Chapter 22

When Jenny arrived at work on Monday she was feeling elated about her weekend with Bob. However, her feelings for him created a major dilemma: now that she had admitted to herself that she was in love with him, she didn't want to date anyone else. Being in love was a first for her. There were times that she thought she was in love but for one reason or another, it turned out to be just fascination. This time she was sure it was love. That complicated everything and now, she wasn't sure how to handle the relationships that she had recently developed. Being the sensitive person that she was, she didn't want to disappoint any of her lovers. It was just her nature and, in truth, she had feeling for all of them. The person that she worried the most about was Tim because she knew that he would be the most disappointed. She decided to call Michael... she would know how to handle it.

It was close to lunchtime by the time that Jenny got a minute free to call Michael. She asked her how the rest of the evening with Tim went.

"Unbelievable," she answered excitedly. "He is truly a gem."

"So he survived?" Jenny laughed.

"Just barely," Michael returned. "So how did your weekend go with Bob?"

Jenny took a deep breath and sighed contentedly.

"That good huh?" Michael laughed.

"Better. But that's what I wanted to talk to you about."

"In love?" she asked.

"How did you know?" Jenny answered in astonishment.

"It wasn't hard to tell. I could hear it in your voice," Michael responded. "Is he in love with you?"

"I don't know. He hasn't said and I haven't told him. That's my problem. Even if he doesn't love me, I don't want to date anyone else."

There was silence on the phone for a moment.

"Does that include me?" Michael asked with a tinge of disappointment in her voice.

Jenny paused at the unexpected question. "I hadn't thought about that," she said. Then she thought of Erica. The issue suddenly became more complicated. "I don't know the answer to that question," she said honestly. "I guess it would be self-serving if I said that my relationship with you was different."

"It is different. You're not going to fall in love with me."

Jenny started to answer but then she stopped. She was suddenly even more confused. She realized that she did love Michael, not in the same way as Bob... but it was still love. However, right now she had to focus on the more immediate problem. "We can talk about that later. Right now, I don't know what to do about Tim, Tom, Sean, or Jack. I need your help."

Michael suddenly laughed. "Half the women in the world wish they had your problem."

"Michael... I'm serious."

"I'm sorry," she apologized. However, you have to see the irony. A couple months ago, you weren't in any kind of relationship. Now you have five... well if you count me, it's six."

"I know. I guess I should be very happy. But it's all so new to me."

"I understand," Michael said. "Let's take them one at a time and walk through the issues. I think you'll find that it isn't as bad as you think. First of all, Tim is certainly fascinated with you, but he is a kid and I believe he can be distracted fairly easily." Michael paused before saying, "I think I could take your place with him if you wanted me too. He was very accommodating on Friday night and seemed to have a lot of fun. Possibly because I'm as kinky as he is... maybe more." Michael laughed.