Chapters tagged cheating

by JohnManTD

Chapter 1

The Sunday scaries were a real thing, but a Sunday spent elbow-deep in the ghosts of a life half-lived was a special kind of hell. Dust motes danced in the slanted afternoon light, each one a tiny particle of a past I was trying, and failing, to escape. The cupboard in my spare r...

by JohnManTD

Chapter 2

The last few days had been a blur of muted panic and obsessive curiosity. Monday morning, I’d woken up with the distinct, phantom sensation of breasts on my chest, a ghost of a memory that made my skin crawl and tingle in equal measure. I’d gone to work, the ring and the journal...

by JohnManTD

Chapter 3

The city lights blurred into streaks of red and gold as I drove, a hypnotic river of taillights that for once didn't fill me with the usual soul-crushing dread of rush hour traffic. My fingers tapped an energetic rhythm against the steering wheel, a stark contrast to the slow, op...

by JohnManTD

Chapter 4

The morning sun sliced through the blinds, casting stripes of light across the rumpled sheets and the curve of Claire’s hip. I woke to the soft weight of her head on my chest, the faint, sweet smell of her shampoo a grounding, pleasant anchor in the chaotic new reality of my life...

by JohnManTD

Chapter 5

The shower was scalding, but it was the only thing that felt like it could scrub the night from my skin. I used a ton of my mint-scented mouthwash, swishing and spitting with a vengeance, trying to erase the ghost taste of dick that lingered long after I’d taken the ring off. It...

by JohnManTD

Chapter 6

The Friday evening rush at the mall was a special kind of purgatory. The air was thick with the scent of Cinnabon and cheap perfume, a sensory that did nothing to soothe my frayed nerves. I stood in front of a rack of women’s jeans, my fingers tracing the soft, distressed...

by JohnManTD

Chapter 7

The world was a jackhammer inside my skull. I woke to the cruel, insistent slice of morning light cutting through a gap in my blinds, each photon a tiny needle piercing my brain. My mouth tasted like a brewery’s floor mat, and a low, groaning ache resonated through my entire body...

by JohnManTD

Chapter 8

The line between Alex and Alexa was becoming less of a line and more of a permeable, shimmering membrane. My life had bifurcated, split into two parallel streams that were starting to feel less like a man with a secret and more like two distinct, cohabiting entities sharing the s...

by JohnManTD

Chapter 9

“I can explain!” The words burst from my lips, a , useless shout into the hurricane of the moment. They were the four most pathetic syllables ever uttered, a flimsy shield against an apocalypse of my own making. Sarah stood pressed against the far wall of her bedroom,...

by JohnManTD

Chapter 10

1,124. It wasn't just a number etched into the side of the simple gold band resting on Dave’s coffee table. It was the sum of every debased act, every stolen kiss, every transactional fuck. It was the weight of every lie, every feigned moan, every stranger’s hot, sticky seed wip...

by JohnManTD

Chapter 11

My Friday had been, against all odds, profoundly relaxing. After the whirlwind of the past few weeks, the sheer, beautiful mundanity of a normal day was a luxury. I’d hit the gym, pushing my magically enhanced body to its limits, then, on a whim, I’d slipped on the ring in the pr...

by JohnManTD

Chapter 12

“Guys, we fucking did it!” The words burst from my lips, a triumphant, breathless shout that cut through the low thrum of the city outside my apartment window. The three of us were a chaotic, giddy mess of sweat, and the lingering, electric scent of victory. Sierra, still in he...

by JohnManTD

Chapter 13

Our new lives had snapped into place with the brutal, beautiful efficiency of a well-oiled machine. Nexus Creative was no longer a dream; it was a reality, a sprawling, sun-drenched office space on the fourteenth floor with a view that could make a man believe he was king of the...

by JohnManTD

Chapter 14

he last two weeks had been a blur of power, money, and sex, a chaotic, intoxicating symphony conducted by the three of us. Nexus Creative was a resounding success, at least on paper. Our friends and family were blown away. “Dude, I don’t get it,” one of my old college buddies, M...

by JohnManTD

Chapter 15

"Are you out of your fucking mind?!” Sarah’s voice cracked like a whip across the silent office, shattering the morning calm. She was standing in front of my desk, her hands planted on the mahogany surface, leaning in so close I could see the flecks of gold in her furious green...

by JohnManTD

Chapter 16

What followed was just utter perfection. There is no other way to describe it. My life had ascended. I was no longer just playing the game; I was the game. The rules were mine to rewrite, and the board was populated by pawns waiting to be upgraded. That night, after the argumen...

by JohnManTD

Chapter 17

“How do you do it?” The man in the grey suit, Fullerman, leaned in close. His breath smelled of stale coffee and mints. I stared right back at him, summoning every ounce of Alexa’s bravado even though my heart was hammering against my ribs like a trapped bird. “I don’t know wha...

by JohnManTD

Chapter 18

I pounded on the door. My fist hit the wood with a frantic, rhythm. I looked down at myself. I was a mess. A sweaty man standing in a hallway, breathless and sweating, wearing a purple satin slip dress that was straining at the seams of my broad shoulders. The door swu...

by JohnManTD

Chapter 19

“So it’s settled. We have a plan.” The words hung heavy in the air of the hotel room, a generic suite we’d booked under a fake name to escape the heat. It was morning now, the sun bleeding through the heavy curtains, illuminating the tired faces of my two best friends. We were b...