Getting to the Wedding

I called Anna as soon as I got home.

"Ugh," she began. "On to the next one, Caroline. He's the worst!"

I was surprised Anna had this reaction. I was honestly expecting her to encourage me to go to the wedding. Over the past few months, I had depended on her to tell me everything I did was okay.

"Why not?" I asked as I began looking through my closet. One could argue that I had already made up my mind. "It's not like I have anything else to do that night."

Anna paused for a second. "I don't know, I wouldn't go."

I completely saw where Anna was coming from and I couldn't deny that she had a point. But that didn't stop me from throwing on a dress from my closet and agreeing to meet Mark at his place anyway.

He said we'd leave from his house together and that it was about an hour drive. He had a hotel room for the night and told me that he could change it to two twin beds if I wanted. I heard my mother's voice telling me, "that's not going to keep him from murdering you in your sleep." Even though we hadn't slept together yet, I told him one king size bed was fine. I wondered how I could casually ask why my invite was so last minute, but couldn't think of a way to phrase it.

"Hey," Mark greeted me at the front door. He kissed me on the cheek and it felt strangely familiar. "How're you? I should be ready in a few minutes if you want to come in."

I nodded and walked into his house with my overnight bag.

I sat on Mark's couch as he got ready and in that 15 minutes or so, I realized something very important.

"How was your day?" He asked as he threw some clothes out of his bedroom onto the couch I was sitting on.

"It was okay," I began as I pressed my lips together and glared at the television. "How was yours?"

"Hectic," he stated as I heard a bag zipper. "I had a bunch of errands. Oh, man! I love this commercial."

I looked at the tv and a GEICO commercial was on. "Yeah, I like this one."

"Yeah, so I had to pick up my suit from the dry cleaner. I still didn't have a card. I wanted to run to the grocery store quick, but didn't have time to go to the one I like."

"Which one is that?" I asked. Since I was still relatively new, I was always eager to hear about store recommendations.

Mark didn't answer right away. He was looking down at a shirt he had thrown on the couch to pack. He licked his finger and was trying to get a stain out. "Oh, sorry. Um, I usually try to get to Fair Market, but it's far from me."

Things began to click from that point on and our day continued to reinforce my theory. Mark wasn't really playing games; he just couldn't focus on anything. He was on a lot of dating sites (I ended up Internet stalking him with Shelby; sue me). Whenever we'd go out, he'd stare at me, like he was super focused. However, looking back, he had made a few quick comments about not wanting any distractions. Focusing wasn't easy for him and maybe that meant I just wasn't satisfying his varying needs for stimulation. I'm sure some girl could, but I felt like I'd know it by now if that girl was me.

Regardless, Mark was a nice guy. Things didn't have to abruptly end and I still felt like I could enjoy his company. Isn't that what dating is all about? Fun? At least I understood the situation a bit more.

Mark finished packing and we hopped in his car for the drive. He rapidly changed radio stations, as I would have predicted, but maintained fluid conversation. I was able to talk to him a little bit about work and how I was adjusting to California.

"Would you consider moving back to New York? You know, if they somehow offered you a position in a New York City office?"

I squirmed in my seat a bit at the thought of working in the same city as Scott. Even though there would be over eight million people around us, I didn't like the idea of running into him.

"Maybe," I replied. "I miss my family, but I'm starting to feel really comfortable here."

We arrived at the hotel and dropped our bags off in the room. We had about 20 minutes before we had to head down to the shuttle.

"Do you need anything before we head down?" Mark asked. He sure did look good in his gray suit.

I shrugged. "Nope, my clutch is packed."

"Good," he replied. Then, out of nowhere, he approached me and cupped my face. He kissed me deep. Maybe there was something to being with somebody so "spontaneous."

We made out for a few more minutes and while I impulsively wanted to do more, it was better for us to head to the lobby.

As we waited for the elevator, he squeezed my hand. "I'm glad we had some time," he said.

"Me too," I replied with a smile.

We got to the shuttle and it was almost full. There were a couple empty seats toward the front, one in front of the other. I ended up sitting next to a blond girl and he sat in front of me, next to a teenage boy.

After a few minutes, I bonded with the girl sitting next to me. We quickly bonded over the fact that we were both someone's date to this wedding. She had recently started seeing the best man and Mark had told me he grew up with the bride.

By the time the shuttle arrived, I had made a new best friend.