La force de l'amour véritable

Thursday, October 5th

Grayson knew he should have been in Boston by now, and yet, there he was, standing in front of his Upper West Side brownstone, a victim of the changeable New York weather. Hail had pummeled the tarmac, which in turn had dismissed all hope of air travel, and sent him home for the night. He had rebooked a flight early tomorrow morning with enough time he needed to arrive for the meeting in Boston… Just

In turn, it gave him an opportunity to surprise Morgan.

Glancing down the street at the brownstones, this was a great place to raise kids, and when he had slipped the engagement ring on Morgan's finger six months ago, she had agreed to move in and have their family here someday.

Using his key, he let himself in, soft jazz drifted through the hallway to greet him. Grayson dropped his briefcase by the door, loosened his tie. He considered calling out, announcing his arrival, but paused when he heard laughter coming from the master bedroom. Two women. Morgan and... someone else. Disappointed that they wouldn't have the evening to themselves, but he really couldn't complain. He hadn't planned to be here. If Morgan had invited a friend over to keep her company that was fine by him.

Grayson smiled. More laughter echoed down the hall, followed by whispers he couldn't quite make out. He hung his coat on the rack, figuring he'd grab a drink before interrupting their girl talk. Heading into the lounge to grab a whiskey before seeing what Morgan was up to. Knowing his luck, they were going through Morgan’s wardrobe and there would be a mountain of clothing laying over their bed.

The laughter grew louder as he approached the bedroom. Giggles. Hushed words. A sound that might have been a moan. He stopped, hand hovering over the doorknob.

A voice that wasn't Morgan's said, "Baby just like that."

Morgan responded with a sound Grayson recognized all too well. Pleasure.

His stomach dropped. The hairs on his arms stood up. A cold feeling spread through his chest. He knew before touching the door what he was about to walk in on.

But he pushed open the door anyway. He couldn't hide from the knowledge. He needed to face it and them head on. Just like he handled business.

But he wasn't quite ready for the sight that greeted him.

Morgan lay sprawled across their king-size bed, naked, her blonde hair fanned out across his pillow. On top of her was a brunette woman, equally naked, the fingers of one hand tangled in Morgan's hair, he couldn't see where her other hand was, but he could guess.

Time stopped. The world tilted on its axis as Grayson stood frozen in the doorway, unable to process what he was seeing. He’d known—sure—even prepared himself for it—but seeing it was something else.

Then Morgan looked up as if sensing him, her eyes widening with shock.

"Grayson!" She scrambled out from under the other woman, grabbing for the sheet. "You're supposed to be in Boston!"

The brunette sat up, making no effort to cover herself, a smirk playing at her lips.

Grayson recognized her. Tina. His sister Emma's friend. The one he'd meet at his sister's engagement party.

"Flight got canceled." His voice sounded distant, like it belonged to someone else. "Hail."

Morgan pulled the sheet up to her chin. "Baby, I can explain."

Tina laughed, a short, sharp sound. "Can you really?"

Grayson stepped into the room. The jazz still played from the stereo system in the corner of the room, which explained why they hadn't heard him come in. He hadn't tried to be quiet, because he hadn't realized what she had been hiding from him. That thought made him ask his next question.

"How long?" His voice was steady. Calmer than he felt.

Morgan looked at Tina, then back at him. "It's not what you think."

"How. Long." Each word clipped, precise.

"It's nothing serious, just—"

"Answer the question, Morgan." His hands balled into fists at his sides.

She looked down at the rumpled sheets. "Soon after Emma's engagement party."

Eight months. Eight months of lies. The engagement party. The day Morgan had met Tina as well. They must have started up within days of meeting each other. Then two months later he had proposed to her, and she had said yes while fucking a woman on the side.

"Eight months," he repeated the words, testing their weight. "Let's get this straight you've been fucking my sister's friend for eight months."

"Don't be crude." Morgan reached for a silk robe hanging off the bedpost. "It's just physical. It doesn't mean anything."

Tina stretched, catlike and unconcerned. "Don't sell yourself short, Morgan. It means something to me." Clearly unconcerned about being caught out. He had never liked Tina. But he could not tell his younger sister who her friends should be. Emma was twenty-seven after all.

Grayson ran a hand through his hair. Eight months. Their entire engagement. A lie. Not just their engagement but their whole relationship.

"You brought her into our bed." Not just that but their lives.

Morgan slipped into the robe, tying it at the waist. "You're making too big a deal out of this. It's just sex."

"In our bed." He felt like throwing up. He would burn the bed before he slept in this room again.

"Why not?" Tina asked, finally reaching for her clothes scattered across the floor. "Morgan said you'd be gone until tomorrow."

Grayson didn't look her way. She did not seem to care that she was standing in front of him naked. The woman had shown no shame.

The casualness of their betrayal struck him like a physical blow. They'd planned this. Waited for him to leave. How many other times had this happened? Had they laughed that he was a fool.

"Get out." He directed the words at Tina.

She raised an eyebrow. "Excuse me?"

"Get the fuck out of my house."

Morgan approached him with her hands raised in a placating gesture. "Really, Grayson, I just don't understand why you are so upset. Let's talk about this like adults."

"Like adults?" He laughed, the sound hollow. "You've been cheating on me for eight months, and you want to talk like adults?"

"It's not cheating." Morgan placed a hand on his chest. "Not really. Tina is a woman not a man."

Grayson’s stepped away from her hand as his eyes widened, he realized she didn't understand cheating was cheating; it didn't matter the sex of the other person. Was she truly that stupid, or did she have the morals of an alley cat? This was not someone he wanted raising his kids let alone in his life.

If he thought he was in shock before, her next words made everything even worse.

"We could invite you to join us sometime. You might like it. Isn't it every man's dream to have two women at once."