After a few days, Michael had calmed down a little from the incident that left him questioning himself. He thought about Lynn constantly, both wishing he could talk to her and wishing he never had to face her again. She had told him that he could trust her, and he wanted to believe that. But how could she ever understand the situation if he couldn't understand it himself? His mind was a twisted mess. But thoughts of her helped him get through his days.
He was watching tv one evening when his phone rang. When he answered, Lynn was on the other end of the line.
"Hi!" she said cheerfully.
"Oh, hi, Lynn," he answered while feeling his instant arousal.
"I just wondered how things were going for you this week. I thought I'd see if we could get together tomorrow after I get off work. We could meet at the restaurant just down from where I work. It would take you around a half hour to get there," she suggested.
"Well, yeah, I guess I could meet you somewhere but probably not until after 6:00 or so."
Michael knew he would have some things to do right after school, but he could get things done in time to spend most of the evening with her if she wanted.
"Okay, great!" she said. She gave him the address of the restaurant.
"I'll meet you at 6:30?" she asked.
"Sure, that sounds good. I'll see you then," Michael said.
Of course, seeing her was all Michael could think about. Going to school had been a waste of time for him the next day. When he got home, he did his chores and ran the errands he needed to. He showered and left a little after 6:00, hoping he wouldn't get there too late.
He spotted Lynn's car as he pulled into the parking lot. She was still sitting in her car, obviously waiting on him to arrive. She motioned for him to get in her car, and he did.
"Hi!," she said with a bright smile.
"Hi yourself," Michael smiled back.
"Hey, it's such a nice day. I wondered if you cared if we went through the drive-thru and drove over to the park to eat," she said.
"That sounds like a great idea to me," Michael said, hoping he didn't sound too excited.
They went through the drive-thru, got their meals and drove the few short blocks to the park. Lynn pulled into a spot that seemed a bit hidden by the trees. They got out of the car and sat at the lone picnic table in the area.
They ate and made small talk during their meals, talking about Michael's school and Lynn's job, about their families and things they each had coming up in the near future. When Lynn got up to throw their trash away, she motioned for Michael to follow her. They walked over to a large tree, and Lynn sat down on the ground under it. Michael did the same.
Lynn sighed.
"I've had a crappy week so far, and I just needed to relax a little," she said.
"Oh? What's up?" Michael was genuinely concerned.
"Oh, it's probably not a big deal. I'm just feeling like things are unraveling a little between Paul and me. Ever since...well... you know..." she stopped.
"Yeah?" Michael urged her on.
"His friends have always been worried that he and I were getting too serious. I mean, I like his friends and I think they like me. But, well, Paul is THE guy, and his friends push for him to go out partying and drinking like they've done for years. They don't like the fact that I monopolize Paul's time. It isn't that they don't want us to be together, They just don't want to lose the Paul who has run around with them all their lives," Lynn explained.
Michael felt like Lynn wasn't finished, so he simply nodded and remained silent.
"I don't know," Lynn continued. "When he and I were waiting to see if, well, to see if I was pregnant, there was no doubt what was going to happen if I was. Paul had already been talking about buying me a ring. He hadn't officially proposed, but I knew it was coming.
Then when I found out I wasn't pregnant, we were both relieved. But something...something changed. It's like all of a sudden, he wants to be with his friends, which is fine. But things have changed between us, and I don't like it."
"What do you feel like has changed?" Michael asked.
"I feel like he wants to be with me, but yet, he cant wait to go out with his friends. I feel like he rushes our time together because he cares what his friends are thinking. He never cared before."
Michael nodded again.
Lynn sighed and leaned back against the tree.
"I think he's cheating on me," she confessed.
"Cheating on you?"
"Yes. And the thing is, I'm not sure how much I even care anymore."
"You don't care that he's cheating on you?" Michael asked incredulously.
"Well, I DO care, of course. But, I don't know. Maybe this all happened for a reason. Maybe we were moving too fast; or moving towards something that wasn't right. I mean...you know, I'm relieved we didn't HAVE to get married, too. Maybe he wants to break it off with me, but he doesn't know how."
Michael sat silent, because he just didn't know what to say to her. His heart ached for her, but he couldn't help but feel glad that he may get to spend more time with her. He wondered if she knew how he felt about her and if there was a chance she could feel the same about him.
"Anyway, I'm sorry to bore you with my problems," she said.
"You don't bore me," Michael assured. "Please believe that."
They smiled at each other.
Lynn sat up quickly and lightly smacked Michael on the leg.
"Now," she said. "Let's talk about YOU!"
Michael gave a nervous laugh.
"I don't think there's much to talk about," he said.
Lynn nodded and smiled. "Oh I do! Let's talk about what happened the other night."
"I..I..I'm not sure what to say," he stammered.