Author's Note

Hello readers!
I'm doing okay but I have finals coming up and a lot of schoolwork has piled on top of me. I'm not going to stop posting temporarily again because you've all been so wonderful and patient and supportive but the schedule is going to be put on hiatus. Instead, I'm just going to post when I can, rather than every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. I'll try to have at least one post a week until my finals are over and I recover from my surgery on the 16th (it's not a big deal, just wisdom teeth getting yanked).

Thanks for your patience and understanding; I know this is annoying. I figured this was the best way to compromise your love of the blog and my real life responsibilities without putting the blog on hiatus again.

-del

Birthday Barbecue

Zoey’s birthday was a smashing success. The barbecue was great, Wesley really knows his way around a grill and Molly even brought Calvin with her. Anna and Theo came with the twins which was a nice surprise. I figured they would have gotten a babysitter but it was fun having the twins there. Calvin is really hot. He has dark hair and eyes and he’s pretty buff. He talked about some of the shows he’s been in and it sounds like he’s really starting to make a name for himself in the city. At one point in the evening Molly and I were alone in the kitchen putting the candles on Zoey’s cake per Wesley’s request and I decided to ask about Calvin.

“So since he’s your date does that mean you two had the big important talk about being a couple?” I asked counting out the candles.

“No.” She said, “I just thought he’d want to come and get free food.”

“Meeting the friends is a big first step.”

“I guess so.” She shrugged.

“I don’t get it. How can you guys be in such a non-committed relationship?” I asked.

“I don’t know. It just works for us.”

“Is he afraid of commitment?” I asked looking for a lighter in one of the drawers.

“No.”

“Are you?” I asked finally finding the lighter.

“No. We just…aren’t labeling what we have.” She said.

“But are you seeing anyone else?” I asked.

“No. We’re comfortable, Faith. We’re comfortable with where we are right now and we don’t need to label it in order to make it what it already is. You know?”

“But how can you both be on the same page if neither one of you ever talk about your relationship?” I asked lifting the cake and carefully walking to the dining room door.

“We just know.” She said.

A round of “Happy Birthday” followed and Zoey opened her gifts. Everyone started mingling again and I continued my conversation with Molly.

“I just don’t get it.” I said, “Randy wants to have that talk with me, about being exclusive, but you and Calvin just know? And you’re okay with that?”

Molly thought about it before answering.

“I really am. I don’t know what’s going to happen between Calvin and I but I think what we have right now is on a good path and I don’t want to think about the future. I like what I have right now and I’m fine with us not having the big talk.”

Just then Calvin came over and Molly started talking to him. I went to go play with the twins. About an hour later everyone from the party dispersed and wished Zoey a “Happy Birthday”. I find Molly’s relationship so odd but I probably shouldn’t be judging her relationship since I’m sick of people judging what I do with mine.

Shock and Awe

I was freaking out about my date with Randy at work. I was so distracted and kept looking at my phone every five minutes but he never sent me a text cancelling so I got ready when I got home from work and waited until he picked me up. The knock on my door seemed hesitant and was quiet. When I opened it he was dressed nicely which I took to be a god sign.

“Hey,” I said smiling and hiding my surprise that he wasn’t standing me up, “Let me just grab my coat.”

“Actually can we talk in your apartment first?” He asked.

“Oh. Okay.” I said stepping backwards and letting him inside.

He went and sat on the couch and I sat in a chair.

“Look, I think I should explain about this morning…” I said hoping to get everything over with.

“Faith, I don’t care that you’re seeing other guys. We’ve never talked about being exclusive with each other but I just wanted to let you off the hook because you seemed pretty freaked out this morning.”

My mouth was hanging open and he continued talking while I sat there silently.

“I’ll admit that I was pretty jealous and maybe even hurt at first but then I realized how inappropriate that was. You aren’t my girlfriend and I have no claim to you. Even if you were my girlfriend it doesn’t mean I own you but I would hope we would agree upon monogamy if we were dating exclusively.”

“O-okay.” I said absolutely shocked.

“But,” He said taking a deep breath, “I would like to be exclusive with you.”

He sat back and waited for my reply which didn’t come because I was still so shocked that he wasn’t livid and accusing me of cheating on him. He decided to start talking again.

“I know that you probably want to think about it but I just wanted to put it out there so I’m clear about what I’m looking for with you and where I’d like to see this go.”

“O-okay.” I said wondering if I had just agreed to be exclusive with Randy or not.

“Should we go?” He asked standing up. I followed him and grabbed my coat. We went out to dinner and had a nice time. It wasn’t awkward at all but I’m still so amazed that Randy was okay with me seeing other people. I think seeing me with someone else may have sparked something in Randy because he was very affectionate when I invited him in for a piece of pie at the end of our date. He couldn’t stay because the babysitter needed to leave soon so we didn’t have sex but there was definitely some heavy petting and some really hot kissing and touching.

(Author's note: My mom was hit head-on by a drunk driver on Friday afternoon when she was driving back to the elementary school she works at after her lunch break. This is going to be the last post for about a week or so. My mom is going to be okay and will make a full recovery but I've got to place my full focus on my family and not on the blog for right now. Please feel free to speculate about what's going to happen in the comments until I can split my focus back to this blog. I'm sorry, it feels like this blog is never going to catch up with real time. This year has been pretty terrible overall and this Friday has just been the cap to the worst year ever. See you guys in a week or two. -del)

Booty Call Upset

I participated in something last night that can only be summed up as a Booty Call. I was sitting in my living room watching television after dinner and eyed my phone Chris sent me a text:

I’m studying anatomy 2nite & it sux

I was in a mischievous mood so I sent one back to him:

I could help you study. You could come over and study my body instead of the ones in your textbook.

A few minutes later he sent me another text:

U R soooo distracting

I sent Chris another dirty text and it spiraled into a flurry of really hot ones, some of them even made me blush. Eventually he came over and ripped my clothes off. The sex with him is getting better and it’s definitely hotter than it is with Randy. I think that’s because I like spontaneity and Randy can’t be hugely spontaneous because of Teddy but I also think Randy just need to let loose when it comes to sex.

I finally had an orgasm with Chris the third time we had sex last night. We were both exhausted and collapsed onto my bed still entangled with each other.

“You know I don’t regret studying for my anatomy test tomorrow. At all.”

“So this was worth it?” I giggled.

“Uh-huh.” He said nuzzling my neck and rolling on top of me for another round.

Chris’s energy is one thing that’s a perk about dating a guy so much younger than me.

I made coffee in the morning for him while he took a shower and we got pretty intense again in my kitchen when I handed him a cup of it. I actually had to change the tights I was wearing because they were ripped apart and my skirt was so wrinkled from being bunched around my hips that I had to change that, too.

“Sorry about that.” He said when I came out of my bedroom, “and I’m sorry about ripping these last night.” He held up a torn pair of my underwear that had apparently landed on the counter when he took them off me last night in the hallway.

“That’s okay.” I said giving him a seductive smile and throwing the pair of underwear away, “I should probably just stop wearing them when I’m around you.”

We left my apartment together but had to depart in opposite directions so he could go to school and I could go to work. He pulled me in for a kiss before leaving and then waved as he got into a cab. But I was too frozen to wave back. Randy was standing in front of our building and saw the whole thing. Our date tonight should be interesting…

Author's Note

Hello readers,

Don't worry, I'm not postponing posting.

I wanted to see if anyone was good at website design. I want to vamp up Faith's blog but I am woefully ignorant on how to design for Blogspot past what it looks like now.

Are any of you interested in designing a look for this site? I will give you credit and probably link to your blog, if you have one and want it on here.

If you're interested, you can send me an e-mail at: moderndayfaith at gmail dot com
Only just put in the dots and the @ sign.

-del

Faith the Green-Eyed Monster

I feel like I’m in a good place right now. Things with Chris and Randy are going well and work is okay. I have a date this Friday night with Randy and a date on Saturday night with Chris. Things are still somewhat tense with the girls but they’re just being unnecessarily judgmental. Anyway, Zoey’s birthday is coming up and the four of us were talking about what she should do for it over dinner.

“You could have a dinner party.” Molly suggested.

“I don’t think I want to cook for a bunch of people on my birthday especially when Thanksgiving is just around the corner and I’m planning on having Thanksgiving at my house since Anna id it last year.”

“You don’t have to do Thanksgiving.” Molly said, “I could do it.

“I want to, especially since we’re all going to be in town for it.”

“Well, except for me.” Anna said. It’s the twins’ first Thanksgiving so Anna and Theo are going to his parents’ place for Thanksgiving and they’re going to her parents’ place for Christmas.

“I was thinking I’d just book a table at a nice restaurant or have a barbecue. Wesley likes to grill, so it would be a win-win if we went that route.” Zoey said.

“A barbecue sounds fun. Do you have the space at your apartment, though?” I asked.

“No, but Wesley does. He actually just moved into a townhouse with a yard.”

“Oh, you never told us that.” Molly said.

“It just happened and it wasn’t planned. His lease was about to come up and he saw this great deal by chance when he took a wrong turn driving to a photo shoot. I only found out a few days ago. I’ve been helping him unpack.”

Zoey told us all about Wesley’s new townhouse and it sounded like the perfect place to hold a barbecue.

“You should definitely have your birthday there.” Anna said.

“I’m sold. I’m having a barbecue. Although, it’ll be a little too chilly to eat outside but that’s okay because the dining room is huge. We could probably get a little bon fire going out in the yard after dusk in one of those earthenware outdoor fireplaces.”

“If you want help decorating or if you want people to bring dishes, you let me know.” Molly said. Anna nodded.

We didn’t talk about my dating life at all and it was really obvious that the three of them were avoiding it as a topic. I mostly talked about work and I told them about my friend date with Stormy and his unfortunate living situation.

“He doesn’t feel like the space is really his because all of his stuff is in storage. Rose sounds like a horrible person to live with.”

“You know, I’ve heard that’s a common problem when people move in together. If you move into your boyfriend’s apartment it never really feels like yours because it used to be only theirs.” Zoey said.

“Theo and I didn’t have that problem when he moved in with me just after graduating from college but I went out of my way to make him feel comfortable. He was there so much before he moved in that it wasn’t a huge transition. But now we live in our townhouse and it belongs to both of us equally. Both of us have our own space. He has his office and I have my craft room. It worked out really well.”

“And see Stormy doesn’t have that because Rose took the spare bedroom for herself. All of it is hers. Honestly, it sounds like he’s still living out of his suitcase because she won’t even give up her closet space.”

“Well, that’s not going to last.” Molly said, “I mean, it sounds like they are on the fast track to a break-up.”

“I’m sure they are.” I said realistically. I didn’t say that to Stormy when he was at my place but I think it was definitely the elephant in the room.

“Wesley and I have been talking about moving in together. I think the townhouse is so new that it would pretty much feel like both of ours. I’ve been considering it since he told me about it. I only have one more month before my lease expires.”

“Well, you guys have been together for over a year. And the timing seems right.” Anna said.

Zoey spoke more about the pros and cons of moving in with Wesley but I wasn’t paying attention. When she announced that she was thinking about moving in with him I felt like I had been punched in the stomach and I’m ashamed to say that I’m jealous of her. Zoey has a near perfect relationship with Wesley. She has never mentioned them fighting, she has never needed me to pick her back up because he cheated on her like she did with me when Sean told me he’d slept with someone else, she’s never needed to vent about something he did that annoyed her…and everyone else is in a relationship except for me. But not just any relationship, they’re in good, healthy ones where trust exists and being content with each other is a normal feeling. I want that and I’m jealous of my friends because they have it (even if Molly refuses to call her relationship with Calvin what it is, it’s still a healthy relationship between two people who don’t want to talk about commitment yet).

Later, I decided to console myself and called Chris. He convinced me to go over to his place.

I was laying in Chris’s bed at the frat house cuddling with him after sex. Since he’s an officer for his Frat, he gets his own room which was the only reason I had agreed to go back to his place in the first place. Chris is much better in bed than Randy is but neither one of them is really getting me where I want to go, if you catch the drift. I think with Randy, he’s just not used to having sex with other women besides his wife but with Chris, I think it’s because of his lack of imagination. So while we were cuddling on his bed under the covers I decided to try and widen his imagination.

“Have you ever gone down on a woman before?” I asked out of the blue.

Chris was shocked and sort of embarrassed at my question.

“Are you blushing?” I teased.

“No!” He said, “I’m just hot.”

“Okay,” I said smirking, “Well, have you?”

“No, I haven’t.”

“Have you ever wanted to?” I asked laying my hand on his chest.

“Uh, no. That’s gross.”

“Excuse me?” I said looking at him, “Do you think what I just did to you was gross?”

“Well no, but that’s different.”

“How is it any different?”

“Because with dudes it’s like the perfect shape and with chicks there’s hair and you have to get up in there…yeah gross, I’m not going to stick my nose anywhere near that .” He said matter-of-factly.

“Um, you’re not waxed down there and guys don’t always smell like daisies, either.” I pointed out, “Plus what kind of porn are you watching? You don’t stick your nose-”

“It’s just gross.”

“Apparently not too gross if you’re willing to put your pe-”

“Well, my face isn’t down there. I don’t have to look at it.”

“Okay.” I shrugged, “But I bet if you did go down on women you’d have all sorts of girls wanting to sleep with you.”

“You say that like we’re not going to be together for very long.” He said.

“Well, we’re just having fun for right now. I’m not thinking of the future. Are you?”

“I guess not.” He said with a shrug, “You’re not like other girls. Other girls always want to talk about where the relationship is going and stuff. But you’re fine to just chill.”

“Uh. Thanks.” I said.

After a few more minutes of cuddling I got up to go to the bathroom which was down the hall. I put on one of Chris’s t-shirts hanging on the back of a chair and walked down the hall to loud cat calls and whistles from rooms with the door open. I’m never staying over again. The walk to the bathroom combined with my departure in the morning was enough to make sure I never do again. College boys are so immature and gross.

Questionnaire

I had a date with Randy last night. It was THE night. Honestly, we had a great time but sex with Randy was…underwhelming. It was nice, but it was very vanilla and just alright. He seemed really nervous, though, so I think once he gets a little more comfortable things will get a little better and if not, I can be vocal about what I want if I need to be. We fell asleep together and I woke up in Randy’s arms. Unfortunately he had to go shortly after waking up to relieve the babysitter. He gave me a kiss before asking if we could see each other again and I obviously said yes. We’re actually going to a movie next weekend…Randy scheduled a sleep over at a friend’s for Teddy.

During our date, though, Randy started asking me questions about my life and dating.

“Do you not date a lot?” He asked taking a sip of wine.

“No, I’m a pretty active dater, why?” I asked putting herb butter on the warm bread our waiter had brought.

“Well…I’m just really surprised that you were single when I asked you out.” He said.

“Oh. Um. Well, to be honest, Randy, I was in a relationship until a few months ago. Things didn’t work out, though.”

“Oh.” He said almost with an air of judgment.

“To be fair,” I said before he could make any snap judgments, “the relationship had ended much earlier than our official break-up. We were barely even together for the last few months of it. I only saw him a few times over the last few months.”

“Oh, I’ve had a few relationships like that.” He said.

I almost let out a sigh of relief.

“Before my wife, of course.”

I was hesitant to ask Randy my next question but it slipped out before I could stop myself.

“Randy, how many relationships have you had since she passed away?”

“A few. Only one serious one, though. I’ve been more careful about my relationships since that one, though. Normally I don’t introduce Teddy to anyone until we’ve gotten a lot more serious because it’s hard for him to really understand what’s going on.” His eyes got wide like he thought he’d said something wrong, “That’s not to say that I think you and I have reached that point, you were just the only person besides Stacy I could have watch him on such short notice with us being new to the neighborhood and the building and everything.”

I touched Randy’s hands as he continued to ramble nervously.

“It’s okay, Randy. I wasn’t going to jump to a conclusion like that and freak out.” I smiled, “I really like Teddy, though, for what it’s worth.”

“I don’t know how he turned out the way he did. I’ve made a lot of mistakes. Being a single parent is really hard and my wife was such a good mom. She was just so good with him. I try to live up to her parenting skills but I’m sure I fall short a lot of the time.”

“I think you’re a great dad.” I said.

Randy looked like he was really touched. Just then our food came and we started raving about how delicious it was and the conversation continued to flow easily until we made it back to my apartment and our mouths were too busy to continue talking.

Faith the Friend

Stormy came over last night for our friend date. (Don’t worry. I didn’t sleep with him or even make out with him.). The pizza arrived about five minutes after he did. I handed him a chilled beer and told him to make himself comfortable on the couch.

“Are we really going to watch Project Runway!?” He whined.

“Yes.” I said turning the television on, “Pizza’s here. I’ll be right back.”

When I came back Stormy was grudgingly watching the end of the rerun of last week’s Project Runway episode.

“I got pepperoni and some garlic bread.” I said flipping the box open on the coffee table and handing him a plate.

We sat back and watched the opening montage for the new episode in a comfortable silence.

“Can I ask you a question?” He asked after awhile.

“Sure.”

“Are you really not getting back together with your ex?”

“Doubtful.” I said flatly.

“Huh.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Nothing. You just put a lot into that relationship. It’s hard to think it’s totally over.”

“Well it is. In fact I’ve been dating several guys since the break-up and it’s been great.”

Stormy looked like he was thinking about how to respond but then he shrugged.

“Nice.” He said nonchalantly with an approving nod.

“Now can I ask you a question?” I asked.

“Okay.”

“How is living with Rose, really? And why weren’t you honest about it yesterday at lunch?” I asked grabbing a piece of garlic bread.

“Well,” he said slowly chewing his pizza, “Steve and Suzy are pretty good friends with Rose because all three of them are huge gossips.”

“I’ve noticed” I took a sip of beer, “Although I always knew that about Suzy.”

“I didn’t want to say what it was really like because I knew it’d get back to Rose and living with her is already…tense.”

“Why?” I asked curiously.

“Because. All of my stuff is still in storage. I feel like I’m just staying there, not like I actually live there. Everything in the apartment except for my bathroom stuff and clothes are hers.”

“So you don’t feel like you have your own space?” I asked.

“Yeah.”

“I thought Rose had a roommate? What happened to the room they used to live in? Couldn’t you have your own space there?”

“Well I could,” he said darkly, “But it’s like Rose forgot I was moving in and bought a bunch of office furniture so the extra room is hers.”

“Ouch.”

“I know. It just sucks. She freaks out over everything.”

“Like what?”

“Like she got pissed about a week after I moved in because I bought some beer and put it in the fridge. She doesn’t want me to buy ‘stuff like that’ now that I live with her.”

“Whoa. What does that mean exactly?” I asked.

“Basically, anything that she doesn’t approve of.”

“But Rose drinks. We’ve been to the bar together after work.” I pointed out.

“I know. But she’s, like, really weird about her home. She doesn’t want any alcohol in the house and Steve just convinced her to go vegetarian last week. I brought home some steaks for us to grill up and she locked herself in our bedroom for three hours sobbing hysterically before she’d tell me what I did wrong.”

I stared at Stormy because I didn’t know what to say. After a brief silence:

“Um. Maybe…she needs to be on some kind of medication.” I suggested.

“I don’t know. All I know is that when you invited me over I was excited simply because it meant I wouldn’t have to be around her. And she put up a huge stink about it, too. When I get home she’ll probably yell or cry some more.”

“More?”

“Oh yeah. I told her yesterday when we got home from work and I ended up sleeping on the couch.”

“Sorry. If I’d known-”

“No. Thank you! I needed to get out of there for a few hours.”

We sat and watched the television until a commercial break.

“Do you want some ice cream?” I asked.

“Sure!”

I handed him the bowl of ice cream a few minutes later and Stormy dug in.

“You know,” he said, “That Tim guy is awesome. I wish he could just live with me and give me hugs and say encouraging things.”

I giggled.

“I knew you’d like it.” I said.

“Shut up. Don’t tell anyone else about this!”

“Okay. Okay!” I said, “Not a soul.”

Too bad he doesn’t know I have a blog and didn’t say anything about typing it.

: )

Friend Date

Randy and I have a date this weekend. I’m looking forward to it for obvious reasons. Chris and I went to dinner last night and I noticed that he was checking out a lot of girls while we were eating. I’m not even sure he heard a word I said. It annoyed me. And I know that sounds stupid because we’re not in a serious relationship and I’m dating other guys but it’s kind of rude to be on a date with someone and basically have your eyes glued to the waitress’s ass, right?

I was so annoyed that I didn’t invite him up to my apartment when he dropped me off and I’m pretty sure it bothered him somewhat. Whatever.

Anyway work has been…rocky lately. I don’t think our subscribers are really embracing the new all-digital concept we’re planning on moving to. I heard Tanya and Todd talking about the feedback from some test groups and it wasn’t good. The staff likes it, though. We’re planning on launching it to all of our subscribers in another week or so and we’ve already started advertising it. Stormy has even teased about it on air and put his support behind it.

My lunch group and I were chatting over lunch and Steve asked Stormy about Rose unexpectedly.

“How is Rose, Stormy? Are you liking co-habitation?

Stormy looked like he had to think pretty hard about the phrasing before he said anything.

“It’s…different living with a girl 24/7. I had to put most of my stuff in storage so it’s mostly just her stuff and I…nevermind.”

Stormy got really quiet all of a sudden and then shrugged noncommittally.

“It’s fine. I’m just getting used to it.” He said finally.

I eyed him suspiciously but the conversation moved on. When all of us were getting up to go back to work I pulled him aside.

“Do you want to get a pizza and some beers and come over some time?” I asked.

He looked at me uncertainly.

“Oh, God! No! Not as a date…as, like, a friend hang out thing.” I said trying to make it less weird.

“Um. Yeah, okay. How about tomorrow?”

“Awesome! We can watch Project Runway!” I said.

Stormy groaned.

“It’s a great show!” I said, “I’ll pay for the pizza and beers.”

“Fine.” He said grudgingly.

So I have a friend date tomorrow night with Stormy. Maybe he’ll open up about the Rose thing. Either way, it’ll be nice to not be around a friend who’s going to judge me. Anna, Molly, and Zoey aren’t invited, obviously.

Breakfast Companions

I woke up to the sound of someone knocking on my door. It sounded important by the way they kept hammering on. I wrapped myself in a robe and stumbled to the door with bed-head and bleary eyes.

“Randy?”

“Faith, I’m sorry did I wake you?” He asked.

“Uh, no, I was just…”

There was a beat. Randy decided to get to the point.

“I was just called into a huge meeting at work and-”

“It’s Saturday…” I said yawning.

“I know, apparently a huge client came into town and wants to have a meeting with the majority of the staff working on their dime. I’m one of them.”

“Okay…” I said not following where he was going.”

“Look, I normally wouldn’t ask this on such short notice but my babysitter, Stacy, can’t come in today. Do you think you could watch Teddy for a few hours?”

“What?” I said a little more awake.

“It would just be for a few hours and he’s still sleeping. I’ll get back as soon as I can.” He said urgently.

“Um…okay.” I said hesitantly.

I looked down at my clothes. I was wearing fuzzy bunny slippers, pink checkered pajama pants, a lacy camisole, and my silk robe. With no bra. This wasn’t exactly how I planned to meet Randy’s son.

“You will!?” Randy said ecstatically.

“Sure. Let me go change my shirt and brush my teeth.” I said wiping sleep out of my eyes and turning around in the foyer.

“You are a lifesaver, Faith!”

Ten minutes later I was sitting on Randy’s couch with a cup of coffee. Randy gave me a kiss on the forehead before he left. I must have drifted off because the next thing I knew I woke up to a pair of big brown eyes staring at me. I jumped.

“Whoa! Uh…hey there Teddy…”

“Who are you?”

“I’m Faith. I live upstairs. Your dad asked me to watch you for a little while so he could go to a meeting.”

“I’m hungry.” He said shrugging his shoulders, climbing onto the couch, and turning on the Saturday morning cartoons.

“Um. Okay. What would you like?”

“Scrambled eggs!”

“Okay.” I said getting up and going into the kitchen.

It took me awhile but I found everything I needed and within 30 minutes there were scrambled eggs, bacon, and toast sitting on the dining room table with two glasses of chocolate milk.

“Okay. Breakfast is ready, Teddy.”

I heard his footsteps running towards the kitchen and saw him bounding around the corner. He looked really excited.

“My dad never makes scrambled eggs!” He said excitedly.

“Well, he’s a busy guy.” I smiled and started spooning eggs onto his plate.

“My mom used to make them all the time.” He looked down sadly.

I didn’t know what to say so I changed the subject.

“Do you want butter or jelly on your toast?”

About an hour later Randy came home.

“Hey big guy.” He said when Teddy ran up to him and gave him a hug, “Faith treating you okay?”

“She made eggs!” Teddy yelled happily.

“She did? Well did you say thank you?”

Teddy suddenly looked shy, turned towards me, and murmured a “thank you”. Randy told him to go play with his toys in his room and he was gone in seconds.

“He’s cute.” I said.

“Thanks for making breakfast. You really didn’t ha-”

“I wanted to.” I said, “There are some leftovers if you’re interested.”

Randy nodded and I went to heat the eggs and bacon up while a piece of bread was working in the toaster.

“Thanks.” He said as I poured him a glass of orange juice.

“How did the meeting go?” I asked.

“Really well. Thanks.” He said as I put the plate down in front of him.

We talked for awhile before I decided to go back upstairs. Randy walked me to his door.

“I really appreciate this, Faith.” He said holding my hand.

“No problem.” I said smiling.

He leaned in and kissed me softly. We broke away and he looked down.

“Cute slippers.”

I laughed and then turned to leave. He followed me out into the hallway and closed the door behind him.

“Faith, I’d like to take you out on another date sometime soon.”

“Sure. Just call me later, okay?”

“Um.” Randy was blushing.

“What?”

“I’m thinking about asking Stacy to stay the night with Teddy. W-would that be okay with you?”

I looked down and blushed.

“That would be fine.”

Dream Date

Chris and I have been out a few times and he is pretty good in bed, but he’s not very creative. I’ll chock that up to being young, though. His eyes just haven’t been opened to all the possibilities in sex yet. Randy, on the other hand, and I have gone out several times since our last date and I’m still getting excuses on why he can’t stay which is why I wasn’t very excited about our date tonight.

We were going to do the dinner and a movie thing but ended up in the ER. He picked me up at my place and kissed my cheek in greeting before we headed to the train station.

“How is Lady?” I asked making conversation.

“She’s good. I taught her how to roll over the other day.”

“I wish I could teach Murphy cool tricks like that.” I said, “What else can she do?”

“So far, I’ve been able to teach her how to lay down, speak, and sit. We’re still working on stay and handshakes, though.”

We talked about pets all the way to the movie theatre and stood in the lobby trying to decide what to see. Randy got into a playful mood while we play-argued over the best movie to see that ended with us kissing sort of passionately and then going back to debating over a rom com or a thriller. Suddenly, Randy seemed uncomfortable.

“Are you hot?” I asked. He was tugging at the collar of his shirt like he was overheated.

“Uhm…I…did you eat strawberries earlier?” He said sounding panicked.

I had to think. I had eaten some as a snack to hold me over until our date since we would be eating dinner later, after the movie.

“Yes, why?”

“I’m-I’m aller-gic to strawberries.” He was having a hard time breathing.

“Oh my God!” I said.

“Call…an..ammmbbu…”

“I whipped out my cell phone and dialed 9-1-1 as I walked Randy out to the street. He sat on a bench and focused on breathing while I relayed everything to the operator. Within minutes we were in an ambulance heading to the ER. I didn’t say anything while the paramedics gave him medicine in the cab and eventually rolled him into the ER waiting room. He looked swollen and they had put him on oxygen while we were riding to the hospital.

They took Randy back and I sat in the waiting room chairs for about an hour before a nurse came to see me.

“He’s asking for you.” She said before leading me back to his room.

He was in a gown and still on oxygen but he looked a lot better than before.

“Hey.” He said weakly.

“Hi,” I said as the nurse smiled and left, “Randy I am SO sorry. I had no idea…I never would have-”

“It’s okay. How could you have known?” He said, “I’m just sorry we aren’t here under cooler circumstances.” He laughed.

“What?”

“Well an allergy attack isn’t really manly, is it? Maybe if I’d saved a falling baby from a building or pushed someone out of the way of car I’d get some cool points or something.” He laughed again and then started coughing.

I got him some water and shook my head giggling.

“You’ve got plenty of cool points.”

“I’m sorry our date is ruined. I’ll make it up to you.” He said taking the Styrofoam cup of water.

“It’s okay, really. You can’t say it wasn’t exciting or memorable, right?” I joked weakly.

“Faith…I need to tell you something.”

“Okay.” I said with trepidation.

“I…haven’t been completely honest with you.”

I’ve come to hate surprises like this they always end horribly with your boyfriend telling you he cheated on you or that the woman he cheated on you with is pregnant or that he’s engaged.

“I don’t just live with Lady. I have a son.”

I was really caught off guard; but also relieved.

“O-uhhh-oooh.” I said expecting something completely different.

“He’s 7. His mom died three years ago in a car accident. I’ve been trying to figure out the best way to tell you. I didn’t want to scare you or make you feel obligated to meet him. I haven’t dated much since she died.”

“So, you’re a widower?” I asked.

“Yes.”

“I’m…I’m so sorry Randy.”

“It’s okay. Teddy and I have done our best to move on.”

“So his name is Teddy and he’s 7?”

“Yeah. He’s in second grade.”

“You could have told me this sooner. I like kids.” I said.

“I’ve felt horrible. Every time I’ve dropped you off at your door I’ve wanted to come in but Teddy doesn’t like to be left with the baby sitter for more than a few hours and-”

“It’s okay, Randy, you don’t have to explain. I understand…really. Do you want me to call the baby sitter and let her know where you are? She’s probably expecting you back soon.”

“Could you?” He asked.

I nodded and he gave me the number. I let Randy know that she would stay until we got back and then sat with him for the next two hours while he was observed. By the time he was discharged, it was past midnight, so I called a cab to take us home. Randy dropped me off at my apartment and went to kiss me but I stopped him.

“Maybe just a hug this time?” I joked.

“Good idea. I’ll make this up to you. I’m so sorry tonight was such a wash, Faith.”

“It’s okay. Feel better, alright?” I said. He nodded, waved, and then headed toward the stairwell. I feel like a weight has been lifted off of me. At least now I know why Randy has been blowing off my invitations. I really hope that he accepts soon, though.

(And yes, yes I am ignoring the Sean drama for now. How could you tell?)