Summer’s flight was scheduled to land at 7 pm, and I was supposed to pick her up at the airport forty-five minutes after that, so I was surprised – for more than one reason – when she walked into our place at 3 in the afternoon.

“You’re early…” I began to speak and suddenly stopped, frozen mid-sentence.

Summer stepped through our door, and was followed in by a tall black guy with shoulder-length dreadlocks.

“Babe, this is Glenroy, he’s going to be staying with us for a bit.”

I was stunned. I didn’t know what to say or do and just stood there like an idiot. Summer brought someone home with her from Jamaica.

“Chuffed to meet you.” Glenroy took a few steps towards me and extended his hand to shake.  One of the first things I noticed was that he spoke with an English accent, not a Jamaican one. Almost involuntarily, I met his hand. “You good bruv?” He looked at me with curiosity.

“Uh, yeah. Sorry. I wasn’t expecting Summer home so early and…”

“You got another missus in the other room?” he asked with a hearty laugh.

“No…I just…”

“All good mate, just having a laugh.”

Summer approached and stood beside Glenroy. “Maybe you can get the rest of our things from the car and give me a few minutes to talk to Grey?”

“Sure thing luv,” he replied, kissing her on the cheek before heading out into the hallway.

I was floored.

The second he was gone, Summer closed the door to our place.

“Don’t kill me,” she said with a look on her face that made me think she was worried I might.

“What the fuck is going on? Who is that guy? What’s he doing here?” My mind was racing and I was trying not to yell.

“That’s Glenroy. He’s got such a cool story. You’re going to love it.”

“What the fuck is he doing here?!”

“He’s going to stay with us. Just for a little while.”

“Who is he?”

“I met him in Jamaica and we really clicked. He’s an awesome guy.”

“What do you mean you ‘really clicked’?”

Summer didn’t offer an answer to that, and instead started telling me about him.

“He’s from London, and he’s never met his father. So he’s on this quest to…”

“I don’t give a fuck about his dad, what’s he doing in my place?”

“My place.” Summer corrected me.

“Our place.” I tried to compromise.

“I paid for it. My place.” She had me.

“What’s he doing here?”

“I’ve been trying to tell you but you keep interrupting me. He never met his dad and he traced him back to Jamaica, only to find out that his father moved here years ago. He’s been working down there to get some money to come here and when I heard his story, I paid for his flight and told him he could stay with me. With us, I mean.”

“You paid for his flight?”

“Yeah, it wasn’t much.”

“Did you fuck him?”

Summer didn’t even answer, she just gave me a look I’d seen a hundred times before. Of course she fucked him.

“He’s a great guy, just give him a chance, ok?”

“How long?”

“A good 10 inches,” Summer said trying to make me laugh.

“How long is he going to stay with us?”

“I’m not sure. Not long. Enough time to see if he can get any leads on his dad. He probably has family here, it’s really exciting for him. He’s writing a book about all of this too.”

“One week,” I said.

“We’ll see.”

Before we could say anything else there was a soft knock on our door.

“Just be cool, ok?” Summer didn’t wait for an answer and opened the door for Glenroy.

Glenroy didn’t just have a suitcase with him, it looked like he had all his earthly possessions. He had two large suitcases in each hand, another smaller piece of luggage tucked under one arm, Summer’s travel bag under the other, and an oversized backpack slung over his shoulder. I knew right then this guy wasn’t staying for a week.

Summer pointed down the hall. “You can put everything in the bedroom,” she instructed.

“Bedroom? Don’t you mean the spare room?”

“No. I mean bedroom,” she said with a look.

My heart sank. I wasn’t sure exactly what was going on, but there was more to this than what I was being told.

“Nice flat you have here,” Glenroy said as he came from our bedroom. “Modern, lots of space, and some of the best views I’ve seen in years.” He grabbed Summer by the waist and pulled her into him as he said that, kissing her for the second time in the few minutes he’d been here.

“I’m famished, think you could get us a bite?” It felt like Glenroy was staring me down, demanding more than asking.

“I had a special meal planned for Summer and I, so…”

“Yeah, that’s good. I’ll have that.”

The audacity of this guy was outrageous. There was no way he was going to eat the steak I picked up for Summer and me.

“That would be great, Grey. It wasn’t a long flight but we had to be up early this morning and have barely eaten all day.”

“Summer…” I was pleading with my eyes.

“He’s our guest, and we’re starving.”

“Fine.” I gave in. I always gave in.

Within seconds of me making my way to our Kitchen, Glenroy grabbed Summer and pulled her into our bedroom. I couldn’t stand him. I've never instantly hated anyone the way I hated him. There was no way that I was going to put up with him and the first chance I got to talk to Summer about it, we were going to figure out a way to get him out of here.

I had two steaks marinating in the fridge, and I cut a bit off each one to make three servings out of them. Our BBQ was out on our balcony, and as I went out to get it started I looked down the hallway to our bedroom. The door was wide open and I got a full view of Summer and Glenroy sitting on our bed making out. Locked at the lips, Glenroy was fondling Summer’s breast as her hand was rubbing his cock through his pants. With the BBQ now lit, I made my way back to the kitchen to begin prepping everything. I took a second look down the hallway and now Glenroy was sitting on the edge of the bed with Summer on her knees in front of him sucking his cock. He looked up at me and smiled as I walked by. I’ve never hated anyone more in my life.

The two of them emerged from the bedroom shortly before dinner was ready to be served. They sat themselves at our dining room table as I brought the steaks in from the balcony. There were the two main pieces, plus the two smaller pieces that combined to be roughly the same size as the others. As soon as I put the plate down, Glenroy grabbed one of the bigger pieces plus one of the smaller ones. Summer could see the anger in my eyes, and reached to take the smaller piece for herself, but Glenroy stopped her.

“Nah, the bigger one. You’re going to need your energy later tonight. Besides,” he said while nodding to me, “your boy here looks like he could lose a few pounds.” My hand gripped the steak knife and I’m not sure how I didn’t stab him.

“Oh leave him alone, he’s fine the way he is.” Summer made a weak defense for me, but at least she defended me.

“Just a bit of banter,” he said with a smirk. “But take the bigger piece. That’s for you,” he added in a more serious tone.

Summer looked at me as she slid the larger piece of steak onto her plate leaving me with the smallest piece. “We’re an hour behind you, so this is more like lunch for us. We can eat again later.” She was trying to appease me.

My blood was boiling, but I couldn't let Glenroy know that he was getting to me.

“So, tell me about your dad,” I asked.

“Grey, what the fuck?” Summer instantly snapped at me.

“What?” I had no idea why she was mad.

“See,” Glenroy said. “This is why it’s important. I get this kind of judgment all the time.”

“I’m sorry.” Summer was apologizing for me, but I didn’t think I’d done anything wrong.

“It’s alright, luv. Guys like him,” he was using his fork to point at me, “they just don’t get it.”

“I…I don’t…know…” I was confused and stammering.

“Just drop it, Grey.” Summer spoke like she was embarrassed for me.

The rest of the night was awkward. Summer and Glenroy cuddled up on our couch watching TV as I sat there steaming. I hated the way she giggled at his lame jokes, I hated the way she looked at him, and I hated the way she was oblivious to what an asshole he was. What I hated the most was how aware Glenroy was of all of this, and he played it up as much as possible, rubbing my nose in it.

I couldn’t take any more of it, and around 8 pm I pretended to be tired and retreated to our spare bedroom. Less than an hour later, I could hear Summer moaning in the living room. I’ve watched or heard Summer get fucked more times than I could count, and each time it did something for me. It turned me on, it humiliated me in a way that felt right, or it made me feel things that I could not feel any other way. Listening to Summer and Glenroy did none of that for me. For the first time, I didn’t even want to hear it. I put headphones on, cranked my music, and laid in bed trying to think about how I was going to stop this asshole from taking Summer away from me.

The next morning, I stayed in the spare room, listening as Summer and Glenroy talked over breakfast. I couldn’t hear exactly what they were saying, but they were enjoying each other’s company. I knew that I couldn’t stay in the room all day and would have to come out eventually, but I was delaying it for as long as possible. Luckily, I heard Glenroy say that he was off to the records department and 5 or 10 minutes later he left. I was half dressed getting ready to leave what felt like my prison cell when Summer came in.

“We need to talk.” It was one of those movie moments where we said the same thing, at the same time.

“He can’t stay here Summer. I can’t stand him.”

“What’s your problem with him?”

“It blows my mind that you can’t see what a complete asshole he is.”

“He’s not an asshole, he’s a great guy.”

The term gaslighting didn’t exist at the time, but if it did, I would have told her that she was gaslighting me.

“He came into my house, our house, your house, whatever…he came into where I live, put his bags in our bedroom, got a blow job from my girlfriend, ate my steak, called me fat, spent the night snuggling with you on the couch, then fucked you the second I went to bed.”

“I told him all about us, and he’s just comfortable with it. I thought you were too.”

“I am, but not with him.”

“What’s different about him? Why don’t you like him?”

“He’s a cocky asshole.”

“Every guy I’ve ever fucked has been exactly like that. It’s big dick energy, and I thought you like it.”

“You’ve never brought anyone like that home, never.”

“They’ve all been like that. You’ve just never noticed because they come over, we fuck, and then they leave. Trust me, when I’m at the club trying to find a guy, that’s what I’m looking for, every time.”

“He’s different, Summer, but you don’t see it.”

“What I see is your jealousy. He makes you feel threatened.”

“He does. And you do too. The way you look at him, the way he makes you laugh, even the way you talk about him. It’s all different. He’s not like other guys.”

“You’re right. He isn’t. And that’s what I love about him.”

“You love him?”

Summer bit her lip. “No, I didn’t mean it like that.”

“But you have feelings for him, don’t you?”

Her non-answer was an answer. “Don’t you remember what happened with Darren? You got close to him and he got all weird. We had to get a restraining order, remember?”

“Yeah, but now you’re the one who’s getting all weird.”

“I just wish you could see him the way I see him.”

“And I wish you could see him the way I see him.”

There was a long pause.

“He can’t stay here.”

“Where’s he supposed to go? He doesn’t have much money. He can’t get a hotel unless we pay for it. He has to stay here until he finds his family.”

“We’re supposed to go to your parents on Sunday. We’re just going to leave this stranger here when we’re at your parent’s place?”

“He’s not a stranger.”

“He is to me.”

“Because you’re not giving him a chance!”

“Because he’s an asshole!”

We went around in circles for an hour, if not longer. Summer dug her heels in and wasn’t going to change her mind, and I didn't want to either.

“What are we going to do then?” I asked, hoping to find a solution.

“We’re going to do something special tonight, and you’re going to give him a chance. Just do that for me, and I think you’ll change your mind.”

This felt like the biggest sacrifice that I’ve ever had to make for Summer, and she somehow talked me into it. “I’ll give him a chance. One chance. But what if it doesn’t change my mind, will you change yours?”

“Let’s deal with tonight first, with an open mind. We don’t need to put energy into what to do if it doesn’t work. Let’s put all that into making it work, ok?”

“Ok,” I said with a world of reluctance.

Glenroy was gone for the whole day and didn’t come home until around dinner time. He walked in the door with flowers for Summer, and her face lit up when she saw them. She raced to the door, gave him a big hug, and then began fawning over the flowers. He came into the living room and took a seat across from me, watching me seethe as Summer bounced around with a huge smile on her face looking for a vase for her flowers. This guy knew what he was doing, and he was good at it.

After dinner, we hung out in the living room. The TV was on in the background, but we spent the next couple of hours talking. Rather, Summer and Glenroy talked to each other while I mostly listened. It kills me to say this, but in that short time, I began to see what Summer saw in him. When he wasn’t being a complete dickhead to me, he was quite charming and playful with her. He was different than the countless, nameless guys that she’d brought home over the last few years, and that brought out more insecurity in me.

He told us a lot about himself. I guessed that Summer had probably already heard a lot of it and this was for my benefit. He grew up the child of a single mother in London’s Eastend. The father he never met was a migrant dockworker from Jamaica who took off back to the island nation as soon as he found out his girlfriend was pregnant.  Glenroy turned pro at just seventeen, playing soccer for one of the lower-division teams in England. A nasty tackle broke his leg and eventually that ended his career, but it was during his time off doing rehab that he started researching his father. That led him to Jamaica, and now my living room.

“What about you guys?” he asked as he was now on his feet walking around. He spotted a picture of Summer and me on our bookshelf, picked it up, and brought it over to where we were sitting. “Tell me about this couple right here,” he said as he placed our picture in front of us. He couldn’t have known this, at least I didn’t think so, but that picture was taken at a friend’s wedding just minutes after Summer had just fucked one of the other guests. She’d been flirting with a groomsman all day, and then disappeared with him for about a half hour. Just seconds before that picture was taken, Summer reappeared and whispered, “He has the biggest cock” in my ear. The picture captured the proud look on her face and the surprised look on mine as she held her hands almost a foot apart showing me how big it was. The picture became a symbol of sorts for us, we had it framed and kept it on display in the living room. Lots of people had seen that picture over the years and asked us what was going on in the photo, and each time we made up a new story. It was a game we played, and being the only ones who knew the true story was a secret that bonded us.

“We were at a wedding, and I’d just fucked another guy,” Summer blurted out, and my heart sank. That was our fun little secret. We'd never even told Maddie or anyone else who knew about our lifestyle the real story. “It was at a golf course. The manager’s office wasn’t locked, and I fucked the guy right on the desk. There was no talking, no kissing, no foreplay, nothing. I just sat on the desk, lifted my dress, pulled my panties to the side, and he put his already-hard cock in me. It was the best quicky of my life.”

“Oh yeah? What about…”

“That doesn’t count as a quicky,” Summer said, I guess referencing one of their encounters in Jamaica.

“Good,” he said with a smile. “I’m not used to being second best. That’s more your department, innit Grey?”

I couldn’t say anything, and he didn’t wait for an answer.

“Listen, we’re all adults here, right? And we know what tonight is all about, yeah? So whys don’t we get it started.” Glenroy leaned back in his chair full of confidence, his eyes went back and forth between Summer and me. I had no idea what was going on, but it seemed like Summer did. She took my hand and said, “Let’s go,” and led me to our bedroom. My heart was racing.

“What’s he talking about? And why’d you tell him about the picture, that was supposed to be our thing!”

“Don’t worry about the stupid picture, Grey, not now.”

“Can you at least tell me what’s going on then?”

“He wants you to get me ready for him, then present me to him.”

“Are you fucking mental? This is what you thought was going to be a special night?”

“This is the next step for us.”

“By us, do you mean us, or do you mean you and Glenroy?”

“This is something I want, and I want you to want it to. You said you’d give him a chance. This is it.”

“What do you want me to do?”

“I’m going to take a shower, and do my hair and makeup. I want you to change the sheets on the bed, and use the black silk ones. Grab a bottle of wine and a couple of glasses. Get some candles, and pick out some mood music. You need to make this a romantic night for me and Glenroy.”

She was crushing me with every word she said.

“When I’m done, you’re going to pick out some lingerie and prepare me for Glenroy. You need to make this a perfect night for us.”

“By us do you mean us, or do you mean you and Glenroy?” I asked the same question again. This time I got an answer.

“I mean me and Glenroy,” she said before adding “and me and you” as an afterthought.

This felt like the beginning of the end for Summer and me, and it was. I couldn't convince her that this guy wasn't right, not for her or us, and shot down all of my attempts to explain why. I’d never felt disconnected from her the way I did at that moment. It never bothered me that Summer fucked other guys. To be honest with myself, I liked it. It turned me on. This was different, and I knew it. I don’t know if Summer was lying to me or herself but some part of her had to know it too. She had feelings for Glenroy, and it wasn’t just a little crush. She was enamoured with him. maybe even falling for him. I knew all of that at the time, but I was still in a bit of denial myself.

Summer started getting ready, and dutifully I did my part too. As I ran around getting everything ready, Glenroy stayed in the living room, still leaning back in his chair with a smug look on his face. He knew what he was doing, knew what he was doing to Summer and me, and was loving every minute of it.

I got a bottle of wine from the fridge, filled an ice bucket with ice, grabbed two of our best wine glasses, and took everything to the bedroom to set up on a bedside table. I put the silk sheets that Summer asked for on the bed, stuffing the used ones in our laundry hamper.  I managed to do all of this while avoiding Glenroy, but all of our candles were in the living room where he was seated. When Summer wanted candles, she didn’t mean one or two. She meant one or two dozen, of all different shapes, colours, scents, and sizes. We used them as decorations in the living room and had a cabinet drawer full of additional candles. I couldn’t get them without coming face-to-face with Glenroy.

By this time, Summer was out of the shower and was at her makeup desk getting herself ready.

“Looks good so far, babe, but don’t forget the candles.”

She knew why I hadn’t gotten them yet.

“Don’t worry, I’ve got it.”

“Have you thought about what you want me to wear?”

“I don’t know, you look good in everything, so I don’t think there’s a bad choice, is there?”

“No, but I want to wear what you like to see me in. For Glenroy though.”

“I’ll get the candles.” It was my way of avoiding listening to her talk about him. Each word felt like she was twisting the dagger.

As I walked into the living room, Glenroy had the biggest smile on his face. “She looking good? Wait, don’t tell me. I want to be surprised.” He rubbed his hands together in anticipation. I always wondered what it would be like to be like him. Here he was in some guy’s house, getting ready to fuck his girlfriend, while the guy was running around setting the stage for all of it to happen. That’s not something that I’d ever get to experience, but he seemed so at ease with it that I wondered how many times he might have done it all before. My guess was a lot.

It took a few trips back and forth from the living room to the bedroom to gather all the candles.

“I need another hour to finish my hair and makeup. Why don’t you start going through my panty drawer and pull out a few things?”

In my head, I laughed at the idea of pulling out some granny panties and the worst things I could find, but I knew the drawer that Summer expected me to pull from and it was all from luxury brands. She had a variety of colours, but I always thought that black looked best against her skin tone, even with her Jamaican tan, and contrasted well with her blonde hair.

“Can you unlock me, please?”

“No, no way,” Summer said firmly.

It was impossible for me to go through her lingerie drawer without getting hard and Summer knew it.

“You know what this drawer does to me when I’m locked up…”

“Good. You think you deserve to be let out with the way you’ve been acting?”

“I can put it back on later?” I was trying to bargain with her.

“No. Glenroy is getting the full experience tonight. That includes your little dick in a cage. The more frustrated you are, the better.”

I wasn’t going to win this one. I never won any of our disagreements.

I picked out a finely stitched set of lace stockings, panties, garter belt, and bra all from a company called La Perla. It was an anniversary gift that cost me a fortune and I secretly hoped that it would make Summer feel guilty, but I knew better. She was watching me through the reflection in her makeup mirror, and when I made my choice, she said, “I knew that’s what you’d pick,” sounding more excited than guilty.

“Why don’t you go talk to Glenroy? I’ll call you when I’m ready to get dressed.”

I didn’t want to, but maybe I had to. I’d never spoken to him one to one and this was going to be my last chance before the night went where we all knew it was going.

“Fun times, yeah?” Glenroy asked as I sat down in the living room.

“Yup,” I replied quickly, trying to figure out how I was going to go about this.

“What do you want out of all this?” I asked.

“I think you know, mate.” He chuckled at his reply.

“Do you care about her?”

“Mate, she’s all yours. This is just some fun. She told me yous do this all the time.”

“This is different.”

“Yeah?”

“She has feelings for you. I can tell.”

He looked surprised to hear that and for a brief moment, his cocky persona cracked.

“Grey?” Summer called out from the bedroom. “I need your help now.”

“Don’t hurt her,” I told him as I went to meet Summer in the other room.

After all of his needling and prodding, it felt like I got to him. He ran up the score against me, but I got one back.

Summer looked incredible. She was wearing an old housecoat that was far from sexy, but her hair and makeup were perfect. It was a reminder of how out of my league she was, how lucky I'd been these last few years, and maybe taken some things for granted too.

“Summer, just listen to me, ok?”

“Grey, I don’t want to…”

“Just listen!” I snapped back, which is not something I ever did, and it caught her off guard.

“I know that there’s nothing I can do to stop tonight, so I’m not even going to try. But I’m telling you right now, Glenroy isn’t who you think he is and he’s going to hurt you.”

“Grey, your jealousy is so ugly. Don’t ruin this.”

“I’m not going to ruin anything. I’m just telling you this now, so later you’ll know that through all of this, I’ve always been looking out for you. I’ve always had your back, and I’ve always loved you. I won't say I told you so, just remember this, right now.” I was fighting back tears, but Summer was so sure of herself that she mistook everything that I was saying for jealousy.

“Are you going to do this or not?”

“I am. I’m going to do it for you. Just like everything I do is for you.”

I got control of my emotions and helped Summer get dressed. When we were done, she put every Victoria’s Secret model to shame.

“Ready?” she asked with a bit of nervousness.

“Ready if you are.”

Summer leaned up and gave me a kiss. It was the last time I ever felt her lips against mine.

“You need to take your clothes off before you get him,” she instructed.

“I’m not going to do that Summer,” is what I wanted to say, but didn’t. I knew this was going to be the end for us, and I didn’t want it to end in a way where she could blame me for anything. I was going to do exactly what she wanted so no fingers could be pointed my way when it all fell apart.

I got undressed, folded my clothes, and neatly put them on a chair in our room.

She reached down to tease me, cupping my balls. “You’re not hard?” she asked surprised, maybe questioning herself more than me.

“I’ll get Glenroy.” It was all I could say, and I went to the living room to fetch him.

Glenroy laughed when he saw me step out of the bedroom wearing nothing but a chastity cage. The guy was about to fuck my girlfriend and couldn’t keep it together. He pointed at me, my cage, and said “holy shit!” and kept laughing. I ignored it.

“Summer is ready,” I motioned like a butler directing him to our bedroom. He stared me down as he walked past me, but I didn’t flinch. I stared right back at him.

Summer stood up to greet him and they immediately began kissing. Once again, the look in her eyes betrayed every thought in her head. She loved him, at least she thought she did, and I knew it. Glenroy began undressing, between kisses he first removed his shirt, then his pants. He awkwardly stepped on each of his feet in turn to remove his socks.

“Sit there,” she said acknowledging me for the first time and pointing to the chair I’d placed my clothes on. I moved them to our dresser and took my seat.

With me in place where she wanted me, Summer got down on her knees and began kissing Glenroy’s cock through his boxer shorts. I could see it coming to life, which brought a smile to Summer’s face. She tugged at his underwear and as they came down, Glenroy’s cock jumped up and hit her in the face making her smile even bigger.

“Wow,” she said looking at it with amazement as she took it in her hand and started to stroke it. She looked up at him as he got hard, and then looked over to me. Summer took his cock in her mouth while maintaining eye contact with me before Glenroy reached down and used a finger to tilt her chin so she was looking back at him. After a few minutes, Glenroy sat down and Summer raised herself so she could continue to suck his cock. He placed his hand on the back of her head and occasionally stopped her from moving while he shoved his cock in deeper, making her gag. I knew that she didn’t like that, but loved how slutty it made her feel.

Glenroy pulled Summer up from the floor so that she was standing in front of him. He ripped and pulled at her panties until they tore off. That was $150 down the drain, not that I cared at this point. He picked her up and tossed Summer into our bed. She landed and immediately spread her legs for him, and he moved right in. He positioned himself between her legs and began to run his cock up and down the length of her opening. Summer moaned in response.

“Please,” she said beggingly.

“Please what?” he asked.

“Please fuck me. Please. I need it.”

As he forced his cock into her, Summer tried to look at me but her eyes rolled back into her head. He fucked her slowly at first, then picked up the pace and was soon fucking her as hard as I’d ever seen her get fucked before. One of the things that I was always weirdly proud of Summer was how great she was at getting fucked. Most people recognize that fucking someone good takes some skill, but knowing how to get fucked good is an overlooked skill, and Summer was world-class when it came to getting fucked.

Glenroy flipped Summer over and pulled her up so that she was on her knees, facing away from me, and fucked her doggy-style.

I didn’t need to see any more. With both of their backs to me and preoccupied with each other, I picked up my clothes and slipped out to the living room where I got dressed. I wasn’t sure what I was going to do, but I sat there for a long time thinking about it. I can laugh about it now, but trying to focus while you consider a major life choice with the sound of your girlfriend getting fucked in the background is surreal, to say the least.

In the end, I decided to go see Maddie. First off, she had the spare key to my chastity cage and I wanted it off. She knew Summer and me better than anyone else and I wanted her opinion before I committed to anything. In my heart, I knew that things were over between Summer and me, but I needed someone to either talk me into or out of ending it, and Maddie was the only one I could turn to for that even though she was hardly neutral.

Maddie was surprised to see me but could tell how serious I was.

“I don’t think you’re jealous,” she said. “You’ve seen so much, and you’ve never been jealous. If anything, you’ve always been supportive of her.”

“You know what it is, Maddie?”

“What?”

“It’s that she showed that she didn’t trust me. I’ve always looked out for her and had her back, and this time was no different, but she didn’t trust me. I can’t have a future with someone who doesn’t trust me. This guy is going to hurt her, I know it.”

And that was it for me. In just a few weeks, we went from talking about marriage to the painful realization that her lack of trust in me wasn’t something that I could get around. I sacrificed so much for her and always put her first, but when she wanted something, she didn't trust me to spot the danger or thought that I'd let jealousy override what I thought was best for her. That was never the case. To be fair to her, she had issues with me that went well beyond the bedroom as well. I’m not trying to paint this as it all being her fault. We both just got to a place that we couldn’t get ourselves out of. At least not together.

After that night, we didn’t even try to stay together. She was furious at me for leaving during what she insisted on calling a ‘special night’ and I was done trying to make her see things my way.  I stayed at a friend’s house for a few days and then moved out of Summer’s place about a week later. She was with Glenroy for a few months, which is much longer than I ever expected, but in the end, he broke her heart just as I predicted. She loved him, but in his eyes, she was just someone to fuck and a free place to stay.

I don’t know much about what happened to her after that. We both moved on with our lives. I know a few things though. Summer became a lawyer, and still works as one today. She’s also married – to a white guy – and she has two kids (who are also white). We both live in the suburbs now, she lives in the town next to mine. I see her now and again, at the mall or just around town. Maybe a year or so ago, I saw her with her family having dinner at an Irish pub that I sometimes go to. We made eye contact and shared a smile. If she wasn’t with her husband and kids, I might have gone over to say hello. So much has happened since then, I'm sure we could have had a civil conversation, but it wasn’t meant to be.

Maybe one day.