Trapped By A Storm

Two

The wind and snow are getting worse. It has been three hours since I showed up at Trace's door.

Trace had just finished eating another huge serving of apple cobbler. "Oh my God! That was delicious! I'm in love!" Trace sat back in his recliner and put the foot-rest out.

"You sure throw the word 'love' around a lot."

"Darlin, good food is the only way to my heart." He smiled at me.

"Well, I'm not looking for anyone's heart. I have a lot on my plate right now. But I appreciate it, though." I took his plate to the kitchen to wash.

"You don't have to make specific plans to love or hold someone's heart. It just happens." He told me after I return to the den.

There was a fire going in the fireplace and I was warm enough to fall asleep right where I was sitting. His den is very cozy with the soft leather sofas and a single recliner. The view outside was nothing but white. Not even the sun or moon shown through.

We had been talking about life and relationships. I informed him that I don't have the time or the inclination for love. My job, and until now, grandpa took up my time and energy. Now I'll just throw all my time into work. Being a head chef of the restaurant is busy work.

"I still don't see why everyone is all gaga over love."

"You've never been in love." He replied smugly.

"I have loved. Deeply! We were high school sweethearts, cliche as hell, but it is the truth. We started dating in the ninth grade. I was head over heels in love. The one thing that grandpa asked of us, was to wait until we graduated and married, to have sex. We agreed. I told him that I wanted to start a career first. He said that we would marry after high school and then have sex. He never pressured me. I thought that he loved me enough to wait. I knew that he wasn't a virgin. He knew that I wasn't either. I had been raped when I was thirteen.

He also knew that I jogged every morning. I had a certain route. One day, about two months until graduation, I chose a different route and went through the park. Eric was parked in a secluded spot. I went to his truck. He was with my best friend, Emma. They were too busy doing the dirty, that they didn't even see me. I shut the door and waited. When they were finished, I called his phone. He told me that he was about to come to pick me up. I told him that I would just keep running and he could stay with Emma, since they were both together at the park. I wished them happy and left. They both came after me and tried to tell me that I didn't see what I think I did. It turns out that the couple have a child that she was four months pregnant with at that time. They stayed together about a year after their baby girl was born.

Eric tries to get with me still. Emma says that she should have listened to me to start. So, yes, I have been in love, and it sucks."

"There is always a chance of being hurt in love. Just like any other situation and relationship. But if you don't take the chance, how will you ever know happiness? Have a family? Be loved in return?"

"I am happy. My life means something to me. I've had a family and friends. What family didn't leave voluntarily, died. I am fine with the way my life is. Nothing else matters now."

"How about having a fling every now and then? A friends with benefits. Use birth control, so there won't be any babies. "

"Let me guess.... you would volunteer for the subject of an affair."

He nodded. "I can see myself as a sacrificial lamb. We can be stuck here for a week the way the storm is still raging. Why not have some amazing sex with no regrets?"

"I promised my grandpa that I wouldn't have sex unless I was married. I refuse to break my word to him." I paused to look Trace in the eye. "No matter how much I want to."