He rubbed his face with both hands before pushing them back through his hair. Marc chuckled.
“I guess that’s a no, then.” Corey sighed.
“Actually, I know exactly how you feel.”
Corey leaned up onto his elbows to look at his friend.
Marc perched against the wall with his arms crossed. “That’s exactly how I felt when I met Beth. If you remember, I floundered like a moron for the first few weeks of our relationship.”
Corey flopped back on the bed. “Beth’s easy. You should try dealing with Taran.”
“Uh-huh.” Marc didn’t sound like he agreed, though. “Want advice?”
Corey stared at the ceiling. Marc was a good guy. A lot of people thought it was weird that one of his best friends was his ex’s husband, but it had never felt strange to Corey.
“Sure.”
“If you want it to work, don’t let her walk away.”
Corey flew up. “The fuck? You just told me—”
“Stop.” Marc shook his head with a slight chuckle. “Not now—this second—but, in general. Corey, you let Mel walk. She walked away as soon as it got hard, and you let her. Even though it messed you up.”
It wasn’t that simple. Mel needed things Corey couldn’t give her. He let her walk away, not because he didn’t care or want Mel. But Mel needed Corey to let her go the same way Beth had needed Corey to walk away. But he wasn’t going to make it awkward by pointing that out to Marc.
“I messed with her head. All my need for privacy played on her insecurities. We sucked at communicating. We didn’t work.” Corey cracked his neck back and forth, not wanting to talk about Mel anymore. “You’re right, though. You didn’t need to come, and I didn’t ask for you. You can’t fix my head, and I know the problem. I’m working on it. So you can go.”
Marc stared at him for two beats, not responding, and Corey wondered if he was going to push the Mel thing.
“I doubt I could get a flight out tonight. But even if I could, Beth wouldn’t let me into the house. Like I said, she’s pissed.”
That was when Corey remembered. “Oh shit, you weren’t supposed to travel until the twins were six months old.”
“Yet here I am,” Marc mumbled.
“Sorry, man. I don’t think you’re getting laid for a while.”
Marc laughed. “That’s okay. By the looks of it, neither are you. Let’s get a drink. This is my big night out.”
Corey shook his head, chuckling at how the former Metros pitcher’s life had changed in the last few years. Marc used to be the guy who went out to the hot spot of the moment every night. Now his big night out was a drink in a random hotel bar. It left Corey just a bit jealous that although Marc was home every other night, today was probably the worst night of Marc’s month. Why couldn’t Corey find that with someone?