ford kissed each other silly, Jax took his bags with him downstairs and hopped into his Hummer, starting it while he looked at the empty parking spot on his left that was designated for 2C—Cade’s apartment. Cade’s spot. He thought about the younger man the whole drive.

“Get your shit together before those kids stomp your old ass into the ground.” His self-inflicted pep talk wasn’t helping. He parked his Hummer and carried his shit to the curb where golf carts were waiting to take them to the dorms where they’d live for the duration.

As the young assistant drove the cart to the building where he’d be staying for the next two weeks, Jax attempted to put everything out of his mind because he had a job to do, and there was likely to be some pushback from minicamp and his impromptu announcement regarding his sexual orientation.

The guys had taken it well, or so he thought based on the fact nobody had called to harass him, but how would they feel when it came time to play football? That was a whole other can of worms.

Ford was in his office looking over the previous night’s receipts. For a weeknight, they’d done pretty well, which meant a lot of people were on vacation and anxious to party if they couldn’t get out of town. It was the height of summer vacation season, after all.

He was preparing the deposit when there was a knock on the door. He slipped the money bag in his desk drawer and called, “Come in.”

The door opened to reveal Griffon Summers, Ford’s dance captain since the other guy had stormed out in a huff after Cade had outdanced the man without much effort at all. Griff could dance and had put together some fantastic shows drawing in great crowds. Ford couldn’t complain about it, and the promotion and raise he’d given the kid were definitely warranted.

“Griffon, what can I do for you? Chablis giving you trouble again?” Ford was referring to one of the new drag queens who’d complained that having backup dancers drew attention from her until Ford threatened to fire her. Money always seemed to change minds.

“I have some information you may or may not want to know. Seems your friend, Kincade, has taken a job at Pat Down. He’s a waiter and a go-go boy there. Why didn’t you hire him to dance here? He’s a fucking natural, Ford?” Griffon’s tone was filled with chastisement.

“How do you know that?” Ford asked, his interest piqued. He hadn’t seen hide nor hair of Kincade, only hearing his apartment door close late at night after Ford returned from the club.

“I started chatting with this cute guy online. We talked about what I do, and he told me his friend moonlights at that shit hole. Lon works at Fairchilds where your friend works a day job, or so I’ve figured out during my due-diligence investigation of my guy. Anyway, we’re meeting for drinks tonight at Pat Down. You want me to say anything?” Griff waited for Ford’s answer.

“Fairchilds, you say? The men’s clothiers?” Griff nodded.

“Thanks, I’ll take it from here.” Ford picked up the phone and scheduled an appointment at Fairchilds. If the fates aligned, maybe he could find Cade and talk to him, somehow re-establishing the relationship they’d been trying to build.

Ford didn’t care if they never had sex. He enjoyed spending time with the young brunet. Cade was full of life, and he reminded Ford he wasn’t seventy, which was exactly what he needed. Ford was only twenty-nine, for crap’s sake.

Three hours later, Ford was standing at the counter in the men’s department of Fairchilds Department Store. He hadn’t shopped there in years, choosing to use a custom tailor shop he’d found through Jax because the big redhead had to have his things made-to-order due to his size. Ford had come to love the personal service he received from the Italian tailor, but for Cade, he’d buy off the rack.

He rang the bell and waited. A few minutes later, he heard, “Good afternoon. How may I be of…” Ford glanced up to see the stunned look on Cade’s face and it made him smile.

“Hello, sweetheart. You look amazing. We need—”

“I’m Harrelson, Mr. Thomas. I’ll be your personal shopper today. This is Kincade, my assistant.” Harrelson’s demeanor was gruff, and the expression on his face told Ford he wanted to shove Cade out of the way to suck up all of Ford’s attention.

“Harrelson, I’d like to see summer-weight slacks and sports coats. Also, what’s the trend for the fall?” Ford turned to see Cade hiding a smirk. It told him all hope wasn’t lost.

Two hours later, Ford was on a platform in the men’s dressing room while Harrelson was marking the linen slacks he was wearing. “This tie brings out your eyes, Mr. Thomas. With the jacket and a white shirt, you’ll have to fight off the ladies.” It was obvious Cade was teasing as he held up a rep-striped tie in navy and tan.

Suddenly, Ford felt his dick being lifted and moved to the other side of the slacks. He looked at Cade to see a smirk on his face confirming they’d both just watched the man fondle him under the guise of a fitting.

Ford returned his attention to Cade and smiled. “I’m not looking to fight off the ladies. What would it take for me to get to fight you off, Kincade?”

Just then, Harry actually cupped Ford’s balls, causing the blond to cough and moan a little. He missed Jax. His balls were heavy because he hadn’t bothered to jack off since Jax left for training camp. It just wasn’t as much fun doing it alone.

“I, uh, can I get you something to drink, Mr. Thomas?” Cade tried like hell to mask the laughter bubbling up inside him.

“Please, uh, a bottle of water.”

Once Cade scurried off, Ford stepped off the platform and looked at Harrelson. “Dude, you keep feeling up customers like that and you’re going to get charged with sexual assault. I’d strongly urge you to finish this in the most chaste manner possible so I don’t report you to Uncle Max.” Ford was using Maxwell Fairchild’s name in vain. He didn’t know the man who was running the store, but the handsy salesman didn’t know that, based on the surprised expression on his face.

“I didn’t—I mean, I was trying to—I meant no offense, Mr. Thomas.” The pleading tone in the sniveling idiot’s voice made Ford smirk and he wondered what Jax would make of the whole thing. He’d probably be rolling on the floor of the dressing room, laughing his ass off.

Just then Kincade hurried back with a bottle of water. “Here you go, Mr. Thomas. How are we coming along?”

Harrelson hopped up from the floor and took the pad he’d been using to mark measurements for Ford Thomas. “Will you finish with Mr. Thomas? I need to check on an order which should have arrived this morning.” With that, the man scurried off, leaving Ford and Cade to laugh quietly about the situation.

“Be careful of the pins,” Cade told Ford as the hot blond stepped into the small changing room to slip off the slacks. Ford wanted Cade to follow him inside, but that was unprofessional for the young man. Once Ford was dressed in his jeans, he stepped out of the room and handed the trousers to Cade.

“That man’s a menace.”

“He’s married to a woman and they have three children, or so he says. I don’t know what you’re talking about, Mr. Thomas.” Cade’s smile lit up Ford’s soul.

Ford took Cade’s hand and placed it on his muscular chest. He wasn’t nearly as ripped as Jax, but he was definitely cut. “We’ve missed you, Cade. I know we scared you, and I’m sorry for that, but we… the three of us… have a special connection. Jax is at training camp, as I’m sure you know unless you’ve been at an undisclosed location. After it’s finished, he has an exhibition game and then a little break before he goes into preseason. Let’s get to know each other while he’s gone, please? At your pace, Kincade. I’m not a lecherous pervert, I swear.”

He knew the minute Cade lost his resolve. When his gaze met those sparkling, amber-brown eyes, Ford knew he’d won that round.

“Okay, but currently, the only night I have off is Sunday after six. Maybe we can get dinner?” Cade suggested.

“I’d love that. Knock on the door when you get home from work on Sunday, okay? I’ll be ready.” It was a chance to start over and hopefully, do things right this time.

Later that night, Ford turned on the sports to see the news from training camp. He saw Jax with his bald head and goatee, which looked a lot better than the other thing he did by just having sideburns and a beard. He might ask Jax to keep the goatee. It was damn sexy.

“This has been a controversial summer for you. How are your teammates handling the revelation regarding your sexual preferences?” the female sports reporter asked. Jax chuckled, and Ford caught that mischievous gleam in his eye he’d loved since the first time they’d met in college.

“First, it’s my orientation, not my preference. Second, I don’t know if I’d classify it as a revelation. That seems to smack of something of epic proportions, and the fact I’m gay isn’t that big a deal. I’d say my teammates are here to work as hard as me, and nobody gives a crap about who I sleep with, though my guy’s pretty hot. Third, we’re here to build a team to take to the Super Bowl, Abby, so how about we concentrate on what we hope to accomplish in the preseason to take us into the regular season and then the postseason,” Jax stated with a wink at the camera. Ford could only laugh. Jackson Delacroix was sexy, confident, and entertaining. No one could ever take that away from the man.

Saturday afternoon, Ford walked into Fairytails to be met by Griffon Summers, who didn’t look happy at all. “What now, Griff?” Ford settled into his desk chair, trying not to think about the long night ahead.

They had an outdoor patio, and with the drag show and the dancing, the place bounced from its opening at five to its closing at three. Jax had sent a text informing Ford he’d be home on Sunday afternoon after the exhibition game with Jacksonville. The blond was certainly looking forward to the big man’s return.

“At ten o’clock, you need to walk down the block to check on Kincade Hayes. I was in that pit the other night to meet a new guy. I watched how things went, and honestly, they treat Cade like meat, Ford. He’s being manhandled and the bouncers don’t even try to control the crowd.

“I got tossed out because some big guy was hassling Cade, and I went to his rescue. The man was trying to drag him to the bathroom to fuck him, I’m sure. You should see what they make him wear. You need to do something, Ford.” The seriousness in Griff’s voice was similar to someone delivering the news of a death in the family.

“Was it just a customer getting fresh? You guys have that shit happen all the time, and you handle it. Ford tried to wrap his mind around the news he’d just received. He didn’t want Cade to think he didn’t believe him capable of handling his own affairs. Ford definitely didn’t want to emasculate the man.

Griffon braced his arms on a guest chair in front of Ford’s desk. “Sure, we handle it—because we have the likes of Cleveland and Toby who will both fuck up a guy if he treats us badly, Ford. The guy I saw who had Cade against the wall with his hand around his throat wasn’t being handled by anyone. I was the only bitch in there who tried to go to his rescue. The culprit, Marcus or something, flashed a hundred at one of the bouncers, and the guy looked the other way. I’m telling you this shit is bad.”

Ford was so fucking confused because his first instinct was to go storming into the bar to grab Cade and drag him back to Fairytails, but Jax and he had pushed themselves on Cade before, and that had worked for shit. “Let me think about it, okay?” Griffon went off in a huff.

He knew Jax had his phone, so he sent the Cajun a text.

J-I know you’re busy right now, but some guy named Marcus roughed up Cade at Pat Down last night. Should I get involved? I miss you, love. F

He tossed his phone on the desk and wheeled his chair to look out at his club where everyone was getting ready for the night ahead. Summer was in full swing, and Ford was alone. He hated football as much as he loved Jax Delacroix. Hell, he knew he was likely in love with Kincade Hayes as well, and how was that going to work? It was a dilemma.