Sums of the Heart (Luv by Numbers #1)

24. Chapter Twenty-four

Chapter Twenty-four

Ford

Ford made his way through the unfamiliar stadium so he could get outside to call Cade. He was in Dallas with Jax, and he’d been watching the Chicago team practice. Cade was meeting with his new attorney, who was a referral from Robin Zacks, after she put Ford in his place during their call the previous week.

“I’d gladly drop everything going on in my life to fly out and hold the hand of whoever this guy is you’ve taken up with, you insensitive git. Forgive me for pointing out a petty matter… my wife just had a baby three days ago, and I have responsibilities at home. I’ll call someone I know and hook it up, and to get in my good graces over this shit, you should go to our website and pick an expensive gift. Honestly?” Robin’s sarcastic tone made Ford smile.

When she called him back an hour later, he took down the information and asked her to send him pictures of the baby, though half-heartedly. He knew she was working on another project for him, so he understood she wasn’t exactly ready to tackle an additional freebie. It was fine.

The referral Robin gave him was a man named William O’Malley. Ford had gone with Cade to the appointment so his young lover could explain the situation about the upcoming deposition to support his mother’s divorce, and Ford found O’Malley to be attentive. He did, however, wonder if maybe there was more to O’Malley’s attention to Cade than providing his client with the best representation possible.

The man’s dark hair and bright blue eyes were troublesome. He was attractive and had Ford a little on edge, but he didn’t voice his concerns because it would sound as if he didn’t trust Kincade, which wasn’t the case at all.

The phone rang twice before it was answered. “Hi, Bix. How’s Dallas?”

“Steaming hot as hell. How are things at the club? Everything okay?” Ford knew the club was in capable hands. He was more worried about Kincade.

“It’s raining. Not hard or anything, but we’re putting out mats and closing the patio because it’s not supposed to stop until tomorrow. We should send home eight servers after the rush. What do you think?”

“Actually, only send home four and go with chart two for dividing tables. Sometimes the late nights get packed more than you’d imagine when it rains. Anyway, if it’s slow, start sending them home at ten in sets of two.”

Ford asked what he really wanted to know. “Are you ready for Monday? I could get you a ticket so you can come down for the game tomorrow. You and I can fly home early on Monday morning. Your appointment is at nine, right?”

Ford was out of his element in Dallas because he didn’t know the players well or their wives at all. It was his first time on a road trip, and while he was staying at the same hotel as the team, he didn’t know if he’d get to see Jax at all. His man knew Ford was there, but he’d flown down on the team jet, unlike Ford who’d flown commercial. It could end up being a lonely trip.

“I wish, but I’m scheduled to have breakfast with Liam on Monday to go over my testimony one more time. Raney’s gonna stop by to say goodbye before he gets his flight to New York. I wish the game was at home so I could take him,” Cade replied.

Liam? So, he’s calling the lawyer Liam? Ford tucked that away to consider later.

“Um, yeah, well, maybe when Jax plays in New York, we can both go with him and take Raney to the game. You’ve worked your magic before, so you can set it up.” Ford wasn’t exactly happy at the idea of Cade being in Chicago with the lawyer… alone.

“Anything new? Have you spoken to Jax?”

Ford sighed. “No. There was a note at the hotel for me to come to this ostentatious stadium, along with a pass to get in to watch the practice. I see that horrible blonde woman from the bachelorette party sitting there. I’m wearing a Chicago hat so I can hide from her. I’m wondering if this was the smartest thing for me to do. If someone spots me—” Ford was whining more than a little.

Of course, Cade wouldn’t stand for it. “Branford, the world knows you’re Jax’s partner, so get over it. He hasn’t been cut yet, and we’ve been in the paper more than once, so I’m guessing that threat by the team was idle, at best. I’d bet Stan would be more than happy to sue them for discrimination if anything like that happens, so just enjoy being Jackson Delacroix’s boyfriend. I love you.” Cade’s stern voice made Ford chuckle.

“I guess, sweetheart. Anyway, I better get back. I love you too. Call me if anything comes up. Call me tomorrow so I know how things went tonight. Be safe.” It felt good to hear that Cade supported Jax and him.

Ford walked back into the stadium and retook his seat from earlier. The building was air-conditioned, thankfully, but the hat Ford was wearing was smothering his brain. He took it off and brushed his hair back, fanning himself for a second.

When Ford heard the familiar squeal, he wanted to disappear. A nanosecond later, Chloe Gold Digger was sitting next to him. Her bleached blonde hair had blue and orange streaks in it, leaving him to wonder why.

“I thought it was you, but I wasn’t sure without your little monkey hanging off your arm. You’re the Cajun’s boyfriend, right?”

The young woman settled her scantily clad body into the seat next to him for reasons he couldn’t comprehend. They’d only briefly met the day of the bachelorette party, and Ford had no desire to interact with her again.

“My monkey?” The hairs on Ford’s neck stood on end.

He’d never hit a woman, and he certainly didn’t plan to do so in Dallas, Texas, of all places. If she kept up her bullshit, he’d be forced to do something to the obnoxious twat.

“That little brown-haired guy who did your bidding at the bachelorette party. He was nice and stuff, but it seemed like he was your lackey. Are you really gay?” she pressed.

So many distasteful things circled Ford’s head to hurl at her, but his better angels took over and stopped him. He did, however, reach into his pocket to draw out his wallet. He rifled through it, front and back, before slapping it on his leg. “Damn!”

“What’s wrong?” she asked, like the bubblehead he assumed her to be.

“I left my queer card at home, unfortunately. Anyway, I guess I’ll have to wait until Jax plays in Miami before I can get it punched for being a queer visiting a southern city. This month’s prize was a new inkjet printer, which I could really use.” Ford was bleeding sincerity, hoping she could see how damn stupid she sounded.

Her heavily lined eyes opened wide, and he decided he had a new game to play. Fuck with the stupid girlfriend sounded like a lot of fun. He was ready to play on.

“Really? So, is the whole gay mafia really a thing?” she asked quietly.

Ford glanced around before he leaned in her direction, attempting to show fear and concern on his face. “How’d you hear about that? It’s not a real thing, okay? It’s a… uh… an urban legend. Yeah, it’s an urban legend. There’s no gay mafia,” he whispered conspiratorially into her ear as he scanned the area, eyes wild.

“ Oh! I guess you can’t talk about it, like with the real mafia. Okay, so… um… you own that club, then?”

Ford gave her one-word answers for an hour while he watched Jax and the team running plays and drills. The coach blew the whistle, and they all formed a huddle, listening to their leader for several minutes before hurrying to the tunnel leading to the locker rooms.

Ford turned to his unwanted companion and smiled. “I better go. I need to call the Godfather… I mean, my godfather. I suppose I’ll see you tomorrow at the game, but for your own sake, don’t sit too close to me. You don’t want to be seen with me, Chloe. They’ll think you’re a lesbian, and they’re a rival faction. Stay out of the line of fire.” Chloe nodded and walked away.

Ford got up and left the stadium, sending Jax a text with this room number as he cabbed back to the hotel. He wasn’t familiar with what the team did on the road because all Jax ever said was, “We got dinner and went to our rooms.” He wasn’t sure if that was the truth or not.

After a shower, Ford settled on the bed to take a nap. He missed the pace of the club and the prep for the upcoming night. He hadn’t realized how ingrained it was, but the need to be in the thick of the excitement was always there. He wasn’t cut out to be a football wife at all.

The knock on his hotel door surprised him. He pulled on the robe and looked out the peephole to see Jax on the other side. He opened the door and returned the man’s dazzling smile. “May I come in?”

Ford stepped aside and allowed him entrance. “How are you, Mr. Delacroix?”

Jax pulled Ford into his arms and kissed him gently. “I’m not too bad. I was hoping you’d come with me to get a decent haircut. I don’t want the shaved look, but this isn’t what I want either. I don’t have the patience to grow it out right now, so how about it? We can have an early dinner and come back here to watch a movie or something. I mean, unless you’d like to go to a bar. Some guys were talking about a barbecue place that—.” The big man was rambling, which wasn’t like him at all.

Jax was adorably nervous, but Ford wasn’t sure why. He was, however, going to put a stop to the rambling. He locked the door and pushed the button on the wall for do-not-disturb.

“I’ve got a better idea. First, let your hair grow a little more before you decide on a style. I know that thin spot is bothering you, but it’s not a bald spot. It’s a cowlick, love. It’s been there for years, so don’t worry about it.”

He moved his hands to each side of Jax’s neck. “Second, how about we just get room service? I don’t need to go out for dinner. We can do that anytime we want, and I’m sure I’ll be back in Dallas with you again in the future, so maybe we can go out then. How about we stay in and spend time together?”

Jax nodded, a smile growing on his face.

“Third, I absolutely do not want to risk running into Avery Sumter and his girlfriend. That woman is an idiot.” Ford explained his afternoon with Chloe Gold Digger.

Ford expounded on his ridiculous explanations to her regarding his gay card and the gay mafia. It felt good to laugh, just the two of them. It had been too long.

Jax shucked off his shorts and T-shirt before he slid into bed with Ford, who was still in the robe. “You miss him, don’t you?”

The temptation to dismiss the comment was strong, but Ford believed honesty was the best policy. “Yes, but I enjoy being alone with you. We haven’t done it recently. This summer has been a whirlwind for all three of us.” Jax held Ford’s hand in both of his.

Ford continued. “I mean, I remember when I first fell in love with you and how it turned my world upside down. I wasn’t ready for you, but there you were. I learned about football, even though I’d thought the game horribly boring most of my life. When I met you, there was this thing about you I still can’t explain, but it’s still there. I love you, Jackson. Wanting Kincade in our relationship is no reflection on the relationship we have with each other, okay? We both agreed there was something missing, right?”

There were times to be cautious and curious, which they’d all been. They’d moved slowly—more or less—but they were at the point where things needed to be made permanent. Robin had emailed him the research she’d done and it was as he thought. A close-to-perfect option.

Ford wasn’t exactly certain how they went about it, nor was he sure if Cade or Jax would go for it, but it was what it was. It had been an effective route in the past, based on Robin’s findings, and he had faith in her.

How to explain it to the two men he loved wasn’t something he was sure about, but there was no rush. There was no expiration date looming because the public perception of their relationship wouldn’t change soon. The viable solution to their dilemma was there. How to present it was the big question.

“Yes, it’s what we both want,” Jax responded.

“I need to go upstairs, but I’ll be back, babe. Let me back in?” Jax asked as he pulled his shorts back on. He had to be in his room for bed check at ten because the game was early that Sunday, 12:05, Central. Coach did the bed check and didn’t come back after, so he’d be in the clear.

If he’d gone out that night and gotten fucked up, he’d get fined, but he wasn’t going anywhere except back downstairs to Ford’s room to sleep with him. It was their first road trip, and Jax wanted to take advantage of it.

“Take a key. There’s one on the desk,” Ford called before heading into the bathroom. The afternoon had been perfect.

They’d napped, but only for an hour, and then they’d gone up to the pool on the roof for a swim. None of his teammates were there, nor were their wives or girlfriends, so the two of them swam for a bit before they went back to Ford’s room. Jax was pleasantly surprised the Ford had brought both of their swim trunks.

They’d ordered room service, two salads and a porterhouse steak, which they’d shared before they settled on the bed and watched the Saturday night game which was in California. At the half, they’d started making out and then pants had come off and the two began rubbing their hard cocks against each other, lubricated by a lot of pre-come, until they’d both erupted like rivers.

It had felt amazing to Jax, reminding him they needed to get into a routine regarding sex. He had two lovers. Shouldn’t he be getting laid a hell of a lot more? He wanted to cuddle with Ford, which was new, but he needed to get to his room and be there when the coach knocked.

Jax took the stairs two at a time, and as he opened the stairwell door, he saw the coach working his way down the hall. When he went into one of the other guy’s rooms, Jax sprinted to his, and let himself inside. He turned on the television to the game and ripped the covers off the bed. He rolled around it so it looked like it had been slept in, and then he waited for the knock. Ten minutes later, it came.

Jax opened the door to see Tony O’Brien with a smirk on his face, and he moved aside to allow the man’s entrance. O’Brien walked over to the bathroom and opened the door before he turned to look at Jax. “Where’s Ford Thomas? I saw him at the stadium today.”

“We had a nice dinner, and he’s tucked into his room upstairs. I’m just watching the game.” He pointed to the television.

Jax should have known O’Brien was too smart for that shit. “Set your alarm for seven, Cajun. We’re having a team breakfast at the stadium and the bus leaves at eight. Your hairy, red ass better be on it,” the coach told him with a laugh as he left the room.

After he was gone, Jax turned on the do-not-disturb while he packed his shit, so it was ready the next morning to go to the stadium before he hurried up the stairs to Ford’s room. He opened the door with the card key, hearing Ford laughing. He walked in to find him with his iPhone in front of him as he reclined on the bed. “It looks crowded. Go up to the office so I can hear you, sweetheart. Oh, Jax’s back.” Ford turned the phone screen so Jax could see their boyfriend waving at him.

“How are you, Lucky?” Cade asked, as he was on the move. Once he settled into Ford’s chair in the office, they could finally hear each other.

“I’m good, chère. How are you? We miss you.” Jax walked to the bed and dropped his shorts, showing his hardening cock. He definitely wasn’t opposed to a little phone sex.

Cade laughed, but he got up and walked back over to the office door, locking it. “So, boys, what have you two been up to?” Cade walked to the leather couch in Ford’s office and reclined.

“Frottage. Jax needs to save his legs for tomorrow, so we can only have soft sex. How about you? Are you up to no good without us around?”

“What’s soft sex?” Jax wrapped himself around Ford on the bed while they chatted with Cade.

Cade giggled, which made him smile. “It’s nothing athletic… like what we’ll get up to when you guys get home. Anyway, I had lunch today with Mother and Lionel Rawlings, her lawyer. I’m all set for the deposition on Monday. Mitch will sit in to protect you, Jackson, so things should be fine. I miss you guys.” Cade gave them a sad smile.

“We miss you, too. Look, my phone’s about to die so I’ll charge it and call you tomorrow, okay? Make sure Cleveland puts you into the town car when you go home, Kincade. Don’t take a cab. Call the service,” Ford insisted.

Cade giggled. “Have fun. You deserve it,” he told them before he hung up.

Jax looked at Ford with a smile. “So, you wanna have some fun?”

Five minutes later found them on their sides with hard cocks in their mouths, mutually pleasuring each other. When Ford let go, Jax took it down like a protein shake.

He released inside Ford’s mouth not a minute later, and after the hot blond swallowed, they rolled onto their backs, facing opposite ends of the bed. They held hands as they caught their breath. “You okay?” Jax asked quietly.

“Love, I’m always okay with you.”

“It’s not the same, is it?” Jax commented.

Ford sighed, heavily. “I don’t think anything is ever going to be the same, Jackson. We gave up the idea of things being the same when we invited Kincade into our bed and into our relationship. Do you regret it? Do you regret it’s just me here?”

Jax swung up to the headboard and pulled Ford across to the pillows so he could look into his eyes. “I love you, Branford. I’ve loved you for a long time, so let’s not forget that, ever. You brought an idea into our relationship, which turned out to be a wonderful addition. We’re still feeling it out, but it’s working, and at the end of the day, whatever happens, we still love each other, right?”

Ford looked at him and smiled. “Yes, love, at the end of the day, we’ll always love each other. We still love him, but we have to take care of the individual relationships, right?”

“Yep, but he’s not here and you are, so snuggle up to me, Honeysuckle. ” Jax chuckled at Ford’s moan of displeasure. They fell into a perfect sleep, holding each other without needing Cade in the middle.

It was new ground for them, and neither man complained. They should have been doing it all along, machismo be damned.

Number 79, the Ragin’ Cajun, was on the line. Across from him was a total asshole. It was the first play after the kickoff that Dallas had chosen to receive. They were at the thirty-yard line, and Jax had given his pep talk to the team, without the appropriate metal music. The Dallas team didn’t see fit to afford them their usual adrenalin pumping tunes, so it was up to Jackson to motivate his team.

“I see it’s the team fag in front of me. This is too good to be true,” the left guard taunted as the offense was settling.

Jax laughed and turned to see Hans Linder, the new versatile right or left defensive end, who was currently stacked next to him. “You hear the trash these cowboy-wannabes talk? It’s shameful ,” Jax stated as the whistle blew, signaling the end of the commercial time-out.

The Dallas team went into the huddle, so Jax gathered his guys around. “We’re in redneck country, boys, and what are rednecks afraid of?”

Nobody answered, so Jax laughed. “Queers. They think we all wanna fuck ’em in the locker room, so talk smack on the line about how much they’re gonna love it when you plow ’em. Kissy faces and winks, along with personal stats about the size of your junk. That’s how we intimidate ’em. Too weird?”

The guys started laughing and slapping each other on the ass as they broke and settled at the line of scrimmage to wait for Dallas. This is gonna be a hell of a lot of fun!

Jax settled in next to Hans and laughed. “I’d like to plow his ass with my nine. How about you, Viking?” Jax kept his eyes focused on the guard in front of him, seeing the blood drain from the young guy’s face.

When the ball snapped, it was comical how the offense tried to protect their asses. The fullback ran out to protect the wide receiver, but no other protection was given.

At the end, Jax had considered it one of the most fun games he’d played in a long time. The offensive line for Dallas had been freaked out, and he and his defense took advantage of it, having checked in with the offense at the half.

Jax had scanned the crowd to see Ford was there in his jersey, cheering him on, and it made the pain worthwhile because those fuckers took every opportunity to hurt the defense.

After the game, they went to the locker room and cranked up the music. Jax was surprised to hear it was Cher, but he laughed. It was proof they didn’t hate him or judge him, which was exactly what he wanted.

Once everyone was showered, they took the bus back to the hotel to check out. Jax saw Ford standing in front of the hotel in his aviator shades, with his phone up to his ear. He climbed off the bus to stroll over to his partner. “You ready?”

“I’m just waiting for the car to take me to the airport. I’ll see you at home.”

Jax glanced around, seeing his burly teammates watching them out the bus windows. “Do it.”

“Do what, love?”

“Kiss me right here in front of all these football players. You know you want to show them you got the prize bull. Show ’em who’s the boss.” Jax couldn’t help taunting him.

Ford handed the phone to Jax with a smile. When he put it up to his ear, he heard Kincade Hayes. “Don’t be a dick about this, Lucky. Just kiss him and get it out of the way. You’re the man, right? For our boyfriend to show dominance over you would only undermine your position on the team. You’re the stud, remember? You show them who’s the boss.” Cade’s declaration made Jax chuckle.

“I gotcha, chère. We’ll be home in a few hours. Can’t wait to see you,” he told their lover.

He handed the phone to Ford, not before he kissed him on the lips, hearing a lot of clapping and catcalls. When he pulled away, he saw a blush on Ford’s handsome face that he hadn’t seen since college. “Love you, babe. I guess I’ll see you at home?”

“Love you as well, and yes, you’ll see me at home.” Ford winked.

Jax placed his bag in the overhead bin of the bus taking them to catch their plane home to Chicago. He shoved his earbuds into his ears to keep from having discussions, but the real reason was that he wanted to think about the wonderful weekend he’d had with Ford. They should have done it a long time ago. Everything should have been handled differently from the beginning, but it was what it was, and he was going to make the most of the new beginnings—both of them.