Summer of 2011.

He swore it wouldn’t happen again. He swore up and down that he would not make the same mistake twice, for his sake and for theirs.

Infidelity is an addictive drug, even worse when mixed with alcohol at a crowded venue, one that one of his best friends was playing at. Joe met up with someone, but it meant nothing, right? What his partner didn’t know didn’t hurt them, right?

Stumbling in the front door, Joe hung up his coat and rubbed his head before making eye contact with the person he loved most. The butterflies from his evening with another fluttered away as the panic set in.

What they don’t know doesn’t hurt them, right?

“Hey…” Joe says, scratching the back of his neck. The lyrics of the song he heard earlier rang through his ears:

If you're unfaithful, put your hands in the air Like you're under arrest with a guilty conscience Stick 'em up if you got a guilty conscience

Why did Patrick have to be right? It was the 4th or 5th time that it had happened since he was almost caught before. Why couldn’t he stop?