“Uh,” Cari pauses, and I realize how it sounded.
“Let me rephrase. Would you like to go out on a date with me? In public, clothing on the entire time,” I specify. Cari laughs, and I know that’s what she was worried about, that I was asking to fall back into old habits and hook up with her.
“Really?” I can hear her smiling.
“Scouts honor.”
“Okay, sure. Text me the details?” Cari asks.
“Sounds perfect.”
We hang up, and I think about where I want to take her. Wanting to give it a little more thought, I text her, telling her I’ll pick her up from her place on Thursday at six. If I am going to do this with Cari, the past be damned, then I am going to do it right.
Chapter Twenty-Three
CARI
I have a face mask on while I Zoom with Shirley. In my defense, I forgot about our session, and it’s not like it wasn’t self-care. I needed it on for another six minutes, and it will be quick to rinse off. Plus, it was worth Shirley’s laugh when I answered the call before she returned to therapist mode.
“So, you ran into Max again? Hopefully you weren’t wearing this mask,” Shirley teases.
“Excuse me, as a therapist, aren’t you supposed to listen and not talk?” I roll my eyes.
“Yes, sorry. Go on.” She smirks.
“Yes, I knew it was coming, and I prepared myself in all the ways we talked about. I wrote down all the possibilities in my journal, and then, of course, none of them happened. She was super kind, and after we agreed to be professional, we were alone, and then we sort of talked. I apologized for my part, and then she apologized for her part. It was surprising,” I explain. “Then I saw her again this weekend at Isla’s birthday party. We talked for hours, and it felt like old times.”
“Wow, and how do you feel?” Shirley asks.
“Really good. It was completely unexpected, so I was a bit speechless, but it was a great relief. Like, I hadn’t anticipated her talking to me at all at the party or keeping it just about the photo shoot, but she said I looked happy.”
“That must’ve felt great.”
“It really did. And she sort of asked me out on a date.” I smile, burying the lead.
“Oh, and what did you say?” Shirley is clearly holding back her thoughts, but I know her well enough to know what she’s not saying.
“I told her yes,” I admit.
“Okay, do you want to talk about what that might mean?” she asks.
“Not really.” I shrug.
“Okay, well, let’s discuss it anyway. What are you looking to get by going on another date with her?”
“Well, I should clarify I don’t think I’ve ever actually been on a date with her,” I admit.
“Oh…” Shirley pauses. “Why is that?”
“The first time we got together it sort of happened naturally. Seeing each other without asking for labels or dates. But then this last time it was the opposite, her labeling everything and making sure there weren’t any blurred lines,” I explain.
“How do you mean?”
“Well, she would make sure I knew we were only friends with benefits. Nothing more, we had a list of rules and boundaries to follow, and we didn’t stray from it. If we ever did, then she was careful to clear things up by adding more boundaries.”
“Were these boundaries you both came up with and discussed?”
“No.” I shake my head. “They were always hers.”
