It's Better This Way(42)

    Although Eric claimed he wasn’t good at relationships, to her delight he continued their nightly meetings on the roof. He’d relaxed considerably and they had grown comfortable with each other. After a few weeks she’d learned his father had died when Eric was young, and of his mother’s financial struggles simply paying rent and putting food on the table. Eric did whatever he could to supplement her income, getting a paper route when he was twelve. It helped explain his drive to succeed and the long hours he spent cooped up inside his condo.

One evening she’d casually asked him about why he said he didn’t do relationships. It took him a long time to answer, and what he told her broke her heart.

“In high school, I had a crush on a girl in my calculus class. My friend Michael encouraged me to ask Ellen to the senior prom. I was shocked when she agreed to go with me. I don’t think I’d ever been more excited. It was my first official date.”

“It took you until your senior year to go out on a date?” she asked.

“You have to understand, Carrie, I was working two jobs to help my mom. As the oldest with three younger siblings, there was never enough. I should have known taking Ellen to the prom was a mistake. Instead, I’d foolishly held on to the belief that I could pull it off.”

Just from the way his voice dipped, she knew his date hadn’t gone well. “What happened?” She reached for his hand and he gripped hold of hers so hard she nearly cried out.

    “The afternoon before the dance I learned I was expected to bring Ellen a corsage. Michael’s mom let me borrow his brother’s suit. I was in a panic not knowing what to do. No way could I afford flowers for Ellen. Then my mom had an idea. She had an arrangement of plastic flowers. She cut up one and tied a ribbon around it, making it as pretty as she could. I figured it would be fine. It was the best we could do on the spur of the moment. But when I gave it to Ellen, this horrified look came over her face. Once we were at the dance, she couldn’t get away from me fast enough. She had all her friends gathered around her and they looked at me like I was a scumbag for not buying her a real corsage. The evening was a disaster from start to finish.”

“Oh Eric, I’m so sorry.” She could imagine what life must have been like for him, during and following the prom. No doubt his date had viewed him as a cheapskate. Word must have spread around school through Ellen’s friends about the disastrous night. The little of the fallout he did mention was probably the tip of the iceberg.

Eric exhaled slowly. “I’ve never told anyone about that disastrous night. Not even Michael knows all of it.”

“You trusted me enough to share it,” she said, and leaned toward him, bracing her head against his shoulder. “It means a great deal that you would.”

“I’ve shied away from relationships ever since, letting school and then work consume my time and energy. I don’t know how to do them.”

“You seemed to be doing just fine with me.”

He grinned then, his look shy and expectant. “Are we in a relationship?” he asked.

    “Do you want us to be?” she countered.

He turned and studied her for a long moment. “More than I should admit…What about you, Carrie? Would you like to be?”

She started to answer, when he cut her off, “Before you say anything…”

“Yes,” she returned, eager to reassure him. After Justin, Eric was a diamond in the rough. A prince, as far as she was concerned.

“Yes?”

“Yes, I’d like that more—”

“To be clear,” he said, butting in again, “I’m a geek. And a workaholic; I rarely go out.”

“Would you be willing to…go out?” she asked.

“With you?”

She smiled. “Is there someone else you’d rather spend time with?”

“No, no way,” he rushed to tell her. “I’d only go out with you.”

“Good,” she said, and squeezed his hand. “There’s a movie I’ve been wanting to see, and I’d love it if we could go together.”

He didn’t hesitate. “I’ll need to check with my team about the time away.”

“Of course.”

He leaned back and seemed to relax. “This would be a date, right?”

“Yes, it will, and I won’t require a corsage. All I need is you.”

Eric wrapped his arm around her elbow, dragging her closer to his side. “You have no idea how firmly you have me, Carrie.”



* * *



—

    She’d done her best to encourage Eric to attend at least one of these events at The Heritage, hoping to draw him out of his condo for more than their evening chats.

Laughter echoed from the book club discussion as she returned to her desk, and Carrie smiled. Everyone seemed to be enjoying the chat and the refreshments. Her personal phone rang, and she reached for it, irritated to be interrupted while working. It could only be Justin.

Justin had contacted her every day for the last week, wanting to get together. He seemed oblivious to the fact that she was no longer interested in maintaining their relationship. That was a decision she’d made, following their last outing, when they cycled around Green Lake.