The Bad Boy Next Door

"I guess I should just go and start packing my things."

Jo didn't look up as Pete walked into the house. "That would probably be for the best."

"Jo, I'm sorry."

Jo sighed. "I'm sorry, too."

"For what?"

"Sit down, Pete. We should talk."

Pete sat in a chair facing Jo, but a bit of a distance away from her. "About what? I cheated on you, and you're kicking me to the curb. What else is there to discuss?"

"Pete, you and I both know it isn't that simple."

"Is this about legal stuff? I'll pay alimony, no fight," Pete said.

"What? No! I don't want your money, Pete. This isn't about that. I wanted…I want us to be honest with each other, at least in this." Jo took a deep breath, then let it out slowly. "I wasn't completely faithful to you either." Pete started to speak, but Jo quickly added, "It was only one man. And…and it was fairly recently."

"Oh." Pete looked away. "Do you love him?"

"Yes. I do."

Pete glanced up just long enough for Jo to see the pain in his eyes before he looked away again. "Are you going to be with him now?"

"No," Jo replied, pushing back the tears that sprung to her eyes.

Pete pushed his hair back from his face. "I guess we really made a mess of this marriage, didn't we?"

"Yeah, I guess we did."

"Do you hate me, Jo?"

Jo thought about that question for a moment. Did she hate Pete? "No. It hurts that you felt like you could get something from those women that you couldn't get from me, but I don't hate you. We've been having problems for a long time. Some of them were your fault, some of them were mine. You were right when you said I always held back with you. I didn't mean to, but I did anyway."

"I am sorry," Pete said again. "For everything. I know I put you through a lot over the past few years."

"We married too young," Jo replied. "We weren't ready for this, hadn't lived enough to decide what we wanted out of life. And you were also right, when you said he shadowed this marriage, just not in the way you thought. I wasn't distant with you because I wanted him. After that relationship, I was scared, worried what would happen if I let myself lose control with you the way I did with him. I thought that if I didn't, maybe I wouldn't get hurt. Looks like that plan backfired, huh?"

"I guess there's no way we can start fresh from here, is there?" Pete asked. "Give it a better shot this time…"

"No. I'm sorry, I just don't…love you enough for that. It'll be better for both of us if we just throw in the towel now."

"I know. I just figured it was worth a shot to ask. Um, there is one thing I wanted to discuss with you, though."

"What's that?"

"Stacey. I know you said you didn't want money from me, but I want to keep paying her tuition. Stacey means a lot to me, and I can't stand the thought of her suffering because of my mistakes."

"Our mistakes. But yeah, you can do that. Stace…will appreciate it."

Pete nodded. "I am sorry, Jo."

"I know. Me, too."

Pete stood, giving Jo a soft, chaste kiss before going to the bedroom to pack.