Most people are able to go on with their lives after a break-up, but I missed him. I was supposed to be happy and 'so over it'. But I lay in my bed, miserable, wondering what he's doing and whom he might be with. This was not my usual post-breakup attitude, but I'd never been in such a good relationship as I was. I'm usually on to the next guy at the next party, acting like I was never had a boyfriend in my life. But I reversed when it came to John.
I really loved that man, and I thought that he didn't love me back. So I ultimately decided to let him go. And oh, was he upset. I can remember the sadness that I had to endure upon him leaving, and it was more like me forcing him out. We had argued for about two hours, pretty much his argument being better than mine, but I stood my ground. I wasn't listening, just trying to push him out. The last thing that he said to me was, "I'm going to come back for you, whether you like it or not," before walking away. I haven't heard or seen from him since.
And now that I realized how wrong I was to let him go, there wasn't an immediate next party or a next guy. It was just the next day after day of lurching around trying to find reason to even step outside. Even though I ripped up a lot of pictures of him and I, I didn't get rid of them all. I found myself staring at them everyday, putting them in a secret drawer where no one would suspect that I would never be ready to let him go.
I managed to pull it together and start dating a guy named Lane. He was almost everything that John was, and I had to bite my tongue various times to prevent myself from starting the 'X-talk'. We slept together once, and it was a nice time, but I couldn't get John out of my head. Asking my friends for advice wasn't going to help. If I was going to let him out, mind and soul, I had to do it alone. But I didn't want to do that.
Preparing for my next date with Lane, I put on my little black dress. I remember I wore this when John and I first went out, and he loved it. In fact, he said that when I wore the dress that he'd never seen a woman so beautiful. I batted my eyelashes quickly, trying not to cry or I'd have streaked makeup on my face. Just as I finished up, I heard my cell phone go off. I scurried into the bedroom to pick it up.
"Hello?"
"Hey, it's Lane."
"Oh, hey! Still coming by?"
"Unfortunately, no, I can't make it. Family emergency."
"I'm sorry to hear that. Well, have a good night, and I hope everything is okay."
"Thanks. Talk to you later."
"Bye."
"Bye." I said, hanging up. Well, my night was shot. I heard the doorbell ring and turned to look at it. Maybe it was a joke and Lane was really here. I went over to the door and opened it, my smile turning to an awkward stare when John appeared in my doorway.
"Oh...hi John..."
"Hey there, babe. Looking quite beautiful tonight...how did you know I was coming over?" he said, walking inside. I rolled my eyes and closed the door, pressing my back up against it. Watching him, he was wearing his usual, a t-shirt and jeans with sneakers. He never changed his short brown hair, and he wore the same cologne that I loved. He started to pace behind my chair.
"I didn't. I was waiting on my date, but he just called and said he couldn't make it."
"Oh, bummer...I've seen you two at Joe's Restaurant about a week ago. You seem to really like him." He said, seated on the couch and looking at me. I just got this awful feeling from what his eyes were saying to me, "You don't really like the guy". I moved to the lounge chair across from the couch and sat, kicking off my shoes and crossing my legs.