Chapter 3

The winter was going well until the middle of March when Mark again started suggesting they bring someone new into their relationship. Jennifer tried to maintain an open mind and they went out to a bar together to find an acceptable third person. They both noticed a pretty red-head and agreed to strike up a conversation with her. Jennifer expected the girl to reject the idea of a threesome but surprisingly she found Jennifer attractive and agreed to go back to Mark's apartment with them. They made love for hours and Jennifer actually enjoyed being with a woman again. Mark seemed extremely pleased that Jennifer was willing to try new things and suggested maybe they try a swap with his roommate, Max. Jennifer didn't like that idea and told Mark so. He told her to keep an open mind but she explicitly told him that, although she didn't mind spending some time with a mutually agreeable woman, she had zero interest in sleeping with another guy, especially Max. Jennifer had no feelings for Max and had never felt any attraction to her lover's room-mate.

Over the next two weeks Mark continued to try to convince her to swap with Max and his girlfriend but she sternly refused. The first weekend in April she was staying with Mark at his apartment and had fallen asleep when she suddenly felt Mark kissing his way down her body. His mouth felt hot and inviting as he sucked her nipples. He unexpectedly bit one of her nipples as he slid a finger deep inside her. He was much rougher than usual so she glanced down at him. She screamed as she immediately knew that it was not Mark on top of her. Max jumped in fright as she pushed him out of the bed and yelled, "Get the fuck out of this room!"

As soon as he was out of the room, she jumped out of bed, turned on the light, and pulled on her clothes. She was just reaching for the doorknob when Mark opened the door. She yelled at him, "You son-of-a-bitch! I told you I didn't want to fuck another guy but you tried to make me do it anyway." She pulled off her diamond ring and threw it at him as she cried, "I don't want to marry you, Mark. I don't ever want to see you again."

He pleaded, "Please, Jennifer, I'm sorry. I'll never do it again. I just thought it would be fun to try different partners. Max really wanted to sleep with you and I wanted to sleep with his girlfriend. I won't do it again."

Jennifer scowled at him, "Or at least not until another one of your buddies wants to fuck me. I'm not a fuck toy you can pass around to all your friends. You seem to want someone to pimp around — I don't want a relationship like that and I don't want to be with someone who does. You've had the last of your chances already. Goodbye, Mark." She pushed her way past him and out the front door to the apartment.

Her mother heard her come in and went to check on her. As soon as she saw Jennifer's tear-filled eyes she rushed to her and hugged her. She eventually asked, "What happened, Jennifer?"

Jennifer explained, "For the last few weeks Mark has been pressuring me to swap partners with his roommate, but I refused. Mark and I fell asleep together tonight but I was awakened by someone making love to me. It turned out Mark had traded rooms with Max without my consent. I immediately kicked Max out of my room then Mark and I had a big fight. I threw his ring at him. It's over."

Heather hugged her daughter even tighter. "I love you, Jennifer. I'm so sorry that happened to you."

Jennifer cried on her mother's shoulder. "I've made a horrible mistake, Mom. I should have told Dave I wanted to be with him but I didn't want to hurt Mark. I thought I loved Mark but now I know I was definitely wrong. I was such a moron. Mark is history; I can't think about ever going back with him. How will I ever get Dave back?"

Heather soothed her daughter. "I know Dave and I know he loves you. Don't worry; you'll be back in his arms where you belong, someday soon."

Jennifer tried to think of how she could tell Dave she had finally come to her senses. She wanted to just call him and ask him to leave Anne for her but that was what he had done the previous year to her and that definitely didn't work for him — it probably would not work for her either. She decided to tell Jana what happened and ask her to talk to Dave. As her mother held her she was already composing an e-mail to Jana in her head.

Jennifer sent a message to Jana the next morning and asked her to tell Dave that she and Mark were finished. Jana replied later in the day and said Dave was at a golf tournament then was going directly to the Masters; since she and Kyra were going to go watch him play, she would be able to tell him what happened. Jennifer was very pleased and felt better immediately.

Mark visited her several times over the weekend for an attempted reconciliation and they talked for over an hour each time, but she repeatedly told him they obviously weren't compatible and they both should move on. With each meeting, Jennifer's resolve to forget about Mark intensified as he made the same tired points again and again. It was now clear to Jennifer that Mark would apologize and promise but never actually abandon pushing her to do what he wanted. Mark got mad and tried to somehow blame Dave; at that point she told him Dave had nothing to do with it — then she kicked him out of the house.

She was happy to go back to the university on Sunday and she had a long talk with Shelly. Classes went by quickly that week and she soon realized that she didn't miss Mark nearly as much as she had expected. She was studying in her room Wednesday evening when her phone rang. Shelly answered the phone and Jennifer heard her say, "Yes, she's studying... oh, okay, just a minute." Shelly was smiling as she passed Jennifer the phone — Jennifer looked at her questioningly but didn't get a reply.

Jennifer took the phone and said, "Hello?"

She started to cry as she heard Dave's calm voice, "Mom just told me you and Mark split up. Are you okay? Do you want me to fly there to see you? I'm sure I could get a flight in the morning."

Jennifer's mind raced and she wanted to tell him yes but she suddenly realized he was supposed to start the Masters tomorrow. Another overwhelming realization came to her — he really was willing to give up his golf for her. Her heart jumped as she realized there was definitely hope of getting him back. She composed herself as she replied, "I feel much better just hearing your voice. I'm okay; you don't need to fly up here to my rescue." A small joke came to her mind and she chuckled as she whispered, "No, you don't need to find a phone booth to change into your blue tights and red cape."

Dave was very happy to hear her little joke and replied, "Maybe you could fly down in your invisible jet and see me then." Jennifer laughed out loud and she was certain it was the first time she had laughed since the breakup with Mark. Dave continued, "Seriously, do you want me to come see you?"

Jennifer became serious, "No, as I said, I'm much better now just hearing your voice. I'm a little sad and relieved at the same time; the relief is getting stronger as time passes." She wanted to ask him to leave Anne and be with her. But how could she do that when she wouldn't do the same thing for him the previous summer? She slowly asked instead, "When are you coming home? I would definitely like to spend some time with you then."

He explained, "The next two months are crazy. I have the SEC tournament next week then three weeks off from golf to catch up on my classes, then the NCAA Regional tournament, then hopefully the NCAA Finals. The week after that I'm turning pro, as I told you in my last e-mail, and then I have the US Open the week after that so I'm not planning on going home until the first week of July. But if you need me I can fly home whenever you want." Jennifer was disappointed to have to wait almost three months and Dave could tell by her sigh. He continued, "I promise I'll call you every week so we can simply talk, is that okay?"

She finally replied, "I'd like that. I love you, Dave — and I really miss you."

He whispered, "I love you too, Jennifer."

Jennifer hung up the phone and yelled to Shelly, "He loves me. He was ready to drop out of one of the biggest golf tournaments in the world to be with me."

Shelly moved onto her bed and hugged her. They talked for over an hour before Jennifer finally fell asleep. She spent the rest of the week watching the television intently as Dave played in the Masters. She growled at the television when Dave wasn't playing well and she jumped up and down cheering when Dave pulled ahead of Tiger on the next-to-last hole. She called Phil Mickelson terrible names when he made the winning shot on the last hole and she cursed Dave's ball for not dropping in the hole on the final green. Shelly thought she had gone absolutely nuts but she could see Jennifer was happier than she had ever seen her.

Dave called from the locker room after his final round and Jennifer was happy he was thinking about her. He called every week for the next two months. They talked about his tournaments and about the women's team. Jennifer was very proud of what he had done to help his new friends. She never asked him about leaving Anne because he never talked about her at all — she was simply happy to have her best friend back in her life. She knew she could win him over when he returned in July and they were within touching range.

She finished her second year at UND and returned to her architecture job. Her boss was happy to have her back and she was equally happy to be back. Dave's phone calls continued on a weekly basis and she was disappointed to hear he came in second for the NCAA individual title, but like the old Dave she loved, he was happier for his teammate Darcy than he was upset for himself. He told her he was nervous about turning pro but was convinced that he was definitely ready. She said he would make QAI, his friends, and his family very proud.

She waited to hear how his meetings went with the agent who he had planned to meet on Monday but she never heard from him that night. She was sure he would call the next night but he didn't and she began to worry that things had not gone well. When she didn't hear from him on Wednesday, she took the initiative and called. Alec answered Dave's phone and explained that Dave was practicing but Dave had asked him to tell her he would call her later in the week. Alec confided that Dave had really good news but he wanted to tell her himself.

Jennifer waited anxiously all week but still no call from Dave. She was worried about Dave but she tried to think positively. She was reading through 'The Phaidon Atlas of Contemporary World Architecture' in her living room on Saturday when her mother called her to answer the door. She thought it strange that she hadn't heard anyone knock but she set her book down, got up, and walked towards the front door. As soon as she turned the corner she saw Dave standing in the doorway. The bright sunlight framed his muscular body and she saw him holding something in his hand as he dropped to one knee. He was wearing a pair of navy dress pants and an aqua golf shirt with a prominent Adidas logo on the left breast. She focused her attention on the black velvet box as she suddenly realized why he was dropping to one knee. Her heart and mind raced as tears began to pour out of her eyes. He was proposing to her! Butterflies the size of eagles flapped around in her stomach as her thoughts screamed in excitement, "He loves me! He wants to be with me forever! He really loves me!"

She heard him say, "I really missed you and I need you in my life forever. Will you make me the happiest man in the world and marry me?" She noticed tears running down his cheeks as she ran down the hall and into his arms.

As they fell together onto the hard tile floor she quickly replied, "I love you, Dave MacDonald, and, yes, yes, YES! I will marry you." She had dreamed of this moment since Dave had called her in April and now it was finally coming true. She had him pinned beneath her and she wanted to rip his clothes off and make love to him right now. She pressed her breasts into his chest as he smiled up at her.

She heard him say, "I love you, Jennifer Samms. I love you with all my heart."

She kissed him passionately and his soft lips felt so nice on hers. She suddenly heard a gasp from behind her and realized her mother was watching them together on the floor. She turned back to Dave and stared into his beautiful eyes as the image of her soul-mate was forever imprinted in her thoughts. He opened the velvet box; she was shocked to see a spectacular ring glimmering in the light still flowing in the front door. As he slipped the ring on her hand she was again surprised that it fit perfectly.

Her emotions raced again as a hundred thoughts came to mind. "I didn't think you were coming home for another month? I've wanted you to come early but I was too afraid to ask because I knew you had a girlfriend and Jana said you refused to let her talk about me. She wanted to find out how you felt about me because I realized you are the only man for me. I knew it last year but wouldn't face it, but when you came home at Christmas and were so nice I finally realized I had to have you in my life. But you said you had moved on and I was very disappointed. When you called me in April I wanted to ask you to come home immediately but I couldn't make you miss the Masters. I'm so happy your mother told you about Mark and me breaking up."

Dave smiled before he replied, "I know; I was very surprised and pleased. But I was also worried about you."

Jennifer thought about Ann and she whispered, "What about Anne?"

He looked at her sadly. "Anne is a nice girl but I eventually concluded she loved my money and my earning potential more than she did me. I had already realized it was a problem before Mom told me about you but I took some time to think about the whole situation before I made a decision. I didn't want to rush into something without thoroughly considering all options. That is also why I wouldn't let Jana talk to me about you — the decision had to be mine and mine alone."

"When did you tell her?"

He explained, "I flew to New Mexico last week after the NCAA Championships. Anne and I had talked on the phone several times since she had left Wake Forest and she knew that we were probably going to break up but I had to do it in person."

Jennifer stared at the ring, amazed how large the main diamond was and the diamond on each side made the entire setting look exquisite. The ring was truly spectacular and she said, "This looks to be very expensive. You know I don't need a ring like this." She knew deep in heart that as long as the ring came from Dave, it could be made of plastic and she would be just as happy.

He softly said, "I know you don't care about the cost but I wanted something very special for you. You know that I have dreamed of being one of the best golfers in the world since I was very young and I think I have almost accomplished that. What you don't know is that I have dreamed of putting a ring on your finger since the first summer we were intimate with each other. This ring shows how important that dream is to me. I love you, Jennifer, and look forward to spending the rest of my life with you."