White On White

by Jade Ring

First published

Accompanying Twilight and her friends to a mountain-top cabin, Shining Armor finds comfort from his fiancee's betrayal in an unlikely source.

Shining Armor travels with his sister and her friends to the family cabin up in the mountains for an early graduation gift. He should be having a great time, but the knowledge of a recent betrayal by one he loves most is weighing heavily on his mind. Unable to sleep, he heads for the hot tub late at night to soak and seek comfort from the world.

But comfort may come from the most unlikely of places; his sister's fashion obsessed friend.

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Written for Dirty Little Secret's Dirty Little Contest... AND THE WINNER of said contest!

White On White

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Shining Armor sank into the steam, relishing the feeling of his flesh crossing the boundary between freezing air and warm water. He lowered himself to his neck in the hot tub and inhaled the smell of heat and chlorine, letting the bubbling water caresses his tense muscles. This was exactly what he needed, exactly what he’d been waiting all day for. Now the sun was down, his sister and her friends had long since retired for the evening, and he was all alone with nary a care in the world. The only thing missing was Cad…

He dunked his head under the water, trying to stifle that line of thinking before it got too far along. That was exactly what he didn’t need right now. He didn’t need to think about how Cadance had declined the offer to join him in taking Twilight and the others up to their family’s cabin for an early graduation present. He didn’t need to think about the text he’d seen arrive on her phone while he sat and waited for her to finish showering. He didn’t need to think about the chat log, and the pictures, and the…

He did need to breathe, however.

His head popped from the water like a cork and he took a great gulp of cold air before settling back against the wall of the tub, positioning himself against a jet for maximum relaxation. He closed his eyes and sighed.

“Room for one more?”

One eye opened slowly, and Shining Armor found one of Twilight’s friends standing beside the tub, lightly shivering in the mountain air despite the full length robe she wore. She was the one obsessed with fashion, he recalled. Pinkie Pie? No. Something that started with and ‘R.’ Oh, this was dumb. Hadn’t he known these girls for years? The name clicked in his mind and he smiled. “Couldn’t sleep either, Rarity?”

The teenage fashionista returned the smile, her purple hair tied up in a perfect bun to keep it out of the water. “I’ve never slept well when I’m away from home. My mother has a particular detergent she uses on the sheets and, unless I’m completely exhausted, I can’t sleep without them.” She tilted her head in the direction of the hot tub. “Now, may I join you? Or would you like to explain my frozen corpse to your sister in the morning?”

Shining Armor gestured at the bubbling water. “Come on in.”

She shrugged off the robe, and Shining Armor barely repressed a gasp when he beheld her naked form. A quick second look confirmed that this was simply an illusion. The young woman’s bikini was nearly the same shade of white as her skin. She stepped into the tub and lowered herself quickly, cooing as the heat overtook the cold on her body. “Much better.” She settled along the wall on Shining Armor’s left and found a jet of her own. She sighed as she fully relaxed. “I can’t thank you enough for agreeing to come up on this trip with us, darling. It’s been delightful so far.”

“I was planning on coming up anyway.” Shining Armor cupped hot water in his hands and splashed it into his face. “Sometimes you feel like getting away from it all, y’know?”

“Indeed.” She paused, bit her lip. “I don’t mean to pry…”

“Go ahead.”

“Well… were you planning on coming up here alone? I mean, I’m sure your fiancée would…” She trailed off at the conflicted look on Shining Armor’s face. “I’m sorry. It’s none of my…”

“It’s fine. Cadance and I were planning on coming up, but plans got changed and she had to take care of some things at home. It’s not a huge deal.”

“And she still refused? Even after you found out that we seven would be accompanying you?”

“Yup.”

Rarity smirked. “She must really trust you.” She saw the questioning look on Shining Armor’s face and giggled. “I’m just saying that if my paramour announced his intention to spend a week in a secluded mountain cabin with six ravishing young ladies, I’d make other arrangements post-haste.”

Shining Armor chuckled. “You’d think that, wouldn’t you? Nah; Cadance knows that I’d never do something untoward towards any of Twilight’s friends.”

“Well, that’s a pity.” Rarity muttered.

“What was that?”

“Nothing. Simply remarking on how peaceful it is up here.” She leaned back against the wall and looked into the sky. “You never see this many stars in the city.”

Shining Armor went to follow her gaze, but his eyes were diverted by the young woman’s generous cleavage that now had risen from the bubbling water. In the steamy air, it was difficult to see the line where breast ended and nylon began. Only the lack of pink in the center of each mound gave away the answer. He swallowed hard. The water had already made him feel slightly light headed, but as the blood rushed to another part of him, he came dangerously close to swooning.

“Enjoying the view, darling?”

His eyes snapped to hers. She was smirking again, and he knew that he’d been caught. “Sorry.”

“No apology necessary.” She cupped her breasts and gave them a slight squeeze. “I’m quite used to the male gaze by now.” She slipped back into her relaxed position and slid beneath the water up to her neck. “In your case, I’m flattered that someone engaged to Headmistress Cadance finds me even remotely attractive in comparison to her.”

At the mention of Cadance’s name, Shining Armor felt his shoulders slump. “Yeah, she’s really something.”

“You two are an amazing couple, by the way. You simply must let me design something for the wedding.” She gasped and turned sharply to look at him. “Has she picked out a dress yet? Because if not, I have a few sketches that I think she’d really…”

“She’s cheating on me.” The words were out before he could stop them. “That’s why she didn’t come. Because she’s seeing him. The other guy.”

Rarity gaped at him. “Surely you’re mistaken!”

“I read her texts. They hooked up a couple months ago at an education convention.” The words came pouring out now, spraying like a broken faucet. “They’ve only texted since then, but he’s coming into town this week and they’ve got… they’ve got plans.” He clenched his fists under the water. “I know Cadance has needs, and she’s told me before that I’m the first monogamous relationship she’s ever had, but the fact that she didn’t even tell me…”

He felt a feather light touch on his shoulder and looked over to find that Rarity had moved to his side. “I’m sorry.” She said.

“You’ve got nothing to be sorry about. You’re not the one fucking around behind my back.” He exhaled heavily. “I just can’t figure out where I fucked up, y’know? What wasn’t she getting from me that she had to go behind my back to get? Am I not good enough for her? Is there something about me that…”

“Stop that right now.” She admonished him. “There’s nothing wrong with you. You’re handsome, you’re kind, and…” Her eyes flicked down his exposed chest. “And you’re built like an ancient god...” She trailed off, cleared her throat, and shook her head. “Perhaps it’s simply about the thrill for her. That’s all I can think of.”

“I just don’t know what to do.” He put his face in his hands. “Do I confront her about it? Do I just break things off?”

“Do you want to?”

“…No. I love her. I still love her. I just don’t know if I can trust her anymore. Not with this secret between us.”

“Well, in that case…” Rarity’s voice was closer. “I might have a suggestion.”

He lowered his hands and turned to her. “I’m open to any…” He stopped when he saw how close her face was to his. She was peering at him intently. Her blazing blue eyes stared at him, her alabaster skin flush from the heat. Her body was closer too, her breasts mere inches from his arm.

“You say you don’t know how to trust her with this secret between the two of you.” She bit her bottom lip. “What if… what if you had a secret, too?”

He kissed her before he could stop himself. It seemed the natural thing to do. She reciprocated instantly, eagerly sliding her tongue against his and pulling her body against his arm. He turned and grabbed her shoulders, kneading them as the kiss deepened, lengthened. Her hands found his knees and slid up the legs of his swimsuit, tenderly running her nails against the sensitive skin she found there.

When one hand slid further up and brushed his erection, Shining Armor’s rational mind broke through. He broke the kiss and shook his head quickly. “Rarity, we can’t.”

“Oh, I don’t know.” She licked her lips, savoring the taste of him as her hand once again brushed against him. “I think we can.”

“No, I mean we can’t because you’re…”

“I turned eighteen two weeks ago, darling.” She rubbed her nose against his and caressed his net-enclosed member with one finger. “And, truth be told, I’ve had my eye on you since Twilight introduced us.”

Shining Armor shivered at her touch, his defenses crumbling one by one. “Have you ever…?”

She laughed throatily, her lips now planting small kisses on his face. Now it was two fingers slowly, sensuously, torturously stroking him. “I’m flattered, but yes. A few times, in point of fact. But always with boys my own age.” She emphasized the word ‘boys’ as she added another finger. “You’d be my first real man, if that’s any consolation.”

Shining Armor, who had been hoping that he wasn’t about to deflower one of his little sister’s barely legal best friends in the family hot tub, gritted his teeth as a fourth finger and a thumb encircled his cock. “Just a secret? Between us?”

“Between us and the stars, darling.” She stroked him, her touch feather light and ironclad all at the same time.

This time it was she who kissed him, and his last resistance floated away on the steam that surrounded them. Shining Armor’s hands found her hips and drew her into his lap without even breaking their lips apart.

Rarity’s surprised squeak became a throaty moan as their swimsuit enclosed crotches ground together beneath the water. Her arms wrapped about his neck, her fingers tangling themselves in his lovely blue hair. She broke the kiss and pulled his face to her neck, panting as a new delicious heat began to fill her body.

Shining Armor kissed down to the hollow of her throat. One of his hands came away from her hips and yanked one cup of her top to the side, exposing her ivory breast to the open air. He took the pert, pink, perfect nipple into his mouth and lavished it with his tongue, very much enjoying the panting moans from the young woman in his arms.

Rarity pulled him away and claimed his mouth once again, punctuating each longer kiss with a shorter one, like a signature. She moaned appreciatively when his hand cupped her breast and kneaded the soft flesh, his thumb rolling her nipple and ensuring that the chill in the air was kept at bay by his heat. She sighed when his other hand moved down her hip and slipped into the nylon bottoms, grasping and caressing what he found there.

Shining Armor’s fingers slid along the division of Rarity’s legs and found a new, slicker wetness quite distinct from the hot water that surrounded them. He pushed off the wall and propelled them across the tub to the opposite side, breaking the kiss so he could move down as he lifted her lower half from the water.

“Please…” Rarity panted, her arms holding her aloft in the bubbling water. “Not too far. It’s so cold…”

Shining Armor hoisted her legs onto his shoulders and looked up at her. “I’ve never been hotter.” He reached for her bottoms and pulled them to the side, exposing her soaked pussy to the night air, crowned with a perfectly trimmed patch of purple. He dove in at once, her small cry all the confirmation needed that he was doing alright. He ate her with gusto, savoring the musky tang just as much he savored her cries and moans. As her body floated in the water, his hands were free to travel back up her chest, caressing her stomach and grasping breasts, the covered and the uncovered both. His tongue found the delicate bump as it slid from its hood and he drew it into his mouth, circling it rapidly with his tongue.

Rarity had to put her hand over her mouth to stifle the cry when he found her clit. She ground herself against his face, relishing the wondrous friction that accompanied his face between her thighs. She wanted to say so many things, so many deliciously dirty things, all the things she’d whispered to herself on the nights when she’d imagined him just like this; baptizing himself in her essence. But try as she might, all she could do was moan and cry out. The words wouldn’t come.

But she did.

Her breath hitched as the orgasm raced through her, and she nearly had an aftershock when she heard, or rather felt, his groan as he lapped up her cum like some exotic dessert. The combination of the orgasm with the heat of the tub was making her light-headed, and she reached down to grasp his hair and tug her away from his meal.

Shining Armor stared up at her and saw how the heat had brought a flush to her ivory skin. He was hard, harder than he’d been in months. The various taboos of the situation, coupled with the sheer hotness of the woman on whom he’d just been dining on, had gotten his engine revving hotter than he’d been in quite a while. Part of him simply wanted to yank out his cock and plunge it into her, but she’d pulled him away for a reason. “What? Is something wrong?”

Rarity shook her head, her chest heaving. “No. But if you’re going to fuck me properly I’d rather go somewhere more private.” She smiled, panting between words. “Wouldn’t be much of a secret if the others were to walk in on us, would it?” She watched as he nodded and stood, and when she saw the bulge in his trunks she nearly snatched them down and swallowed him whole right there. Instead she stood on wobbly legs and headed for the door, grabbing her robe from the deck and waiting as he turned off the tub.

He came up behind her and held her, their body heats chasing off the cold for the moment. “Where? Your room?”

“And smell like chlorine all night?” She sniffed indignantly before looking back at him and winking. “I think we need a shower first.”

They entered the cabin through the sliding glass door and hurried quickly, but quietly, to the large bathroom at the end of the hall. They entered, and Rarity raced to the shower and started the hot water as fast as she could. The cabin’s heat was cranked up, but the freezing night air clung to their skin. The sooner they were back under hot water, the better. The shower head began spraying just as she heard Shining Armor shut the door, and she practically dove into the tub and sighed when the steam of the overhead waterfall nozzle rained blessed heat down upon her.

Shining Armor stepped into the tub and yanked the curtain closed behind him. Without another word, he took the younger woman in his arms and kissed her deeply. She moaned into his lips, and for the first time her hands began to explore on their own. She admired the hardness in his shoulders and chest, and she reflected on just how many times she’d fantasized about having that alabaster body under her tongue. Her hands reached the waistband of his trunks and slid them down just far enough that his hardness could pop out. She took him in her hand and he groaned into the kiss. She broke away and settled quickly on her knees, taking his dick in her mouth without further pretext.

The heat of her mouth quickly chased away the last lingering cold from his wet swimsuit, and Shining Armor gasped as she began to bob in earnest, her tongue rolling in her circles around his sensitive head. He swallowed hard when he looked down, his hands quickly settling in her hair.

She froze when she felt the contact, then pulled off his cock and looked up at him, nearly annoyed. “I don’t let my partners touch my hair.” She warned. “No exceptions.”

“Uh, sorry.” He chuckled. “Wasn’t sure if you preferred hover hands or…”

“Well I don’t want you to fuck my mouth, I can tell you that much.”

“…Do you have any idea how hot it is when you curse with that accent?”

“I’ve been told.” She smirked, her hand resuming what her mouth had been doing. “If you must do something with your hands, then you can untie my bun. Is that good enough?”

He nodded, willing to agree to most anything so long as it got his dick back in her mouth.

“Wonderful. Now; where was I? Ah yes.” She licked her lips and ran her tongue over the tip. “I was becoming familiar with this big, hard, beautiful cock of yours.” She took him in once again, her fingernails tracing down his thighs and grabbing at the firm muscles.

He reached down and carefully undid the bun, letting her purple tresses fall across her shoulders as the water began to soak in and matte them to her skin. He bent slightly so he could rub her shoulders and the back of her neck. She made a noise of encouragement, so he began to massage as best as he was able. All the while, he was receiving one of the very best blowjobs of his entire life. Each bob of Rarity’s head brought just a bit more of him into her mouth. She pulled away to catch her breath, pumping him with one hand while she licked him from base to tip. Before he knew it, she was back to work; the familiar wet slurping sounds of oral blending in with the spray of the shower.

Rarity was lost in the taste of the white rod in her mouth. It pulsed against her tongue as her hands continued to rub the older man’s thighs. She reached back and grasped at his toned ass, the solidness of his muscles making her wetter than the damn hot tub or shower. She pulled away and licked at his balls, very nearly nuzzling them as she continued her oral assault. She felt his hands find the string of her top and pull the knot apart. She pulled away from him just long enough to fully remove the bikini top before she set back to work.

Shining Armor’s hands clasped Rarity’s shoulders. He could cum right then and there, but he didn’t want to wait for any kind of refractory period before feeling what the inside of that perfect little pussy felt like. Reluctantly, he tugged her up to her feet and pushed her against the shower wall. They kissed hungrily as the hot water rained down on them, their white skin practically melting together and making them one. His hands cupped her breasts and massaged them, then slid down her sides to the strings of her bikini bottoms and yanked the knots loose, letting the soaking fabric fall to the shower floor with a wet slap. He pushed his cock against her core, feeling the burning wetness there, and broke the kiss so he could put his forehead to hers. “C…condom?”

She shook her head. “No time. I need you inside me right now. Just tell me when you’re about to… AH!” She didn’t finish the sentence before she was hoisted up by those muscular arms. Her legs wrapped themselves around his waist almost on instinct and her arms encircled his neck and pulled him into another burning kiss.

Holding her aloft with one arm, his other hand reached down to grasp himself and positioned his tip at her entrance. They held their breath, meaning to savor the moment of joining…

The bathroom door opened.

The two froze, looks of horror frozen on their faces.

Someone yawned as they walked across the floor and sat on the nearby toilet.

You didn’t lock the door?!’ Rarity mouthed incredulously.

‘I forgot.’ He mouthed back, smiling in embarrassment.

They held still while the room’s new occupant did her business. When the trickle faded, a voice that made both shower patron’s blood run cold asked, “Who’s in the shower?”

Rarity’s eye twitched. “Uh, it’s just me, Twilight. Just taking a late night shower. Alone.”

‘Smooth.’

‘Shut up.’

“Showering? It’s the middle of the night. Are you okay?”

Rarity swallowed hard. Whether it was the intense state of arousal or the fear of being caught, Shining Armor was still rock hard and poking at her. “N-never better.” Her voice cracked. “Just couldn’t sleep. Showers relax me. I’ve told you that.”

“You have?”

“Several times.” She bit her lip and cut her eyes at the shower curtain. “I’ll be off to bed shortly. Don’t you worry about me.” Her eyes widened. “And don’t flush.”

“…Rarity, that’s gross.”

“If you flush then I’ll be doused in cold water and then something will be very wrong with me.”

Shining Armor clenched in horror at the thought of a sudden blast of cold water revealing his dalliance with one of Twilight’s best friends.

“Alright. Just flush it before you go back to bed.”

“Cross my heart, hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye.” She rolled her eyes at Shining Armor’s questioning look. ‘It’s a magical pony thing.’

‘…a what?’

‘Unscheduled trip to another world a few vacations ago.’ Rarity waited until she heard the door shut before she chanced a glance out the edge of the curtain. “Alright, she’s gone. Do you need a moment tooooo…” Her questioned faded to a drawn out coo as Shining Armor finished pushing himself inside her. “Oh, that’s lovely…”

“You’re so wet…” He moaned as he bottomed out. “Did almost getting caught turn you on that much?”

“You’re… ah! You’re one to talk.” Her breath hitched as Shining Armor began to make small, slow thrusts. “I think you’ve gotten harder…”

“You know we’re on a time limit now, right?”

She raised an eyebrow. “How so?”

“Twilight won’t go back to sleep until she hears the toilet flush.”

“…You’re joking.”

“Nope. She can’t stand leaving an unflushed toilet. If we take too long, she’ll come back.”

Rarity pouted. “Well, that’s disappointing. I was rather looking forward to you taking me against this wall. Oh well, nothing for it.” She gave his chest a light shove. “Let me down, please.”

Shining Armor gaped as he did what she asked, wincing as his sword was ejected from its newly found sheath. “What about…” This time it was his words that died in his mouth.

Rarity bent at the waist, putting her hands flat on the wall of the shower. She tossed her wet hair back over her shoulder and gave him a look that could have melted steel. “You have… five minutes. And if you can fuck me like I’ve never been fucked before in that time, then you can use me whenever and wherever you want for the duration of this vacation.”

Shining Armor took in the elegant curve of her alabaster back, down to the roundness of her ass. He cleared his throat. “Five minutes?”

She reached back with one hand and pulled one cheek aside, revealing her very pink and very wet pussy. “Timer’s already running.”

It took less than five seconds for Shining Armor to step up, position his cock, and plunge wholly into her waiting depths. Rarity gasped as she was filled both more roughly and quickly than she’d anticipated, but she recovered quickly. Being fucked properly tended to do that. His hands grasped her hips as he started to piston himself into her. “Fuck me, you’re tight…”

“Tighter than her?”

The mention of Cadance should have brought a rush of guilt, a parade of second thoughts. Instead, a sort of rage filled him. “Don’t talk about her.”

“That’s a yes.” Rarity moaned, the slap of his thighs on her ass sending splashes of water against the wall. “Do you think he’s fucking her like this? Do you think he’s asking her if he’s bigger than…”

“Shut up!” His grip on her hips tightened and he punctuated each word with a harder thrust.

“And if I don’t? What, ah, are you going to do?”

Without missing a thrust, he raised his hand and brought it down on her ass with a stinging slap.

Rarity cried out at the spank and looked back. “Oh, have I been bad? If I keep… k-keep talking about her, are you going to spank me again?” When he did just that, she cried out again and grinned back at him savagely. “That’s it. Give it to me. Spank me, fuck me… give me all of it!”

He groaned as he started fucking her harder, hypnotized as her ass rippled under his assault. He spanked her again and found he was now quite addicted to the noise she made every time he did so. “You like getting fucked by a real man?” He asked, punctuating the question with another loud spank.

“I love it!” Her hands were once again flat on the wall and she was pushing back against him, fucking him back in time with his thrusts.

“I’ve ruined men your own age, haven’t I? None of them will ever be able to fuck you like this, will they?”

She shook her head, nearly beyond words now. Her lip was nearly bleeding from how hard she was biting it to keep her screams at bay.

“Are you sorry for talking about her?” He asked. When she didn’t immediately answer, he spanked her again. “I asked you if you were sorry.” When she didn’t say anything again, he slowed his thrusts to a standstill but kept his cock buried in her. “Well, if you don’t want to answer…”

“Yes! Yes, I’m sorry!” She pushed back against him in desperation. “I’ll say anything you want, just don’t stop fucking me!”

He smirked. Like that was going to happen… “Say you’re sorry for talking about her.”

“I’m sorry I talked about her.”

He rewarded her with a single thrust and she gasped. “Now tell me that I’m the best you’ve ever had.”

“You! Are!” He thrust each time she spoke a word. “The! Best!” Before he could say anything else, she looked back at him with wide eyes. “You’re the best I’ve ever had, Shining Armor. I’ve loved you from the moment I saw you, and any woman who would choose another over you is a fool.”

They stayed that way for a moment, simply staring at one another. They panted beneath the spray of the shower, their white skin flushed red. Blue eyes locked onto blue eyes.

White on white. Blue on blue.

And together, they began to move.

He pounded into her from behind, and she met each of his thrusts in perfect time. They didn’t speak, they didn’t break eye contact. Shining Armor’s mouth fell open as he fucked her, her rapidly fluxing inner muscles coaxing him towards the inevitable. His hands held tight against her waist, grasping her so tightly he was sure he might break her. Rarity wanted desperately to say something, but no thoughts would form. Her whole world was the cock inside her, the balls smacking into her clit with every thrust…

And words did come. Words she’d never uttered to any other man she’d taken to bed.

“Pull my hair.” She ordered.

Shining Armor reached out, grabbed a length of long hair close to her scalp, and pulled.

And Rarity came.

It was beyond moaning, beyond screaming. She simply shook and convulsed as he pulled on her hair and plowed into her over and over again. She’d never come like this before, and she doubted she ever would again. Lights danced in her vision and she gasped in the hot air like a fish pulled from the ocean. She clamped down on Shining Armor like a vice.

Shining Armor felt her finish and realized he was nearly to the breaking point. “Where… where do you…” But suddenly the heat, the tightness, around his cock was gone. He looked and found Rarity, looking woozy but elated, on her knees before him. Both hands were wrapped around his cock. She began to pump, and gave the tip the tiniest kiss.

Shining Armor’s legs nearly gave out as he came, his balls emptying spurt after spurt of white onto Rarity’s waiting face. He groaned as his orgasm continued, painting the young woman with pearly streaks. She released his dick and he fell back against the wall, panting heavily and light headed. He looked at her as she smiled, and he reflected on how he almost had to focus to see his cum on her, so perfect was the mixing of whites.

She winked and leaned forward, letting the shower water rinse her face. “It probably doesn’t mean much, but you’re also the first man I’ve ever let do that.”

“Pull you… pull your hair?” He panted.

“And finish on my face.” She rubbed her hands on her porcelain face to ensure it was clean. “I don’t really see the appeal.”

“You should see it from my point of view.”

They laughed, and they helped each other to stand. They quickly washed one another, turned off the water, and stepped out to dry off. They froze for a moment when they heard a door open down the hall, but Rarity thought quickly and flushed the toilet in one fluid movement.

The door shut once more.

The two shared another laugh before they resumed toweling off. “You needed that, I think.” Rarity observed, drying her hair.

“I did. Thank you. And I’m sorry for getting so…”

She cut him off with a finger to his lips. “That was what you needed. Trust me; sometimes you need to work out those frustrations.”

Unconsciously, he kissed the tip of her finger. “Guess we have a secret now.”

She smiled. “We do. And if you want a few more secrets, my offer stands. Anytime, anywhere.”

“The whole rest of the vacation?”

She shrugged. “Why stop there?” She wrapped her body in a towel and turned before he could say anything. “I wasn’t lying, Shining Armor. About any of it.” She looked back with a sad smile as she opened the door. “She’s a fool.”

Shining Armor watched her go, then turned to collect their swimsuits. He deposited them in the laundry basket, checked to ensure the coast was clear, then headed back to his room.

There was a waiting text on his phone.

He read it slowly, and thought about the woman who’d sent it. About the lies she’d told him. About all their years together. About trust.

And he thought about the young woman down the hall. About what she’d confessed in the heat of the moment. About the years she’d spent waiting. About tonight.

He sat there for he didn’t know how long before he made his decision. It was obvious, really. What else could he do?

Resolute in his choice, Shining Armor started typing his response.