Unforgivable - 9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9

Corey jogged down the steps, hiking his bag up to his shoulder. He was in a better mood than he remembered being for quite some time. The sun was shining and the air, though warm, held the promise of the coming fall. The university’s orientation didn’t start for another week, but already there were trailers full of furniture, and the excited faces of this year’s crop of students descending on the city. Zach was still grouchy whenever he’d seen the man, but Corey had given up trying to apologize. His ex clearly didn’t want to hear it. Since Corey didn’t have time for the job, the school had hired a new physical therapist over the summer, so it wasn’t like he was going to see the guy very often anyways.

In no time, he was downtown and passing ‘Abby’s.’ He couldn’t believe his eyes when Jason had walked in on Friday night. The diner was the last place Corey had expected to see him. After a little initial awkwardness, Corey found himself enjoying the bantering, and spending time with someone who shared so many of his memories. He wasn’t ready to consider them friends yet, but at least they were able to talk and reminisce.

“That’s a pretty big grin. You must be having a good morning.” Jason’s amused voice startled him out of his musings, and he was shocked to realize he’d made it all the way to his favourite coffee shop.

Laughing at himself, he walked through the door Jason held open for him. “Just lost in thought.”

“Good thoughts?” They took their places in line, which was predictably long for this time of day.

“Mostly about how nice it’s been out. I haven’t spent as much time outdoors as I’d like, even with my morning walks.”

Jason nodded in agreement. “I hear you. I was so busy when we first opened up shop, the only daylight I would see was in the morning, and maybe an hour in the evening.”

They were quiet for a while as the line slowly moved forward. “What are you doing for the long weekend?” Jason finally asked, breaking the silence.

Corey scrunched up his brow. “I’m not sure. I’d almost forgotten it was coming up, to be honest.”

Jason’s chuckle was deep and warm. “Same here. I only remembered when mom called to tell me they’d be away; driving Kat back to school.” He shook his head, a fond smile curving his lips. “You’d think they didn’t go away every long weekend since I started university.”

Corey laughed with the other man. “Well, they did get a short break between Drew and Kat.”

“Even then they went somewhere. Why mom still feels the need to let me know, I have no idea. I’m 28, and haven’t lived at home in six years for goodness sake.”

Corey burst into laughter at the petulant look on Jason’s face. “She still worries about her little boy,” Corey teased in a sing-song voice, reaching up to pinch the blonde’s cheek. Jason batted away his hand and rolled his eyes, although Corey could see his amusement. “So what are you doing for the weekend, seeing as the ‘rents are abandoning you again?”

Jason snorted. “Brat,” he said with an exaggerated sigh. “I was invited to play in a charity baseball tournament this weekend. Apparently they need a few more players because a couple of guys got hurt.”

“Yeah, I heard about that. I wonder if that’s why Sara called me. She’s one of the organizers. I haven’t had a chance to call her back.”

“Sara Thomas? That’s who asked me.” Jason shrugged, moving closer to Corey to make room for a woman with a stroller to pass by.

“Well, I guess I know what I’m doing this weekend then,” Corey said with a smirk. “That woman won’t take no for an answer.” Sara Thomas was the head of the Chamber of Commerce and sat on several charitable committees in the city. She was a force of nature.

“You should. It sounds like fun. I said okay since I really didn’t have any other plans.”

“I probably won’t have much choice,” Corey mused before stepping up to the counter to place his order. After getting his coffee he said goodbye to Jason and headed for the clinic. Luckily he had a light day today, so he was able to call Sara back that morning. He was right; she was calling to convince him to play ball. The weekend sounded like a fun time, so he agreed.

“Good morning, boss,” his assistant, Liam, said, flopping into a chair across from him. “You look like the cat that ate the canary. Having a good morning?”

Corey thought about it for a moment. “Yes,” he said with a grin. “It has been a good morning.”

The weekend arrived before Corey knew it, and now here he was; sitting on wooden bench, putting on his cleats. There was a great turnout, and the stands for both fields were packed. Hearing a familiar laugh, he looked up and saw Jason standing about ten feet away, talking to a petite redheaded woman. Looking amused, she patted his arm before heading in the direction of the stands. Jason turned, and his smile widened when he spotted Corey.

“Looks like we’re on the same team,” he said cheerfully, sitting next to him.

“Looks like.” Corey gave him a crooked smile before standing and stretching his arms over his head. “Have you met Jack yet?”

“Jack?” Jason pulled his shoes from the sports bag beside him.

“Jack Cooper.” Corey pointed to a tall man with dirty blonde hair and the beginnings of a beer belly looking down at the clipboard in his hand. “Our coach for the weekend.” When Jason said he hadn’t met anyone else on the team so far, Corey called Jack over.

“Good morning, Corey,” Jack said with a happy smile. “I see Sara was able to rope you in.”

“Was there ever a doubt?” He pointed over his shoulder at Jason. “Jack, this is Jason. He’s new to the area. Sara got her claws into him too.”

After introducing Jason to Jack, as well as other members of their team, they all jogged onto the field. Corey was assigned shortstop, and Jason was sent to right field. It’d been a while since Corey played, but he was having a great time. It didn’t hurt that they won by a few runs. Jason had made a couple of great catches that had the spectators cheering. The jaunty salute and wink he gave Corey after one catch had the brunette snorting with laughter. Jason loved to play, but he never took the game seriously and only did it for fun. That was probably why he didn’t try out for any of the teams in university.

Halfway through their second game, the two men were sitting on the bench together, rehydrating. They were down a couple of runs, but everyone was still having a great time. There was a barbecue happening in one corner of the park, and several players from various teams planned to hit up one of the local bars together to unwind.

“You two coming to Finn’s with us?” Trevor, their first baseman, asked as he sat down after his at bat.

Corey looked to Jason. “I’m in,” the big blonde answered with a grin for his teammate. “Should be fun watching you lot get trashed, and then have to recover in time for our game tomorrow.”

Trevor scoffed before turning to Corey. “What about you, Cor? You coming?”

“Sure, what the hell,” he said with a shrug.

After losing their game, and trading friendly barbs with their opponents, Corey grabbed a water bottle and jogged over to the bleachers. His buddy, Grant, was playing in the next game, so he decided to stay and watch. He grabbed a seat a few rows up, greeting several people he knew. The warmups had just finished when Jason wandered by from the direction of the parking lot.

“Jase,” he called, pleased in spite of himself when Jason looked happy to see him.

“Hey,” Jason said as he sat beside him. “I thought you’d left.”

“Nah.” He pointed at the catcher with his water bottle. “Grant’s playing this game. Thought I’d watch.”

“Mind if I join you?” Jason inquired, leaning back on his elbows on the seat behind them. “I’m not hungry enough to hit up that barbecue yet.”

“Sure, no problem.” He slid over to make more room.

They watched the game mostly in silence, but it wasn’t strained or uncomfortable. They exclaimed over good plays and groaned at a ball that dribbled through the shortstop’s legs. Corey introduced Jason to a few people in the stands, and was surprised when some knew him. The lawyer had already made an impression it seemed.

“Oh,” Jason exclaimed near the end of the game. “I talked to Drew last night. They finally promoted him.”

“About time.” Corey grinned. “He’s been in line for that promotion for almost a year.”

Jason took a sip of his water and nodded. “He’s even making noise about maybe possibly thinking about kids someday… maybe.” The blonde snickered.

“Seriously?” Corey was shocked. Not that he thought his best friend wouldn’t make a great dad… he would… but he and Liz had only been married a few months.

“I think they’re in the ‘maybe talk about it someday’ stage… but yeah, I’m serious.”

“Wow,” Corey muttered, staring out at the field.

Jason bumped his shoulder. “Never thought we’d see the day, eh?”

Corey shook his head and laughed. “Nope. Good for him though. Liz is an awesome girl.” Corey, again, was struck by how much his friend had grown and changed over the years… evolving from a commitment-phobic playboy to a husband, and now potentially a father, in a few short years. Watching Jason out of the corner of his eye, he wondered if the same could be said of the older Sedor sibling. Maybe Jason was right, and a lot had changed in the last eight years?

With both of them going to the bar, Jason convinced Corey it would be easier for them to share a cab. After getting out of his sweaty clothes and throwing them in the hamper, Corey hopped in the shower to wash off the grime of the day. It felt surreal that he was voluntarily spending so much time with Jason, but he couldn’t deny how much fun he’d been having.

The place was already crowded when they arrived. Several teammates haled them from a large table to their right. With a hand on his lower back, Jason steered Corey in that direction. Seeming to realize what he’d done, Jason muttered an apology and removed his hand as if he’d been burned. Corey was surprised to see a blush darkening the muscular man’s complexion.

“We ordered a couple of pitchers,” said Danny, one of the outfielders, waving a hand in the direction of the centre of the table. “Just grab a glass.”

After their beer was poured, the group settled in, talking and laughing about the day’s games. Players from other teams came and went, since many of them knew each other outside of the tournament. Several players’ significant others also joined them, making for a large, boisterous crowd. Corey knew there weren’t a large number of ‘out’ men in the area, so he was pleasantly surprised when one player brought his boyfriend to the celebration, and impressed that so few people seemed to care. He didn’t know the men personally, but he recognized one as the owner of a local real estate agency.

Several hours into the night, it was his turn to buy a round. He’d just stepped up to the bar and placed his order when someone bumped into him from behind. “So does your boyfriend know you’re banging his brother?” said a familiar, sneering voice.

Rolling his eyes and sighing, Corey turned to face his ex. “Get some new material, Zach,” he said, trying not to scowl. It was obvious from the man’s slight wobble he’d had a few too many. Corey paid the bartender, deciding to ignore his inebriated ex-boyfriend.

“I fucking hate being ignored.” Zach’s hot breath against his neck made his skin crawl. What the hell did had he ever seen in this guy?

This was supposed to be a fun, relaxing night and he didn’t want it to end in a fight. Stiffening his spine, he turned in the small space between their bodies. “I’m not talking to you here,” Corey said through clenched teeth. “It isn’t the time or place for this conversation.”

“Yeah, but I wanna talk about it, baby.” Zach leaned in, pressing his body against Corey’s.

“Back off, Zach. If you want to talk, see me when you’re sober.”

“Is there a problem, Cor?” Jason asked from behind the assistant coach. Corey used the distraction to put some distance between them.

“Nope,” Corey answered, taking the drinks and pushing past Zach. “Zach just stopped to say hi.”

Jason nodded, but looked skeptical. Corey gave him a weak smile when he reached for one of the pitchers. “Thanks.”

Out of the corner of his eye he saw his ex take a step towards them. Someone, Corey thought it might have been another coach from the university, put a hand on Zach’s shoulder and whispered in his ear. The big man looked startled for a moment before grimacing and following the other man to the far corner of the bar. Corey exhaled the breath he was holding, and turned to lead Jason back to their group.

“What the hell was that about?” Jason asked quietly when they reached their table.

Corey groaned and scrubbed his palms over his face. “No idea. Drunken ramblings? I’ve tried to apologize to the guy a few times and he’s ignored me every time. Now that he’s a few too many, he seems to want to ‘chat.’”

“Why would you apologize to him?” Jason sounded incredulous, looking back in the direction that Zach disappeared.

“Because I hit him?”

“He shoved you into a wall first, Cor.” Jason whispered, leaning in close. Corey didn’t want his personal business advertised to the world, so he was grateful for Jason’s tact.

“It was no excuse to punch him,” Corey said quietly, pouring himself another drink. “It’s over now as far as I’m concerned. I tried to apologize. He wouldn’t hear it. End of story.”

Jason reached over and took Corey’s hand, giving it a brief squeeze before letting go again. “You’re a good man for wanting to apologize, but be careful around him. I don’t think he’s let it go.”

Much to his mortification Corey could feel a blush heating his face. “Thanks… and I will.”

Jason held his gaze for a few moments before nodding. “I know you can take care of yourself, Cor. I just worry.”

“You always did,” Corey said with a shy smile. “Even when we were kids.”

“It was part of the big brother gig,” Jason responded, nudging the smaller brunette with his shoulder. “It’s what we do.”

Jason turned when one of the wives tapped him on the shoulder. Corey took a sip of his beer and watched Jason interact with the table. He seemed to sense Corey’s perusal, and looked over with a smile, before turning back to his conversation. The brunette’s chest tightened with longing when he thought of how close they used to be. Could they ever get that back? Did he want to? He had friends in Kingston, but none who knew him like Drew, Perri, or even Jase. A part of him really wanted to give Jason another chance, but could he trust him?

He was overthinking… again. Maybe it was time to stop punishing Jason for something he did when he was twenty? Pierre had forgiven him… why couldn’t he? There were things they needed to talk about… to clear the air between them… but he was sure Jason would be happy to have the chance. If their friendship could never be rebuilt it would be sad, but he didn’t want to be the reason they didn’t try. Now that the decision had been made he felt lighter. He was startled when Jason tapped him on the shoulder.

“I was thinking of heading out. Are you ready to go?” the man asked, inclining his head towards the door.

“Yeah,” Corey said with a grin. “I think I am.”