Page 36 of Heartless

Tyler: Respect, man.

Me: ?

Tyler: Every man brave enough to date any of my sisters has my respect. But especially that one.

I could definitely see his point. Madison was far from wife material. At least by my standards. There had to be men somewhere who would like the thrill of sleeping next to her, not knowing if she would chop their balls off in the middle of the night, but that wasn’t me.

Me: No threats against me breaking her heart and you breaking my skull?

Tyler: Man, no amount of physical pain I could inflict on you would even come close to what Madison would do to your psyche.

Tyler: And since when are you dating? And my sister, of all people? Isn’t she the worst person to date for your situation?

I smiled. Tyler was right. Madison was the worst choice for a rebound. Except she wasn’t really a rebound, but he had to think we were really dating.

Me: She’s the only one to take my mind off it all.

And that wasn’t a lie one bit. She distracted me a lot. Not in the way I wanted Tyler to think, but she disrupted my everyday life, which, in my case, was a good thing.

Tyler: I guess that’s something.

I had to move on with my actual request, so I typed again.

Me: I know it’s a lot to ask, but would you keep it a secret for a while?

Tyler: You don’t want Ryan to say something to Jessica.

I was a douchebag. Not only did I lie to Tyler, but I also asked him to hide my relationship with his sister like she was a dirty little secret.

Me: Yes.

Tyler: Okay. Your relationship with the Montgomery family is your business.

Me: I just need some time.

Tyler: It’s your life, man. No judgment.

Me: Thanks.

Me: Can I ask for one more thing?

Tyler: Shoot.

Me: Not to mention my past to Madison. She knows nothing yet. Though I’m pretty sure she suspects there is somethinggoing on with Jessica. But I want to be the one to tell her the story. If we get to that phase.

Tyler: Sure. I get it. It’s a tough story to tell.

Me: Thanks, Ty.

Tyler: Anything for the man screwing my sister.

Sex with Madison was something I didn’t want to focus on. Not since I got a hard-on from watching her half naked in the hot tub.

Me: You really have no shame.

Tyler: That’s part of my charm.

I finally got up from bed and got ready for work. My assistant greeted me with a worried look on her face.

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