It was barely half an hour after Peter left for work when the quiet hum of a car pulled into the driveway. Selena peeked through the sheer curtain of their living room window and felt her chest tighten from anticipation. Jack had arrived.
She stepped outside, letting the door click shut behind her softly. The morning sun spilled golden light across the neat driveway and front yard. Jack stood next to her car, keys in hand, looking handsome in the most casually dangerous way: black t-shirt hugging his chest, jeans that rested just right on his hips, and those familiar eyes that never looked at her like she was someone else's wife.
"Returned your car, my lady," Jack said with a half-smirk.
"Thanks," she replied, voice cool and collected, trying not to let her pulse show in her face.
But even without touching, there was a magnetic pull between them. Jack's eyes dipped lower, then flicked back up to hers, full of that same naughty fire she had seen last night. Selena caught the look and raised an eyebrow in warning.
"Jack," she said under her breath, "the neighbors."
His grin only widened as he stepped around the car. "Let them talk. Maybe they'll think I'm the new gardener. Or your forbidden lover." He wiggled his brows.
"You're impossible," she said, laughing despite herself. "Come on. Get inside."
The moment the door closed behind them, the heat between them snapped like a rubber band pulled too tight. Before she could speak, Jack had crossed the space between them, cupping her face and kissing her like he hadn't seen her in years. She melted into him, her arms looping around his neck as their lips danced, slower at first, then hungrily. The smell of him, the faint scent of cologne and clean sweat, sent a memory surge straight to her skin.
Still in her arms, Jack murmured against her lips, "This feels weird... kissing you in your house. In this house."
Selena's smile faltered.
She pulled back slightly, but her hands still rested on his chest. "Yeah. I was thinking the same thing," she whispered. "It's strange. Everything inside here… It's filled with too much of Peter."
There was a pause. Heavy and awkward. It wasn't shameful. It wasn't guilt. But it was reality creeping into their fantasy.
Jack stepped back a little. "Maybe we should go somewhere else," he said softly. "Someplace that's just… us."
Selena nodded, her eyes serious. "There's a café not too far from here. They have a quiet patio out back. We can talk there."
Jack tilted his head. "Talk?"
She nodded. "There's a lot we haven't said. And I don't want what's happening between us to be just something that lives in the all, I don't know how to say it!"
His jaw clenched just slightly, but then he smiled. "Okay. Let's talk. Lead the way."
--
Twenty minutes later, they sat across from each other on a wooden bench nestled beneath a flowering pergola. The smell of jasmine and coffee mixed in the air. The sun was warm but kind. Birds chirped faintly in the background.
Selena stirred her iced latte slowly, then finally looked at him, "I never thought I'd end up here, with you."
Jack leaned back, studying her face. "Me neither. I've imagined a lot of things with you, but I didn't think reality would be one of them."
Selena gave a sad laugh. "Peter proposed the open marriage like it was a business deal. Like something that would benefit us both. But I think what he really meant was, he wanted permission. He wanted to have his fun without the guilt."
"Okay?" Jack asked.
"He says he changed his mind."
Jack's eyes narrowed. "What do you mean?"
Selena looked at her hands. "I don't know what to do, Jack. He knows that we spent the night together. Part of me wants to scream at him. Part of me wants to run. But then... there's you. And I don't know where this is going. I don't know if this is just rebellion or something more."
Jack leaned forward, elbows on the table. "He knows that we did it? How?"
"I guess he's reading your texts last night, I don't know!"
Jack took a deep breath, "Sel, I don't know how to say it. I know what we're doing now, whatever this is, is completely wrong, but isn't he the one who wants the open marriage? And I swear to God, Sel, you've been hearing it for like couple of times now that I like you a long time ago, and this is His way. I've been stepping back for years because you are Brian's sister and have always been with Peter since high school," He paused, his voice thickening. "But now? I've kissed you. Touched you. Held you while you fell asleep. I can't pretend that I don't want more."
Selena looked at him, a storm of emotion behind her eyes. "Jack… what if this burns everything to the ground? I'm a married woman and I've never done any like this before. I feel like I'm a sinner!"
"Then let me sin with you," he said firmly. "If it was worth keeping, it wouldn't have set itself on fire to begin with."
Silence stretched between them.
Then, quietly, she whispered, "I'm scared."
"I'm not," he replied. "Not of you. Not of this."
Her phone buzzed. A message from Peter. 'Don't forget Brian's birthday dinner tonight. 7 PM.'
She froze. Her eyes scanned the words like they were made of venom.
Jack noticed her tension. "Was that him?"
Selena nodded slowly, then turned the screen to show him the message. "Brian's birthday. We're supposed to meet him for dinner."
Jack leaned back in his seat, blinking. "Oh shit," he muttered, running a hand through his hair. "I totally forgot about that. He invited me too."
Selena turned her head sharply toward him. "What?"
"Yeah," Jack said with a sheepish grin. "Last week. I said I'd come, but with everything that happened… I didn't even remember."
Selena's stomach twisted. Her eyes flickered with worry. "Jack… what if you and Peter meet there and there is Brian?"
Jack's smile faded. He straightened in his seat, his expression turning serious. "He won't make a scene, I promise. Do you think he will?"
"I don't know," she whispered, her voice taut with anxiety. "He might. And if he does, and sees us, God, Jack, he'll make a scene. In front of Brian. My parents. Everyone."
Jack reached for her hand and squeezed it gently. "We'll handle it," he said, firm but soft. "Together."
"But we haven't even told Brian yet," she said, a nervous laugh slipping out. "You're his best friend. And I'm, God, I'm his sister. He's going to lose his mind. We'll make his birthday a disaster."
Jack's jaw clenched, but he didn't let go of her hand. "Then maybe it's time we stop hiding. But if you want me to stay away tonight, just say the word."
Selena looked down at their intertwined fingers. Her chest ached with conflict—fear, guilt, and something deeper that burned when she looked at him. "No," she said quietly. "If he invited you… You should come."
"You sure?"
"No," she said with a tiny smile. "But come anyway."
Jack nodded slowly. "Then I guess I'd better go find something decent to wear."