Chapter 2.
[A month later]
"Are you going to tell me what's going on with you and Will?" Leo asked, sitting down beside Grace on their sofa.
"Nothing," Grace said. That was the truth...she hadn't seen him in weeks.
"Right, you haven't said anything about him for a month," Leo said. "There's something odd about you going from mentioning him every 30 minutes to nothing for 30 days. What gives?"
"I told you we had a fight," Grace said.
"You two fight about make-up colors and whether the shoes are the same shade of fuchsia as the dress," Leo said. "Your fights last three minutes, not weeks." He started massaging her shoulders, and Grace sighed. She didn't want to think about Will, because if she did she was going to think about the kiss they had shared and how it had made her feel - how it had made both of them feel. And then she was going to think about that kiss in the rain and the sadness in his eyes and how it had felt to have her heart break open and bleed on the sidewalk.
And she did enough thinking about that on her own time. "It's a long fight," she said.
"The only long fight I remember you telling me about is when he told you he was gay," Leo said. "What did he do this time - tell you he was straight?"
Grace said nothing, just swallowed and tried to banish the memory of Will's soft lips and tongue, his hands...
"Grace?" Leo said, his hands stopping their movement on her shoulders. "What did he say to you?"
She turned and looked at him. "We just...need some time apart," she said.
Leo searched her face, and she saw the worry flood his features. "Did he say something to you?" he asked. "Did he...do something?"
Grace knew what he was suggesting. "It wasn't like that," she said quickly. "He just...it...he kissed me. We kissed, but..."
"He kissed you," Leo said, anger brewing now in his eyes.
"It was a heat of the moment thing," Grace said. "It didn't..."
Leo stood up. "What kind of kiss?"
Grace grabbed his hand and tried to tug him back down beside her, but he wouldn't budge. "It was a mistake," she said. "It doesn't matter."
"He forced himself on you?" Leo said, walking over to where his jacket hung over a chair.
"No, it wasn't like that at all," Grace said. "It was just something that happened, we were just there together, and it happened. He would never do anything to hurt me, Leo. It was just a mistake..."
"Damn right," Leo said, putting on his jacket. "It was his mistake. He doesn't get to go around kissing my wife, whatever his reason." He pulled the door open and slammed in behind him. Grace grabbed her jacket and went after him.
* * * * * * * * *
Will was having a quiet dinner at home with his beau of two weeks, Stephen, when the door swung open hard enough to hit the wall with a crack. Will stood up as Leo charged into the room, Grace behind him.
"So what's this, dinner with the boyfriend?" Leo shouted. "Decided you're gay again?"
Will shot a glance at Grace, and he knew immediately from the look on her face what this was about. "And this is why it's not always a good idea to leave the door unlocked," he said.
Stephen stood up as well. "You know these people, right?" he said.
"Yes," Will said. "This is Grace and her husband, Leo." Will turned and walked into the kitchen.
"Don't walk away from me when I'm talking to you," Leo said.
Will stopped and turned back. "Don't give me orders in my home," he said. "And also - get the hell out of it."
"Not until you tell me what the hell you thought you were doing sticking your tongue down my wife's throat," Leo said. He looked over at Stephen who was clearly surprised. "Didn't tell you about that, did he?"
"Get out," Will said.
"Leo, let's go," Grace said. "We can talk about this later when..."
"Let's hear him explain himself," Leo said. "This should be good. Is it other women too, Will, or just my wife?"
"I think I need some air," Stephen said.
"You don't have to leave," Will said.
"But you'd be smart to," Leo said. "Get out before he's playing head games with you."
"Leo, stop it," Grace said.
"Why? The guy should know that he is involved with someone who doesn't seem to quite know which way he wants to play or with who," Leo said. "Or is this just about messing with Grace?"
Stephen picked up his jacket. "Call me later," he said.
"I will," Will said. "I'm sorry about this."
"You should be," Leo said.
"Nice to meet you, Grace," Stephen said, walking past her and out the door, closing it gently behind him. When he was gone Will walked back to the table and started to clear away the uneaten food.
"So, is it that you're gay again or bi now? What's the scoop?" Leo said.
Will didn't respond. He was fuming. Everything with Stephen had been going well, and tonight was probably going to be the night...
"Leo, we'll talk about this at home," Grace said.
"We'll talk about it now," Leo said. "Why did you kiss my wife?"
Will stopped what he was doing for a moment and looked over at Grace. "We can talk if you want," he said softly, "but..."
"I'm not leaving my wife alone with you," Leo said.
"Stop acting like a caveman!" Grace said. "I have a name, not just 'my wife'. And you cannot tell either of us what to do."
"Fine," Leo said. "Do what you want. If you want to pick this f..." He stopped himself before the word came out, but Will knew what it was, and he could see that Grace did too. Leo just turned and walked out of the room, slamming the door again as he left.
Both of them stood there in silence for several seconds looking at one another, then Will continued clearing the table. "He's just angry," Grace said.
"I could see that," Will replied. "Thanks for bringing him over."
"It wasn't my idea," Grace said, following him into the kitchen. "I'm sorry about...your date."
"This is going to be fun to explain to Stephen," Will said, dumping the dishes in the sink.
"It hasn't been a blast for me with Leo," Grace said.
"Then why tell him?" Will asked. "Did you think he would take it well?"
"I wasn't going to tell him. I didn't until today. He wanted to know why we were avoiding each other." Will watched as she twisted a finger in her hair. "He just went nuts. I'm not sure what he thought..."
"He seemed to think I was playing head games with you," Will said. "Is that what you told him?"
"No, of course not," Grace said. "I just said you kissed me."
"And you kissed me back," Will said.
"I didn't really want to get into it," Grace said.
"Oh right," Will said, turning on the water in the sink and watching the drain clog up with food. "Better to just let the screwed up faggot take the brunt of it."
There was a dark moment of silence, and then Grace said: "You know I would never think something like that, Will." He said nothing and didn't look at her. "Will."
He shut off the water. "I think we're done here, Grace," he said.
"What does that mean?" she asked.
Will turned to face her. "You know what it means," he said. "It's the end of the road. There are just some things a friendship can't survive."
"A friendship?" Grace said incredulously. "Is that what we have?"
Will felt sadness wash through him. "You are the best person I've ever known, sweetie," he said. "You're my heart and soul."
Grace walked over to him. "We're not doing this, Will," she said.
"We have to, honey," Will said.
Grace came close to him and slid her arms around him, and Will closed his eyes as they held one another. "No," she said.
"Sweetie, please," Will said.
"No," Grace said. She stepped back from him. "Do you want to make love?" Will just laughed. "I'm serious," she said. "Do you want get in bed with me and make love?"
Will looked in her eyes. She was so beautiful, so incredible...and he didn't know what he wanted. With Stephen it had been clear-cut and easy, but with Grace...it was no longer clear-cut. She took his hand and led him out of the kitchen and toward the bedroom. When he realized what she was doing, he stopped. "Leo..."
"This isn't about him," Grace said. "This is about us." She led him the rest of the way into the bedroom and sat on the end of the bed; Will sat beside her.
"Grace, this isn't right," Will said. "You and me...this isn't right."
"Is that what you really think or what you think you should think?" she said, undoing the buttons on her blouse.
"Oh, honey, please don't," Will said softly.
"Why?" Grace said. "What do you want, Will?" She picked up his hand and put it against her skin; it was so soft and smooth. "We need to work this out, one way or the other."
Will shook his head. "Not like this," he said.
"There's no other way," Grace said. She touched his thigh, and shivers spread through him. This is really going to happen, Will thought.
* * * * * * * * *
Grace studied Will's eyes and the sweetness and love that overflowed in them She loved him the way she would never love anyone else, not even Leo, not if she was married to him for life. What she shared with Will was a bonding of the souls that went back further and down deeper than anything she could build with someone else. "Tell me what you want, Will," she said.
"I want to kiss you," he said. "I want to touch you."
"Then do it."
"No, Gracie."
"Yes," she said, moving closer, bringing her face to his, touching his nose with hers. He brought his hands to her face and kissed her lips gently. His hands slid down, over her breasts, to her chests and sides. He held her against him and brought his lips to her jaw and then her neck, and Grace slid her hands over his back...
And Will broke the kiss, smiling. "I love you," he said, kissing her again, this time on the cheek.
Grace saw the change in him clearly. "This isn't happening, is it?" she asked.
"No, honey," Will said, rebuttoning her blouse. "But thank you."
"Stephen?"
"Yeah, Stephen."
"Are we OK?" Grace asked.
"We will be," Will said softly. He got off the bed and straightened his clothes. "Let's get together for dinner next week."
"OK," Grace said, fixing her own clothes. "Do you love him?"
Will looked at her and shrugged. "He's sweet," he said.
"Give it a chance," Grace said.
Will smiled. "OK," he said. "How's it going with Leo?"
"I think it'll be fine," Grace said.
"You might not want to tell him about this," Will said.
Grace laughed. "Probably not," she said. "I'll just tell him we talked it out."
Will smiled, and they embraced once more. As Grace let herself out, Will reached for the phone to call Stephen.
* * * * * * * * *
[A month later]
"Are you going to tell me what's going on with you and Will?" Leo asked, sitting down beside Grace on their sofa.
"Nothing," Grace said. That was the truth...she hadn't seen him in weeks.
"Right, you haven't said anything about him for a month," Leo said. "There's something odd about you going from mentioning him every 30 minutes to nothing for 30 days. What gives?"
"I told you we had a fight," Grace said.
"You two fight about make-up colors and whether the shoes are the same shade of fuchsia as the dress," Leo said. "Your fights last three minutes, not weeks." He started massaging her shoulders, and Grace sighed. She didn't want to think about Will, because if she did she was going to think about the kiss they had shared and how it had made her feel - how it had made both of them feel. And then she was going to think about that kiss in the rain and the sadness in his eyes and how it had felt to have her heart break open and bleed on the sidewalk.
And she did enough thinking about that on her own time. "It's a long fight," she said.
"The only long fight I remember you telling me about is when he told you he was gay," Leo said. "What did he do this time - tell you he was straight?"
Grace said nothing, just swallowed and tried to banish the memory of Will's soft lips and tongue, his hands...
"Grace?" Leo said, his hands stopping their movement on her shoulders. "What did he say to you?"
She turned and looked at him. "We just...need some time apart," she said.
Leo searched her face, and she saw the worry flood his features. "Did he say something to you?" he asked. "Did he...do something?"
Grace knew what he was suggesting. "It wasn't like that," she said quickly. "He just...it...he kissed me. We kissed, but..."
"He kissed you," Leo said, anger brewing now in his eyes.
"It was a heat of the moment thing," Grace said. "It didn't..."
Leo stood up. "What kind of kiss?"
Grace grabbed his hand and tried to tug him back down beside her, but he wouldn't budge. "It was a mistake," she said. "It doesn't matter."
"He forced himself on you?" Leo said, walking over to where his jacket hung over a chair.
"No, it wasn't like that at all," Grace said. "It was just something that happened, we were just there together, and it happened. He would never do anything to hurt me, Leo. It was just a mistake..."
"Damn right," Leo said, putting on his jacket. "It was his mistake. He doesn't get to go around kissing my wife, whatever his reason." He pulled the door open and slammed in behind him. Grace grabbed her jacket and went after him.
* * * * * * * * *
Will was having a quiet dinner at home with his beau of two weeks, Stephen, when the door swung open hard enough to hit the wall with a crack. Will stood up as Leo charged into the room, Grace behind him.
"So what's this, dinner with the boyfriend?" Leo shouted. "Decided you're gay again?"
Will shot a glance at Grace, and he knew immediately from the look on her face what this was about. "And this is why it's not always a good idea to leave the door unlocked," he said.
Stephen stood up as well. "You know these people, right?" he said.
"Yes," Will said. "This is Grace and her husband, Leo." Will turned and walked into the kitchen.
"Don't walk away from me when I'm talking to you," Leo said.
Will stopped and turned back. "Don't give me orders in my home," he said. "And also - get the hell out of it."
"Not until you tell me what the hell you thought you were doing sticking your tongue down my wife's throat," Leo said. He looked over at Stephen who was clearly surprised. "Didn't tell you about that, did he?"
"Get out," Will said.
"Leo, let's go," Grace said. "We can talk about this later when..."
"Let's hear him explain himself," Leo said. "This should be good. Is it other women too, Will, or just my wife?"
"I think I need some air," Stephen said.
"You don't have to leave," Will said.
"But you'd be smart to," Leo said. "Get out before he's playing head games with you."
"Leo, stop it," Grace said.
"Why? The guy should know that he is involved with someone who doesn't seem to quite know which way he wants to play or with who," Leo said. "Or is this just about messing with Grace?"
Stephen picked up his jacket. "Call me later," he said.
"I will," Will said. "I'm sorry about this."
"You should be," Leo said.
"Nice to meet you, Grace," Stephen said, walking past her and out the door, closing it gently behind him. When he was gone Will walked back to the table and started to clear away the uneaten food.
"So, is it that you're gay again or bi now? What's the scoop?" Leo said.
Will didn't respond. He was fuming. Everything with Stephen had been going well, and tonight was probably going to be the night...
"Leo, we'll talk about this at home," Grace said.
"We'll talk about it now," Leo said. "Why did you kiss my wife?"
Will stopped what he was doing for a moment and looked over at Grace. "We can talk if you want," he said softly, "but..."
"I'm not leaving my wife alone with you," Leo said.
"Stop acting like a caveman!" Grace said. "I have a name, not just 'my wife'. And you cannot tell either of us what to do."
"Fine," Leo said. "Do what you want. If you want to pick this f..." He stopped himself before the word came out, but Will knew what it was, and he could see that Grace did too. Leo just turned and walked out of the room, slamming the door again as he left.
Both of them stood there in silence for several seconds looking at one another, then Will continued clearing the table. "He's just angry," Grace said.
"I could see that," Will replied. "Thanks for bringing him over."
"It wasn't my idea," Grace said, following him into the kitchen. "I'm sorry about...your date."
"This is going to be fun to explain to Stephen," Will said, dumping the dishes in the sink.
"It hasn't been a blast for me with Leo," Grace said.
"Then why tell him?" Will asked. "Did you think he would take it well?"
"I wasn't going to tell him. I didn't until today. He wanted to know why we were avoiding each other." Will watched as she twisted a finger in her hair. "He just went nuts. I'm not sure what he thought..."
"He seemed to think I was playing head games with you," Will said. "Is that what you told him?"
"No, of course not," Grace said. "I just said you kissed me."
"And you kissed me back," Will said.
"I didn't really want to get into it," Grace said.
"Oh right," Will said, turning on the water in the sink and watching the drain clog up with food. "Better to just let the screwed up faggot take the brunt of it."
There was a dark moment of silence, and then Grace said: "You know I would never think something like that, Will." He said nothing and didn't look at her. "Will."
He shut off the water. "I think we're done here, Grace," he said.
"What does that mean?" she asked.
Will turned to face her. "You know what it means," he said. "It's the end of the road. There are just some things a friendship can't survive."
"A friendship?" Grace said incredulously. "Is that what we have?"
Will felt sadness wash through him. "You are the best person I've ever known, sweetie," he said. "You're my heart and soul."
Grace walked over to him. "We're not doing this, Will," she said.
"We have to, honey," Will said.
Grace came close to him and slid her arms around him, and Will closed his eyes as they held one another. "No," she said.
"Sweetie, please," Will said.
"No," Grace said. She stepped back from him. "Do you want to make love?" Will just laughed. "I'm serious," she said. "Do you want get in bed with me and make love?"
Will looked in her eyes. She was so beautiful, so incredible...and he didn't know what he wanted. With Stephen it had been clear-cut and easy, but with Grace...it was no longer clear-cut. She took his hand and led him out of the kitchen and toward the bedroom. When he realized what she was doing, he stopped. "Leo..."
"This isn't about him," Grace said. "This is about us." She led him the rest of the way into the bedroom and sat on the end of the bed; Will sat beside her.
"Grace, this isn't right," Will said. "You and me...this isn't right."
"Is that what you really think or what you think you should think?" she said, undoing the buttons on her blouse.
"Oh, honey, please don't," Will said softly.
"Why?" Grace said. "What do you want, Will?" She picked up his hand and put it against her skin; it was so soft and smooth. "We need to work this out, one way or the other."
Will shook his head. "Not like this," he said.
"There's no other way," Grace said. She touched his thigh, and shivers spread through him. This is really going to happen, Will thought.
* * * * * * * * *
Grace studied Will's eyes and the sweetness and love that overflowed in them She loved him the way she would never love anyone else, not even Leo, not if she was married to him for life. What she shared with Will was a bonding of the souls that went back further and down deeper than anything she could build with someone else. "Tell me what you want, Will," she said.
"I want to kiss you," he said. "I want to touch you."
"Then do it."
"No, Gracie."
"Yes," she said, moving closer, bringing her face to his, touching his nose with hers. He brought his hands to her face and kissed her lips gently. His hands slid down, over her breasts, to her chests and sides. He held her against him and brought his lips to her jaw and then her neck, and Grace slid her hands over his back...
And Will broke the kiss, smiling. "I love you," he said, kissing her again, this time on the cheek.
Grace saw the change in him clearly. "This isn't happening, is it?" she asked.
"No, honey," Will said, rebuttoning her blouse. "But thank you."
"Stephen?"
"Yeah, Stephen."
"Are we OK?" Grace asked.
"We will be," Will said softly. He got off the bed and straightened his clothes. "Let's get together for dinner next week."
"OK," Grace said, fixing her own clothes. "Do you love him?"
Will looked at her and shrugged. "He's sweet," he said.
"Give it a chance," Grace said.
Will smiled. "OK," he said. "How's it going with Leo?"
"I think it'll be fine," Grace said.
"You might not want to tell him about this," Will said.
Grace laughed. "Probably not," she said. "I'll just tell him we talked it out."
Will smiled, and they embraced once more. As Grace let herself out, Will reached for the phone to call Stephen.
* * * * * * * * *