When Giselle let herself fall onto the sofa after putting two wine glasses and a bottle on the table, she was unpleasantly aware of her pajamas exposing herself to her guest. With an effort, she pushed the mix between shyness and uneasiness away.

"Ian and the morning...", her voice trailed off as she glanced at the dimly lit interior of her apartment. She had only turned on the lights near the picture wall. It was enough. Somehow she didn't find the right words to explain what was going on with her emotions.

Laureen took the bottle and expertly filled their glasses. After she handed one off to Giselle, she smiled and leaned back into the backrest. "Uh, that one smells expensive! French?", she wondered with interest and ignored the fact that her requested water had been forgotten. The brunette nodded and sipped from her glass, "Yeah, it was a gift. It comes from southern France, but isn't that old".

Laury enjoyed her wine for a while, leaving the elephant in their room alone. She could see her host's face change expressions by the second. Both women were quiet. Eventually Giselle glanced over and said, "I really fucked up, didn't I? That's why I feel so guilty and all". Her coworker put the glass back onto the table and sat crossed-legged to face her. "You know it's never as simple as that, right?", the soft voice just made Giselle shrug, so it continued, "If you're asking for my opinion, then you won't hear it. I haven't had a relationship that lasted longer than a year, I really am not qualified to judge you, love. I can tell you that what you did was bold and endangered your relationship with Ian. You knew that, but you did it anyway. Nothing to be done about it now, is there. What matters is what you'll do now. Are you going to try and mend his wounds?".

Giselle listened to it patiently. It made her think. Did she realize it was a danger to her marriage in the first place? Probably, she did get defensive when Ian mentioned how many messages they were exchanging. But how was she to fix this? Could she even fix it? In her youth she believed that remorse, even if it was fake, apologies and promises were the way to fix things after making a mistake. Today she wasn't so sure about it anymore, since the question remained whether remorse or promises were believable enough so they could become a patch on an open wound.

Stolen story; please report.

Her gaze wandered towards the window. The gibbous moon illuminated a thin cloud cover and she mused, "These are wounds I cannot mend. I suppose I can offer a promise or two, if he allowed it. I'm not even sure I am over Annie, yet. At first I thought it was the secret and the excitement for it, and the fresh wind that blew through my predictable life. That wind grew stronger and now that the hurricane has passed through, there is still something lingering. I can't shake it".

Taking her time to think it through, Laury emptied her glass and refilled it. Then she said, "Sleeping with someone and how it affects you, this is something I do know about. Physical relationships always leave you wanting and yearning. I got used to that, but you probably never did. It bears the hope of something that lasts, something that repeats itself. Especially when it was something new and exciting". Both smiled at each other when Giselle nodded, "You are right, I became somewhat hopeful. Still am hopeful, I guess. I didn't even realize until you pointed it out!". Laury shrugged and waved off, "Yeah, well. What I mean is, if you dwell on that hope, you'll get hurt yourself soon".

"And probably nothing will come from it. It won't fix Ian's pain either", Giselle said assertively, but her coworker frowned, "I didn't say that. For all I know, if you pursued this Annie, you might end up in a relationship. What I meant was, with that hope you'll either get disappointed by it or you'll lose your marriage. Both options are going to hurt you, wouldn't they?". The brunette just nodded and a sad realization washed over her. She'd need to make a decision soon. Her gut told her to push Annie away, but somehow she wasn't quite ready to do it yet. Instead she changed the topic, "Did you know Ian still watches Moonraker almost every month?". Laury chuckled and shook her head, "No shit! Once a month!". Both of them laughed the tension away. It lead into telling stories mostly about Laureen's dates and peculiar past-time activities she discovered. An hour later they went to bed. The distraction had worked. Giselle prepped Ian's side of the bed. It reminded her of two trips the women had taken for work when they had shared a hotel room. She was glad that Laury stayed over in the end, since that prevented her mind spiraling into a state of despair.

They fell asleep quickly. Giselle's night was a mixture of unrest and weird dreams. She woke often, once even quite sweaty. A soft, warm hand clutched her own and a voice whispered into the dark, "It was just a dream, love. I'm here". Afterwards sleep engulfed her again. Until a thundering voice ripped them awake. It belonged to Ian, who stood in the bedroom door, both arms raised in pure disbelief and anger, "What the fuck, Giselle? It's not even been a single day!"