Arthur stays

"Yes, I'd love to come in for a bit" Arthur says. He walks in, and you close the door behind him. You both take a seat on the couch, and he smiles confidently at you. "I can see why Nicole wanted to have a foursome with you. You're a very beautiful woman."

"Well, thank you" you say, blushing red. Your heart skips a beat, and you can feel it racing. "That's very nice of you to say. I think you're incredibly handsome as well. If I weren't married..."

"We only invite married couples" Arthur interrupts. "She propositioned you because you are married. We prefer it that way, no strings attached, no commitments to anyone else, just good old fashioned sexual fun that spices up everyone's boring life on occasion. Nicole is also taken with you, not just James if you're wondering. She's very bisexual, and enjoys women as much as she does men."

You never would have guessed this about Nicole. You thought you knew everything there was to know about your former college roommate. "I never knew she was bisexual" you say, taken by surprise.

"Well, she talks about you a lot" Arthur reveals. "She's had a thing for you ever since college. I think that's why she did the things she did to you in college. She was never sure how to tell you how she felt about you without losing you as a friend, so she played her little games to get your attention in hopes you would see for yourself that she had genuine feelings for you. But she ended up driving you away from her more than anything, and she sees that now."

"This is all so new to me. I never knew. I didn't see the signs, and maybe I should have. Things could have been so different between us. Here I thought all the time it was her way of competing with me out of jealousy, or something." Your eyes are filled with wonder and regret. You know now you have to help Nicole, you have to find a way to salvage her friendship, and her love for you. "I'm such an idiot!"

"No more of an idiot than Nicole is, Katherine" Arthur says with a bright smile. "She's not very good at telling people how she feels, especially people she wants to keep close to her. She's always afraid of rejection, and that fear causes rejection. I've been patiently trying to help her get past it, and see it for herself."

You take Arthur's hand in yours, and smile. "You're a good man, Arthur. She deserves a good man, or a good person in her life. I think I may have just reconsidered the idea of having a foursome with you two. I think it would be fun, and I'm sure Nicole would love it. I think James will go for the idea, too. I think he's secretly had a thing for Nicole all these years. So how do we set this thing up? Should I talk to Nicole first? Or did you want to tell her?"

Arthur ponders over this before he answers you. "It might be best if you talk to her first. She doesn't even know I came here to apologize to you. Let's just keep all that a secret between us for now."

"I'll talk to her tomorrow then at school. I won't mention anything we discussed." It's then you realize you're still holding onto his hand, and you let go with another blush. "Can I get you something to drink? Coffee? Tea? Maybe a beer?"