Damaged Hearts

Chapter 12

Zach

It's been a few days, my depression is better. I had a guys night and we went clay shooting. Today I'm switching gears. I spent the entire afternoon preparing for this evening. After the little argument Kelly and I got in the other night, I decided to have her over to my place for dinner. I'm gonna see if I can prove to her how much I do care for her.

"Hey, don't you look gorgeous. Come on in. You good with dogs?"

"Love dogs!" She says and I'm relieved. Once I shut the door behind her I go let Nala out of her cage.

"Easy." I tell her as she runs towards Kelly. I'm expecting her to rub herself all over her legs but she doesn't, she barks at her.

"Oh I'm nice I promise."

"Hey hey, Nala, relax. Stop it. Come here." She comes to me and lets me pet her. "Come pet her now." I tell Kelly so she walks closer. Nala starts growling at her which is a first. "What in the world. Okay. Kennel." I tell her and take her back. It's kinda embarrassing, I have no idea why she'd be like that with her.

"I'm sorry about that. She's usually fine around people."

"That's okay. I'm a stranger." She shrugs it off.

"Yeah true." I say even though that doesn't mean anything. I've never had her growl at someone like that.

"Well, come sit down, it's ready." I show her to the table that I set with candles and a bouquet of flowers for her. I pick them up and hand them to her. "These are for you my dear."

"Aw, you're sweet babe, thank you." She smiles and kisses me. I think I'm winning.

Throughout dinner, I did everything I could to make Kelly feel special. We laughed, shared stories, even talked about our childhoods and upbringing. I made sure to keep the conversation light and loving. I could see her relax more over the span of dinner, the tension from the other day starting to diminish I think.

After dinner, we left the mess for me to deal with later and moved to the couch. After a few minutes of making out, I wrap my arm around her.
"I hope tonight showed you how much I care about you Kel." I say softly, looking into her eyes. She leans in, kissing me deeply. As it grows in passion, she pulls me in closer, her intentions clear when she starts to go for my zipper. As much as I don't want... I pull back.

"Baby." My voice slightly firm, I stop her with a hold on her wrist. "I told you before, we're not doing anything yet." I watch her eyes flash with frustration. My heart picks up a little. I don't want to fight again.

"But I just think it would show me even more how serious you are about us. If you really cared about me, you'd want to show me in every way possible." She claims and I can't believe that's how she thinks. I try to stay calm but shake my head

"The decision to wait isn't about how I feel about you. It's about my personal values and wanting to build a strong foundation for our relationship." I tell her and she stands up, her frustration clearly taking over.

"Sex helps build the foundation!" She argues.

"No, it doesn't!" My voice rises, anger seeping into my tone. "You think I don't want you? You think this is easy for me? It's not! I'd love nothing more but to fuck you but I'm not compromising my values just because you're impatient!" I shout at her and she glares at me.

"Seems to me that your stupid values are more important than my values! Hell you won't even talk to me about anything personal!"

"What do you mean?!"

"The other day when you said you were depressed or whatever, why won't you open up and talk to me about it!? I'm your girlfriend, it's what you do!"

"That is not something to take personally, I've been a cop my whole life, it takes a toll on my mental health, it comes with the badge."