As I curled on the couch in my living room, watching His Girl Friday, I heard a knock at the door.

I wondered who it could be as I stood and walked over.

“Hold on,” I called out.

When I opened the door, I saw Toby standing on my porch dressed in tight jeans and a red polo shirt stretching across his massive chest. I suppressed a groan of desire and smiled at him.

“Hey,” I said, as if nothing were wrong.

“Hey, can I come in?”

“Sure.”

I stepped back. He came in, shutting the door behind him.

“What’s up?” I asked.

“I called last night.”

“Yeah, I noticed, but I wasn’t feeling well.”

“Really? You’re going to lie?”

My eyebrows lifted in anger.

“What am I lying about?”

“Did you sell the nude photos you took of me?”

The blood rushed from my face.

“Fucking hell,” he shouted, looking away.

“Hold on,” I said, putting my hand on his arm.

He shook it away.

“Don’t start, okay. How could you sell them for money? I would have given you anything.”

I stepped around and saw his crazy beautiful eyes, full of pain and anger.

“What are you talking about?” I asked. “I didn’t sell the photos. Someone took them. I think it was your ex-wife.”

“It sure was. She has them, and that’s all that matters. My career is over now.”

“Because of a photo of your impressive penis?” I asked, trying to lighten him up.

“This isn’t a fucking joke, Haley.”

He walked away, keeping his back to me.

“What do you want me to say?”

“Tell me the truth,” he said, spinning around. “Just tell me the truth, okay?”

“I’m telling you the truth. I should have told you last night, but I was afraid you would hate me.”

“Why would I hate you for ruining my career?” he asked in a sarcastic tone.

“Come on, Toby. That’s not fair.”

“Life ain’t fair,” he said. “How can I trust you now?”

“I’m telling you the truth,” I said, waving my arms emphatically. “Are you calling me a liar?”

“I’m not sure. Are you a liar?”

He stared into my eyes. I looked away, pissed at him even considering I would do something like that to him. We were in love with each other. Didn’t he notice?

“I’ve got to go,” he said, moving toward the door.

I stepped in his way, stopping him.

“Please don’t go. Let’s talk about this.”

“Get out of my way, Haley. I’ve got to go talk to Coach Harris and let him know.”

“Hold on,” I said. “They’ve not been released yet. Maybe we can get them back?”

“How the hell are we going to do that, Haley?”

“I’m not sure yet, but we can figure it out together.”

“Move, please.”

I stepped aside, sadness and anger mixing in a dangerous emotional cocktail.

“Leave then. Maybe I should have sold them.”

He whirled around.

“You did sell them?

“No! How many times do I have to tell you? I said maybe I should have sold them.”

“You probably would do something like that to me. Maybe it’s better this way.”

As he opened the door, I reached out and grabbed his arm.

“Let me go, Haley.”

I dropped my hand to my side.

He walked outside, heading to his car.

“Fuck you, Toby!” I yelled then slammed the door.

As I leaned up against it, tears came rolling down my cheeks.

Why did men need to be such assholes all the time? It’s not like I planned to leak the photos and he was treating me exactly like I’d done it on purpose.

I watched him drive away, my heart sinking as I regretted yelling at him.

He just needs to cool down, I thought.

A little time and everything would be okay, right?

Screw that, I thought as I grabbed my keys and jumped in my car.