Gemotions

The email read: “Surprise! Meet me at our favorite spot.” The words swam before Thomas’s eyes. He felt a bead of sweat trickle down his temple. The “favorite spot” was a secluded bench overlooking the city. A bench, he now realized, he shared with another woman.

He’d seen her already, waiting at the designated place, her expression expectant. He approached slowly, each step heavy. He felt a wave of nausea. He clutched his stomach, trying to quell the rising tide of sickness.

He tried to smile, but his lips felt stiff, unnatural. The woman, whose name was Chloe, looked up at him, a flicker of confusion crossing her face. He saw it too, the same note of apprehension in her eyes. The truth hung heavy in the air between them, a shared understanding of betrayal and deceit.