Page 29 of Temptation

“Huh. I wonder if that's why they have an agreement. Like this is fun and great, but I won't leave my wife, so don't even ask.” Tenn rubbed his jaw thoughtfully as he headed toward the cafe he had chosen for breakfast.

“That's what I think too.” She nodded in agreement. “Which is also ridiculous. An affair would be more likely to trigger my eating issues than him leaving, but I guess it’s whatever he tells himself to justify it.”

“Still being selfish though, it's about him not wanting to deal with his guilt more than it is about what he's doing and how you would feel if you found out.”

“Exactly.” Quinn nodded emphatically. “If he were really worried about me, he would end the affair, but he's not.” She went on to give him a basic rundown of the conversation. “So now he knows he has until June first, or he's getting a thirty-day eviction notice and divorce papers.” She concluded. “Then, when I went to leave the room, he grabbed my hand and just said “Stay” really quietly, like I was supposed to just fucking cuddle with him and has the gall to say I'm not giving him much incentive when I said no thanks! Like it's my fault he started fucking another woman!” She put her face in her hands. “I'm not crazy, right? That was messed up.”

“No.” Tenn chuckled sympathetically and reached for her hand. “You're not crazy, but remember, they don't know we know, so now they're trying to damage control. But what I took from all that is he doesn't want to leave you because of guilt, and he doesn't want you to leave because he's gonna have to become a better car salesman.”

Quinn laughed. “That’s true! What happened with Viki?”

Tenn smirked. “Well, I started by telling her about us walking in on Joel and kinda directly but indirectly made fun of her. Now, I need to preface this by saying she has this habit of leaving her clothes everywhere, clean, dirty, whatever. She would leave them in piles if I didn't fold and put them away or hang them up. I skipped my workout yesterday morning and spent an hour cleaning the bedroom, so when I walked in and saw the room in a mess again, I lost my temper. I went to the kitchen, grabbed some garbage bags, and began throwing her stuff in them and throwing them over to the spare room. This morning, she said I overreacted, and I explained my reasons... and may have told her she should get her yeast infection checked.” He snorted with laughter.

“Yeast infection?” Quinn tilted her head at him. “What do you mean?”

“I had to pick up her dirty underwear,” Tenn said by way of explanation.

“Oh. OH! Oh, my god!” Quinn gagged as she put together what he was trying to tell her. “Tell me you wore gloves!”

“I picked them up by the waistband and washed my hands really well afterward.” He assured her. “Still totally fucked with my day that I handled my wife's underwear with another man's cum in them.”

“I'm so glad Joel's been insisting on doing his own laundry.” She looked faintly nauseous, and Tenn laughed as he pulled up to the Lighthouse Cafe.

“I also told her about bowling. She hasn't said yes or no though.”

“Neither did Joel.” They went inside, and once they were seated, they slipped into a conversation about university and their hobbies, both of them deciding without saying it that they had discussed their cheating spouses enough.

“I like to travel around and take pictures of historical architecture. I'm planning a trip to Quebec City over the summer; it's one of the oldest European settlements in North America, the oldest French settlement, and the only fortified city with the walls still intact.” Tenn enthused. “Not to mention it's stunning. Then I drive to St. John, New Brunswick, the oldest incorporated city, and then take the ferry to Newfoundland and visit St. John's, the oldest city.”

“That sounds incredible.” Quinn sighed. “I've only gotten to travel to places where big car shows are happening. Of course, I always do my own thing while there, but I've been all over the US and a few European countries and did everything as a solo tourist.”

“You should come with me. As long as you can handle lots of walking and me going on about architecture, I'd be happy to take you places you want to go and listen to you tell me all about it. I've always done the solo tourist thing too.” Tenn mentally froze after he finished speaking. Did he seriously just invite her on his vacation after knowing her for less than a week? Was he losing his mind? He admitted to himself that he did want her to come, but this was way too early to ask… unless she wanted to, of course.

Quinn bit her lower lip as she contemplated the offer. “That's insanely tempting.”

“The invitation is there. I'm planning to leave August first and come back September first.” He shrugged nonchalantly. “And it'll be a mixture of hotels and camping.”

“A whole month?” Quinn's eyes widened, and Tenn felt a shiver of disappointment. She was going to say no. He nodded reluctantly.

“Yeah, I want a week in each city, and then there's travel time between them. It's about a day's drive between Quebec City and St. John and two days between St. John and St. John's, plus allowing for distractions and side trips.”

“What am I going to do without you for a month?” Quinn pouted, and Tenn chuckled in relief. She may not have said yes, but she hadn’t said no either. He’d take it.

“That's why I said you could come with me.”

Chapter Fifteen: Cameras Everywhere

Tenn and Quinn left the Cafe and went to an electronics store nearby to buy the cameras. There, they discussed the pros and cons of hiding them vs. putting them out in the open. “Where are you putting them?” Quinn stood in front of a display to the left of Tenn, looking for something small and unobtrusive while he looked at the more obvious ones.

“Pretty much everywhere except the spare room, her “Zen” room, and the bathrooms. I also have a pretty expensive gaming setup I don't want her to destroy, so outside of her claiming I hit her; this is also to protect my things. She tends to throw tantrums when upset, and I may have cut her off from my accounts and credit cards last night.” He rubbed the back of his head. “I'm not sure where the law sits on the whole hidden camera thing if it's my home.”

A salesman heard their conversation and came over. “If they capture audio, you have to make people aware of them; if they don't, they can be hidden. In your case, I suggest capturing audio and making her aware of them. It might make her behave and not put you in the situation at all.” He smiled sympathetically. “Sorry, I couldn’t help but overhear. The laws in Massachusetts are straightforward though, as long as they’re made aware of the cameras and continue to stay in the residence or business, they’re consenting to be recorded. But you should also be aware that while it's not a thing yet, they’re working on making revenge porn illegal here, so that could cause problems down the road if you have them in bedrooms or bathrooms.

“True, thanks, that’s really helpful.” Tenn nodded. “If she doesn't like it, she knows where the door is. Not that she'd use it. And the only bedroom that will have a camera is mine, just until she moves out. I wouldn’t put them in the bathrooms anyway.” He consulted his notes. “I'm going to need fifteen cameras, please.” When he paid, and they were out in the car to go to the hardware store, Quinn smiled at him.

“You game?”

“Yeah. Mostly things that involve world exploring and quests I can play by myself and get into.” Tenn nodded and smiled a little sheepishly. “I’m not athletic at all. Del got me into weightlifting in high school. I enjoyed it and have been lifting ever since, but I was your typical introverted, nerdy gamer.”

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