8 Weeks (Time for Love 1)

I looked at her for a moment, wanting to make sure she was sure that this was what she wanted. When I met her stony glare, I took a deep breath and began to recount that night in Vegas.

“We started at the craps table. We spent a lot of money and had a lot of free drinks in about an hour. We skipped dinner. I don’t think we meant to, it just kind of happened. We went from Bellagio to Paris, and then took a cab to the other side of the strip. We would stop and gamble and have some drinks, and then we ended up going to a club.. I guess it was the lack of food and the insane amount of shots we did at the club that really fucked me up. Once we said that we were celebrating Scott’s bachelor party, everyone was buying us shots. I was trashed before midnight.”

I paused, my stomach in turmoil and my palms starting to sweat, but Shelly just sat there watching me silently, almost as if she was trying to separate herself emotionally from the conversation, so I continued on.

“I remember telling the guys I had to go, and they kept ragging on me, calling me a pussy, a lightweight, and whatever else they could think of to try and get me to stay, but I was too fucked up to care. They said they got me in a cab, and told the driver where we were staying. They even gave him some cash … I don’t know. I don’t remember anything from that point on.” I wrung my hands and stared into Shelly’s eyes, which were starting to tear up.

“When I woke up, I was naked and in bed with the worst hangover I’d ever had. I couldn’t make it to the bathroom, so I puked in a trash can by the desk in the room. I don’t know how long I threw up, but I heard the toilet flush and looked up, expecting to see one of the guys walk out, but it wasn’t one of the guys.”

“What did she look like?” Shelly asked, her voice barely above a whisper.

“Shelly ... it doesn’t matter,” I said, desperate for her to stop. I didn’t want to hurt her more than I already had.

“It matters to me,” she replied. “What did she look like?”

“She was blonde. Tall and blonde,” I responded, my voice laced with regret.

“Where did you meet her?”

“I don’t know.”

“But you had sex with her.”

“I don’t know, Shel.”

“Maybe you didn’t have sex with her then, if you can’t remember,” Shelly asked, and I got a glimpse of hope through the tears that were falling down her face.

“We were both naked, Shelly. And although I don’t remember meeting her or having sex with her, it’s the only logical conclusion that I can come up with.” I was sure my face reflected the regret that was filling my heart.

“So we’ll never know … Not for sure,” she surmised sadly.

I reached out my hands to hers, then took them back when she flinched.

“No,” I replied softly, although my entire being wanted to scream out loud.

It was like we were back to square one. Back to the night of our anniversary, like the last five weeks didn’t matter. I was crushing Shelly all over again. “I don’t think I’ll ever know for sure.”

Shelly nodded, then brought her hands up to wipe her face.

“I need you to go now.”

My heart dropped, and I wanted nothing more than to take her in my arms and hold her until both of our hearts were whole again.

“Shelly, please …” I started, but the look on her face stopped me. I stood up, but stopped and asked before leaving, “Will you still see me on Saturday?”

“I’ll let you know,” she replied, then brought her haunted gaze to mine. “I’m so mad at you,” she said again.

“I know,” I replied. “I’m sorry.”

Chapter 28 – Shelly

“What do you think?” I asked Sasha, pushing my shirt up my arm to show off my new tattoo. Strength was written in script across the inside of my left bicep.

“That looks wicked!” Sasha said, running her finger gently along the script. “I’m so sorry I couldn’t go with you and Gaby. There was no other time I could show that house, and I really wanted the commission.”

“How’d it go?” I asked as I moved up in line. We were waiting at the local deli to order our lunch. They had a killer Greek salad.

“I got it,” Sasha said with a beautiful grin. She looked gorgeous with her red hair pulled back into a high ponytail and wearing a sophisticated, yet sexy, gray pinstripe suit.