Tamara sat back in her chair, her dark eyes glinting with a mischievous sparkle as she swirled her glass of wine. Ryan sat across from her, his hands neatly folded on the table. He had made her favorite tonight—grilled salmon with lemon and dill, roasted asparagus, and a light quinoa salad. The meal was perfect, but Ryan wasn’t eating much. His stomach tightened the way it always did when Tamara had that particular tone in her voice—the one that suggested a shift, a test, a deepening of their already complicated dynamic.
"I have a surprise for you tonight," Tamara said, her tone light but weighted with unspoken meaning.
Ryan’s eyes lifted toward her, cautious. "I’m listening," he said carefully. His voice was steady, but inside he felt that quiet flutter of anxiety that often came when Tamara introduced something new into their relationship.
"Tomas is coming over," she said simply.
Ryan’s heart skipped. He set down his fork. His mouth felt dry. He wanted to ask why, but he already knew. Tomas had been a presence in their marriage almost since the beginning. Ryan had accepted early on that Tamara’s sexual appetite was greater than he could satisfy. He was an attentive lover—kind, generous—but he didn’t have the raw, primal energy or physical dominance that Tomas had. Tomas was taller, stronger, more experienced. Tomas gave Tamara a kind of fulfillment that Ryan had learned to accept he couldn’t provide.
They had agreed to an open marriage—a halfway open one. Tamara saw Tomas regularly, and Ryan had learned to cope with the quiet ache that came from hearing Tomas’s car pull into the driveway and knowing what was happening behind closed doors. He loved Tamara deeply. They connected in a way he had never experienced before, and he would rather share her than lose her.…
One of those three people is only pretending to be happy, while his heart is breaking. Sad.
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