Ships That Pass Chapter 1

At a party with my fiancée Jenna and her friends, she said she had to step out. Two hours later, she still wasn't back. As I went to look for her, I heard her best friends speaking in Spanish—a language they thought I didn't understand.

"This idiot has no idea he's being cheated on," one laughed. Another added, "I bet Jenna and Leo are really going at it. She said Creed isn't as big as Leo anyway. Poor fool—we're tearing him apart and he doesn't even know."

I stood frozen, my mind blank. Just then, Jenna walked in, flushed and satisfied. "How was it?" her friend asked in Spanish. "A thrill?"

"Completely," Jenna replied huskily. "I couldn't get enough."

* * *

Leo followed her in, casually draping an arm over her shoulder like he always did—the quintessential guy-best-friend. But now, I saw it. A cluster of angry purple hickeys blooming on the pale skin of her neck.

I collapsed back onto the sofa, the air punched from my lungs. A cold wave of despair washed over me.

Her friends, like a pack of hyenas, kept prodding her in Spanish, demanding details of her tryst.

Jenna, perhaps pricked by a sliver of guilt, instinctively pushed Leo’s hand away and glanced at me. She crossed the room and sat down beside me.

“Hey, what are you so nervous about?” one of her friends teased. “He can’t understand a word we’re saying. If we were speaking French or something, then you’d have to worry!”

“Yeah, with Spanish, he’s totally lost. Right, guys? Hahaha!”

“You all are so mean, ganging up on the poor gringo.”

Hearing that, Jenna seemed to relax. She leaned in and pressed a light, meaningless kiss to my lips. “Creed, honey, don’t mind them,” she said in English.

“We all grew up together, so we always slip back into Spanish when we’re hanging out. It’s just a habit.”

My hand, hidden by my side, clenched into a fist so tight my knuckles ached. What they didn’t know was that my mother is from Puerto Rico. I grew up speaking Spanish. I understood every damn word.

Seeing my silence, they took it as indifference and dove back into their game.

“Come on, Jenna, tell the truth. Is Leo bigger than him? I’ve got money riding on this.”

Jenna’s lips curved into a smug smile. “Of course, he is.”

Friend #1: “Look at that satisfied glow. You’re practically purring.”

Friend #2: “God, this is so much fun! Who knew our secret language would be this useful? Look at that idiot, just sitting there like a lost puppy, not understanding a thing.”

Leo shot me a look of pure contempt and then mouthed to Jenna.

“Jenna, just marry me. Why are you with him?”

Jenna just laughed, her hand moving to my shoulder, kneading the tense muscle as she spoke in a mocking tone.

“Marry you? Don’t be ridiculous.”

“I know the difference between reality and a good time. You’re for fun, Leo. A thrill. You’re my stress relief in bed. But Creed… Creed is the one I love.”

“Could you put me first in everything? Could you treat me like a princess? No. You have a temper. Only Creed can do that. I had a fever once when he was on a business trip overseas, and one phone call had him on the next flight back.”

The memory, which once warmed me, now felt like acid in my veins. All my devotion, all my love… and this is how she repaid me. With betrayal.

“Shit,” Leo suddenly said. “I forgot to wear a condom. You might be in trouble.”

“Damn it, Leo! How could you be so stupid? Go buy me a Plan B, now!”

“Hey,” he said with a wicked grin. “Why don’t we make Creed go? If we’re going to play, let’s go all the way.”

“You…”

Leo picked up his wine glass and downed it in one go, a silent declaration that he was in no condition to drive.

In the end, Jenna turned to me.

“Creed, honey, could you run to the pharmacy for me? I need you to pick up a box of the morning-after pill. We might… need it tonight.”