Boys Don't Cry

Chapter: 2

Rating: R-ish

Murray found Lou sitting downstairs in the bar working on his third scotch. And more often than not this was where Lou could be found. Before the broadcast, after the broadcast, and sometimes even during the broadcast. Life was becoming one big cocktail hour. The drinking had increased steadily in the past month, ever since Mary left. And Murray wasn't quite sure how to reach out to him. He wasn't quite sure what Lou needed and he had no idea how to approach the situation that concerned Mary but felt like he needed to. Somebody needed to and it might as well be him.

He sat down beside Lou and ordered a gin and tonic. "Ted made it through the newscast without making a mistake."

Lou raised the glass to his lips. "Good." he took a drink. "It's good to know that even Ted can have a good day."

The bartender sat his drink down in front of him. "Thanks." he said. "Lou, if you want to talk about anything I'm hear to listen."

"What's there to talk about?" he questioned, taking another drink. "Everything's fine."

"No, Lou, I don't think it is." he said. "Things have been different since Mary left."

"Yeah things have been different." he agreed. "It took me forever to find a producer to fill her place."

"Have you talked to her?"

"Well, Murray, it's a little difficult to talk to someone when you have no idea where they are." he too another drink. "Besides I don't want to talk to her."

"I think you're forgetting that above everything else Mary is your friend." he reminded him. "You care about her and I think you wouldn't be as depressed if you knew where she was."

"I'm not depressed." he said. "Mary told me she wanted to get as far away from me as possible. I would like to respect her wishes."

Murray took a sip of his drink. "When people are angry they often say things they don't mean."

"No, she meant it." he took another drink. "She definitely meant it. You didn't see the look in her eyes, I did."

"She was just hurt, Lou." he said. "You're both hurting and the only way to make it better is by talking about it. If you're not going to talk to her at least talk to someone. It doesn't have to be me, but I think it would help you out."

Lou swirled the contents around in his glass. "Oh, I don't know, Murray." he sighed. "I've gone over it a million times in my head and I don't think talking about it is going to make a difference. I mean it is what it is. Mary and I got involved and it messed everything up. On top of that I lost one of best producers I've ever worked with."

"I really think you can fix this."

He finished off the rest of his drink. "I don't know if I want to." he said. "I never should have gotten involved with her, but I couldn't help myself. She's beautiful, and incredibly sexy, and sensational in bed. Being with her made me feel alive and wanted and needed. Made me feel younger."

"Then what went wrong, Lou?"

Lou ordered another double. "She was seeing someone else."

"Cheating?" he asked. "I thought the two of you had an open relationship?"

"We did." he said. "But I caught her with that Matt Bryan guy. You remember him? The architect. She dated him a few years ago and then he moved away."

"Yeah the guy with the son in his twenties."

"Yeah, him." he replied, taking a long drink. "Anyway, I'm no match for that guy. When I saw them together something in me snapped. I knew that she had been seeing other people but the thought of her with Matt was just more than I could handle. The only thing I could think about was him touching her the way I had the night before and it made my blood boil."

"Then why did you agree to still date other people?"

"Because our relationship wouldn't have worked any other way." he said. "There was nothing to our relationship but sex and that isn't enough to build anything on. That's why this entire thing is crazy, it's not like she was my wife or even my girlfriend. But if I couldn't handle the thought of her with someone else then our entire arrangement was pointless."

"A little jealousy is good for a relationship."

"It's more than a little." he took another drink. "And that much jealousy doesn't look good on anyone."

Murray downed the last of his drink. "I really think you should talk to her and straighten everything out." he suggested. "You know she's probably in New York with Rhoda."

"No, Rhoda didn't know where she was either."

"Mary's her best friend." Murray reminded him. "She's probably covering for her."

"No." he replied. "Unless something has changed Rhoda doesn't know anything." he said. "I wish I could go back to when this entire thing started."

Lou pushed opened her apartment door after some initial struggle. Mary made her way inside, dropping the high heels that she was carrying in her hand onto the floor near the coatrack. "I don't think I've ever had so much fun in my life." she said, closing the door and leaning up against it. "Can I get you a drink?"

"I think I've had enough." he said.

Mary reached forward, grabbing his tie and pulling him to her. "What should we do now?"

Lou braced his hands on the door on either side of her. "We get you into bed." he told her. "You've had a lot to drink."

"I haven't had that much." she said. "Besides I'm not very sleepy."

The scent of her perfume was killing him. "Okay, you've had more than you usually have."

"I'm a big girl, I can handle it." she started to undo his tie. "Besides I hate going to bed alone."

Lou brought his hands up to attempt to stop her but she pushed them out of the way. "We'll get you into bed and you'll feel much better when you wake up."

She smiled, wickedly. "Does that mean you're going to stay with me?"

"Mary." he said. "You have no idea what you're saying."

"I'm more sober than you think." she toyed with his undone tie. "When I get drunk I get sloppy and I start slurring my words. I'm just a little tipsy."

Lou found himself analyzing her words. She wasn't slurring her words and she seemed to be fine just a little lighter than usual. "I really think you need some sleep."

She dropped the tie to the floor. "Sleep wasn't what I had in mind." she started unbuttoning his shirt. "You want to stay, you know it and I know it."

He was fighting her with everything he had inside of her, but he knew that she was going to win. "Look, Mary, you're right, I do want to stay." he was struggling to control himself. "You have no idea how much I want to stay, but I don't think it's a good idea."

"Come on, I know you want me." she said. "I've seen the way you look at me, you can't deny it."

"I do want you." he breathed out, closing in the space between them. "You have no idea how much I want you."

"Oh, I think I have a pretty good idea." she arched into him. "You know I'm not interested in a relationship and I know you're not interested in a relationship..."

She was silenced by his mouth covering hers. A deep, forceful kiss that left them convinced the were doing the wrong thing. They were playing with fire and eventually they were both going to get burnt. But the burning between them was too good to ignore.

He pulled away from her. "What do you want from this?"

"Sex." he had kissed her so hard and so thoroughly that her lips felt bruised. "Really, really good sex."

"If I could go back I would have do things differently." Lou said. "Too late now, she's out of my life for good." Lou downed the rest of his drink, threw some money on the bar, and left.

tbc...