Can We Talk?

I rolled my eyes as I made my way over to him.  I sat down next to him and looked at him typing away to someone on the computer.  He closed his lap top and turned to face me. 

“Ok, we seriously need to talk about this.  What are you going to do?  I mean this was not just a onetime ‘hit it and quit it’ this was a multiple time affair they had.  What are you going to do when you go home? Do you have some place to go?”  He asked me.

I placed my mug on the table and sighed, I honestly didn’t think we would try and conquer this on day 2 of our vacation.  “I honestly don’t know Monroe.  My heart is screaming to give him a chance; my head is trying to bitch slap my heart.” I giggled and then continued “I would’ve gone to Chloe but clearly that is NOT an option.  So I guess I will have to look at places when I get back.” I shrugged “You know you can’t keep me in witness protection forever, I’m gonna have to strap on my big girl panties and talk to him eventually.”

Monroe nodded through my response, and when I was done he handed me a key.  “My loft isn’t being leased right now.  So you can move in.  I’m going to be in New York for a while anyway.  I will help you move and then go back home.  I will come back if you need me, but you’re right.  You need to deal with this eventually.  And as much as I want you to move to New York with me...”  I nodded and leaned forward and hugged him tight.  Monroe had always lead the charmed life, affluent family, best of everything; his parents bought him that loft when he started university.  I never really knew what drew us together, other than I was not that friend who used him for what he had to offer.  I was his friend because he was my friend.  No strings attached.

I thanked him as I pulled away and asked if I could use the phone.  It was only day 2 and I knew I needed to talk to Craig.  If this was going to be over, I wanted to at least give him a heads up, not that he deserved it.  Monroe passed me his cell phone and I went to my room.  I didn’t even care if there was a time difference I just dialled Craig’s cell phone.  I won’t lie when I say I was hoping it would go to voice mail.  On the second ring he picks up and starts yelling:

“WHERE IS SHE MONROE? TELL ME NOW OR I WILL FIND YOU...”

“Hi” I say quietly.

“Oh my god baby!! Where are you?? Baby let me explain everything....please come home.  Don’t throw our relationship away.  Chloe meant nothing to me, please believe me....come home let’s talk about this.”

“Craig I’ve seen the pictures.  And I mean all the pictures.  Your little girlfriend sent me some of the pictures you two must’ve taken.  How do you explain that?!  You can’t make this go away, it happened, and more than once.  You and I need to take some time apart; when I come home I will be moving out and into a place of my own.  So you can see your girlfriend, whom you’ve snuck around with for months, out in the open now if you choose.  Since she claims you love her.”

“That bitch” he whispered.  “Baby please let me come get you, we can go and talk.  Where are you Bella, I will come for you right now.  I do not love Chloe, I love YOU!! Please, Bella I need a second chance.  Don’t shut me out.”

“Craig I am away, far away.  I will not be back in the country until Saturday.  I will come by and get a few of my things and will send for the rest.  Please don’t be there when I come home.”  I hung up the phone before he could plead anymore.  I wiped away the tears from my eyes and took a deep breath.  I walked back out to the living room and found Monroe on his laptop again.  I figured he was working so I handed him his phone and walked out the double doors into the warm sunshine by our infinity pool.  I was standing there and he came out and with one look he knew that I had broken it to Craig that I was moving out.  He nodded and all of a sudden I felt him push me into the pool.  I screamed as I fell in and came up sputtering and giggling.  Monroe was bent over laughing at me, he always knew how to break the tension, but I certainly wasn’t expecting this.    I look at him as sternly as possible “Revenge is a bitch, keep that in mind Monroe!”  I start to walk out of the pool and I am wringing out my clothes as much as possible.

This was going to be a fun week, if Monroe died trying.  He already had me out of my funk in a matter of 2 days.  We decided to call room service and stay in for the night.  As much as I knew he wanted to go out and hunt down some cute guys, and I tried to encourage him to go, he wouldn’t leave me.  We had a wonderful dinner, followed by a walk on the beach where we reminisced about our friends growing up.  Every story beginning with “Do you remember the time...?”

When we returned to our suite I was exhausted from laughing.  I hugged him and said good night.  I turned to him and thanked him for everything, to which he responded with the biggest smile and you’re welcome.  We retired to our bedrooms and I fell asleep looking out of the windows at the stars.

The week passed by in the blink of an eye.  Monroe had planned spa days, and we lounged by the pool.  We did go out one night and it was like old times with us.  On the Friday night before we were to head home, we decided to hit the disco again.  We danced and drank the evening away until Monroe found himself a cute boy and well let’s just say, after he tucked me safe in the suite, I didn’t see him until almost noon the next day looking quite well sexed.  I teased him asking him if he remembered this name to which he threw a banana at me and laughed.  We started packing for home, to which I was not exactly thrilled about, but I knew I had to go sometime.  But I felt a lot more confident about it with Monroe by my side.   He walked into my bedroom holding my phone (which he had fully charged for me) and my engagement ring.  I slid my phone into my purse and looked at the ring; my ring.  That is when it hit me at just how much had happened. 

I slid my ring on and grabbed my luggage.  Taking a long look back out the window and sighing.  It was a quick flight home, and customs was not a headache.  We pulled up in front of our place, and I looked up out the window at our building.  Monroe got out and took our luggage out of the trunk.  When we walked into the building we were greeted and I asked if we could leave our luggage down with the desk.   Monroe and I went upstairs and I stood outside staring at the door.  All that was going through my head was ‘what if Chloe is in there? What if he forgot I was coming home and they have decided to make their relationship public knowledge?’  Monroe nudged me and I snapped back to reality and put my key in.  I slowly opened the door, hoping my worst fears weren’t going to come true.  We both walked through the door and I was frozen in spot.....