8 Weeks (Time for Love 1)

“Take one for the team, my ass,” Sasha said, walking toward TJ with an exaggerated shake of her hips. “You know you go to bed at night and dream of me. Wishing that one day I’d take pity on you and show you what it’s like to sleep with a real woman … Not just some whore from the bar.”

“Alright, guys,” Gaby cut in, always the peacekeeper. “We get it … You’re both young, hot, and virile. How about you let it go and focus on Cal and Shelly. We need to do whatever we can to help Cal win her back.”

I smiled gratefully at Gaby, thought about having another piece of pizza, then realized that I really didn’t have much of an appetite. I was too nervous.

I prayed to God that my plan would work, and that after this Saturday, I would be back together with my wife.

I wouldn’t stop planning dates though. I’d discovered a lot over the past few weeks, and I realized that our marriage wasn’t as solid as I thought it was … Not when Shelly felt she needed my permission to do things that she wanted, and not when there were so many things that we wanted to do, but hadn’t made time for.

I promised myself that if she did take me back, that I’d be more cognizant of the little things that made her happy, and that I’d step out of my comfort zone and try new things with her. If the last few weeks had taught me anything, it was that we’d been coasting along in our little bubble, happy and satisfied, but that there was so much more out there that would bring joy to our lives. We just had to get out there and give it a shot.

Chapter 36 – Shelly

I didn’t catch on at first … Not when Sasha came by early Saturday morning to take me shopping at Kohl’s. Not when she offered to buy me a Keurig, so I’d always have the perfect cup of coffee seconds away. Not when she went through my closet to help me pick out the perfect outfit for my final date with Cal. And not when she hugged me tightly, with tears in her eyes, and told me to keep an open mind, and do what came naturally.

No … I just thought she was as emotional as I was, knowing that this was my final date with Cal.

I caught on when TJ showed up at my door instead of Cal, looking handsome as sin, with a smile just as devilish.

“What are you doing here?” I asked when I opened the door.

“Cal’s been injured at the gym playing basketball and he’s been calling for you. We have to hurry.” He said the words in an over-exaggerated tone of worry, unlike the night of my proposal, when I’d believed him whole-heartedly and had gone racing past him toward the gym.

I stood there and looked at him, my heart both conflicted and buoyant at the same time.

“Really?” I asked, silently asking him to confirm what I thought he was saying.

“Really,” TJ said with a small smile, offering his arm to me.

I looked from his face to his arm, then back again.

Cal was going to propose.

Just like he had the night of our high school graduation.

Should I go … and possibly break his heart?

Or should I leave him there, embarrassed in front of our friends, and save myself the emotional turmoil that would come from going?

I took TJ’s arm and let him lead me to his car.

We drove to the high school in silence, the events of my last proposal replaying in my head. It had been so romantic, and so unexpected. Everyone had said that our love would never last, that we were too young, but Cal and I hadn’t cared. We’d believed, one hundred percent, that our love was true, and that it would last forever.

When we arrived at the school, TJ walked me up the stairs and to the roof of the gymnasium, then stepped to the side as I opened the

door.

I was taken back to that night … It looked exactly the same. Lights strung up and twinkling, flowers spread around the roof, filling the night with their beautiful fragrance, and candles flickering in the wind. In the center of it all stood Cal, handsome and proud in his suit, his hair blowing in the breeze, a giant smile on his face. This time, his smile was tinged with worry, but he looked even more handsome than he had that night, six years ago.

I walked slowly toward him, my maxi skirt swaying a bit with every movement, and I stopped a few feet in front of him.

He stepped forward and took my hands in his, squeezing them gently before he began to speak. “Shelly, I know that what I did was unforgiveable, and I won’t blame you if you can’t see past it and continue on in this marriage with me. I don’t know if I’d be able to stand the thought of you being with another man. Honestly … it would kill me, so I get it. I’m betting on the fact that you’re a better person than me. You just are … I’m also betting on our love. Shelly, we have both known since the moment we met that what we have is special, and most people are never lucky enough to find a love like ours. I have never wanted another woman the way that I want you, and when I woke up and realized what I’d done, I wanted to die. I knew that it would rip us a part, but I couldn’t keep it from you, Shelly. I couldn’t lie to you, not about something as important as that, even though I knew you would hate me for it. And you did … I saw it on your face, and felt it in your rejection … You hated me for it.”

Cal closed his eyes and squeezed my hands again before taking a deep breath and continuing, “Thank you for giving me these last eight weeks. You didn’t have to. You could have served me with divorce papers right then and there, and you would have been totally justified. Thank you for giving me a chance to prove my love to you. I learned a lot over the past eight weeks, not just how much I love you, and always will, but that our marriage wasn’t as perfect as I thought it was. Shelly, I never want you to feel like you have to ask me permission to do what you want … I’m your partner, and I want you to view me that way. I want you to feel comfortable enough in your own skin to tell me what you want, and I’ll do the same for you. I want to spend the rest of my life learning about you. I want to be surprised by you, and I want to keep trying new things together. We have tried more new things over the past eight weeks than in the six years of our relationship. I want to keep exploring with you, and finding out what we like and don’t like. More than anything, I want to be allowed back into your life, every day, and every night. I want you back, Shelly, now and forever, and I want to spend the rest of my life, proving how much I love and cherish you.”

I stood immobile as he spoke, everything he said washing over me in waves of emotion. Everything he said was perfect, he was perfect, and yet I was still terrified. Terrified of the thought of life with him, and terrified of the thought of life without him.

I looked around as he waited patiently for me to speak, and smiled at our friends watching and waiting in the sidelines, just as they had the night of our engagement.