The car ride home was quiet at first. Jack's hand rested lightly on the gearshift, occasionally brushing Selena's knee. The city buzzed around them, but inside the car, a gentle tension hummed between them. Familiar now, but still unspoken.
Selena leaned her head against the window, watching the sunlight dance across passing buildings. Her body was still sore in the most delicious way, but her mind had drifted ahead of them, toward home. Toward Peter. The inevitable return to reality.
Jack glanced at her, then back at the road, "What do you think Brian would say?" he asked, his voice casual but careful.
Selena blinked, turning to him slowly.
Jack nodded. "Well, I'm not gonna lie, I think he will be the one who might kill me when he finds out I've been sleeping with you, especially when I know you're married."
She gave a soft, dry laugh. "Technically, I'm in an open marriage, and I can do it with anyone I want. Besides, I'm not a little kid anymore, so he has no say in my own life choices."
Jack smirked but didn't drop the subject. "Still. He's never exactly subtle with his opinions. And this…" He hesitated. "This isn't a fling, Sel. At least not for me."
Her heart skipped, and her stomach twisted. That strange, scary warmth again, "Oh, right. Because breaking bro-code is only acceptable during a full moon?"
"Selena," he said, gently but firmly. "I'm serious. Brian's known me since we were kids. And he's protective of you. This might not go over well. Especially if he doesn't understand the whole Peter situation."
She looked away again, lips tightening.
Jack chuckled under his breath but didn't say anything else. The silence between them turned heavier as they turned into her neighborhood.
When the car slowed in front of her house, Selena's pulse quickened. Her hands gripped her clutch bag tightly, her shoulders instinctively stiffening.
Peter's car was in the driveway.
Jack put the car in park. "You okay? You want me to walk you to the door?"
Selena stared at the front door, her heart thudding, "I don't know," she admitted. "But I'll be fine."
Jack reached over and brushed her hair behind her ear. "You don't have to explain anything you don't want to. Not to him. Not to anyone."
She nodded once. "Thank you… for everything."
He kissed her gently, softly, and lingeringly, then leaned back. "Call me later?"
She gave a faint smile and stepped out of the car.
Peter opened the door before she even reached the steps. His face was taut, eyes dark with a mix of frustration and confusion. He wasn't dressed for work; no tie, no button-up, just a plain T-shirt and jeans. His hair was tousled, like he hadn't slept.
"Where the hell have you been?" he demanded, standing in the doorway with arms crossed.
Selena paused at the bottom step, looking up at him. Her face was calm, unreadable. "Morning, Pete!"
"I called you. Texted you. You disappeared. All night. Do you I'm worried to death, Sel!"
She tilted her head. "Funny. I could ask you the same question when you started leaving work at ten p.m. every night for the last six months."
His face twitched, jaw clenching. "Don't change the subject."
"I'm not." She climbed the first step. "I'm just letting you know I stopped feeling guilty about your double standards a long time ago."
Peter's eyes followed her every step. "Where were you?"
Selena stopped halfway up the stairs, then turned toward him.
The sun pouring through the tall windows lit her face, highlighting the slight smirk on her lips, the one he hadn't seen in years. It wasn't bitterness. It wasn't spite. It was freedom.
She turned her body slightly toward him, voice light but deliberate, "About that open marriage thing?"
Peter blinked, swallowed his saliva.
She smiled wider.
"I agree. Let's do it." and with that, she turned back and climbed the rest of the stairs, heels tapping gently against the wood floor, her movements graceful and unbothered.
Peter stood frozen at the bottom. He hadn't expected that.
Not really.
Not this fast.
His mind scrambled for meaning. Was it a test? Was she bluffing? Or… was she serious?
He opened his mouth to call her name, but nothing came out. All the power he'd assumed he held, the careful control, the emotional distance had slipped through his fingers like sand. She didn't even glance back. Selena disappeared into the hallway upstairs, leaving Peter rooted to the spot.
In that moment, for the first time since he'd proposed the idea of an open marriage, Peter realized something chilling:
She might not be his anymore.