He came into the kitchen and began putting away groceries, pretending that nothing was wrong. He could now dismiss the presence of his friend from their home. Having returned from business, he no longer needed the abilities of said friend, who’d graciously promised to “take care of” his lover. The same one now sitting in the other room, fly half-done, lips puffy red.
His mind recalled passionate love-making. That careful, favored position requiring ardent force, the application of which now lay evident underneath the stuble of day-old beard upon his lover’s cheek. That all-too-familiar, checkered pattern of their headboard.