Plans Come Together Ch. 04

- "Fuck." I said. I made myself a promise: I wasn't finished with Steve Holmgren.

Joanne's story, from then on, was pretty much a self-fulfilling prophecy. She was hit on by every guy looking for an easy score. It didn't matter if she said 'No' - they would tell their friends that they'd banged her.

- "I'm not brainy, like you, Kyle." she said. "But I've got a good body, and I'm not shy. I can make some money now, and then maybe get an education later."

- "I want to stay friends, Jo. Whatever happens."

- "Duh." she said.

***

For the rest of that summer, Mike and I hung out with Diane and Amy quite a bit. We had Rude Scrabble games, and found a little pub that had Trivia nights on Thursdays. We always had Trekkers versus Jedi wanna-bes debates.

The experience at Bailey's cottage had created a bond between us - just not the ones I had hoped for. But we had a good time with Diane and Amy.

It wasn't until the new semester started, in September, that I noticed a difference. At the beginning of October, I was a little more sure.

- "Mike?"

- "Yeah?"

- "You were out kinda late last night."

- "Yeah. I was... I was with Amy."

- "What?"

He frowned. "I know. I know that you tried to set me up with Diane - and I really appreciate that. But... when we were at Bailey's cottage, I found out that Diane wasn't a match for me..."

- "But Amy is?"

Mike blushed. "Yeah."

I pumped a fist in the air. "Fuck, yeah!"

Mike was taken aback. "But... I thought that you were interested in Amy."

- "Three months ago, Mike. And I found out at the cottage that Amy and I weren't a good match. I told you so."

- "I know. But I thought..."

I had to laugh. I'd kept it clean with Diane because I didn't want to hurt my rommate. Meanwhile, he'd been sneaking around with the girl he really liked - a girl that he thought I was still hung up on.

I gave him a short lecture. Then I punched him in the arm. Then I punched him again. Immediately after that, I went for a walk, so that I could think about Diane.

If Amy had been seeing Mike, then Diane had to know about it. Those two had no secrets. So Diane now knew that the bro code argument - the one I'd used to let her down gently - was no longer in play. It would hardly hurt Mike's feelings if Diane and I got together. But if I didn't address the subject with her... that would be a much crueler rejection.

She'd taken the risk, up at Bailey's cottage, and told me how she felt. It was probably too much to say that I'd broken her heart, but getting rejected a second time would certainly hurt. I suspected that she might not bring up the subject again - but every day that went by without me saying something would be a continuous silent rejection. I couldn't do that to her. I had to at least clear the air between us, and that meant being completely honest with her - again. I called her.

- "Kyle?"

- "Saturday night. Drink and drift."

- "What?"

- "You come over here. Wear comfortable clothes. Bring your beverage of choice. We'll go where the wind and currents take us."

There was a long pause before she answered. "Okay. Food?"

- "Eat first. Be here between seven and eight."

- "Understood."

What an incredible woman. I didn't have to explain, in great detail. She got it. That left me a couple of days to decide what I wanted.

She arrived at 7:30, with two cans of cider. I put them in the centre of the floor (the limited space between my my bed and Mike's), and then plopped down six cans of beer right next to them.

Diane was wearing a long white shirt, much too long for her, and a pair of shorts that left most of her excellent legs bare. She looked radiant (as she so often did), but also nervous.

I sat on the carpet, between the beds, with my back to the window. Diane sat at the end of our beds, facing me. I pretended to paddle.

- "Okay." I said. "We're in the middle of the lake. No one can hear us."

- "Kyle," she said, "you don't have to -"

- "Yes, I do. We were honest with each other, up at Bailey's cottage. Well, you were. I was keeping something back. So I'll tell you al of it tonight. I didn't want to start anything with you because of Mike. But I also couldn't picture having a relationship with you because of our schedules."

- "Our schedules?"

- "You have more energy than anyone I've ever met, Diane. You're involved in so many groups, volunteer for so many charities... when would you even have time for a boyfriend? Then there's my work schedule. And both of us need time to study. It just... it wouldn't work."

Diane sat still, just looking at me. She didn't seem upset. If anything, she looked relieved.

- "That's... not what I was expecting." she said.

- "What were you expecting?"

- "I don't know. Probably that you were going to let me down easy again. That you'd find some nice way to tell me you didn't want to go out with me. But... but you sort of do, don't you?"

- "Of course I do. I told you at the cottage. You're beautiful, and smart, and fun to be with. And I'm in awe of your... your energy. Your vitality."

She smiled. "Then we should try, don't you think? Because I'm still kind of fond of you."

I shook my head. "It wouldn't work. It would be too frustrating. Look: my classes are all jammed into the first four days of the week, so that I can have Fridays free to work. I work Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday nights, and all day Friday and Saturday. I have Thursday and Friday nights off, but have to be at work early the next day. My only real free time is Saturday night and Sunday. Sundays are not only my study time, but they're your busiest day of volunteering. My lightest class load is on Tuesday - but that's your heaviest. There's no way to get around it: our schedules just don't match."

- "Where there's a will, there's a way." she said.

It was a simple, trite cliche. But I could hear that she meant it.

"You know my schedule. You've thought about how our schedules conflict. You've been thinking about me, Kyle. That makes me very happy. But you've been focusing on the negatives."

- "Realities." I said. "I would have to share you with all of your other commitments - and the same is true for you and my job. There just wouldn't be any time for... us."

- "So we change the realities. Look, you would always have to share me, in a way. I wouldn't quit spending time with Amy, just like you would never abandon your friends, or your family. And I'm not going to quit volunteering - it's part of who I am. Just like you have to work. I understand that. But schedules can be changed. I could shift some of my activities to after classes on Monday, when you're working. Or Tuesdays and Wednesdays. I could be free on Sundays. You're not about to study for twelve hours straight, are you?"

- "No."

- "Plus you're forgetting holidays, the summer term..."

She was right about that.

"All work and no play... wasn't that what you said to get Amy and me to go up to Bailey's cottage? You need some time for yourself. And maybe some romance in your life? Look - I'm not asking you to add another long-term commitment to your busy schedule. But what if we just went ahead and tried?"

- "You make it sound so... logical."

- "No, It's not. I'm excited. I'm... so excited that I'm giddy. The guy I like likes me. Isn't that the most wonderful feeling?"

Some arguments you just can't win - and some you don't want to win. Had that been what I was hoping for all along - that she would just be smarter than me?

"You may be right, in the long run." she said. "Our schedules may be too big an obstacle. We may even be a disaster waiting to happen. But I'm willing to risk it."

- "Tis better to have loved and lost...?"

- "Now you're speaking my language." She smiled. "This is probably where you should kiss me."

Diane approached love-making with all of the energy and vitality that she brought to everything she did. But she wasn't just giddy; she was a little bit goofy. She couldn't help smiling, while we were kissing. She couldn't stop grinning as I undressed her.

She was slender, but still had curves: small but perfectly shaped breasts, a narrow waist, and a really nice backside. I was also stunned to see that her long, dark hair reached all the way down her back, almost to the crack of her ass.

Diane didn't have much experience, as I discovered later. Whoever she'd been with, I suspected that she'd steam-rolled them, just as she tried to do to me. But that wasn't going to happen. I had to pin her to my bed and teach her how to receive oral.

That's when the goofiness faded, and the smile disappeared. She closed her eyes, and surrendered to the sensations. Then she reached out to touch my hair, and began murmuring my name, over and over.

***

EPILOGUE

Diane was right. The limitations imposed by our busy schedules only made the time we had together all the more special. We hung out with Mike and Amy on Thursday nights, but Friday nights were for us alone (even if I did have to work the next day). Saturday nights were more flexible. On Sundays we studied together, and made love at least twice.

She tried hard to break me of my rigid adherence to schedule. On Wednesdays, she found an opportunity to entice me into a quickie between classes - or even just a short walk and some private time for us.

Mike and Amy started openly dating in November. I organized a Star Trek marathon in their honour. Amy and I became better friends, mostly because I could see how happy Mike was with her, while she confessed that her best friend had been 'walking on air' since October.

I ran into Lisa a couple of times. The first time, she acted as if it was no big deal. I asked about Bailey. I resisted the urge to ask how Matt was.

The next time I saw her, she suggested that I might want to come back to her room. "Unless you have another commitment." There was just a little bit of snark in her tone.

- "Sorry, Leece. I have a girlfriend."

- "What? Since when? Who is she?"

- "You've met her. Diane Pirrie."

Steve Holmgren got an unpleasant surprise when he came out of a dinner at the golf club one night that Fall: all four of his car's tires had been deflated. It took him several more days to figure out that the smells he was suffering through weren't just skunks, or farmers fertilizing their fields. There was a dead groundhog - or parts of one - stuck inside his engine.

He suspected the golf course staff, of course, and lodged several complaints. After the season's final tournament and dinner, Steve was assaulted on his way to his car. Somehow, he ended up covered in liquid manure.

Bailey invited me back to her cottage the following summer. I asked if I could bring my girlfriend.

- "Anyone I know?" She let loose a shriek when I told her.

We had a lovely long weekend at Bailey's cottage. Mike and Amy came along. Bailey brought her new guy, Andrew (an improvement on Steve, but I wasn't 100% sold on him). Diane got to water ski again, revisit Bailey's magical brook, and go for a drink and drift with me.

- "I love you." I said, out on the lake. It wasn't the first time I'd said it, but she never got tired of hearing it.

- "This is where I first realized that I love you." she said.

I have no idea what the future holds - but I know what I'm hoping for.

*****