Part 3 : Masquerade

Trevor sat alone in H&H cafe spaced out. All that was on his mind was the last time he seen Kane. Was he serious? There had to be a way out of what he got himself into. Rubbing at the ball of tension in the back of his neck he was joined by a woman. “This seat taken?” Cassidy asked. Trevor looked around at all the empty seats but gestured for her to sit. “I’m sorry to approach you but you look like you could use a friend. Cassie.” She held out her hand for him to shake. “Right about now I could use one. Trevor.” “Well I’m all ears.” “Let’s just say I’m stuck in a situation that I can’t get out off….no one to blame but myself.” “To be honest I’m sort of in the same boat, but with me I want to get into a situation.” They laughed. “I would give it some thought first to see if that’s really where you want to be.” “Thanks for the advice. If you ever want to talk here is my number.” Cassidy wrote her number down on a napkin and handed it to him. Speechless he watched her walk out of the cafe.

Winston laid in bed lost in thoughts. On one hand he was going to be a father and on the other he was getting the woman he always loved back into his life. Why did he have to go chasing after Violet? To everyone else he had to go take care of his sick mother. All that experience taught him was what he already knew. He was in love with Erica. A knock sounded at the door. Who could be knocking at seven in the morning?

With tired feet he dragged himself to the door only to open it to a ghost of his past. “Violet? What are you doing here?” “ Don’t you miss me….I missed you.” He couldn’t deal with another woman in his life right now. “Seriously Vi I don’t have time for this. You made it clear who you wanted last time I seen you.” “ I need help Wesley kicked me out and now I’m here.” “You think you can just run from brother to brother? What happened?” “ We got into a big fight because I told him that I might have made a mistake. After you hit me up and we talked I couldn’t get you out of my mind. We have a lot of history you and I.” “You should have thought of that before dating my brother.” “C’mon on please...you won’t even notice I’m here. I just need to get myself together and try to find a place to stay. I have no one and you were the first person I thought of.” Winston paused giving it some thought.

He still had some heart for her so he let her in. “You are going to have to sleep on the couch.” “Anything you give me is fine. Hopefully we can talk about us later on. I need to get some things off my chest” she said plopping down on the couch. “You are going to have to keep them on your chest I have too much going on at the moment in the woman’s department.” “Like?” “ Like the love of my life and a possible baby on the way.” Violet made a face. “Exactly”.

Erica stepped from the shower still feeling Winston all over her. Not that she felt dirty but she wanted to wash away all of the guilt she felt sleeping with him for the second time. Maybe she just needed to spend more time with Trevor. If things were good between them then she wouldn’t need Winston. She grabbed her phone to call Trevor. “ Hello?” “ Hey baby I was thinking we could go to dinner tonight.” “I moved up to baby now huh” Winston smirked into the phone. Erica looked at her phone confused. “Winston?” “The one and only. I guess that call was for someone else.” Without a word she hung up the phone. What was happening to her? Hearing the front door she wrapped herself in a towel and headed downstairs. “Trevor!” she called ahead of her. “In the kitchen!” Trying her best not to slid from her wet feet she walked in to see him in the fridge. When he closed it and saw her he stopped in his tracks.

“ I was about to call you. I wanted to ask you something.” His heart grew heavy. “Ask me what?” “Did you want to go out to dinner tonight? I feel like we should start having dates nights like we use to.” With relief came horniness. Trevor walked over to her and began to kiss her. Taken by surprise she kissed him back wanting to feel something. Looking for the spark their relationship had lost.

Bri walked into H&H cafe and took a seat bypassing coffee. Some things needed to be found out and fast. Three months into her pregnancy and she had to deal with this. “Are you Bri Perkins?” “Yes.” The man took a seat across from her. “What can I do for you Mrs. Perkins?” “I hired you because I need you to follow my husband. He is cheating on me and I need to know with whom.” “Are you sure you want to do this? I ask all my clients this before we start. It could turn out that he is not up to anything and you could feel guilty.” “I heard a phone call so I am sure” Bri said trying not to raise her voice. “My fee is pretty steep. Hundred an hour.” “ I have the cash.” She pulled out a folder sliding it over to him with information on Neal inside. “ Find out everything you can on whoever he is sleeping with.”

Soft groans escaped Kane’s mouth as he clenched his eyes tight. Almost to his peak he stiffened building up to his nut. A few more twirls of the tongue around his manhood and he was done. Sweet release. He went limp on his pillows as Neal came up for air. “I should be at work but I can’t get enough of you” Neal wiped his mouth. “Does your wife get the same mouth service like I do?” “Every now and then...If she knew I like men too…” Kane looked at him. “She would kill you?” “I wouldn’t say that but we would not be together.” “Don’t you have a child together?” Kane asked turning to his side to face him. “Not yet...this pregnancy has made her moody.” Kane not caring asked another question. “Why not leave your wife if you take pleasure in men?” Kane was really asking searching for some answer as to why Trevor wouldn’t leave his wife. “It’s not that simple. I know for me my feelings are torn between the two. If it’s women or men but I don’t want to choose and maybe it would have been different If I was comfortable with telling the world I was gay or bi but I know my family and friends won’t support me. I would lose them so I have Bri.” “ I don’t understand so your using Bri as a cover up for the life style? You don’t really love her?” “To be honest at first I didn’t but then I got to know her as a person and I couldn’t see myself without her. What we are doing here is just a itch I like to scratch every now and then and I’m happy.” “ So you would never leave her for a man.” “Why would I like I said I’m happy with her even if we have trouble every now and then.” Kane was even more lost than before he asked the question. Neal slid from bed to get dressed. “How much this time?” he asked putting on his pants. “On the house.” Kane just wanted to be alone with his thoughts. He needed a way to get Trevor away from his wife and want to be with him.

Trevor and Erica laid in a naked pile on the floor panting for breath. They just had the best sex with each other that they had in a long time. “I take that as a yes for dinner” she said in between breathes. “Yes. What time did you have in mind?” “ Seven.” “Sounds good.” “ Can I ask you something?” “ What?” “What made you want me like that? We haven’t done this in a long time.” “ Honestly, I forgot how beautiful you are. Seeing you in nothing but a towel and all wet really woke me up.” If all she had to do was be wet and naked in a towel for him to touch her then she would have done so a long time ago. “Aren’t you missing work?” Erica looked at the clock to see it was just shy of noon. “Work can wait for this. I really do love you Erica even though I haven’t been saying it or showing it like I’m suppose to but I thank you for never leaving my side.” Maybe the spark was back. “I love you too Trevor. I guess we kind of got lost when we lost the baby and kept trying.” He fell silent with Erica thinking what she said was a mistake. “A baby will come when in time….I think we need to work on us more than anything. Maybe talk to someone about our problems.” “You want to see a therapist?” she asked surprised. “Maybe it could help but I really do need to go now. We can talk about it some more over dinner tonight.” He gave her a kiss on her head before getting up to get dressed.

Cassidy pulled up in front of Winston’s house hoping he would talk to her. Maybe he made up his mind about wanting to be with her. Meeting Erica’s sap of a husband she could understand if Winston thought he had a chance at Erica but she wasn’t going to let that happen. All she had to do was keep up the baby facade, make Winston love her again, and steal Erica’s husband. Simple. She knocked on the door and was greeted by another woman. “Who are you?” Cassidy spat with a surprised look on her face. “You knocked on my door so who are you?” Violet said with as much attitude.

Last I checked a man lived here by himself alone and I happen to be the mother of his child.” “Oh so you’re the mommy to be….he could have done better.” “Excuse me?” “You heard me. If you’re looking for Winston he is at work and I’m his sister. Not nice meeting you.” Violet slammed the door behind her in her face. Winston never mentioned anything to her about having a sister. She decided to head to the gym to confront him about it.

Jax sat outside of an office building looking at a photo of Neal. For some reason his face looked familiar but  he couldn’t remember from where. All he knew was that his wife wanted answers and he was going to give them to her. Looking at the information she gave him he searched the parking lot for his car with no luck. Maybe he made a detour before coming to work. Just as the thought exited his brain Neal’s car pulled up. Dropping the picture he quickly grabbed for his camera and began to take pictures.Then it hit him like a ton of bricks. Nathan.

Finally getting out of bed Kane lost the battle with himself to call Trevor. “Hello?” Trevor answered annoyed. “I’m surprised you picked up this time. I called you earlier.” “Want to know why I didn’t pick up Kane It was because I was having sex with my wife!” Anger engulfed Kane. “Don’t you understand that I love you Trevor that I would get out of this lifestyle for you!” That shut Trevor up for a moment. “No, Kane you can’t love me. I told you I was trying to make things work at home and I think we made a breakthrough today.” “You will be with me. You don’t think I won’t tell her what we been doing all this time. I have proof Trevor...we can make this work I know we can.” “If you tell her anything you will lose me forever Kane. I need to go to work now.” “At least meet me later so we can talk.” “I can’t I have a date.” Kane hung hung up the phone slamming it on the nightstand. If Trevor didn’t have the time to see him then he was going to go up to his job. With his mind made up he went to get dressed.

Cassidy stormed into the gym where Winston worked to find him talking to a client on the treadmill. “When the hell were you going to tell me about Violet!” she yelled getting everyone’s attention. Embarrassed he took her hand and dragged her into the back office shutting the door. “Do you have no respect for my place of work?” “All the time we dated and you never told me you had a sister who I had the pleasure of meeting when I stopped by.” He shook his head. At least Violet lied about who she was. “It just never came up...it’s not like me and my family are close anyway.” “She was rude to me and slammed the door in my face.” FInally Cassidy had met her match with someone that was just as crazy as she was. “That’s why I tell you to never just drop by my house. You came all this way to tell me you met my sister.” Cassidy calmed down. “No, I wanted to talk to you in person about our situation. I really want us to work so we can be a family.” “But we don’t work Cassidy I told you I’m in love with Erica and until I find out if she loves me back then I can’t be with you.” “What about our child then? You love her more then your blood?” “I will try to be apart of his/hers life and go to doctors appointments and everything else, but as far as us right now I can’t.” Tears began to pool in her eyes. He tried to hug her but she brushed passed him to leave.

Trevor walked out of his office building to see Kane waiting for him. “You said you couldn’t meet later so I thought I stop by” Kane said as Trevor got closer to him. Talking to Kane in person was a different story then over the phone. Kane knew he was weak around him. “What do you want Kane?” “I want a bunch of things for us but I will settle for our arrangement right now. I don’t want to stop seeing you or doing what we do.” “Why can’t you respect my relationship?” “Because I know that you are not happy with her and that you guys aren’t for each other, but I’m willing to wait for you realize that.” Kane came closer. “Take one of these and meet me tonight after your date.” Kane slipped some pills in his pocket. Before Trevor could get a word out Kane kissed him passionately making him melt. “Why are you doing this?” Trevor whispered with lust. “Because I love you.”

Part 2: Continued...

Erica walked into the gym hoping to see Winston working. For some reason while taking a drive to clear her mind she ended up there. They needed to talk to put a close to things so she could move on. For the first time there was a little glimmer of hope that her marriage could be saved. Dealing with Winston would ruin things. Catching a glimpse of his dreads she knew it was him. Making her way over to him he turned with a smile on his face. “How did you know I was coming?” she asked with butterflies in her stomach. “The mirrors. What can I help you with?” “We need to talk” He grabbed her hand and walked with her to the back of the gym into a office.

“We need to talk about what happened last night. Me and Trevor talked and we decided to try to make our marriage work.” “I didn’t know it was in trouble and you are telling me because?” “Because we had sex” she whispered. “ No one can hear us or care to know what we are talking about. I enjoyed what we did and I know you did too.” “That’s not the point….it can never happen again.” “ I think you came here because you want it to happen again. You could have called me on the phone or a simple text would have done the job. Husband not giving you what you need?” The heat began to rise again. “That’s none of your business. I just came to say goodbye for good. We are moving anyway.” Taking a deep breath she stood to her feet ready to leave. As always he stood in her way. “I just got you back in my life and you think I’m going to let you walk away from me again?” “How many times have we done this Winston? Our story always end the same. Just let me go.” “I can’t.” He pulled her into him so they were face to face. The look that forever made her melt. She was stuck, her mind wanted her to run from his touch but her body the latter. With nowhere to run she waited as his lips came closer to hers. The fire in the pit of her stomach was at full flame engulfing her body with lust. No escape. No return.

Part 2: No Breaks or Escapes

A hard knock on the door jolted both Erica and Trevor from their sleep. With a stiff back from sleeping on the couch Erica rose to her feet to see who it was. Fumbling for the doorknob she opened the door to a worried Cassidy. “Cassidy?....What are you doing here?” Cassidy bit at her nails for a moment before responding. “I couldn’t sleep much. Did you talk to him for me?”. Images swirled in her head about her long night with Winston. Not wanting to wake Trevor further Erica stepped outside closing the door behind her. “He didn’t say much. I tried talking to him but you know how he can be.” Cassidy sunken eyes enclosed by heavy bags looked into her eyes trying to find something. An awkward silence fell over them with Erica not knowing what to say. Finally Cassidy took a seat covering her face.

Muffled sobs began to seep through the cracks of her hands. She had been crying all night. Erica took a seat next to her trying her best to console her. “I’m sorry Cassidy. I don’t know what happened….I thought he was happy.” “Me too, I should have never allowed myself to fall in love with him.” “You didn’t know this would happen. You can’t blame yourself for this. Crying is not good for the baby.” “Why should I care? If he doesn’t want it then….what’s the point in having this baby. I’m not raising this baby by myself.” “You don’t mean that.” Cassidy stood to her feet. “ I do mean it. I know what I have to do.” Before Erica could get a word in Cassidy was making her way to her car.

Covering her eyes from the sun Erica got up and rushed into the house to look for her phone. Finding it in her jacket pocket she ran upstairs into the bathroom closing the door behind her. With trembling hands she dialed Winston hoping he would pick up. A droggy voice answered on the other end. “Hello?” “Winston! You need to get up now...Cassidy is going to do something stupid.” “So, why should I care she’s not my problem anymore.” “That’s the mother of your child so yes she is your problem. I think she is going to get an abortion. You have to stop her!” Erica softly yelled into the phone. “I’m sure she’s not even pregnant. I tried breaking up with her before but she cried until I caved in. I’m over her this time.” “You can’t know for sure.” “Trust me I know. Did you enjoy last night?” She got hot all over. “Last night didn’t happen.” “The way you came and my messy sheets says otherwise.” “Goodbye Winston.” “I’m here whenever you want another round.” She hung up the phone throwing it on the counter. Somehow he was pulling her right back into his web. Good thing a move was in her near future.

Kane woke up to the sight of his friend Neal in his bed resting peacefully. Although the night was fun it still wasn’t Trevor. Getting to his feet Neal stirred waking up to prop on his elbows. “Where are you going?” “To wash up and get ready to go. I have a meeting in a few hours.” Neal pulled the covers back. “Can’t you stay in bed just a little longer?” Kane looked at him in all his naked glory. “Tempting, but I need to get ready and you need to go home to your wife….who I’m sure misses you dearly.” “You sure know how to kill the mood.” Neal stood to his feet to find his pants. “I don’t mean to but this meeting is important to me.” “More important than me?” he walked over to Kane putting his arms around his waist to grip him below. “We both know what this is Neal.” Kane grabbed a bath towel from his closet. “How much this time?” Neal went into his pocket to pull out a wad of cash. “Four hundred for the night. Let yourself out.” Shaking his head he plopped the cash on the nightstand before heading out.

Trevor knocked slightly on the bathroom door hoping everything was ok with Erica. Within a second she opened the door with a sad look on her face. “Everything ok? I heard the door. Who was it?” “No one, wrong house….I just gave them directions.” He knew when she was lying but didn’t want to get into it. “If everything is ok do you mind if I use the bathroom to get ready. I have somewhere to be in a few hours.” Without a word Erica walked passed him to go downstairs. Waiting until she was out of view he closed the door behind him. Quickly entering a number in his phone he waited for Kane to pick up. Voicemail. He hung up the phone frustrated. Things between them needed to end and fast.

Cassidy came to an halt in front of a small brick house. Taking a deep breath she rested her head on hands that clung to the steering wheel. Things were not going the way she planned. Instead of getting a ring and being happy she was now alone. Simply telling him that she was pregnant was not going to be enough. She needed proof, actually getting pregnant would come later. Grabbing her purse she headed for the house. “He wasn’t buying it huh?” a woman’s voice asked as she opened the door. “I wouldn’t be standing here if he did. Let me in Bri.” Bri stepped aside. “I need your help. He doesn’t want me but I figure If I have some proof he might change his mind.” Bri joined her in the kitchen taking a seat next to her. Silence fell over them. “And you want me to pee on a stick for you?” “ You are the only person I know that is pregnant.” Bri shook her head in disbelief.

“Why do you want to be with someone who doesn’t even want you?” “Because I love him….when I picture my future I see him in it. He makes me happy. I’m sure you would go to great lengths for Neal.” “The difference is he would do the same for me. I didn’t have to force him to be with me like you are trying to do.” “ Thanks for the lecture mom. Are you going to pee on a stick for me or not?” “Let me get dressed and we can go to the store.” “ No need.” Cassidy went into her purse and pulled out a few boxes. Bri looking at her funny grabbed the boxes and went the bathroom.

Erica sat at her desk trying to write some more pages for her book but she came up blank. All that was on her mind was Winston, Trevor, and Cassidy. The guilt finally started to kick in. How could she cheat on her husband? Something she swore she never do after her parents split. Only now she could understand how it could happen. Her phone buzzed signaling a text from Winston. - Can’t stop thinking about last night- . In frustration she slammed the phone down. Erica wanted nothing more than to get dressed and go see him but what they did was last time. Right? Trevor tapped her on the shoulder startling her. “You sure everything is ok?” “Yeah just thinking about some things is all.” “Are you still up for moving? Maybe we can talk about it some more tonight over dinner.” “I like that. I’ll cook dinner.” “ I’m getting ready to head out for work.” They gave a each other a peck on the lips for the first time in months. Strange how she felt nothing afterwards.

Just getting finished a light breakfast Winston put his plate in the sink getting ready to head out for work. Opening his door he was surprised to see Cassidy walking up. Trying to close the door back she stopped him just in time. “Why are you Cassidy I told you it was over. I’m done.” “Just please listen to me Winston….you at least owe me that.” Giving it some thought he opened the door. “Can I come in?” “You wanted me to listen so talk.” “I just thought that if you seen this you would change your mind and we can try to work things out.”

She pulled out the pregnancy test. He didn’t look. “Just please look at it please! We are going to parents and you don’t even care! Why are you shutting me out like this?” He took the test from her to see that it read positive. “I can’t do this.” He gave the test back to her. “I thought you would happy about this. All the nights you talked about you wanting a family…” “And I do….just not with you.” Tears started to form in her eyes. “You want someone else?” “It’s more than want Cassidy I love her.” Anger took over and carried into her voice. “Who is it?!” “You already know.” It took a moment for her to realize. “Erica!” Winston didn’t say anything. “All this time I have been smiling in her face and you love her!” “She doesn’t know.” Cassidy threw the test at him before storming away.

Kane sat in silence looking out at the scenery in deep thought before being joined by Trevor. “Anyone see you come here?” Kane asked not looking his way. “If they did it doesn’t matter. We never do anything in public anyway.” “Just looking out for you is all. What did you need to talk to me about?” “There is no easy way to put this but I need to end this...us.” “I don’t understand what you mean?” “This, whatever we have has to stop. I talked to Erica last night and we want to try to make our marriage work and move. Which means in order for that to work then we have to stop seeing each other.” Kane turned his gaze to him. A wicked laugh escaped his mouth.

“You think it’s going to be a quick conversation in the park to tell me it’s over?” “Don’t make this difficult Kane.” “No, you don’t get to come here and tell me we are over. We been in this thing for a year and a half to just walk away. Hell, I don’t even charge you anymore and you think you can just drop me like I never happened?” “We knew what this was going into it. I still love her.” “You ever think I might love you.” Kane got to his feet. “This was a nice talk but I’m not going anywhere nor are you getting rid of me that easy.” “But my wife…” “You should have thought of that before you slept with me, and if you want to continue to be happy and even have a marriage to try to fix it would be in your best interest to keep me happy. Who know’s what I could tell the misses.” Trevor fell speechless as he watched Kane walk away. What did he get himself into?

Neal walked into his home throwing his keys onto the table next to the door. “Bri I’m home!” Bri ran to greet him. “Hey baby you’re home! We missed you.” He leaned over to rub and kiss her belly. “I missed you guys too.” “ I thought you were suppose to come home tomorrow?” “ We got finished early and I didn’t want to stay. I’m going to take a shower and get into bed….it was a long flight.” “Of course I’m just going to run out and do a few errands and will be back in a few.” They gave each other a kiss before he watched her go out the door. Making his way to the bedroom to lay down the phone rang. “Hello?” “Neal can you meet me back at the house?” “I thought you had a meeting?” “ I did but I don’t feel like meeting up with anyone, besides you know it was a client. I need a distraction I’m familiar with.” “I can’t I’m home now...You were the first person I seen when I got home. I tried to get you to stay this morning.” “If you can’t then I will just find someone else.” “No, she’s not home just give me some time to clean up and I will meet you in a hour and don’t call the house phone.” “Hurry up!” The line went dead.

Bri hung up the phone in shock. Neal was cheating on her. Feeling sick she ran to the bathroom and threw up. How? Why? Not wanting him to find her she got her cell phone that she forgot and left.

Part 1: Old Flames & New Bridges

Vision cloudy Erica wiped her eyes to keep the tears from coming down. Alone she sat across from a playground watching the children at play. Tightening her arms around her stomach she wondered what her child would have looked like. Today was the day she was suppose to give birth not sitting in a park wondering what could have been. Ever since the miscarriage her and her husband had been trying over and over again. Each failed attempt hit their relationship like a boulder tearing away at their foundation making them drift further and further apart.

Lost in her thoughts Erica failed to realize she was joined by someone. Before her eyes could register who it was the woman’s voice instantly became familiar. “What are you doing here?” Cassidy asked with the biggest smile on her face. “Just getting some fresh air” Erica’s voiced cracked in response. “I’m waiting for Winston to show up we are suppose to be having a picnic. I think he is finally going to pop the question.” “Congrats..” “That’s not all, I have some news to tell him as well.” Erica looked at her waiting for the answer. “I’m pregnant!” Cassidy squeaked with joy. Instantly Erica stood to her feet with a pang in her gut. “Where are you going?” “I need to get home. Talk later?” “Sure.”

Erica clenched her jaw she made her way to the car. Out of all the days Cassidy had to spill this particular news. Just in reach of the parking lot Winston pulled up. As soon as he got out he headed right to her. “Long time no see.” “Goodbye Winston”. He reached for her arm pulling her back to face him. “What’s going on with you?” She pulled her arm from his grip. “Nothing, I ran into your girlfriend.” “I’m not worried about her I asked what was wrong with you.” “ Just some things going on is all...I need to get home.” He stepped in front of her. “Ever since we broke up you don’t talk to me anymore...I miss you.”

“You and I both know Winston that we don’t work, besides we have both moved on.” “I didn’t move on that’s you, you broke up with me... and then I find out you went and got married.” “Who fault is that. You up and left without a saying a word goodbye and you thought I was suppose to wait for you.” “For a while, I told you my mother was sick and she needed my help.” “I’ve heard the story already….besides it’s too late” She waved her hand with her wedding ring in front of him. “Don’t remind me. We will be together again soon.” “The misses is waiting for you to pop the question.” “The question?” “Marriage…” “No I only asked her here because I wanted to take a break for a while. I wasn’t joking when I said I miss you.” He grabbed her hand looking into her eyes. For a moment the feelings she once had for him burned deep within her gut igniting her all over. “Well it should be one awkward conversation daddy to be.” With Winston frozen in place Erica let his hands go and continued to walk to her car. “Have a nice day” she said before getting into her car.

Trevor sat in his home office looking into space. Dazed it took him a few moments to realize that the doorbell had rung. Creaking the door open slightly the sun shined in encasing his friend Kane. “Do you remember the part where you invited me to come over?”. Trevor opened the door all the way to let him in. “I had a long day is all. I think all the stress from work, home, and you are getting to me.” Kane followed him into the office closing the door behind him. “I think it’s other things causing you grief” he held up a small bag with two pills in it. “Those are my escape….” Trevor went to grab for the bag. “With everything comes a price you know that.” Kane put the pills back in his pocket and slowly walked over to him. Not breaking eye contact their lips within a whisper’s touch of each other lingered for a moment before a full passionate kiss consumed them. With lust devouring them they quickly removed each other’s clothes before collapsing onto the desk behind them.

Erica pulled into the driveway still shaken over the encounter with Cassidy and Winston. It was to early in the day for that kind of emotional wave. Taking a moment to calm herself before another wave with her home life she slowly got out the car to gather her things. As she fished for her keys the front door opened and out walked a familiar face. “Kane...What are you doing here?” “Just discussing some business projects with Trevor but he seems out of it these days.” The knots in her stomach got a little tighter. “I will see if I can talk to him.” “Thanks.” Walking inside to drop her things at the door she waited until Kane drove away to close the door. Dreading what was to come next she turned slowly to knock on the office door. “Love I’m home….are you feeling ok?”. Only silence responded. Giving up she made her way upstairs to lay down from her tiring day.

In euphoria Trevor slumped in his chair  finally feeling a sense of bliss. Curse his wife for coming home earlier than she normally would. Although he couldn’t get his sexual fix his high was enough. His cell rang. Kane’s name flooded the screen. “Hello?” “You did not tell me your wife would be coming home so early. I hate that we had to end things.” “Me too….next time.” “You took the pill already didn’t you?” “How did you know?” “I will message you later when you are down from your high.” Trevor held the phone a bit after Kane hung up before placing it on the table still connected. Finally he could get back to being happy.

Later that night

Strong Vibrations under Erica’s pillow woke her. Blindly searching for the phone she cracked a sleepy eye at the seemingly luminescent light on her phone to see it was midnight. Who would be calling this late? Before she could answer the phone went dead only to ring again soon after. “Hello…” She said with sleep still in her voice. A frantic Cassidy was on the other end. “You have to help me!” Erica sat up. “What’s going on?” “It’s Winston! I told him that I was pregnant and he broke up with me!....I mean how does that happen?” “Calm down and tell me what he said.” “Well I was waiting for him the whole time to ask the question but he didn’t so I thought that telling him my news would prompt him to ask the question but after I told him he said that he didn’t want to be with me anymore and walked off.” Another wave of emotions. Rubbing her hand over her face trying to wake up she sighed not knowing what to say. “You have to talk some sense into him please.I’m not raising this child on my own. I love him….” “Right now?” “Please I can’t sleep or do anything until we figure this out.” Why did she have to be brought into the situation. Erica felt Cassidy often times forgot that Winston was her ex. “Let me get dressed. After I talk to him I will call you ok.” “Thank you” Cassidy hung up. Erica flopped back onto her pillows frustrated. Leave it to Winston to have her clean up his mess. With heavy feet she got out of bed to go see him.

Looking at Winston’s house brought back a flood of memories. A happier carefree time indeed. As she made her way to the door she could hear jazz coming from inside. Ringing the doorbell Winston opened the door quickly as if knowing she was coming. “Let me guess Cassidy sent you?” he closed the door behind her. “What in your right mind would possess you break up with her after she told you she was pregnant?” Erica took a seat on the couch eyeing the candles on the table. “I freaked out….I don’t want to have children with her.” He took a seat next to her. “Why not?” “You know why. I always thought my first child would be with you.” Anger grew in the pit of her stomach only to spew out her mouth. “I don’t know how many times we been through this Winston. What we had is over and it was over a long time ago. You broke up with me when you left and that’s it.” He didn’t say a word pondering what to say next. Instead he placed a hand on her thigh. She wanted to move it but the sensation felt too good. Trevor hadn’t touched her in a while and she was missing the attention. “I know you feel it too Erica. I’m not in this alone...What we had was real.” Erica didn’t want to admit how unhappy she was currently in her marriage. “We...can’t” she said between broken breathes as he moved his hand closer up her thigh close to motherland. “Why not?” he inched closer to her on the couch. “I’m married and Cassidy is depending on me to do the right thing and talk to you.” His hand now sliding over her other set of lips. A moan escaped her mouth. “If that were the case then you wouldn’t be here right now and would be home with your husband. You wanted to come over here….don’t you remember this?” Removing his hand he gently pushed her down until her back hit the couch and he was on top of her. Slowly he slid his hand up under her jacket and shirt making his way under her bra to pinch her nipple. Betrayed her body surrendered under his touch greedily loving every flick of the nipple. In lust he leaned in to kiss her neck. So wrong…..but it felt so good. She needed this. He stopped only to look into her eyes. “I want you Erica.” Not able to speak a word she nodded her head in response so he leaned in and softly began to kiss her lips. Not being able to hold back anymore she kissed him full force wanting him to explore every inch of her body once more.

Early morning

Trevor woke still in his office chair to find that he had slept for the past eight hours. 3:00am. Standing to his feet he removed his tie. With one last pill remaining he decided he save it for later. Swiftly he put it into his desk drawer before leaving. Hopefully Erica wouldn’t notice his absence. Opening the door a soft light danced from the living room. Curious he followed the source of the light to find Erica sitting in front of the fire place with a wine glass. “What are you doing up at this hour?” he asked taking a seat across from her. After taking a sip of wine she looked at him for a moment before responding. “Couldn’t sleep. What about you?” “I fell asleep doing some paperwork.” She laughed.

Trevor puzzled couldn’t figure out what was funny. As if reading his mind she asked a question. “What happened to us?” He looked at her big beautiful brown eyes to petite nose and full lips remembering how gorgeous she was. “Life. From working, your writing, and the stress of having a baby…” “We lost ourselves” she finished for him. “That’s what I think.” Downing the rest of her wine she put the glass down to wrap herself even more in the blanket that had been draped across her knees. The mere sensation of moving the blanket sent a quiver up her spine from the time she had with Winston a few hours back. “We use to be crazy about each other” he said interrupting her dirty thoughts. Even though Erica had some unresolved feelings for Winston she still had feelings for Trevor...after all that was her husband. “How do we get things back like they use to be?” Hearing her question sparked an idea in Trevor. “We move” “Move?”. He figured a new town could only mean a fresh start for them. Kane was like a drug himself slowly consuming his every thought and move. He needed a break from Kane so he could focus on his wife that he still loved. “If you think about it there is nothing holding us here. I hate my job, we have some money saved up, we could start new and spend some time with each other.” A break from Winston creeping back into her heart, mind, and panties would be a nice change. Why not? “When did you want to move?” she asked liking the idea more the more she thought about it. “Pick any place other than Willow Creek I can start packing tomorrow.” For the rest of the night they cuddle up next to each other watching the fire while in deep thought until they fell asleep.