Apologies for the long wait!
A combination of school work and writers block meant I had zero inspiration for writing but I'm back and ready to update :)
Hope you enjoy!

READ ALL ABOUT IT

Maryse wasn't entirely sure what had happened. One minute she was staring at a blank computer screen, trying to write something down about appropriate yet sexy beachwear, the next she was aware of someone poking at her arm in a most irritating manner.

"Oww," she grumbled, slowly opening her eyes to see Jack stood above her. Still in the living room, she was lying back on the couch with a blanket thrown over her frame. "Did I fall asleep?"

"I guess so. When I left for my run at 6am, you had the laptop balanced on your lap and a little bit of drool on your lip. I was a gentleman and moved the computer and got you a blanket but I'm not touching your spit."

She glared at him, angrily wiping at her mouth. She didn't get to make a smart remark as her concentration was taken by an unfamiliar leggy female in a man's shirt appearing from Jack's bedroom and heading towards the kitchen. Neither of them said anything but the female stuck her head out the door a couple of seconds later to announce "You're out of orange juice."

"Friends with benefits." He shrugged once she was back in the kitchen. "You know how it is."

"Actually, I'm married so I don't know."

He smiled. "What time do you have to be in work?"

"Ten."

"Ooh, I'm not sure I even want to tell you what time it is."

She looked up at the clock on the wall and saw it was half nine, forcing her to sprint into the bedroom she should have been sleeping in and proceeded to throw on the nearest clothes she could find, fix her hair and toss all her make-up into her handbag so she could do it when she arrived.

"I've called a cab for you – it's waiting outside." Jack's voice on the other side of the door told her.

"I love you and if you weren't like a brother to me, I'd probably marry you." She told him in passing, giving him a peck on the cheek before dashing out the front door and into the waiting cab. She directed the driver to the M offices, trying to relax as the car hurtled off and she attempted to apply foundation as the car swayed in and out of traffic.

Things were falling apart. Organisation was usually Maryse's thing and yet she was apparently the kind of girl that falls asleep on the couch after a serious case of writers block. Wasn't it normally the women who were suffering in their personal lives that thrived in their careers? Practically every chick lit was about the wonder woman of the office that couldn't get it right in her love life. Apparently that wasn't the case for her because nothing seemed to be right for her – particularly the eyeliner she was trying to apply which had now created a jagged line through her eyebrow as the car drove over a hump.

Eventually she arrived outside the office, paid the driver and with her make-up shabbily applied, she scuttled inside and up to the restrooms so she could observe the damage. Other than a little bit of smudge eyeliner and a blob of lipstick on her front tooth, it wasn't too bad; all fixable. She hoped she'd be able to fix it quickly without anyone noticing but Alicia emerged from out of one of the cubicles, looking fresh as a daisy. "Good morning, Maryse."

"Good morning, Alicia."

The blonde's assistant appeared to do a double take when she saw her superior, taking a step back before she approached the sink to wash her hands. "Are you feeling alright?"

"I'm a little tired but other than that... I'm fine." What was Alicia talking about? Did the office know about what happened between her and Ted? That was the last thing she wanted – she was determined that her private life would stay private. "Why?"

"Well...you're wearing the same clothes as you were yesterday." In any other profession, this would be acceptable, but M magazine was one of the most well known fashion magazines in the country, so for the fashion director to be wearing a duplicate of the outfit from the previous day was unheard of.

Maryse looked at herself in the mirror and realised the ruched red pencil skirt, black heels and tank top were a duplicate of what she'd been wearing the previous day, the only difference being today's cropped leather jacket as opposed to yesterday's tailored blazer. It was made even more shameful because it was pointed out by her assistant. "I know," she attempted to lie seamlessly, "I was at a friend's last night so I couldn't change my clothes – I was planning on getting something out of the fashion cupboard – probably the Tory Burch high-waisted pants."

"Those are cute." Alicia agreed, following the blonde's story. "Anyway, I'm over in the beauty department today so I'll see you later."

"Sure." She waved her assistant away, going into one of the cubicles and sitting down on the closed lid with her head in her hands.

"Turkey steaks, beer and out-of-date orange juice. You need to go grocery shopping. Badly."

In response to his friend's call from the next room and the sound of someone rattling through the refrigerator, Ted replied "I haven't had the chance to go out," keeping his eyes on the TV screen.

"You're right. Too much football on TV, huh? And why bother buying groceries when you can order in?" Cody emerged from the kitchen and sat down on the couch, glancing over at the pile of takeout menus that lay on the coffee table. Knowing his friend was experiencing marital problems, he'd come to see Ted on his day off, however now he was here, he wasn't exactly sure of how he was supposed to cheer him up. They were best friends but at the end of the day, they were guys and emotional wasn't really their thing. "So how're you keeping up?" He eventually asked.

"I'm surviving. If I could have my way, Maryse would be home and everything would be fine but things weren't right and they need fixing. She and I both know having some time apart won't hurt us. So she packed a suitcase and she's staying elsewhere. You'd think I had the good side of the deal, getting to keep the house and everything, but honestly, being here alone is pretty depressing."

"You're welcome to my guest room if you ever need to get away."

"Thanks."

"So have you spoken to Maryse since she...?" Could he use the word 'left'? In his head, it sounded far too definite, so instead he let his voice trail away.

"Nope. I know that if I call her cell phone, she'll know it's me and she won't answer, but I kind of just want to know how she is... see if she's feeling as awful as I am. So I called Jack's home number–"

"Jack?"

"You know Jack. You met him at the wedding."

"Jack, as in Maryse's close friend who all women find handsome and charming?"

"Don't say it like that – nothing is going to happen there, believe me. If I were to have had any worries about that, I'd have had them long ago. They're like brother and sister. Anyway, I called Jack, secretly hoping Maryse would answer, but she didn't. Jack said that she wasn't angry but it's still too soon and I should probably wait for her to call me when she's ready."

"And when's that going to be?"

"Next week? Next month? Never?" Ted attempted to take it light-heartedly, laughing lightly and giving off a small shrug. "Just gotta take it one day at a time, I guess."

"I'm sure she'll come around eventually."

"Enough about my depressing marriage, anyway. What I want to know is what's going on between you and Kelly because every time I text you, you're with her."

"I don't know what you want to know – we're just friends."

"Okay, you can fool some people with that but this is me. I know how close you guys were in college – I know how much you cared, no care, about her – and feelings like that don't just go away. In fact, when she came back into your life, I bet those feelings just came rushing back."

"Whatever I felt about Kelly in college is history. She's still with Justin and I'm with Mickie now so there is nothing between us but friendship."

"Then why are you spending so much time together?"

"I'm helping her with work! Her agent's useless so I'm getting her some work through the agency. Because I'm her friend and I'm doing what a friend does."

"I just find it difficult to believe there's nothing more than friendship between you."

"Well–" He was stopped by his cell phone in his pocket ringing. He noticed the questioning look on his friend's face. "I ought to take this–"

"Do I even need to ask who that is?"

Cody rolled his eyes, going back into the kitchen. Ted could hear him talking to Kelly, a laugh escaping his friend after what he assumed was the blonde telling a joke or making a funny comment. Shaking his head, he turned back to the TV and put his feet up on the coffee table; it was possibly the first thing to genuinely make him smile since Maryse had left.

Being back on her old college campus was a slightly surreal experience for Tiffany. She remembered arriving as a freshman, suitcases in hand and starry eyed as she navigated her way to her dorm room, and this felt no different. It was early evening so the place seemed big and empty in the winter darkness, meaning she almost got lost on her way to Pelzer Hall, where she was meeting Jay.

She peered into a couple of the lecture halls through the glass window on the doors until she found the room he was in. It was a relatively small group of about twenty, all sat near the front of the room. Jay was stood at the head of the class and she could see he had a relaxed air about him as he flicked through his Robert Browning book and led the class discussion. After a moment, he caught her eye through the glass and signalled she come inside.

"I taught Tiff about five years ago." Before she knew it, he'd hauled her to the front of the room and she found herself blushing as twenty pairs of eyes fell onto her. "I think we did Browning back then, didn't we?"

"Porphryia's Lover, mostly." She confirmed. "And The Statue and The Bust, but I don't know if we ever finished it."

The class laughed at the literature joke, including Jay, who turned to address his students. "Let's finish up there, guys. Great work – I'll hand back your assignments next time and for those of you who haven't given me one, I expect it on my desk tomorrow morning at the very latest."

In a collective swoop, the class grabbed their bags and got to their feet, heading out of the room until only Jay and Tiffany were left. She watched as he gathered up his papers and shuffled through them, scribbling down a couple of notes on each. "Bear with me a sec," he told her.

"That's fine." It gave her a chance to look at him. How was it that he had gotten better with age? The sleeves of his shirt were rolled up and the knot on his tie had been loosened before she arrived; back when she was a student, she remembered anytime the class would be having a great discussion, he'd loosen the tie, like an enthusiastic twitch. She also remembered thinking how she'd like to loosen that tie–

Pull yourself together, she told herself, you're an engaged woman, what are you doing here anyway? What are you hoping to get from this? You need to be focused on your fiancée and your marriage, not some college crush from the past–

"Sorry about that." He leant back against the desk as she perched atop one of the tables. "I'm glad you came."

"I didn't think leaving things so open was a great idea."

"No, I guess not. What's going on with you and Drew? I'm assuming you're back home with him."

"We're trying to work through out problems – maybe even start on making some wedding plans." The enthusiasm was missing from her voice.

"You don't sound too excited."

"Considering the situation between us, I'm hardly going to be jumping for joy, am I?" Noticing the wounded look that took over Jay's face, she regretted her choice of words. "Crap, that was mean. I'm sorry; the last thing I wanted was to start a fight between us, really–"

"It's okay, Tiff, don't worry." He reassured her. "We're both in tough positions, it's bound to be stressful."

"Stressful doesn't cover it. I feel so guilty that I'm keeping this from Drew but at the same time, you're all I can think about...I've never had to deal with this before."

"Neither have I."

"I don't know how much longer I can lie to him."

"I know – Trish keeps talking about the wedding but I can't marry her when I'm holding back such a big secret. I've had nothing but doubts since then–"

"I think your doubts came way before you cheated on her."

"I could say the same about you."

Tiffany resisted smiling at him quick response, instead running a hand through her blonde hair. "I feel like I need some time to think. I don't want to rush into anything."

"Absolutely." He agreed. "Although I feel I should tell you that my mind's made up and I think you know where my feelings lie."

She didn't reply as her cell phone rang and she pulled it out of her jacket pocket, quickly answering "Can I call you back in a minute, sweetie? I'm driving," before hanging up again.

"Drew?"

"I should go."

He wanted to say something but words seemed to fail him as she left him alone in the room with nothing but a stack of papers for company. His own cell phone sat in his trouser pocket and he pulled it out to send Trish a text. Going out for a beer with some of the faculty – back later x.

Truthfully, he wanted to sit alone in the darkest corner in the hope that something – anything – would take his mind off Tiffany.

Thank you for the reviews and I hope y'all review again :) x

NEXT TIME – Maryse finds comfort in an unlikely pair of arms and a double date is set up, but who's going on it?