To Love a Man by Carolyn Faulkner

any other date, until – or if , she’d said very pointedly – she began to feel comfortable with him, and preferably develop some feelings for him, then they could both go home right now. She didn’t intend to throw her first experience away, she’d said, on someone who wouldn’t appreciate that she’d valued herself enough, knew herself well enough, to wait for the right person.
    He’d leaned forward and raised an eyebrow at her, then leaned back so that the waitress could put their chili cheese fries on the table between them. He hadn’t answered her immediately, asking instead, “And how many times have you been left high and dry in a restaurant because the guy wasn’t willing to wait?”
    Ellie had smiled wryly and sighed, but she didn’t seem at all put out about it – more philosophical, if anything. “More times than I would like to think. The fact that I won’t put out on the first date is probably why I’m still a virgin.” She shrugged. “Their loss.”
    He was inclined to agree, giving her a thorough once over. She was just this side of chubby – not really fat, just possessing curves that had his palms itching to explore them. He liked a girl who bucked the trends – especially the one to be rail thin – who knew herself well enough to stick to her guns about something – especially something as hard to resist as sex. But then, she really didn’t know what she was missing – literally.
    Cal took a fry from the basket and eyed her thoughtfully. “I’m still here.”
    “Well, that’s refreshing. But are you just planning to wrestle me in the car later, hoping to change my mind?”
    Jealousy flared in a way it never had before for him, and guilt wasn’t that far behind it, because he’d been that guy, trying to get a girl to acquiesce to what he wanted. He’d never felt ashamed about it, until now. The idea that she’d had to physically fight off guys who, as he had, only had one thing on their mind, nearly made him physically ill, and had him asking her something he’d never considered asking anyone else.
    “No, I can promise you that I will not do that to you. But I do want something else from you.”
    She looked understandably wary. “What?”
    “I know that this is our first date,” he said, taking her hand in his, “and I’m on board with waiting until you feel comfortable taking it to the next level. But I want to be the only guy you date.”
    He could see that she was surprised by what he’d asked. “And I’d be the only girl you’d date?”
    “Yes.” He’d amazed himself by agreeing quickly, but he’d meant it. He made it a point not to say things he didn’t mean.
    She considered him for a long moment, and he relaxed back into his chair, despite the fact that he didn’t think anyone had ever given him quite that thorough a going over. He wasn’t used to such close perusal. He had grown up privileged, and made friends relatively easily, without trying very hard to. Women were drawn to him for some reason he really didn’t question much, but he’d never met one to whom he was willing to make that kind of a commitment. 
    There was something about her that drew him to her – something that he couldn’t put his finger on, until they had been talking several dates later. He had promised her that he wouldn’t make her have to struggle with him every night about whether or not they were going to have sex, but he hadn’t promised her that he was going to be a monk around her, either. He knew he wouldn’t be able to stick to that, so he would never have made that bargain.
    He had surprised her at the end of their first date by asking her out every night of the coming week, and she had laughed, explaining that she had a new job teaching and that she would be spending her evenings making lesson plans and correcting homework. 
    He got her to agree to see him on Wednesday nights, as well as Friday and Saturday nights, and he made sure that she spent as much of that