The night was cold for it being the middle of summer. The days were extremely mild. He wondered if it was a sign. No, not yet he thought, she will be here. He stands in wait in his gravel driveway, pacing back and forth. She pulls in the driveway around 8 pm. She gets out of the car and sees him smoking and standing there avoiding her gaze, her questioning eyes, although it is he with the questions. He looks at her, piercing, strong, full of hope and love. She is stunned, for a second. She thinks to herself, what have I done? Why does he still look at me like that, after all that has been going on, does he know? No he can't.
She looks at him again and starts to speak,
"Did you want to go to my place and talk? Or did you want to go somewhere else?"
He puts out his cigarette, smashing when it hits the ground with his foot, trying to contain the anger. He says, quietly,
"Michelle, if we go to your place, we are more than likely going to have sex. Then you will think everything is fine when it's not. We need to have this talk, if there is any hope for us."
She looks at him and almost thinks to punch him the arm, but she speaks instead, letting her words do it for her,
"Greg, you have to stop this. What is there to talk about? We have been back together for a month now. That is what you and I wanted. Heck, you are almost living at my place again, and I love having you there. We have to make all the decisions together, as a team."
He says,
"Did you think to ask me when you started going around behind my back with that guy you been talking to for about 3 weeks now."
She is fuming and raises her voice a little,
"Greg, there isn't anyone else, I just don't get why you would think that I barely have enough time for my son and you. You just can't..."
He cuts her off, he just as pissed and speaks again,
"I don't know exactly how many times you fucked the guy when you aren't with me and you say you are off doing shit for work. Stop lying. 'Your' guy messaged me today. He told me that the last time you two were together you called my name during sex. He explained that you were a little more than drunk. He sent me a lot of the emails you two exchanged. He told me he doesn't have time for these head games, and either do I."
She is stunned and thought that one of her friends would tell him in time what happened, but not now, not Kevin himself. She starts to cry and backs away from his look. She has never seen him like this before. There is still love there she thinks. She turns and runs to her car. She can't even get the door open she is shaking so much and crying. He calmly walks up to her. She looks at him like a deer in the headlights and pulls to avoid touching him. He opens the door for her. Then walks away before a second look from her. He lights up another cigarette. Takes along hard drag. He watches her has she beings to sit down.
She sits and thinks about what she has done and how to fix it. Her heart begins to break at the thought of him not loving her anymore. She remembers that she only went out with Kevin about 3 times, behind Greg's back. She told Kevin, that although Greg is a nice guy, she was trying to breakup with him. She promised Kevin she was going to leave him, before her and Kevin got to the sex part of things. Still wanting to remain faithful to Greg.
So, one night when Greg was out with his friends till 3 in the morning. Without so much as a text or a phone call. She was at work, and thought she at least deserved and update. She worries about him, like he worries about her. He would have if his phone had not died while visiting his friends he hadn't seen in awhile. He stayed up with his friends going to the movies, talking about his girlfriend problems, computer games, playing said games, and then falling asleep watching TV on his buddy Matt's couch. Robert finally drove him home at 4. He woke up at 6 and fought long and hard not to call her till he was sure she would be getting ready for work. She was very pissed that night thinking about the other women he could have put his dick in or god knows what else. They talked and he told her that he was sorry. She forgave him, she still doubted what he actually been doing. She forgave and they moved forward.
A few days later, she tried to forget about her relationship woes and went out with Kevin, for what was to be the very last time. She began to think its not like I am fucking this guy. He's just a friend and I am going to have fun. Not going to worry about what is going on with Greg. All night along she drank. She drank to forget about Greg for a night; just one night was all she wanted. Kevin didn't drink as much as Michelle did. He took her back to her car that was parked at his place. He took her into his house and they kissed. Not a loving sort of kiss, but the "I got to get fucked" kind of kiss. He started towards his bedroom with her in tow and began to remove her clothing. She remembered telling him no over and over again, but she woke up naked. Noticing that he didn't use a condom, she felt raped and tried to leave, but he smooth talked her out the door. He ushered her out the door as she gathered herself, with a promise that he would call her sometime.
Remembering back on all of it now the thought has started to make her tremble.
She left there and wondered how to tell Greg what had happened. She cried all the way home and from home to work. Was it worth their relationship that they had worked so hard to salvage? She tried to let it go and spoke of it with one of her friends a few weeks after it happened. Her friend told her she has to be honest with Greg, sex or not. It was kind of like cheating. She also told her friend that she didn't want it to happen.
She went through her emails and messages. She deleted those and the guy off her friends list. She left his phone number, in case he called or if she needed to ask him a question that if he was clean or not. It worries her still now. She hasn't had time to go the doctor, let alone make an appointment. She has been sleeping with Greg all this time and started to wonder if she had something to pass on to him.
He approached her car door. She still sat there as she tried to absent mindedly tried to get a cigarette in her mouth and light it. Still staring off into the void, she noticed Greg is now standing next to her. She is shaking as she proceeds to start her car. She looks at him and shakes her head in a slow "no" motion. Then out of nowhere she hits her head on to the steering wheel. He almost laughs, he looks in on her and she starts to cry.
She slowly creeps her self-upright and looks at him. Standing there he looks like he wants to say something. She presses her window button down. He moves in and kisses her with a passion that fire wished it had. The burning desire is there and he wants to make it all right, but knows he can't.
He tells her as if reading her mind,
"I got checked out today after I got that email. He told me he was clean, but to be sure I went. I am fine. Which means you are too, but go get checked up on, just in case."
She just looks at him.
He continues,
"Kitten, you are the love of my entire life, I could see marrying you when I am 54 or even now. It looks like you want to leave; I am not going to stop you. I tried to keep you, but, ah hell. Fuck!"
He turns and beings to walk away. She reaches for him. Then pulls her hand back, she looks at it as if it betrayed her for not touching him.
Her voice cracks,
"Greg, come here, please."
He turns and runs up to the car, it is the fastest he has ever moved in his life. He tells her,
"Michelle, what is it? What is there left to say?"
She looks at him and whispers,
"I doesn't or shouldn't have to be like this, we can be together, just please forgive me, please? "
He looks at her and he smiles as he speaks,
"In time. Right now we both have to think, we need that time apart you wanted so much, before. I do love you so very much."
He kisses her again; the burning passion of 1,000 burning suns consumes the kiss between them like they are all going to supernova right then if they didn't have sex.
He breaks it and steps back as he tells her,
"I will call you, I promise. As for now with us, be free, Kitten."
She cries harder than she ever has before as she looks at him with anger and sadness.
How dare he do this she thinks as she pulls out of the driveway? How dare he break up with me? How dare he care about me? How dare he to walk away from me?
He looks, as she is gone. He thinks about chasing her to her house, to do nothing more than to hold her. He walks inside his house. He sits on his bed and looks at the phone. Call me Kitten, he thinks. Just then the phone rings. It's Jerry, he's been talking to him and his wife about all the shit that has gone down between him and Michelle.
"What up, Jerry?" he speaks into the phone.
"Well, did you talk to her about everything?" Jerry asks.
"Yeah, but it didn't go well, I broke up with her. Told her I need some time to think all this stuff through."
"Well get some money and meet me at my house in 15."
"Why? What's up? Are we going to a movie?"
"No, I thought you would want a night at the Pub."
"Man, I just broke up with my girl and you want to shove half naked women in my face?"
"Well, yeah. You and I haven't done it in over a year. I have some time off and we can make it before they charge us at the door. Come on, man. If you don't go I will just go by myself. The wife is at her mom's for the next 3 days with the kid and I told her I would be going and she told me I can only go if you with me. Her orders, she's the boss."