find?”
Damn. Not the result he wanted. Perhaps he should be grateful that she only wanted friendship and not bring sex into it. He spilled his guts, and it backfired. But if they never slept together, at least he wanted her to know how he felt about her.
“Okay, I can see I can’t change your mind. But I still want to know why you reacted so strongly. I’ve never seen you like that, and I hate to think I was the sole cause of it.”
****
Judith didn’t know where to begin. What would she say? She would have to confess everything. Then they would have sex and then split up. Just like she and Mark.
Doug took her hands in his and stroked them. “What’s going on, hon? What are you afraid of? Is it me?”
“It’s us.” She sniffed.
“What about us?”
“Doug, you’re the best friend I ever had, man or woman. I don’t want to lose that.” Judith didn’t know if she could go on without Doug in her life. God, he was that important to her.
She felt alive in his presence, joy when they talked and went out together. She felt a sense of peace whenever she talked to him after a hectic day at the office. Where else could she find that in this lifetime?
And besides, she wanted to be a true friend to him. Unlike what happened years ago, if they got together, she wouldn’t hesitate to tell the world.
But that wasn’t going to happen.
“And you won’t. I meant it when I told you years ago, that you’re stuck with me for life. I knew then that I couldn’t have a better friend.”
“But if we sleep together, all that will be ruined. You know it will change. It won’t be the same anymore.”
“You think our friendship is that fragile?”
“It happened to me and Mark!” She clasped her hand over her mouth. She didn’t mean to get so emotional and she definitely didn’t want to blurt that out.
“You and Mark who?”
Judith did not want to relive that humiliation and she definitely didn’t want to tell Doug. It happened over ten years ago anyway, but the scars stuck with her.
“Please, Doug, it doesn’t matter.”
“The hell if it doesn’t! You ran out of here like a bat outta hell. You’re scared to let me touch you, even to just hold your hand and you’re sitting here looking at me as if I were a total stranger. It matters a lot. Now come on. I spilled my guts to you, don’t you think it’s fair, that you tell me what’s going on with you.”
Judith watched the vein in his neck. He was pissed and she really couldn’t blame him.
She sat there, her hands in her lap clasped tightly together. Doug had every right to be mad at her. She needed to come clean. Maybe then, he would see that being intimate with each other would be a huge mistake.
“Fine, I’ll tell you.”
She told the whole sordid story. How she and Mark dated behind Terri and Lana’s back. Not meaning any harm, but just thought it best. How just like him, Mark thought it only natural to take their friendship one step further That he felt something “special” for her. It seemed like a good idea at first. No one had a clue, but when Lana found out that Mark spent the night with Judith, she flipped. It wasn’t until later that she found out Marked played all of them.
The naïveté of college youth.
“Lana and I stopped speaking. I tried to explain what happened, and that sooner or later we would have told them, but since Mark was with Lana too, she wouldn’t hear of it.”
“Where was Mark when all of this came down.” Doug looked and sounded pissed.
“He...he left me. He told me he couldn’t take all the drama that the other girls were bringing.” Judith began to sob harder. “He just left me, he didn’t have the guts to face any of us, so it made me look like the villain.” Judith put her head in her hands and began crying harder.
Just mentioning how Mark turned his back on her felt like a knife to the heart.
“I should have followed my first instinct. I believed Lana liked Mark. He flirted
Damn. Not the result he wanted. Perhaps he should be grateful that she only wanted friendship and not bring sex into it. He spilled his guts, and it backfired. But if they never slept together, at least he wanted her to know how he felt about her.
“Okay, I can see I can’t change your mind. But I still want to know why you reacted so strongly. I’ve never seen you like that, and I hate to think I was the sole cause of it.”
****
Judith didn’t know where to begin. What would she say? She would have to confess everything. Then they would have sex and then split up. Just like she and Mark.
Doug took her hands in his and stroked them. “What’s going on, hon? What are you afraid of? Is it me?”
“It’s us.” She sniffed.
“What about us?”
“Doug, you’re the best friend I ever had, man or woman. I don’t want to lose that.” Judith didn’t know if she could go on without Doug in her life. God, he was that important to her.
She felt alive in his presence, joy when they talked and went out together. She felt a sense of peace whenever she talked to him after a hectic day at the office. Where else could she find that in this lifetime?
And besides, she wanted to be a true friend to him. Unlike what happened years ago, if they got together, she wouldn’t hesitate to tell the world.
But that wasn’t going to happen.
“And you won’t. I meant it when I told you years ago, that you’re stuck with me for life. I knew then that I couldn’t have a better friend.”
“But if we sleep together, all that will be ruined. You know it will change. It won’t be the same anymore.”
“You think our friendship is that fragile?”
“It happened to me and Mark!” She clasped her hand over her mouth. She didn’t mean to get so emotional and she definitely didn’t want to blurt that out.
“You and Mark who?”
Judith did not want to relive that humiliation and she definitely didn’t want to tell Doug. It happened over ten years ago anyway, but the scars stuck with her.
“Please, Doug, it doesn’t matter.”
“The hell if it doesn’t! You ran out of here like a bat outta hell. You’re scared to let me touch you, even to just hold your hand and you’re sitting here looking at me as if I were a total stranger. It matters a lot. Now come on. I spilled my guts to you, don’t you think it’s fair, that you tell me what’s going on with you.”
Judith watched the vein in his neck. He was pissed and she really couldn’t blame him.
She sat there, her hands in her lap clasped tightly together. Doug had every right to be mad at her. She needed to come clean. Maybe then, he would see that being intimate with each other would be a huge mistake.
“Fine, I’ll tell you.”
She told the whole sordid story. How she and Mark dated behind Terri and Lana’s back. Not meaning any harm, but just thought it best. How just like him, Mark thought it only natural to take their friendship one step further That he felt something “special” for her. It seemed like a good idea at first. No one had a clue, but when Lana found out that Mark spent the night with Judith, she flipped. It wasn’t until later that she found out Marked played all of them.
The naïveté of college youth.
“Lana and I stopped speaking. I tried to explain what happened, and that sooner or later we would have told them, but since Mark was with Lana too, she wouldn’t hear of it.”
“Where was Mark when all of this came down.” Doug looked and sounded pissed.
“He...he left me. He told me he couldn’t take all the drama that the other girls were bringing.” Judith began to sob harder. “He just left me, he didn’t have the guts to face any of us, so it made me look like the villain.” Judith put her head in her hands and began crying harder.
Just mentioning how Mark turned his back on her felt like a knife to the heart.
“I should have followed my first instinct. I believed Lana liked Mark. He flirted
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