Wellll......
I sort of take issue with the way Tam has been viewed by peeps here. She hasn't had sex in years, true; but I also see Jayden sort of manipulating the situation by trying to appeal to her femininity to get her around to his way of thinking. Tam, I believe, has had sex with two men in her life, and the first one is the father of her children. That tells you something right there. Giving in to him would be different anyway than giving in to some random dude.
And why she never told anyone about Jayden is a hurtful and disgraceful thing! It doesn't surprise me that its taking her this long to get around the humiliation of what Jayden did? She'll tell her mother, but even so, that's something personal she might have difficulty sharing. So Jayden reducing it to just sex, in the short term, with that comment about her being mad that she isn't getting what she wants, bothered me. And I'm going back to that, here, with her mother, because its a large part in why she never told him; or anybody, for that matter.
So Jayden led Jessica on by making it seem that Tam's issue with him is innocuous. Instead of him telling her himself why he never knew about his kids, the scumbag reason behind it, he turned it around and said she needed to talk to Tam about it.
His parents, Jayden's past behavior concerning Tam and them, and what happened back in college (which I believe she still isn't fully over), not to mention, his condition, are some of the reasons why she's still hesitant about Jayden. In all, too much, too fast. And his shrink sort of backs up this thinking.
Good stuff!
Author's Response: Flickchick, you are right on the money here. Also remember when Jayden first met Tam, it was on a bet. He wouldn't have even considered dating her if Jeff hadn't egged him on. He saw her at face value at first, the perception of beauty that he had been taught. Her hair and her lips and her skin he didn't find appealing...at first glance.
However when he took that bet, got to know her, found out that the two of them really clicked, things changed. All of the racist things that had been implanted in him by his mother (and more of that is coming out) went out the window.
Tam was hurt when she learned that she was on the receiving end of a bet. She was hurt when he left her confirming all of the things that Jeff told her. She knew that he had fallen in love with her while they were in college, but the deception and betrayal hurt her and she still hasn't come to terms with it.
It was only after the breakup that Jayden realized how much he had let his walls down and let Tam into his life. Remember he had been sleeping around before and discarding women before they could learn about his issues. He had to pursue Tam and in the midst of that pursuit, he let his guard down and fell in love with her.
Just like he pushed his grandmother out of his mind because it was too painful, he has pushed his part in this mess to the back of his mind also, but he's going to have to face what he did and the two of them are going to have to come to terms with it.
Thanks for the long review. (You know what I like)
