Darkest Shadows

26) New Orleans

"What happens in New Orleans, Stays in New Orleans."

♡

Neither Ambrose nor Athrhea remembered the ninth of August, the sixth night they were in New Orleans as part of Athrhea's recovery mission for Ambrose. She hadn't drunk alcohol since Tarver was a month old and Ambrose vowed to be sober since his addiction, somehow alcohol found its way into the cabin and they both gave in to temptation and split the bottle of wine.

They started talking while drinking and the conversation flowed from weddings to kids to marital troubles. "He does not want me to go back into the field, he is worried about triggering my Other; She is dead, She is no more and cannot come out. I do miss the fighting, it was a huge part of me before the kids and I want to go back to it, it is my passion. He does not mean harm, but he has to let me live my life too!"

"He just loves you," Ambrose hiccups. "See I'm lucky, all Jax wants to do is stay in bed, preferably with me. Naked. I think he's a sex addict."

Rhea giggles and downs the rest of the wine. "Gemini too. Men are so greedy, I mean I get tired, I work and my body after having kids is nowhere near what it used to be. Once, maybe twice is all I have right now."

"Poor Gemini, Jax, and I at least get four or five."

"Because you're not old!"

"I'm two years older than you Rhea! I don't see what the appeal is of being with a woman, Latin, and I got nowhere, I've only had Jax."

"I was with a woman in Hell, it wasn't that bad, or that may only be because she was my cousin's girlfriend and I wanted to torture her and was bored. You seriously have not been with a woman? Was Latin the only girl you have kissed?" Rhea asks semi-drunkenly.

"Yeah."

"She was nothing, she had no sex appeal whatsoever! A cactus could kiss better than her. I am the only woman Jax has ever kissed, maybe I scared him away," she laughs and props her feet in Ambrose's lap so she can lay back. "I think a part of him enjoyed it but he was too scared to dive deeper."

"I dunno, haven't had that experience."

"Wanna find out?"

"Us? Kiss?"

"Why not? You are not straight and I'm not into you; I am simply helping you."

Ambrose bites his lip in contemplation. He doesn't see the harm in it, was it really cheating on Jax if he kisses her? It's only an experiment and there is no way he'd end up with her, she wasn't his type—or any girl for that matter. "Fine. I can't promise that kissing you won't make me sick."

"Um, excuse me? Just because you don't like women doesn't mean you need to hate on me, I am a perfect example of how a woman does it, I'll be the first and the last."

"Yeah yeah, whatever Rosende."

Rhea snickers and crawls over into Ambrose's lap, she locks her arms around his neck. "I may throw up after kissing you too."

She leans down and connects their lips, it isn't like Gemini at all, where Gemini is rough Ambrose is tentative, Gemini always tastes of spice while Ambrose tastes like mint. It was supposed to be a simple kiss but neither pulled away, Ambrose settles his hands on her hips and opens his mouth for her, soon her hands find the bottom of his T-shirt, and seconds later it is on the floor as she is on her back on the couch. His lips drop to her neck as his hands wander up her shirt and caress her skin, her back arching to give him room to maneuver her shirt off, her feet lock around his waist and draws his lips back to hers, her hand reaching down and undoing the tie of his sweatpants. "What're you doing?" he asks breathlessly.

"Don't you want to know? What it's like?"

"We're drunk."

"Yeah."

"We're married."

"Yeah."

"Why do I have to do this? You feel it too, don't you?"

"The insatiable pain? Yeah. It's Ashaura and the Scorpion Man, it's our mental illnesses, they're latching onto each other. You have a connection with Gemini that is so strong in me, I'm his wife and you can't stay away from that connection. Just this once," she answers, the use of contractions showing her inebriation.

"Just this once," Ambrose repeats. He blinks and suddenly they are on a bed, naked, with Athrhea's nails digging into Ambrose's shoulders and her leg wrapped around his, their mouths hot on each other. They can't comprehend it. Ambrose just slept with his best friend's wife as Athrhea slept with her husband's best friend. As quickly as they started their experiment it ends with them passing out next to each other. They were unconscious when something compelled them to get dressed and send Ambrose to sleep in the bed while Athrhea sleeps on the couch, when they wake up separately they have no memory of what happened, and as they say, what happens in New Orleans stays in New Orleans.