Near Miss

Things have been going well between Sharon and me.  We were inseparable at work and I would always drop her off to her car in the evenings and we would always linger.  There were a couple of unresolved things that were hanging over our heads.  One was her relationship and the other was an obligation that I took on for the time being.  We decided to go on a date during the week.  I decided that it was time for her to meet the little girl that I was occasionally caring for.  I am not sure if I really thought this all the way through.  We went to a place in Westwood and we had a nice dinner and thought that we had a good time.  After dinner, the three of us went to my apartment and Sharon asked to speak to me alone.  She started to cry as she began talking.  She told me that she had very deep feelings for me but she couldn't be with anyone with baggage.  Sharon said that she would bow out as to not upset the little girl.  That even though it was hard for her she was doing it for the little girl.  She didn't want to be with someone that had ties.  I was stunned at what she was saying.  Slowly, I started to find the words to say.  I asked her one question, "Do you have feelings for me?"  She said, yes.  I told her that I have very strong and deep feelings for her and that I didn't want to lose her.  I told Sharon that I would choose her over anything and that it wasn't a choice.   She seemed relieved at what I had told her.  She held me close and we shared a long, passionate kiss.

But there was one more thing that was hovering over us and that was her relationship.  She told me that she wanted to end it but couldn't do it yet.  He was getting ready to take his final exams for his MBA program and didn't want to affect that.  So we would continue to see each other.  She said that they rarely saw each other.  The next morning I had flowers delivered to her desk.  I had orchids sent to her because I thought roses did not suit seem to suit her.  She was so happy to receive them and she came by to thank me.  We went to lunch together that day and when we came back she had a surprise visitor.  It was her relationship and he had come to visit her.  He asked about the flowers but she made some excuse about her brother.  He had told her that it looked like his promotion was going to come through along with some back pay.  He wanted to use the backpay to buy an engagement ring.  I told her that she needed to tell him soon before he went to buy a ring.  She told me not to worry that he was too cheap to buy the ring and wouldn't.  So we continued to see each other quietly as she waited for his finals to be done.