8 Weeks (Time for Love 1)

Although I didn’t want him to put his arms around me again, I did feel pride at his words.

To try and keep the situation from getting awkward, I said, “Okay, now let’s do one together.”

The excitement fell from his face and I laughed at the look that replaced it.

“You’ll be fine,” I said with a chuckle. “Don’t be a baby.”

Determination settled on Cal’s face. He was never one to back down from a challenge.

“Okay,” he said, taking my hand and leading me back to the stage.

Luckily, it was early enough that the only people in the audience were regulars, so we didn’t have to wait in line or fight for a turn to sing. I couldn’t imagine the terror that Cal would have felt if we had a packed house.

Rather than jerk my hand out of his, I allowed it, but I was very conscious of the feelings holding his hand evoked: trepidation, longing, and contentment.

I needed to focus and remember why we were even on this “date.”

“Any duet is fine,” Cal said to the DJ as we walked passed him and up the steps.

I grabbed the mic and watched as someone walked over and gave Cal another one. We looked at each other, then turned to the screen.

My mind was filled with so many warnings and contradictions that I didn’t even pay attention to the music, but just started singing when the words popped on the screen.

I looked over at Cal and when he sang, “I can’t look at you, when I’m lying next to her,” the words penetrated and I dropped the mic.

I flew off the stage, down the stairs, and out the door, tears streaming down my face.

“Shelly, wait,” Cal called out from behind me.

I stopped and turned, not bothering to wipe the tears or hide the fact that with one sentence the scab that had been forming over my heart was ripped off.

“I’m sorry,” Cal said helplessly. He ran his hands through his hair and looked around the parking lot before turning back to face me, with sorrow in his eyes. “I didn’t know what song they were gonna play.”

“I know,” I said sadly. “This is just too hard.”

“No, Shelly, please.” Cal stepped toward me, but stopped himself from touching me. “Please, don’t give up. Give us these eight weeks.”

I brought my eyes to his and nodded slightly. “I have to go.”

Cal didn’t say anything, just watched me leave. He was still standing there when I looked back in my rearview mirror.

Chapter 13 - Cal

This day sucked.

After screwing up my first date with Shelly, I'd gone home and had a few beers with Scott, driving him crazy by whining about how I needed to win Shelly back. Then, this morning, I'm faced with the fact that my friends and I are all getting together to pack up my house, so that Shelly and I can separate our belongings and sell the house we'd loved so much.

I swear, she and I must have looked at twenty-five houses before we'd agreed on the little fixer-upper five miles from where we'd grown up. The fact that we were really going through with selling it broke my heart.

I was worried that without tangible proof of our marriage together, it would be easier for Shelly to walk away.

I hoped I was wrong.

It was hard to hold on to that hope, though, when the same four people who had helped us move into this house were helping us move out.

"TJ, I swear to God, if you don't give me back that packing tape this instant, I'm going to kick you right in your flat ass!" I heard Sasha yell from the other room.

"Red, you know my ass is perfect," TJ yelled back. "That's why you haven't been able to take your eyes off of it for the past six years."