Chapter 1

JOHN

"John, we need to talk"

The words that every man dreads. Shit. I didn't expect to hear THAT this morning. Jenny and I had only been dating for 6 months, and I guess it wasn't going as well as I thought. She walked into the kitchen toweling her hair and stood over me while I sat at the table responding to some work email on a Saturday morning.

"Ok. Let's talk. Where? The couch?"

"No," She sat down across from me. Now I knew it was serious. "We ... John..." She started, then with a sigh. "I'm not sure this is working out."

I nodded, thinking that she'd already made up her mind and I was just to be the recipient of bad news. I was taken by surprise because we'd had a nice time last night, you know, drinks, dinner, and then a nice walk in the moonlight, followed by some amazing sex in the early hours of the morning. At least I thought it was amazing. Maybe I was the only one.

Unlike a lot of these stories, I'm not a genius, millionaire, ex-special forces guy with a 8" cock and women begging me to bed them. I'm just a guy, you know? I'm in my mid 20's, heavier than I'd like but thankfully not too much fat. I'm just a big guy. My friend Anna calls me a big teddy bear when she's being nice, and Sasquatch the rest of the time, but then I call her a pixie so all's fair.

Let's see, I had a normal adolescence, in a normal little town then went off to a state school nearby. Since I'd been interested in computers since I was 9, I fell into a nice IT gig after college. Last year I went solo, and work out of my apartment. It's not glamorous but it pays for my apartment, and my school loans, and I'm still able to put a fair amount away. It's easy and secure, which is better than most people get.

Jenny, sitting stiffly in her chair, didn't talk. She just looked at me and then down at her hands then back at me. Her eyebrows were doing a little dance from worried to angry to worried again. I couldn't really make sense of it, so I sat and waited.

"Damn it John! Say something."

"Jenny ... I don't know what to say, you said we needed to talk, and clearly you have a lot on your mind. Why don't we start with that." "That's exactly it! I come in and say 'it's not working out' and you sit there like a fucking statue! You never argue, you never get mad. It's ... just ... WEIRD!" She shouted. Apparently, she had worked herself up to have a big blowout fight, something she was known for among our friends, but I'm not really wired that way. She's always been ... dramatic. I think that was one of the attractions for me. I like people with fire, with passion, even if I don't show much myself. It doesn't mean it's not there, it's just well hidden. And fighting about a breakup, when it comes out of the blue, seemed silly to me. Obviously she wasn't happy, when I thought she was, so maybe it was better if things ended.

'"God damn it John. Don't get all stoic on me. SAY SOMETHING!"

"Um ... OK. Why do you think it's not working?" I said with as much calm as I could muster.

Chapter 2 »