Love Letter

Ian:

I was taken off guard when Lynne brought me back to my cabin. I had never let any of my girlfriends come back to my house, and Lynne was not even my girlfriend; we were just dating at this point. A lot of my relationships had ended because they all wanted to see where I lived. Or would give me an ultimatum that we stayed at my place or we were over. They would use their authoritative voice that constantly wavered when they told me how it would go down. It never took me off guard when my relationships would come to this – I would always say see you later. That was that I would think after it had ended. It was weird not letting anyone over, but none of them was important enough.

I made sure to put away my laptop and the journal I had of hers in case she insisted on seeing my room. Lynne caught it and started asking me what was wrong with how my mood had changed. I tried to reassure her as much as I could that everything was okay. Once I sat down and watched her start grabbing things out of the fridge and the cupboards, I relaxed. She must have had given Amanda a list of groceries she needed. She planned this date out more than I thought she had. This meant she was on friendly terms with Amanda, which was a plus too. It was easier if the woman I was interested in was friends with my sister. It meant I would not have to hear from Amanda every time I saw her what was wrong with my girlfriend.

Lynne's face would scrunch up when she wanted to find something but was too stubborn to ask. I laughed every time, waiting for her to ask me where it was at. Her meal, chicken marsala, was ready close to an hour later. "This looks delicious," I say, looking down at the plate she handed me. "Would you like some wine?" I ask her.

She shakes her head no and sits down across from me. I had yet to see Lynne drink any alcohol; I wondered if her mother was the reason for this. I get up, fill a cup of water and hand it to her. "Thanks," she says after grabbing it.

"Thank you for dinner," I say.

"Do not thank me yet. You have not tried it yet..." she says back. I cut into the first piece, and the chicken melts in my mouth.

"Is there anything you cannot do?" I ask, and for some reason, this question makes her blush.

"There is plenty I cannot do - but thank you," she says.

I have seconds and sit there wondering if I should have thirds but decide against it and sip on my wine. "That was delicious," I say, clearing the table of her plate and mine. "How did you learn how to cook?" I ask.

"Francine," she says, taking a sip of her water watching me rinse the plates. She is quieter than what I had been used to the last few days. "It is getting late. I should probably head back," she says, getting up.

I pull her into my arms with her back to me. "It is not even six o'clock yet," I say, hoping that she will decide to stay.

"I have not seen my family that much since someone has been monopolizing all my time," she says, patting my arm. I follow her out to the living room.

"Is everything okay?" I ask.

"Yeah, I just..." she stops, "nothing. It is nothing."

"Lynne, what is it?" I ask, looking her in her eyes.

She takes a step back, browsing the magazine on the table, which I have already picked up as a coping mechanism for awkward situations. "I just did not want you to get the wrong idea with me cooking you a meal in a cabin with just the two of us... I... I just wanted to make sure that you knew that I am not like that."

I grab her arm, pull her back closer to me, and get her complete attention. "I would not expect that from you. If you want," I say, dragging her over to the chair by the door and making her sit down, "you can sit here, and I can sit over here," I say, dropping down on the couch. "Even though I liked you resting against me last night, I will be on my best behavior," I say, watching her relax.

"Okay," she says.

"Okay," I say. "Now, what is your favorite movie?"

"You and your favorites..." she says back to me.

"Well, I am writing down all your favorites, so if I ever need to, I can hack into your emails and Facebook. Stalker tendencies they run deep." She giggles at this, and we fall back into the same pattern we had the last few times we had been together. During the night, Lynne felt comfortable enough to sit on the couch next to me. This was after we had made a pot of hot chocolate on the stove.

Waking up the following day, I look down to find Lynne's beautiful head in my lap, her hair sprawled out. I run my fingers through her hair and sit there for a while, watching her sleep peacefully. I can hear Amanda and Kevin in the kitchen making breakfast. Lynne stirs after hearing the oven door bang shut. I wanted to curse at them, but she was already awake. "Good morning, beautiful," I say, kissing her on the forehead.

"Oh no..." she says, sitting up, "did I."

"Fall asleep on my lap, I am afraid so," I say, smiling.

"You are too much of a morning person," she grumbles, wiping the sleep out of her eyes.

"Only when I wake up to a beautiful woman asleep in my lap," I say, trying to be charming.

"So this kind of thing happens a lot to you then," she says, still sounding sleepy.

"Well, sadly, I cannot say this is the first time," I say, with her shoving me, annoyed, while she makes her way down to the bathroom.

Amanda steps out of the kitchen. "Brother, that is not going to help you ever," she says before returning back into the kitchen. They were no doubt friends.

Lynne walks out a few minutes later, looking a little more awake. "I should get going," she says, not making eye contact with me. I was hoping that we were past this.

"You are going to dash without breakfast?" I ask.

"Probably should I have some things to do," she says, looking down at her phone.

"What happened to a date every day until you left?" I ask, hoping I am not pushing my luck.

"I have to babysit later, and now I have to do the walk of shame when there is nothing to be ashamed of. But my family won't know that when they see me like this," she says while waving her hands up and down her body.

"I think you look beautiful," I say again.

"I know you already said that," she says grumpily, making me laugh at her cuteness.

"Okay, I tell you what. You have breakfast with me, and I will babysit the boys with you? Sound fair?" I say, making a point to make eye contact with her.

"Aren't you sick of me yet?" she asks. With most girls, I would assume she was looking for a compliment or seeing how committed I was to her, but with Lynne, I knew it was reassurance that she was looking for. She was looking for reassurance that her personality and who she was – was enough, and it was more than enough.

I stand up, pulling her into my front with her looking up into my eyes "with how I feel right now, I do not know I will ever be sick of you," I say, planting my lips on hers.

"Eventually, you will be," she whispers, almost like a secret turning and walking into the kitchen with me following right behind her. Seeing Amanda and Kevin at the table, she shoots me a glare. I throw up my shoulders as if I am innocent and did not know they were in here. Sorry I mouth before making her scrambled eggs on the stove.