— He wasn’t going to cheat, he wouldn’t, he couldn’t. But you made him happy. ever since his injury, physical therapy, new rochelle, patrick and tashi, patrick. He’d been a mess, his game was off, tashi sneaking around— he knew she was seeing patrick, he wasn’t stupid, he just couldn’t leave his family.

But you, you entered his life like a candle in the darkness, everyday he woke up with a smile, ready to go to the local gym and see you.

That wasn’t cheating, right? making small talk, small flirty gestures that never led to anything weren’t cheating, getting coffee before the gym, going out for a nice lunch/dinner, none of it was cheating. Even if it was, Tashi was cheating, why couldn’t he? because he couldn’t pull himself to do it.

He was in his thirties, pushing forty, you were in your mind twenties, you were sweet, nice, blushed at his chaste compliments, he wanted you, more than anything he’s wanted in a long time.

So on a particularly gut-wrenching night for art, after seeing a message on tashi’s phone late at night from a contact “P” with a message “So when are you telling art?”. He was out of it.

Art had picked you up to go to a movie, and after you two had sat in his black jeep, just talking, but you knew something was off, he wasn’t all smiley and giggly. Art also couldn’t stop thinking about the message, and you, how good you looked in the passenger seat of his jeep, asking him a question, which he hadn’t even heard a sliver of.

“Huh?”