Chapter 13

Sean pulled into his parking spot in his new car, drawing a few stares as he did so. Derrick was there to greet him. "So, I see you've sold out for a car. I never would have thought of you as a gigolo, but here you are."

Sean was surprised by the comment. At first he didn't know what Derrick was talking about and then he looked at his new car with the new stain in the driver's seat. "Oh, you mean the car. You've got it all wrong. I'm not seeing Elizabeth for money."

"Yeah right," Derrick said darkly. "The bitch reward you for so obediently kicking Cheryl out?"

"That's going too far Derrick," Sean replied. "I suggest you not talk about things you don't understand."

"What's there to understand? Cheryl drops me for you when she realized what a big mistake you were getting yourself into for going out with that older woman. Cheryl thought she could save you from her. And what do you do? You kick her out. And here you are with a new Jaguar?"

Sean only shook his head in pity. "Derrick I bought this car."

That stopped his friend's tirade. "What do you mean? You couldn't afford it. Besides I thought you loved that Corolla of yours."

"I did love that car," Sean answered. "Even after I crashed it while trying to chase down the woman I love; a woman who had her heart broken when Cheryl recklessly kissed me. I didn't kiss Cheryl. I suggest you talk to her yourself, Derrick. If she isn't too embarrassed to see you, that is. I'm not going to talk to her. If you want to defend a girl who just dumped you then fine, that's up to you. But I suggest you hear the whole story." Sean told him how it happened. How Cheryl said she loved him and then kissed him just as Elizabeth opened the door. He told Derrick about how he had to hunt Elizabeth down and almost died in the process. "So I suggest you shut up about the woman I love. The Jag I bought since I crashed the Corolla. Something that would never have happened had Cheryl not try to force the situation on me. I'm not pissed at Cheryl for making it so that I'd crash my car. I'm mad at her for hurting Elizabeth like that. That, I will neither forgive nor forget. You have no idea what she and I have been through." Sean walked around Derrick. "Go back to Cheryl if you want, she'll probably take you back after she realized the mistake she made. She's not the type that likes being alone. But be warned. Girls like her don't know what it is they want and can just as easily break your heart as they change their mind."

Derrick stood there, digesting everything Sean had told him.

"Look, Derrick," Sean walked up to his former roommate. "I'm sorry about what happened to you and Cheryl, I really am. The fact that she dumped you for me is a little awkward but I'd still like us to be friends. You want to come up to my place so we can talk about it?"

"Yeah, alright."

They went back to Sean's place and sat down in the living room. "So I don't get," Derrick said. "You've always liked Cheryl. Back at the dorms everyone was pretty certain that you had the hots for her. So what happened?"

Sean thought about that one, not quite certain how to answer that. "Well, in a way you happened. Let me explain. Yes, I was jealous of you for a while but that wore off. Cheryl chose you and there was no way I was going to get in the way of that. Whatever made her happy was fine with me even if it wasn't me. I cared for her that much. But that isn't the point. Point was that she chose you out of pure physical attraction and that you weren't really a jerk, which on its own I have no problem with. What got me was that you two had sex without love in the equation. That was it for me. You know about her past. How her father had an affair and almost tore her whole family apart. I've talked to her. She resents men in general, hates and fears them as all having a nugget of infidelity. She says she got over what her father did. She may have stopped blaming him but instead she projected it to all men. This is what I'm getting at. She had sex with you out of simply being weak to physical needs. No offense but your first time with her was probably because she was just horny. She was being hypocritical about her feelings compared to her actions. Girls like that I don't trust. Just like that," Sean snapped his fingers, "they can change their minds. Like Cheryl did to you. If I did go out with her she'd drop me and jump onto the next guy who seemed better or maybe get back with you. Sorry, but I'm no ones fool. I've been that before."

Sean sighed. "Another thing. Before you were seeing her, Cheryl and I talked a lot. She knows about my past." Sean paused. He never liked talking about it. "About how my mother died. For the longest time I thought she was the only one who knew. Then there was that time we got drunk and you told me that you felt sorry about my mother's death and all. I wonder who else she's told. I lead a very secretive life and Cheryl betrayed my trust in her to keep a secret. If I can't trust her with my secrets as a friend how I can I trust her as more than that. I know the way I date is that I dive headfirst into a relationship, no strings attached, all or nothing. And that requires a certain degree of trust. So all in all it comes down to trust and I just can't trust Cheryl with my heart."

"And Elizabeth?"

"Well, Elizabeth is an entirely different person. We just seem to click. It's almost scary how she thinks the same things I do when we've only been together for six months. Hell, we were like that since our second date. We don't have many things in common on the surface but it's more like we compliment one another. She lets me live that extra inch in life."

"So you're not dating Elizabeth to make Cheryl jealous?"

"Nope."

"And what about the money."

Sean sighed. He knew people were going to ask as soon as they saw his car. "Derrick, I'm rich. I choose to live like I have no money because that's just the way I am. I thought about buying a new car before but it seemed like such a waste since I was happy with the Corolla."

"Just how rich are you?"

"Rich enough to buy myself a new Jaguar."

"But how do you..."

"Stocks. They paid off. Let's leave it at that. I don't like parading around how much money I've got, except with the Jag. I decided I needed an early Christmas present."

"But then why do you still..."

"Go to school? Let's just call it the ethics of the thing."

Derrick sat there and mulled things over then stood up. "Look, I got to get going. I've got class soon and need some time to think things through. Thanks for clearing things up."

"I'm just glad you're still talking to me. I know this is a confusing mess but whatever happens happens. Just make sure you know where you're at and where you're going. I'll see you later." Sean saw Derrick out the door and thought about the past couple of days and what it meant in the long run. It was definitely going to be a hectic couple of weeks. He had finals coming around the bend and he had a feeling that the proverbial crap was about to hit the ceiling when word spread amongst his friends. Life was so much easier without women in his life.

"So, what's for dinner?"

"Let's skip dinner and move on to dessert." Sean said and wrapped his arms around Elizabeth's waist.

Elizabeth smiled then squirmed out of his hold. "Uh-uh. I came here to be fed. I'll reward you for your efforts later."

Sean sighed. "Alright, let's see what we got..." Sean opened the refrigerator and peered inside. It was cavernously empty except for a carton of baking soda and a yogurt. "Hmm. Looks like we need to make a trip to the market. Your car or mine."