part two                            ...or go to the beginning....

we had coffee that first night at kerbey and talked for nearly four hours, until the sun's rays had come sweeping back around to begin another day.

she slept through our second date. i sat at cactus cafe and waited, finally deciding that she had flaked on me, or just forgot; like a glass of water. i was very angry. her roommate told me that she was sleeping, but i really didn't believe her. i still didn't know about the second job and school. she called later that evening and explained it all to me.

she asked me if i knew anything about installing fences and invited me to come to her house the next day and dig some post holes. of course, this really sounded like fun so i agreed and went the next morning in spite of the rain. it was this day that i learned of her boyfriend, mike, that lived with her. no. actually he was her fiancee. his job kept him overseas about 10 months out of the year. their engagement had been postponed and she said things weren't going too well with them. i should have curbed all interest right then. i tried. honestly. i tried.

the first night we made love was the most passionate experience i think either of us had to that point in our lives. it was simply too much to back away from. lying in her arms that night, i knew i had a serious problem. i was the other guy.

the moment you are the other guy with a woman, you will forever wonder if and when the next "other guy" is going to show up. it plays with your mind. this began to trouble me immediately. i refused to be the ultimate undoing of any relationship. so a month later, i decided to give her my best rendition of the friendship speech.

to say it didn't go over well... well, you know. moments before picking her up that evening and delivering my schpiel, she had finally dropped the axe on the live-in. he knew about the wonderful all-night talks. he knew about the wonderful all-night other stuff too. i was no longer the "other guy."but since she waited to tell me about this until i had spoken my peace, i was not even "the guy." we didn't have dinner that night. we got to the restaurant and turned around to go straight back home.

we didn't talk for nearly three weeks. but a phone call in the middle of the night one january morning changed things forever. her world had been turned completely upside down and i was the only one that could possibly be expected to be there for her. so i went to her side and fell madly in love.