Chapter Three: The Morning AfterJack woke to an empty bed.

  Sunlight streamed through the curtains, and for a brief, merciful moment, he forgot. Then it all came rushing back—He's body beneath his, Leena's cries from down the hall, the taste of another woman on his lips.

  He sat up, his head pounding. The clock read 9:47 AM. He'd slept te, which was unusual. He never slept te.

  Downstairs, he found Leena in the kitchen, making coffee. She was wearing his old college t-shirt and nothing else, her hair still messy from sleep. She looked beautiful. Normal. Like nothing had happened.

  "Morning," she said brightly, pouring him a cup. "Sleep okay?"

  Jack took the coffee, studying her face. "Did you?"

  "Like a baby." She smiled, but there was something in her eyes—a flicker of something he couldn't quite read. Guilt? Excitement? Both?

  "Leena, we need to talk about st night."

  "I know." She sat across from him at the kitchen table. "And we will. But first, I need to tell you something."

  Jack's stomach tightened. "What?"

  She took a breath. "It wasn't spontaneous. Last night. The... swap."

  "What do you mean?"

  "I mean Rider, He, and I—we talked about it beforehand. Pnned it."

  The words hung in the air like smoke. Jack set his coffee down carefully, afraid he might drop it. "When?"

  "A few weeks ago. At that dinner party, remember? You fell asleep on the couch after dessert. We were cleaning up, and Rider brought it up. He said he and He had been in the lifestyle for years, and they thought we might be interested."

  "The lifestyle."

  "Swinging. Partner swapping. Whatever you want to call it." Leena reached for his hand, but Jack pulled away. "I was curious, Jack. I've been curious for a while. About... exploring. Trying new things."

  "So you pnned this behind my back."

  "Not behind your back. I was going to tell you, I swear. But then st night happened so fast, and I thought—I thought maybe it would be better to just... do it. To show you it could be good."

  Jack ughed bitterly. "Show me? You ambushed me, Leena. You and your new friends set me up."

  "It wasn't like that—"

  "Then what was it like?" He stood, pacing. "You conspired with two people to get me to fuck another woman. To watch you fuck another man. And you think that's okay?"

  "I think it could be okay. If we both want it." Leena stood too, moving toward him. "Jack, our sex life has been... stale. You know it has. We've been together for eight years, and it's the same thing every time. I love you, but I need more. I need excitement. Variety. And I thought—I hoped—you might need it too."

  "I don't."

  "Are you sure? Because you seemed pretty into it st night. With He."

  Jack's face burned. "That's not fair."

  "It's completely fair. You came, Jack. Multiple times. Your body responded, even if your mind is fighting it." She touched his chest. "There's nothing wrong with wanting pleasure. With exploring. It doesn't mean we love each other any less."

  "It feels like it does."

  "Then we'll go slow. We'll talk about it. Set boundaries. Make rules." Her eyes were pleading now. "Just don't shut it down completely. Please. Give it a chance."

  Jack wanted to say no. Wanted to tell her this was insane, that they should never see Rider and He again, that they should go back to their normal, boring, safe life.

  But when he looked at her—really looked at her—he saw something he hadn't seen in years. A spark. An aliveness. She was excited in a way she hadn't been about anything in their marriage for a long time.

  And he loved her. God help him, he loved her.

  "One more time," he heard himself say. "We'll try it one more time. And if I still hate it, we stop. Completely."

  Leena's face lit up. "Really?"

  "Really. But we set rules. Clear boundaries. And we talk about everything. No more surprises."

  "No more surprises," she agreed, throwing her arms around him. "Thank you, baby. Thank you. You won't regret this."

  But as Jack held her, breathing in the scent of her hair, he already did.