8 Weeks (Time for Love 1)

I smiled and said that I'd love to meet for lunch. Now I had to figure out how to get through the next few hours.

Chapter 15 - Cal

The last few days I'd fallen into a routine. Get up, go to work, have dinner with TJ, go back to Scott's, have a beer with him (if he's not out with Victoria), then go to bed and repeat.

It wasn’t exciting, but at least I wasn’t still moping on Scott's couch.

Last week's date hadn’t gone the way I'd planned, and packing up our house had been painful, but I wasn't giving up hope.

Today I'd asked Shelly to be ready, and hungry, at eleven. I stood at Shelly's dad's door and took a deep breath before knocking.

Shelly opened the door with a timid smile on her face, that didn't quite reach her eyes. I'm sure she was thinking back to the pain we'd both experienced last weekend, and I really hoped that today we could just enjoy each other's company.

"Hey," she said softly as she walked outside. She was dressed in jeans and a bright green top. I loved it when Shelly wore green, it made her eyes pop and made it seem like she was lit up from the inside out.

Her hair was shorter. It still fell past her shoulders in waves, but now it had some sort of highlights running through it.

"You look beautiful," I said honestly.

Shelly blushed lightly, then put a hand to her hair. "Thanks."

"Are you ready to go?"

"Sure," she said, bringing her eyes up to mine. "I'll follow you."

My stomach clenched a bit, but I nodded. I didn't know if she wanted to ride separately because she didn't want to have small talk in the car, or if she wanted a quick getaway. I got it, either way, but I hoped she'd eventually feel comfortable enough to ride with me.

The drive to the park didn't take long. Bellows Park was vast and green, with playgrounds, a dog park, a pond, and plenty of space to enjoy a meal.

I got out and met Shelly at her door. I opened it for her and held out my hand to help her out.

She took it and rose out of the car, then paused and looked at me.

"Bellows Park," she stated softly.

This was where I'd brought her on our first date. I was hoping to recreate that day, and the feelings that went with it, and I could tell by the look on her face, she knew it.

I walked around her car to mine, and opened my trunk. I pulled out a blanket and a picnic basket, then turned and smiled at Shelly.

"You ready?"

She nodded and I started off toward the spot by the pond that we'd picnic’d at all those years ago.

The weather had been perfect that day, and Shelly had looked amazingly beautiful in a pair of black shorts and a black-and-white striped top. Her hair had been pulled back into ponytail, and her face was fresh and pretty.

We'd come to the park with a lunch packed by my mother, but I never told Shelly that; I'd claimed that I'd made it all myself. I wanted to impress her, but I knew she saw right through me. She always did.

We'd spent the afternoon feeding ducks and nibbling on the food in the basket, as we told each other all of our hopes and dreams. We'd even rented a paddleboat and took it out to the middle of the pond. It was out there, in the center of the pond, with the sun setting, that I'd gathered the courage to lean in to her, and initiated our first kiss.

When we reached the edge of the pond, I laid out the blanket and placed the basket on the edge.

"Do you want to sit and eat, or do you want to feed the ducks first?" I asked Shelly when she looked to me for guidance.

She smiled slowly. "Ducks."

I opened the basket, pulled out half a loaf of bread, and handed it to her. The look on her face was childlike, and it warmed my heart. I hadn't seen her look so unburdened since our anniversary.

We walked over to the ducks, and I watched her as she opened the bag and tore off pieces of bread. She leaned over at the waist to throw some out to the ducks, and I took the opportunity to allow my gaze to travel her body. My own body began to harden as I watched Shelly's jeans strain against her backside.