More Than That Chapter 10: Secrets, Sex, Friends & Family(Gwen/Luis)
by Jamie Witter
 
 
 
 
 

Chapter 10: Secrets, Sex, Friends & Family

Sex without love is an empty experience. But as empty experiences go, it's pretty good.
--Woody Allen

Gwen tried to stop the wave of guilt and the feeling of terror that hit her gut as her eyes locked with her one time best friend’s amused blue gaze. Guilt because of what she had done to Ethan. Guilt because Sheridan had so much faith in Gwen to do the right thing and she couldn’t. Guilt because she had let Sheridan down and had lost the only friendship that had meant a damn thing to her. Sheridan walked closer to the table and laughed. “Gwen, you look like a deer caught in a headlight.”

Oh yes, that she was. The terror that she was feeling was because she knew that Jade and Sheridan wouldn’t let up until she revealed the name of the person she had slept with. She had caused Sheridan pain once and she wasn’t about to do it again. Opting to veer the subject away from her, she got out of her chair and embraced Sheridan. “Oh God, it’s so good to see you!”

Sheridan returned the hug. “It’s good to see you too, Gwen. It’s been too long.”

Gwen pulled away and looked at her astonished. She thought that Sheridan would be the last person on Earth to miss her. “Wow, but I – “

“Some things are better left in the past, Gwen.” Sheridan said with a warm smile. “I missed my best friend.”

Gwen caught the sob that rose in her throat and hugged Sheridan again. “I missed you too. So much.”

“Oh good God, you two are not going to start the waterworks, now are you?” Jade said, her voice teasing. Sheridan and Gwen threw her a playful glare and then sat down at the table again. The waiter came up with glasses orange juice and set them at the table. “Ladies, I took the liberty of ordering the continental breakfast.”

“Good, I’m starving.” Gwen said as she took a long, healthy sip of her orange juice.

“Yes, that’s because you had sex.” Jade replied as she took a sip. She raised an eyebrow at her friend over the rim, daring her deny the fact. After Jade gulped down her juice, she smiled. “And incredible sex too, I bet.”

Sheridan laughed. “We wouldn’t put anything less than incredible sex past you, Gwen. So who is he? Anyone we know?”

If you only knew Sheridan, Gwen thought wryly as her brain tried to come up with something to say that would quench her friend’s thirst for the truth. She flipped her hair over her shoulder and shrugged nonchalantly. “I’m not telling.”

“C’mon Gwen!” Jade said and tapped Gwen lightly on the wrist. “We have to know. We’re you’re best friends. And the job descriptions of best friends is that you have to tell them the nitty-gritty details of your sex life!”

Gwen sighed dramatically. “It’s nothing.”

“It has to be something if you’re running late and starving for breakfast.” Sheridan chimed in.

“It is just sex.” Gwen stated simply. She was determined not to reveal whom she was sleeping with. “Nothing more. So really, you don’t have to know anything.”

“Just sex, huh?” Jade said and then clucked her tongue. “Wow, that’s quite a change of pace. Considering that the last relationship you were in lasted ten years.”

“How do you know I haven’t had a relationship in the past two years?” she asked indignantly.

Sheridan clucked her tongue. “Cause you’ve been a busy girl. What with all the work a Hotchkiss Enterprises and landing up in the hospital with peptic ulcer. Really Gwen, what were you thinking?”

“I really wasn’t.” Gwen admitted, her tone sad. The waiter came with the breakfast then and as the three women dived into their food, Gwen told her friends about how she spent the past one and half years of her life and what she came to realize. “I was driven by anger and guilt and remorse and nothing and no one could stop me from just forgetting the last fifteen years of my life. It was stupid but it was kind of a purging for me, you know? It helped me realize that I didn’t need a man to live happily although it was pretty nice to be loved for a while. It was nice being Ethan Crane’s socialite girlfriend but I realized I was so much more than that.”

“Atta girl,” Jade said with a wide smile. “You can do much better than Ethan. No offense, Sher.”

“None taken. What Ethan did to Gwen was wrong and I’m not going to pretend that it wasn’t.” Sheridan answered with a wave of her hand and smiled at her friend. “It doesn’t matter now. You look happy and healthy.”

“Again, I play the you-had-incredible-sex card.” Jade teased. “Come on Gwen, just a name.”

“No,” Gwen remained adamant. She glanced at Sheridan guiltily. “It’s better that you don’t know.”

“We’ll get it out of you sooner or later Gwen,” Sheridan said as she wiped the corners of her mouth with a napkin. She folded it neatly on the table and then clapped her hands lightly. “Well since you won’t let us in on this guy who gives you incredible sex, I am going to head off. I need to run a few errands for Ivy.”

“Bye Sher,” Jade said with a wink. “Don’t get into too much trouble.”

“You know me.” Sheridan winked back. She kissed Gwen’s cheek and left the two women to themselves.

Gwen turned to Jade who was studying her intently again. “What?”

“I have this feeling that you didn’t tell us the name of this mystery guy because of Sheridan.” Jade stated. “Am I close to the truth?”

Gwen frowned. Jade Winslow had the uncanny ability to pick up extra-sensory perception at the wrong times. “Very close.”

“How close?”

“The closest.” Gwen answered. She pursed her lips together and rubbed her temples. “You got me, Jade. I didn’t let you in on anything because I don’t want to hurt Sheridan.”

“You lost me,” Jade said furrowing her brows. “How does this hurt Sheridan?”

“Because the guy you two are asking me about is someone she knows well,” Gwen answered slowly. “I really don’t know how it happened but we met in Boston and we sort of ended up in my hotel room and one thing led to another and we both agreed it was just a one time thing. But then when I came back home…I guess I just hadn’t prepared myself for the idea of seeing him again.”

“And you two fell into bed again?” Jade said and when Gwen nodded, she let out a low whistle. “Somehow, I don’t think I am ready to hear who this guy is. I am getting a weird feeling about him.”

Gwen closed her eyes. “It’s Luis.”

“Damn it, Gwen! I said I wasn’t ready!” Jade said and then rubbed her temples.

“I’m sorry, you asked.” She answered as she wrung her hands together. “I just really had to tell someone and I couldn’t very well tell Sheridan. What was I supposed to say ‘Hey, I’m sleeping with Luis because we don’t know what else to do about this weird thing between us’?”

“What weird thing?” Jade answered. “I thought you said it was just sex.”

“It is,” Gwen answered nodding her head violently. “We haven’t professed our undying love for each other or anything. And that’s the thing. I don’t want anyone, especially people who could get hurt, to know about this. It’s just sex. For me and him.”

“If that’s the way you feel,” Jade said and the reached for Gwen’s hand. “I’m not going to tell Sheridan. But when and if you ever feel the time is right, you let her know about it. You know how fatal it can be when secrets come out some other way. You invented the concept, by the way.”

“Don’t remind me,” Gwen groaned. “What do you mean when and if I’m ready?”

“These kind of things, sex pacts, they get out of hand sometimes. One or sometimes both people start to want more and it either gets nasty or turns into something deeper. If the latter happens, you might want to tell her.”

“It’s not going to turn into something deeper,” Gwen defended. “Luis and I are not the poster couple for happily ever after. It’s just sex.”

“Famous last words Gwen,” Jade said clucking her tongue. “Very famous.”

~*~ ~*~ ~*~

Luis groaned as he stepped into the living room and saw his older brother and his parents having a lively discussion. He had barely made it home from Gwen’s without his mother prying where he had been the night before and she had made him breakfast. It lay there on the coffee table, orange juice and toast – the whole nine yards. And then there was Antonio - the bane of Luis’ existence. Sensing someone at the doorway, Antonio looked up and grinned. “Good morning, Luis. Rough night?”

Luis ignored his older brother and kissed his mother’s cheek. Pilar looked at Antonio disapprovingly. “Mijo, stop badgering your brother. He is a grown man and can do what ever he wants to. And like I stated yesterday, I’d prefer to live in my illusions.”

“What illusions, Pilar?” Martin asked amused.

“That all my children are virgins and I don’t look a day over twenty-five.” Pilar answered with a smile.

Antonio and Luis cracked up as Martin leaned in to peck his wife’s cheek. “You don’t look a day over twenty-five, mi amore. To me you’re as beautiful as the day I first met you.”

Pilar blushed and then handed Luis a slice of toast. “Here Mijo, have something to eat.”

“Yeah little bro,” Antonio said as he leaned back on the sofa. “You’re going to need your strength for this chick you’ve been seeing. From what I can see, she keeps you on your toes.”

Martin and Pilar thought it wise to leave the room as their two eldest stared at each other, Antonio amused and Luis angry with some underlying embarrassment. Once they were gone, Luis sighed and sat down next to his brother on the couch. “I’ll make a deal with you. You don’t mention her in front of Mama and Papa and I’ll tell you about it.”

“Okay, I won’t say a word.” Antonio agreed as Luis took a sip of his orange juice. “So how serious is this and do I know her?”

“You’ve never seen her,” Luis answered. “But you know her.”

“Please feel free to be more vague.”

“Tony,” Luis said turning to his brother. “This isn’t an easy thing for me to talk to you about. You weren’t here when things happened and you might not understand.”

“I think that since I wasn’t here, I might be the only one who does understand.” Antonio pointed out. “Look, I just want to know who she is. I’m not going to judge you or anything.”

Luis smiled gratefully at his brother. “This woman, she’s not exactly a friend of the family’s. She has had terrible history with us and me seeing her or sleeping with her is not going to burn bridges between us. I want to keep it simple but there is so much at stake.”

“So by simple you mean purely physical?” Antonio asked and Luis nodded. “Wow, I never thought you had it in you, Luis.”

“Antonio…”

“Hey, kidding.” Antonio said with a chuckle. “Look, take it from a guy who only has purely physical relationships – things like these can be a good thing or a bad thing. It depends on how things progress.”

“What do you mean?”

“At some point, one or sometimes both people involved go in deeper.”

“That’s not going to happen with Gwen and me.” Luis rushed to assure his brother, not realizing that he gave the name away.

“Ah, so she has a name.” Antonio smiled. “Gwen, huh? You say I haven’t met her…I don’t think I know about her eith – “

Luis nodded ad understanding dawned in Antonio eyes. He looked at Luis disbelievingly. He nodded meekly. “Yeah, Gwen Hotchkiss.”

“You’re sleeping with Gwen Hotchkiss?” Antonio asked.

“Would you mind keeping it down? I don’t want Mama to have a heart attack.”

“Gwen Hotchkiss as in ex-fiancée of Ethan? Theresa’s arch nemesis? The Gwen Hotchkiss?” Antonio asked in shock. “You’ve got to be kidding me.”

“I don’t kid about stuff like this,” Luis stated gravely. “And why are you being so anal about this? I thought you said you weren’t going to judge me.”

“I’m not anal and I am not judging you, I’m just trying to make sure you aren’t insane,” he said. “If Mama or Theresa finds out about this, they’ll hit the roof.”

“That’s why no one can know.” Luis stated forcefully. “You can’t tell.”

“I’m not that stupid,” Antonio answered witheringly. “I just can’t believe it. You are the last person I expected that would get involved with Gwen Hotchkiss of all people. Purely physical you say?”

“That’s all.” Luis answered.

“Are you sure?”

“Yes.”

“When did this happen?”

“In Boston.”

“It’s been going on for six weeks?!”

“No,” Luis said running his hand through his hair. “It started in Boston and we agreed it was only a one time thing and then when she got home…well one thing led to another and we’re here.”

“Just sex?

“Yes already.”

“Hey, sometimes these things get out of hand. Believe me, I know.”

“I’ve got it covered,” Luis answered as he bit into his toast again.

“All I am saying is be careful,” Antonio advised. “You may be in way over your head with this one.”