Say That Again? Ch. 01

Again I kept myself in her until I was soft and then I pulled out. Then Carla made my day. Maybe even my week, month and year when she said:

"Jesus Christ Bobby; can I keep you?"

I smiled and said "We'll see."

"What does that mean?"

"There is more to a relationship than sex. We will need some time together to learn more about each other."

"I can do that."

Carla took up my time for the next month and then at the end of a Saturday date as I was headed for my place she told me to take her to her dorm. I thought she needed to run inside to get something before going to my place. Not so.

"I'm sorry Bob, but I'm not going to see you anymore."

"Why? What did I do?"

"It isn't anything you have done. This is all on me. You are a great guy and you have never failed to ring my chimes when we are intimate. But there isn't any spark there. I like you Bobby; I like you a lot, but I don't love you. We need to end it so we can each go find our other half."

She leaned over and kissed me and then got out of the car. As I watched her walk into her dorm I knew she was right. She was a great bed buddy, but in my heart I knew that is all she would ever be.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

A week later I was sitting in a booth at the Village Inn reading a book written by C. J. Box while enjoying pie and coffee when Penny sat down on the other side of the table.

"How have you been Bobby?"

"Hanging in there."

"I saw Carla out on a date with some guy. You two on the outs?"

"Decided we had no future together. Kind of like us."

"Why would you say that? You know you are my guy and we will eventually be together all the time."

"No we won't Penny. You keep going out with other guys and that puts the lie to your statement that I'm your guy."

"You are my man Bobby. For better or worse even though we aren't married yet."

"Yeah. Right."

"You going to Country Western night at the VFW tonight?"

"Probably."

"Would you like a dance partner?"

"You volunteering?"

"I am."

We had a fun night and when it was over she wanted to go home with me and what followed was an exhausting night.

For the next three weeks Penny and I were back together and I thought maybe Penny was over her curiosity about other guys. Then one Friday while we were sitting at a table at the Village Inn talking over pie and coffee I asked her what she wanted to do Saturday and she told me she already had another date. I didn't say anything; I just acted like it was nothing, but I think she got the message when I took her home instead of to my place.

I got out of the car and walked around and opened her door. She looked up at me with a "What are you doing" look on her face and I took hold of her arm and pulled her out of the car. I walked her to her do and then I turned and left. She was still standing on her porch and watching me as I drove away.

Four days later she called me and asked me why she hadn't heard from me.

"Shouldn't come as a surprise to you Penny. You already know my stance on your dating other guys. Just go and have your fun. Goodbye."

I hung up on her and knowing Penny would be on her way over "To talk some sense into me" I got dressed and took off. I had just turned twenty-one so I headed for a close by sports bar, had a beer and watched whatever was showing on the multiple TVs.

I avoided Penny and didn't take her calls and after a week she stopped trying. I could avoid any interaction with her, but I couldn't avoid seeing her since it didn't seem to matter where I went she was usually there with some guy. I got dirty looks from her every time she saw me with either Carla or Pauline.

Carla and Pauline?

Carla came up to me one day and asked me if I'd ever heard the term friends with benefits and when I said yes she asked "How about it? Want to give it a try?" and I said "Hell yes."

But before that I'd been seeing Pauline. She had seen me one day in the Student Union and had asked me why she hadn't heard from me and I told her why. She told me he was history and she would really like to get back together with me. We had a hot time together until the red headed stranger showed up again and she dumped me. It didn't upset me because, thanks to Carla's telling me about Pauline's off and on again relationship with Rory, I was sort of expecting it.

It was a week after that that Carla proposed the FWB idea to me. We lasted about two months before Carla broke it off again.

Two weeks later Penny caught me coming out of class and said "I hear you and Carla broke up again. True?"

"True."

"I'm done with my checking to see what other guys might be like. I'm ready to settle down now. Can we get back together now?"

We lasted three weeks until she broke a date with me to go out with another guy. Three weeks and four guys later here she was talking pregnancy with me.

"What do you mean "If I decide to have it?" Of course I'm going to have it. And it is yours!"

"And I'm still saying I doubt it given as many guys as you have date."

"I dated them, but I didn't go to bed with any of them."

"So you say now, but I have my doubts about it. After all you did tell me you were doing it to see what other guys might be like. Like I said, when we can do a DNA test and it says the kid is mine I'll decide what to do."

To say she was upset with my stance would be an understatement. Extremely pissed would be more accurate. The baby might be mine, but there was no way I was going to do anything until I knew for sure.

To be continued.