True Love in San Francisco

Britt heard her phone ring. She stopped unpacking in her new apartment and checked to see who it was. It was her mom. She groaned and put the phone back down. She'd call her back later. She was on a roll, and she didn't want to stop to listen to her mom lecture her about living in a big city now.

She walked to the window of her tiny apartment. Ah, San Francisco, she thought, what an amazing city. Going to school here was such a great idea. She needed to get away from the place she'd lived for the last two years, and this was the perfect city. After taking in more of the city views, she returned to her boxes to unpack more.

Suddenly, she heard her phone ring again. Ugh, she thought, why is she calling back? Then she figured she'd better check to see who it was. She picked it up and it was her friend Quinn. She had met him when he was her professor at a university up in Portland, Oregon. But they had quickly become good friends. Britt was absolutely ecstatic that he'd called so soon, and she tried to not answer right away. She didn't want to seem too eager. After a few seconds she pressed "Answer" on her phone. "Hello?" she asked.

"Hey!" she heard on the other end. Yep, it was definitely Quinn, she knew his voice well. "I just wanted to see how your move is going," he said.

"It's great!" she said excitedly. "I have a pretty cool view. I'm just unpacking now."

"Well, I don't want to keep you long then," he replied. "But I'm glad you like it. I love San Francisco myself. You know I grew up there, right?"

"Oh yeah, I seem to remember you mentioning that..."

Truthfully, she knew that fact very well. She knew a lot about Quinn. She made it a point to listen and take in everything he said. Britt was very much in love with him. Before leaving, she'd tried to tell him this. But Quinn just replied that he had a girlfriend. Since he didn't just say he didn't love her back, she had a hard time letting go of him, and the love she felt for him somehow got stronger. At least they could still be friends.

Britt stopped thinking about what had happened when she confessed her love and focused back on what Quinn was saying. "So," he started, "I'll let you know if I'm ever in the area. We could hang out and stuff."

"Oh, Quinn, that would be so great."

"Well, I guess I'll let you go then," he said.

"Okay..." she said. There was a moment of silence as if both wanted to say more but were unable to.

Finally, he spoke, "Have a good night then."

"I will, Quinn, you have a good one too. I'll call you when I start school and let you know how it's going."

He sighed, "I would like that. Bye."

"Bye," she said, sad that he wanted to go so soon.

Quinn heard the phone go dead. He wanted so badly to talk to her longer, but he figured she was busy and wouldn't have time to really talk then. He didn't want to feel like he was bothering her. He held the phone in his hand and stared at it. Britt's gone, he thought, and there's nothing I can do...His girlfriend walked in and asked who he was talking to. He told her it was just a friend but felt guilty. She was just a friend though, right?

Britt didn't start school for another couple of days. She spent time walking around the city, using public transportation, and figuring out where everything she needed would be. When she returned home at night after long days out in the city, she wanted more than anything to call Quinn. She didn't want to take his time though. Besides, she thought, he's probably out having a great time with his girlfriend. She didn't know that Quinn had been waiting for her to call.

Every chance Quinn got, he checked his phone. No calls from her yet. Britt told him she would call after she started school, and he knew she hadn't started yet, but he still hoped to hear from her. He was confused that he suddenly wanted to talk to her so much. Where was this all coming from? He told himself over and over that his need to talk to her didn't make any sense. It's not like he was in love with her too. He continued to tell himself he had a girlfriend, but he thought less of his girlfriend and more of Britt as the day he'd hear from her got closer.

Britt had finally started school. She was incredibly excited, but she didn't want to admit to herself that the reason she was so excited was because she knew she would talk to Quinn. She was starting a new life at a new school in a new city. She tried desperately to convince herself that that's why she was so excited.

The first day of school came to an end for her. As Britt walked home she tried to think of what she wanted to tell Quinn first about it. It was the perfect school for her, she knew she'd get along great there, and she knew he would be proud of her for really following her dreams. She wanted to tell him so much, so she decided to start at the beginning and tell him everything she could think of.

She got home and went to her room. She looked out her window and saw the city. Britt took out her phone and took a picture with it. She texted the picture to Quinn with the message "Wish you were here" on it. She really did wish he was there. It was time to call him; she just couldn't wait any longer to talk to him. With phone in hand, she scrolled through her contacts looking for his number. She actually remembered the number by heart, but she was trying to calm herself down. When she found it, she called and hoped he would be able to answer.

Quinn heard his phone ring. He quickly grabbed it, hoping it was Britt. It was! He didn't wait to answer. On the second ring he picked up. "Britt?"

"Quinn!" she said, excited as ever. "I have so much to tell you!" They got to talking, and they didn't realize how much time was passing. They talked about her last couple days in the city, his days up in Portland where she used to live, her impressions of big city life, and his memories of San Francisco.

A couple hours passed and neither of them realized that it had gotten late. Britt was talking to him, and suddenly he stopped her. "Uh...my girlfriend's home," he said. She detected a hint of disappointment but didn't want to make anything of it. He started again, "I'm going to have to go now. She wants me to take her to this new movie. It's based on some romance novel."

"Wow, Quinn, that just sounds horrible," she said with a chuckle.

He laughed too, "I know. Trust me, I don't want to go. She knows I don't want to see it but she really wants me to go see it with her. She said it'll be romantic for us, but I just think no one else will go with her."

Britt laughed again, "I'd never make you go to something like that." There was a moment of silence, and she apologized. "It's great that you'd do that for her. You must really be into her." He was silent again.

Finally, he said, "Can I call you tomorrow?"

Britt smiled to herself, "Of course you can. And if you get bored tonight you can always text me." They agreed on a good time to talk and hung up.

Almost an hour later, Britt heard her phone beep. She checked it and saw she had a text from Quinn. "Bored out of my mind. Wish you were here." She smiled to herself.

Over the next several weeks, Britt and Quinn continued to call each other. They spoke every day, typically more than once. He usually got home before his girlfriend. When Britt asked him about if she minded him being on the phone with her so much, he told her she had started a job with hours until about 10. He wasn't clear on what she did though. They talked, they laughed, they vented, and when Britt encountered some problems in her day to day life, she cried to Quinn.

One night, Quinn called. Britt could instantly tell he was upset. He tried to ask about her day, but she stopped him. "Quinn, I know something is wrong with you," she told him.

"You always know, don't you? Even over the phone you can tell..." he said to her with a hint of sadness in his voice.

"Quinn, we're friends. By this point in time you're my best friend. Of course I can tell when something is wrong with you."

"Britt..." he started. "It's my girlfriend."

"Oh..." Britt said, wondering where this was going.

"I always thought she'd be the one I'd marry." Britt grimaced at that, but Quinn continued, "I just can't see that happening anymore."

She was instantly happy at that, but she wanted more information. "What's wrong? Why don't you want to marry her?" she asked, trying to sound concerned.

"I just...She wants to hang out with everyone else but me. She works until ten then goes out with her friends, and I feel like she might be cheating on me. I don't even see her that much. She just gets up and leaves sometimes, and she won't tell me where she's going. I go to bed, she's not there, and I wake up, and she's still not there. The only time I can spend time with her is when she wants to do something and can't find anyone else to go with. We never even do anything I want to do. I know I'm her last priority. She can't tell that I'm constantly bothered by all of this. You always know when I'm not feeling right...Anyway, I find myself getting mad at her. I don't want to have sex with her anymore because it's like I don't know her. I don't even want to kiss her. I haven't for months. The few nights she is home I don't even want to share a bed with her. I...I don't love her."

Britt felt horrible hearing that. Mostly because she was so happy that he didn't love her when he was obviously in pain. She was sad for Quinn though, and she was mad at his girlfriend for hurting him. How dare she do that to this amazing man? She had to try to make him feel better. "Quinn...I can tell you feel very hurt and betrayed. I would too if someone treated me like that. You have to know though...you deserve so much better. I promise you there's a woman out there who is perfect for you. She'll value you. She'll respect you. She'll honor you and be in absolute awe of you. She won't hurt you like that. Quinn please, if this isn't the woman for you, then don't waste your time by staying with her when you could have someone so much better."

"Britt..." he started, "are you talking about yourself?"

Britt sighed, "Well...I guess I am. But I'm just using myself as an example. I meant that you could find someone else that feels like I do about you since I know you said you weren't interested in me. I'm just saying you can do better, and you should." She wanted to add that she knew no one else could ever feel as strongly about him as she did, but she kept that to herself since he'd already rejected her.

Quinn sat silently for a minute. He thought back to when Britt told him she loved him. He was shocked that she felt so strongly for him, and it affected him a lot more than he let on. He tried to play it cool, but inside his head was spinning, his heartbeat sped up, and he wasn't sure he had heard her correctly. He remembered that he didn't actually say he wasn't interested. All he could say was that he had a girlfriend. But he only said that to remind himself of his commitment to being faithful to her after Britt, an amazing woman, told him her feelings about him.

He wanted to let her know that he thought of her so many times since they'd become friends. He wanted to tell her that he missed her like crazy, and that something in him wanted to move to San Francisco with her. He wanted to tell her it wasn't that he wasn't interested in her, he was just confused. He knew she loved him more than any of the women he'd ever been with and that they got along beautifully. He was constantly bombarded with thoughts of her, but he wasn't ready to admit what, deep down, he knew was the truth. Instead, he just stayed quiet while trying desperately to push the thoughts of her out of his mind.

Britt gave him some time to pull his thoughts together. He thought about what Britt said. "You're so right," he finally told her. "If I stay with her I'll be missing out on someone I truly love. Someone who actually loves me."

Britt sighed while contemplating another confession of love for him. She decided against it though and said, "That's exactly right. If you want better, you have that option. You don't have to stay with a woman who doesn't even act like she cares about you in the least. I—someone out there cares a lot about you. She's going to be the woman of your dreams."

Quinn smiled to himself as his mind was flooded with images of Britt. "I bet she's closer than I ever thought..." he mused.

He stopped again to think then he told her he needed some time to think about what to do next. Quinn decided he really wanted to sleep on it, so he told Britt he would talk to her later. He hung up and lay down in bed then he quickly fell asleep.

The next morning, Britt was making breakfast and her phone rang. It was Quinn. She hoped he was feeling a little better after how bad he sounded last night. She answered immediately.

"Hey Quinn," she said, trying to sound cheerful.

"Britt!" he sounded unusually excited.

"What's going on?" she asked, very curious.

"I decided to go down to San Francisco to visit some family. I really need to get away from here and it would be great to see them. It's perfect really because it's the end of the semester today. I'm going to fly down tonight after my last class. So, I got a hotel and everything, and I wanted to know if we could meet up tonight when I get there. Then I can see my family tomorrow."

Britt was unbelievably happy. "Of course we can meet up! I'm dying to see you!"

"Awesome!" he said, just as happy.

They talked a little more about his plans. Britt wondered where he was staying once he got there. Quinn told her the name of the hotel and she recognized the name right away. "That's like a block from where I live," she told him.

Quinn grinned to himself, "I know." Britt smiled at that. They agreed to meet in the lobby of his hotel at eight that night.

Britt was so incredibly excited. She needed so much to see him after all those weeks of just talking on the phone. She knew they had a new kind of connection that they hadn't established while they saw each other in person at the school where they met. She considered how he wanted to leave his girlfriend now, so maybe...she tried to stop herself from going any further. She shouldn't get her hopes up. She had difficulty paying attention in class that day though. She kept wondering what it would be like to see Quinn after this much time. She always got nervous when she saw him in person, and this time probably wouldn't be different. After school she rushed home. She jumped in the shower and got all cleaned up. By then, it was almost time to see him.

Quinn had an equally hard time that day. Luckily, he just had a final presentation to see for one class. After that, he could get his grades recorded and turned in then he could take off to San Francisco and see her. Britt had been there for him in his hard times, and he'd been there for her. He knew they had a connection that he'd never had with his girlfriend, or anyone for that matter.

He stopped at his house to get his luggage and when he walked in he saw his girlfriend. He told her he was going to San Francisco for the weekend, and she said she'd be gone anyway, so he should do what he wanted. He felt sad that she didn't seem to care, but then he thought back to Britt, and he was happy again. He decided not to call his girlfriend all weekend because she had such a habit of bringing him down. It would be a weekend just for him, and he would do what he wanted.

He went to the airport and boarded the plane. All he could think about the whole trip was seeing Britt. The closer they got to the city the more nervous he got, but he refused to admit to himself why he felt that way. He needed to see her after all this time. He hoped she would be just as excited.

It was ten minutes until eight, so Britt made her way to the hotel. She hoped Quinn would be on time, because the anticipation was killing her. She couldn't wait to see him.

She walked into the hotel lobby and saw him sitting at a table near a window. She could feel that her heart was about to beat out of her chest as soon as she saw him. He looked amazing with his tall body, amazing blue eyes, and brown hair; he'd always been a handsome man. He was dressed in his typical style—jeans and a button-up shirt. He wore a black, blue, and white shirt that she had seen many times before. She always loved it on him because it brought out the blueness of his eyes.

As he gazed out the window, she wondered what could possibly be going through his mind. He looked thoughtful, and all she could hope was that she was somewhere in his thoughts. All the feelings she had for him came back to the front of her mind. She was as excited as the day she saw him when she first realized she loved him. She stood there quietly staring at him.

Then, Quinn looked up and saw her. There she was, Britt, the girl who confused him to no end. She was a tall, beautiful woman with light brown skin that was the result of a white mother and black father. She had brown eyes that, at first glance, might not appear to be much different than anyone else. But he had spent much time staring into them, hoping she wouldn't notice, and he saw true beauty and a woman who absolutely fascinated him. Her eyes could say a lot more than her mouth ever would. He would look into them all day if he could. She wore jeans that hugged her hips and a plain t-shirt. It didn't show much off, but Quinn had an idea of what perfection lie underneath. She didn't often dress up, but he loved the laid back style she had.

A big smile immediately crossed his face. He got up and quickly walked to her, but she was frozen in place. Her head began to spin and she searched desperately for words. But before she could say anything he hugged her. She was caught off guard, but she loved being in his arms. It felt perfect to her.

It felt perfect to Quinn too. He had been thinking about how much he wanted to hold her, and now he didn't want to let go of Britt. They stood together, arms wrapped around each other, both unwilling to be the first to let go. After a minute, they both pulled away at the same time. They stood in front of each other, both with stupid grins on their faces.

Finally, Britt found the words to speak, "It's so great to see you Quinn. I'm so glad you came!"

"It's great to see you too! Wow, you look great. San Francisco's been good to you." he replied.

"You look great too," she said, then added, "but you always do."

He grinned at her and hugged her again. He let go of her just in time; she was beginning to feel weak with all of his attention and hugging. "I really needed to come, and I'm glad you had some time to meet up," he told her.

"I always have time for you," she said. She realized that might have sounded desperate, so she changed the subject.

"Are you hungry after your flight?"

"Yeah," he said, "I'm really hungry. What do you like to eat here?"

"Well," she said, "there's a great pizza place around the corner. I bet you'd love it. Does that sound good?"

"Sounds great!" he said enthusiastically.

"Cool. Let's go."

Quinn followed Britt out the door. He walked by her side the rest of the way. When they got close to the pizza place, they saw a line out the door. "Well, it is a Friday night," Quinn said.

"Yeah," she said, disappointed. She really wanted to get him some good pizza. Suddenly she remembered something. "Hey! This place delivers. Let's just go back to your hotel and we can order from your room. Then we can hang out and have some private time." She rethought her statement. "I mean, we can have a quiet place to talk."

Quinn grinned at her, "That sounds great." They walked back to the hotel and he took her up to his room.

When they got in his room, Britt walked to the window and looked out. It was usually the first thing she did when going into a hotel room. He had almost the same view of the city that she had from her apartment. She turned to Quinn, "It's beautiful at night, isn't it? So romantic..."