Out of the Loop

"You're such a prude!" Anna yelled at me from the elliptical next to me. I was happy we were at the farthest end of the gym so nobody could hear. Anna had just joined my gym. and we agreed to motivate each other to work out so that neither of us gained any, or too much, holiday weight.

This was the first chance I had to tell her about my weekend with Scott. The news was now about a week old, but Scott and I didn't even get a chance to see each other much over the past week. We talked a little bit each day, but we were both so busy that we didn't even make plans in advance for the weekend.

"I'm not a prude," I said, lowering my voice so she got the hint. "I don't want to just sleep with him right away. I really like him." I began to blush at the end. It was hard to admit, even to Anna.

"It seems like he feels the same way," Anna replied before taking a sip of water and trying to catch her breathe.

"Has Martin said anything?" I eagerly asked. Anna and Martin had been occasionally hanging out, but it wasn't in the same way as Scott and me. They were more in the "friends with benefits" area and that seemed to make Anna happy so I was all for it.

"No, we don't really talk about you guys," she answered.

I let out a slightly nervous laugh. "No, I figured you guys didn't." I increased the resistance on my machine. "I feel like I should ask him about the 'girlfriend' comment, but I don't know. I do kind of feel like he was just shutting his sister up. She totally thought I was some random whore."

"That's what I would've thought," Anna laughed. "No offense."

"None taken," I shot back. "Anyway, I just don't know how to bring it up again. Do I ask him what we are? Do I mention what he said to his sister? Maybe I should just wait it out?"

Anna took another sip of water. "Well, maybe he'll say something before they go to Atlantic City."

I almost fell off my elliptical. "Atlantic City?" I asked, trying not to sound completely out of the loop.

"Yeah, they're going next weekend." Why did she know this and I didn't? "Martin said some of their friends who moved are coming the following week for Thanksgiving, so they're meeting them on the way in Atlantic City."

"Oh," I replied, slightly embarrassed. "Scott didn't mention it."

"Martin only mentioned it last night, because he wanted me to know he wouldn't be around. I'm sure Scott is going to tell you when you see him this weekend."

I nodded, but didn't tell Anna that Scott and I didn't have any plans to see each other that weekend. We actually didn't even end up making any plans. I was committed to catching up on my school work and Scott had a stressful week at work, so he seemed content with a quiet weekend at home. We didn't end up seeing each other until Tuesday night. I hadn't seen him in almost a week and a half and I have to admit, I definitely missed him.

Scott and I had agreed to meet at a Chinese restaurant near my house. I was happy when he suggested it, because I had been craving sweet and sour chicken. When I arrived at the restaurant, Scott was waiting in his car. I saw him in the parking lot and pulled my car in next to his. Tuesday night was the coldest night Long Island has seen yet and I could barely manage to give him a quick kiss before he grabbed my hand and ran with me into the restaurant.

Once we were in the restaurant, Scott pulled the hood of his Calvin Klein jacket off. He looked so cute with his cheeks flushed from the cold. As I took my gloves off, I put my hands over his since he hadn't been wearing gloves. His cold hands sent an almost painful chill up my arms, but it felt nice to know I was warming him in some way.

"Thanks, beautiful," he said with a smile. The hostess walked over and we were immediately seated.

At first, we caught up on our weeks and some of the more in depth stories that we weren't able to share through text messages. Even though we hadn't seen each other in almost a week and a half, I still felt very comfortable around him.

Our food came and Scott still hadn't told me about Atlantic City. "So," I began, deciding it was now or never. "Want to do something this weekend?"

Scott didn't answer right away because he was chewing, but I saw a look of confusion consume his face. "I'm not going to be here," he replied with no further explanation.

"Why not?" I innocently asked.

"I'm going to be in AC," he replied. "I thought I told you."

"No, I don't think so," I casually replied, even though my insides were screaming that he definitely had not.

"Oh, well yeah," he responded. He proceeded to tell me the same basic details that Anna had told me a few days before.

"Cool," I said with a smile. "That sounds fun!"

"Yeah, we'll have to go one weekend."

My stomach fluttered. "I'd like that," I responded. Scott suggesting that we go away together put my mind at ease a bit. The rest of dinner was very casual and fun. We caught up on our respectively busy weeks and it felt really adult. Things with Scott felt very mature. I didn't worry as much about playing games or making sure to see him every possible second. I decided not to bring up the girlfriend comment and figured we'd be texting a little bit while he's in Atlantic City. How bad could it be?