Piper

There’s a good chance Cannon won’t be home for hours, but considering how close we came to getting caught, having West meet me here at the house again would be too risky, probably even stupid.

Piper: Meet me at the park by the fountain.

West: Be there in twenty.

After I fix my hair, I throw on a pair of shorts and a top and get in the car. I could make it to the park in five minutes if I left the development and turned right. The car automatically veers left, toward the courthouse.

Traffic’s light, and I know I have more than enough time to swing by the courthouse before West shows up at the park. On the way there, I pass Cannon’s office. The lot’s nearly empty, and his story starts to add up. They’re in court today.

But, when I pull onto the street in front of the courthouse, I start searching for Cannon’s car. He’s not parked along the street at a meter and not in either of the two lots; the only place left is the parking garage a block over.

It takes me a minute to get through two sets of traffic lights, and when I do, I take a ticket from the attendant and start circling around the levels. Every fifth car seems to be a black Mercedes, so I move at a snail’s pace, all while trying to blend in.

When I get to the rooftop and haven’t spotted the car, I loop back through and try again, assuming I missed it. But my gut tells me I haven’t. Cannon has a sticker on the back windshield—an autism awareness lightbulb one of my students slapped on at the fundraising walk last year.

That sticker isn’t on a single window of any of these cars.

I have no idea where my husband is or why he lied about coming here. His entire morning was fabricated, and the only connection that makes sense is Tilly. He’s just doing a shitty job of covering it up.

By the time I get to the park, I’m confused, and my head is spinning. Where did Cannon go after he left the house? Why isn’t he at the courthouse, like he said he would be? And what is going on between him and Tilly?

West is waiting for me on a bench tucked next to a shady tree. The second I see him, I’m comforted even though my heart beats double time from that smile.

He stands and pulls me into his arms. He kisses my neck and then buries his face in my hair. We hold each other, neither of us saying anything. All I know is that, today, his arms feel like home.

“I drove by the courthouse. Cannon’s not there.”

“You’re sure he said he was going there?” he asks as we sit down on the bench.

“That’s why he said he had to change. And I have the condoms, West. Unless Tilly was at work with him, he never went to the office.”

West takes my hand and runs his thumb across my palm. “I’m sorry, Piper.”

I lift my head and stare into his eyes. He means it; he is sorry, but he has nothing to apologize for.

“We’re doing the same thing they are—sneaking around and having sex. If anything, it’s Karma.”

“You love him,” he says, “so it hurts.”

“Yet I’m sitting here with you, holding your hand. I barely recognize my own life anymore.”

Instead of letting go of me, he holds on tighter. He gives me exactly what I need—the reassurance that he wants me, too. That these feelings I have aren’t all in my head.

“Do you regret us?” he asks. “I never wanted to mess up your marriage.”

Regret.

I started swinging to figure out our missing pieces. I wanted to know why I was in a marriage with a man I loved and still felt so alone. Why I woke up every morning, wondering why we’re so disconnected and what could bring us back together.

Never in a million years did I think swinging would hurt in the best way imaginable. That I could get so lost in another man and then go home to my husband. I didn’t realize how much I needed West until I thought about the girl I’d be without him—the girl I had been before I met him.

Lost.

Sad.

Lonely.

“West, I could never regret you. In such a short amount of time, you’ve shown me what it’s like to be someone’s priority. Every smile. Every kiss. Each touch. You have no idea how much they mean to me.”

“You don’t have that with Cannon?”

“Cannon’s changed so much. Over the years, he’s tried to make me happy, but when I look at him, I don’t get lost. I just feel lost.”

“And when you look at me?”

“I can’t remember my own name.”

My lip quivers, and West pulls me into his lap. I rest my head against his chest and close my eyes. It’s my favorite place to be, listening to his heartbeat.

“We’ll figure this out,” he says. “We just need some more time. I think it’ll sort itself out.”

“How can you be so sure? Aren’t you worried about Tilly?”

“I don’t think they’re trying to sneak around or hurt us. I think, if Cannon was with Tilly this morning, they’re just hungry for the same thing we are.”

I can see that. Once you get a taste, it’s hard to go without, especially when you feel so much so quickly.

“Okay.”

“But don’t worry; if and when the time comes, we’ll address it. For now, I think we just concentrate on each other.”

My phone pings with a notification, and I expect it to be Cannon. The email is from the school district, and I sit up so fast, I almost fall off West’s lap. He grabs me by the waist and keeps me close as I read the offer, barely able to believe what I’m seeing.

Tears trickle down my cheeks when I realize I’m going to get my job back. That my kids won’t have to adjust to someone new.

“What is it, Piper?”

“My job,” I tell him. “I didn’t think there was any way, but it’s mine again.”

“Look at me,” he says.

I’m smiling and crying at the same time, and when his lips find mine, I kiss him with everything I have. My personal life might be a total mindfuck right now, but this fall, when all the other teachers are prepping their classrooms and working on lesson plans, I’ll be doing the same.

“I’m sorry,” I tell him. “I don’t mean to rub it in. I know you’re struggling.”

“You’re not rubbing it in. I’m happy for you.”

“Do you think you’ll go back to work? You went to college, right? I don’t even know what you majored in.”

“Communications,” he says. “With a minor in business.”

“Fancy.”

“Nah, I just knew I wouldn’t be playing forever. Had to set myself up with something I wouldn’t hate. Both degrees give me a ton of options.”

“Any you want to consider yet?”

He probably has enough money to retire and never work another day in his life, but that doesn’t seem like the kind of man he is. He’s ambitious and antsy, just like me.

“I’m actually talking to someone. A couple of broadcasting opportunities are out there, but I haven’t taken them too seriously yet.”

“That sounds exciting.”

“Yeah.”

“Are they local?” I blush when I ask him. Mostly because it would break my heart if he took a job clear across the country, so I wouldn’t get to see him. I already know I’ll struggle once I go back to teaching. I’m so used to our morning routine, it’ll be weird, not meeting on the beach first thing each day.

West reads me like a book and smirks. “Don’t worry; we can still fuck on your lunch breaks. I’m not going anywhere.”

“You and that mouth. So direct.”

He leans into me and nibbles on my neck. “I’ll fuck you right here, Piper. Don’t challenge me when it comes to your pussy.”

Nobody was near us when I sat down, but I still glance over my shoulder to make sure someone isn’t feeding the ducks within earshot. This only makes West laugh harder. He loves when I squirm.

“I should probably get going.”

“First, you need to message Tilly, and get something set up for tonight.”

“You want more?” I ask him.

“I’ll be gentle this time,” he says. “Nothing like earlier.”

I liked earlier. No, I loved earlier.

“I’ll message her now.”

He watches me type, and then we stand up. He walks me to my car, and only then does he lean down and press his lips to mine. Anyone could see us. Cannon or Tilly could drive by the park, leaving little room for us to explain.

It doesn’t matter. Nothing could stop us now.

“I’ll see you tonight.”

“Tonight,” I tell him as I slide into the driver’s seat.

After I back out of the parking space, I watch him in the rearview mirror until I pull onto the main road.

What started out as a terrible day full of secrets has turned into one full of hope. I have my job back, and I’ll see West again tonight. The only thing I have to figure out is Cannon. Because, for the first time since we started swinging, I feel like I know my lover better than my husband.