Nora was sitting on the couch going over a swatch booklet and notes for her presentation when she heard the doorbell. She got up to answer it and when she opened the door, she saw Sam standing there.

"Sam?!"

"Uh...Hi Mrs. McDonald. Is Derek home?"

"It's okay, Sam. You can call me Nora. I'm the only one here right now. Derek is still at work, but he'll be here soon."

"Do you mind if I wait for him here?"

"Sure. Come in." Nora said in that pleasant voice she usually has.

"Thanks." Sam said as he sat down awkwardly on the couch. Everything seemed normal...almost as if he was dreaming about what happened earlier. Nora took her place back on the couch going over everything, but she noticed that Sam was close to her. She scooted as far away from him as she could because she felt weird being with him now that she revealed her secret.

They sat there in silence trying to avoid each other's eyes, and Nora felt guilty for asking Sam to keep such a secret. Here she was, an adult asking a favor of a teenage boy. But, she needed to keep this from her family. Casey, Lizzie, and Marti wouldn't understand...at least not while they are still young. George would be crushed to know that someone younger and more attractive than him is fucking his wife. Edwin would never see Nora the same way again. Derek...well, he probably wouldn't care. Maybe he would if he found out that Sam is the only person that knows about Pierre. She looked over at Sam and wanted to break into a million pieces because it was unfair to ask him to keep this. It was unfair of her to ask him to hide this from his best friends.

"Sam..." she said turning to him.

"Yes?"

"This is wrong."

"What are you talking about?"

"I shouldn't have asked you to keep this secret. This is my problem, and I shouldn't have dragged you into this. I mean, I didn't want you to lie to Derek."

"I'm not lying to him if I just don't tell him. Besides, he keeps things from me I'm sure of it. Come on...I mean, it's Derek we're talking about."

"You haven't seen him when he's hurt. I swear he's just like George sometimes."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean...he's...never mind. I've told you way too much already."

"I still want to know."

"Don't you have anything better to do than listen to an old woman talking?" Nora joked.

"Not while I'm waiting on Derek. Come on...please tell me."

"Alright, alright. You know how Derek pretends to not care about anything. That whole too cool for feelings persona he puts on."

"Yeah."

"Well, George is the same way. Sure, George is a complete cheese ball and he's more likely dorkier than Derek, but they are the same when they hurt..." she trailed off sadly. Suddenly, she was crying and Sam was unsure was what he should do. "God, how could I do this to George?!" she sobbed out.

"It's okay, Nora." Sam said as he awkwardly pat her back rubbing his hands in clumsy comforting circles.

"It's not okay, Sam. It's not. I don't know what went wrong, and now I can't stop myself enough to fix what I broke. Pierre was supposed to be a one-time mistake, but I just kept coming back to him."

"Wait, how long has this been going on?"

"About three months..."

"Holy shit! Three months?! And no one found out until now?!"

"Yes. But, I think George might suspect something. Ever since I've been with Pierre...I can't bring myself to be...affectionate with George. It just little subtle things that hardly go unnoticed. Casey hasn't payed attention to things like that lately because of her stress over getting into a great university."

"She's still the same Casey..." Sam said a lot louder than he thought he did. Ever after her brief shallow period while dating dumb jock, Max, she still managed to hold on to true self. A grade-grubbing, poetry loving, romantic, dancer. He still loved Casey as more than a friend, but with the possibility of them going to different universities, he thought it was better for them to stay friends.

"Do you still love Casey?" Nora asked the question bluntly. She thought a change of topic would be good for covering up evidence that she had been crying.

"Yes, but she has moved on. I mean, there's been talk of her dating that Noel guy. They're perfect for each other. He loves the theater, she loves it. He loves poetry..."

"You know...I don't really know Noel. Sure, he sounds great on paper, but I know you and you're more interesting. Besides, I've always thought you and Casey were a cute couple. And I know I can trust you with her, because I can trust you with my secret."

"Thanks. I wish Casey could see that."

"I'm sure she will...in time. Thank you for listening...again."

"You're welcome. Hey, Nora?"

"Yes?"

"Could you make a promise to me?"

"What is it?"

"I know this is going to sound rude, but could you please stop seeing Pierre. It would make this whole keeping the secret way easier."

"I'll try...for you. I promise. Oh, I hear Derek's car. You two have fun, okay?"

"Okay." Sam said as he stared at the TV trying to appear normal as Derek came in.

"Whoa, how long have you been sitting here, Sam?"

"Not long. Hey, how was work, man?"

"It was okay. I got pretty okay tips today and a phone number. This new waitress, Claire, is totally hot."

"Hotter than Sally?" Sam asked arching his eyebrow, but then relaxed it when he saw a change in Derek's face. He knew mentioning Sally was a touchy subject since she moved, but he wanted to see what Nora was talking about when she said he hurts.

"Totally." Derek said with a feigned smirk.