Friends Upgrade by Stephanie Williams Page A

held on tight.
    “Not until we talk. Now something is going on with you and I need to know what.”
    “There’s nothing going on with me. I like things the way they are between us. You’re the one that wants to bring sex into it. Why can’t you leave well enough alone?”
    She broke from his grip and tried heading back to the room. But Doug had enough. He grabbed her, hoisted her over his shoulders and walked back to their suite. They went past Connie’s desk and he shrugged as he went by. She gave him a wide smile and a thumbs-up.
    “What a man,” he heard someone say as he got on the elevator.
    Once in the room, Judith tried to make a break to the bathroom. Doug caught her arm again. “Oh, no you don’t. I’m tired of you running, and I mean running away from whatever it is that got you so worked up.”
    He walked her to the bed and sat her on it. Doug looked around the room and grabbed a chair. He sat it in front of her, took a seat and crossed his arms. “Talk.”
    Tears began to flow again.
    Oh no.
    “Judith, my mother use to say, ‘You realize that even though you may know a person for a long time, you really don’t know them.’ I’m feeling that way with you. What’s going on, hon? This reaction you had, I don’t get it.”
    “You wouldn’t understand,” she sniffed. “You’re a man, so you wouldn’t understand what it means to mix sex with friendships. How I lost so much, and I don’t want to lose you.”
    Doug stood up so fast, his head spun. “Are you kidding me? Is that what you think of me?” Doug paced the room rubbing the back of his head. He came back and stood in front of her. She looked so scared. It killed him that he could be the cause of her anguish. He needed to set some things straight.
    “Judith, listen to me. I am not a ‘wham-bam-thank-you ma’am’ type of guy. I thought you knew that. I’ve been through that, and I don’t care to relive it.”
    He sat in front of her again and took her hands in his.
    “I had two relationships before I met you. One was nothing to write about, but the other something significant happened. The one relationship I had that really changed my dating habits was with a friend...ex-friend.”
    “See, I—”
    “Shh.” He put his fingers over her lips. “Hear me out, then you can judge me.” Doug rubbed the back of her hand, enjoying the feel of them.
    Her hand trembled and that disturbed him. He needed to fix this. He had to. He didn’t want to lose her.
    “This ‘friend’ wanted to experiment and see if we could be ‘friends with benefits.’ No strings, no commitment, no emotional hang-ups. That didn’t work out so well. I wanted more. That kind of sex to me is shallow and empty. It seemed to suit her fine however. She became cold and distant in the bedroom. Except for the few orgasms I gave her, she showed no real emotion towards me.” Letting go of her hands for just a second, Doug reached and grabbed his pajama top. He put it on and quickly took her hands again.
    “I swore never to have that again,” he continued. “When you and I meet, the timing seemed perfect. You are my best friend, Judith, but you’re also more than that to me. A revelation almost. I know I can have more with you. We cultivated a bond that I never had with a woman. Maybe I misjudged something, thinking we could go beyond what we have.”
    “Why didn’t you tell me? I had no idea. But you see, this is why I want to keep things the way they are. Look at what happened to you. Doug, you mean too much to me. Sex involves so many emotions. Suppose...suppose we do sleep together and it doesn’t work out, or we have a terrible fight later on. I’ll lose something more precious to me. Your friendship.
    “Your friendship is the first one since college that I can rely on without a doubt. I know I can come to you with anything and not be judged. I shared things with you that I know you never told and vise versa. Do you know how hard that is to