Regret Came Too Late

Ed opened his mouth to explain. "I....."

His voice was quiet, probably because he knew people were outside. He simply leaned in and hugged her.

Grace took his hand and led him into the bedroom. "We've got company tonight. If you don't want to see anyone, just relax here. Tell me what you're hungry for, and I'll save you some."

He was surprisingly good-natured about it and stood in the bedroom, saying, "Don't stay up too late."

Grace found that remark amusing and walked to the front door in the dark.

Outside, Yancey was staring at the door. Joanne, next to him, wasn't saying anything either. They were both dying to know who Grace's secret boyfriend was. Joanne spoke up first. "Mr. Henderson, have you ever met Grace's boyfriend?" Yancey's gaze seemed as dark as night. He reached for the doorknob and was just about to open it when Grace opened the door from the inside.

"Come on in, guys."

Joanne and Yancey clambered in together. They both looked around, but the man was nowhere to be seen. Had he really bailed to the bedroom?

Was he really that ashamed to be seen?

Yancey knew how guys usually were. If the man were good-looking, he'd be dying for Grace to show him off to everyone.

sneaking glances at the closed bedroom door every so

couldn't help

the other hand, Joanne acted normal as she pulled all the snacks

see what your man likes,

of stuff that wasn't too spicy so that Ed wouldn't get

she picked looked kind of all over the place, like she didn't really know

why don't you ask him what he's in the mood

a

quickly, "Anything's

stuff she'd

he watched how they interacted, Yancey slowly

utensils and asked casually, "Are you okane with your boyfriend

grabbed her utensils and started

do whatever he wants, I guess. As far as I can tell,

was a bit of a jab for Yancey, as he used to be

her first time dating was basically saying their relationship never