The first time Tommy knew something was wrong was when he stepped out of his apartment and Jim punched him, "You jackass!" He yelled.
Tommy covered his nose, "What did I do?"
"You think we wouldn't find out?" Jim said, clearly refraining from hitting him again.
"Find out what?" Tommy asked.
"That's your defense?" Jim said, his rage growing with each word, "You can't remember? Think hard, Tom, think real hard. I'm sure you know exactly what you did."
"I don't," Tommy said, "Where's Sam?"
"Sam doesn't want to see you," Jim replied, "she doesn't want you to call her either. Consider the wedding off."
Tommy watched Jim storm off, stunned before tilting his head back and stepping into his apartment again. He retrieved a rag from the kitchen and used that to stop his nose before making a phone call, "Mercer Industries," Jane said, "how can I help you?"
"Jane, it's Tommy Oliver," Tommy said, "I'm going to be late, will you let Mr. Mercer know."
"What's wrong?" Jane asked.
"I'm not entirely sure," Tommy replied, "but I want to get my nose to stop bleeding before I leave."
"I will let Mr. Mercer know," Jane replied, "I hope everything's ok."
"They will be," Tommy replied, lowering the rag, "they will be."
Two phone calls later, and Tommy had the answer. Hailey wasn't talking to him, but she had called him a lying, cheating ameba when he'd called her, which gave him a clue to his crime. Jason gave him the rest of it when he told him about the 'cheating scandal' in one of the tabloids.
Tommy Oliver, former race car driver and current college student wasn't worth a second glance, but Katherine Hilliard, girlfriend to a rich and powerful heir of a New York industrialist was. Someone had spotted them having dinner during a recent trip to New York City and had blown it all out of proportion.
"I'm sorry," Kat told him when he called her, "I didn't expect this to happen."
"How's the man taking it?" Tommy asked.
"He knows what really happened," Kat replied, "he's fine with it."
"I guess I need to grovel then," Tommy said.
That weekend he booked a flight to Washington, with Sam on deployment for another three weeks, Tommy knew his best bet would be to beg forgiveness of Michael and Diana Viktor first. He passed the time until the flight composing an email to Sam, on the odd chance that she would read it.
Diana and Michael were not happy to see him on their doorstep, "What are you doing here?" Michael demanded.
"I came to explain," Tommy replied, forcing himself to stand still under the older man's stern gaze, "I can't talk to Sam face to face, but I can talk to you, if you'll listen."
Michael and Diana exchanged looks, and then stepped out of the way. Jim and Hailey were in the living room, "What are you doing here?" Jim demanded, standing up.
Tommy lifted his hands, "You got a free shot last time, Jim," he said, "this time, it won't be so easy." He tilted his head and raised his eyebrows, "Although I deserve the last one a bit."
"Because you cheated on Sam," Hailey said.
"Because I let people think I had," Tommy replied. He watched Diana and Michael sit down, but stayed standing. "Katherine Hilliard, the woman I had dinner with in New York City, is my ex-fiancé. We dated in high school and planned to get married in late ninety-nine. Her grandmother died the night before our wedding and we postponed things so that Kat could go back to Australia for the funeral. By the time I met Sam, we had agreed that we weren't meant to be together. Kat is a good friend still, but she's engaged." Tommy rubbed the back of his neck, "Her fiancé doesn't really care for me, which is why he didn't go out to dinner with us that night, but nothing happened. Kat's my friend, just my friend."
"Are you friends with all your past girlfriends?" Michael asked pointedly.
"No," Tommy replied, "my first girlfriend and I," he stopped and sat down on a chair, "Kim was my first love, I thought we were forever. She was this amazing gymnast, and she had a chance to train for the Olympics. I told her to go for it, to chase her dreams. She moved to Florida to train with Schmidt, and six months later, I got a Dear John letter." He glanced up at them, "Kat was my rebound. We both agree to that now, and we're better friends than we could ever have been any other way."
Tommy didn't read any softening of feeling in the Viktors, so he stood, "I don't expect you to approve," he told them, "but I am friends with strong, competent women, any of whom would cause severe bodily harm if I did something so stupid as to cheat on my fiancé. My guy friends would do worse. Men and women can be friends without sex, same as two men or two women can be friends. Just because some idiot reporter wants to sell papers doesn't mean they're printing the truth. Kim was my first love, Kat is my ex; Tanya, Aisha and Trini are some of my best friends. Sam is the love of my life and I would never hurt her like that." He turned and stalked out of the house.
