Chapter Three
"So let me get this straight. You had a great time with her, then she had to go so you brought her home, and you just dropped her off and left?" Justin asked.
"Yeah," Chris said, shifting the phone from one ear to the other.
"Chris... you've done this more than once, and I can understand that, but," Justin paused when he heard Chris sigh. "she wasn't like the rest, was she?"
"No J," Chris sighed. "she wasn't like the rest. And that scared me more than anything."
"Chris, I know it's hard for you, but you need to take a chance with this one. She's an amazing woman, she's nothing like Ashley was, she'd never hurt you..."
"I don't know if I can, J. I'd like to... she seems really great. But I just don't think I deserve her. I mean, I'll probably always be asking her where she was, who she was with and why..."
"Chris, stop thinking ahead. You keep thinking about what you'll do. Just get to know her better. You won't worry so much if you know her better."
"I guess..."
"So you'll give her a shot?"
"Maybe."
"Maybe?"
"Yeah. Hey J, I gotta go. I'll talk to you later, alright?"
"Alright man, take it easy. Oh, and by the way, she works over at Norr's diner..." Justin slipped in before he hung up.
Chris looked at the phone for a moment before putting it back in it's cradle. He sat down and put his head on the table. He just didn't know what he would do. He really wanted to try things out with Michelle, but he was so afraid of getting burned that it made his stomach turn.
"I'll shower first, then maybe I'll just pop in to say hi and leave. Nothing wrong with that..." Chris said out loud as he stood up and headed upstairs to shower.
An hour later Chris was standing outside Norr's diner. He took a deep breath and walked through the doors, his stomach in knots. He looked around for a place to sit and then looked around to find Michelle. He spotted her taking an order from a couple of guys and watched her, trying not to be to obvious.
Michelle turned around and spotted Chris sitting alone, watching her. She smiled to herself and motioned that she'd be over in a minute. She brought the order up and told the woman behind the counter she was going to take a break, then walked over to Chris.
"Hey," Chris said as she walked over.
"Hi," Michelle said as she slid into the seat across from him.
"So what brings you here?"
"Well actually... you."
"Me?"
"Yeah. I uh... I wanted to come say hi," Chris said, shifting slightly.
"Well, hi," Michelle smiled.
"Hey Michelle?" Chris said after a few minutes of silence.
"Yeah?"
"I was wondering... would you like to um... hang out with me sometime?" Chris asked, ripping the napkin in front of him up subconsciously.
Michelle watched him as he shifted nervously.
"Yeah, sure," she smiled.
Chris looked up at her and smiled.
"How about Friday night at eight?"
"Sounds great," Michelle pulled out a pen and a loose piece of paper, and wrote down her phone number.
"You already know where I live..." she said as she handed the paper to him.
Chris nodded and wrote down his number on a small piece of that paper and ripped it off, sliding it back to her. She took it and put it in the pocket of her jeans.
"Well, I better get back to work before Meg kicks my butt," Michelle said as she stood up. Chris stood up with her.
"Alright, well I'll see you soon," Chris said.
"Yeah," she smiled. "bye."
Chris watched her go back to work, then headed home. As soon as he got in he called Justin.
"J, I did it."
"Chris? Did what?" Justin asked.
"I asked her out on a date."
"You did?" Justin asked, shifting the phone to his other ear.
"That's great, dude! And she said yes?"
"Yeah."
"And how are you feelin' about it?"
"I felt better once I asked her. She had to of noticed I was nervous."
"But that's okay though, you've been through a lot."
"Yeah."
"How long has it been since you've been on a date?"
"Over six months."
"Damn... Well this is great then. Michelle's a really nice girl, she's never hurt anyone. I'm sure you guys will have a great time."
"You think so J? I'm tired of being alone..."
"I know you are Chris. Just don't let your imagination run away with you, okay?"
"I'll try... that's not gonna be easy for me."
"I know. Well I'll talk to you later Chris."
"Alright J, bye," Chris hung up and flopped down on the couch.
Two days and he'd be going out for the first time in months. And for the first time in quite a while Ashley didn't even come up in his mind
| Chapter One | Chapter Two | Chapter Three | Chapter Four | Chapter Five | Chapter Six | Chapter Seven | Chapter Eight | Chapter Nine |
