Page 52 of More To Us

"We should get to bed," Jen says to Bryce. Then she says to me, "It was nice meeting you."

"Yeah, you too."

Bryce picks up the duffle bag I hadn't even noticed was sitting by his feet and the two of them go down the hall, where I'm guessing the bedrooms are located.

"I need to get something to eat," Mitch says, going to the fridge. "I didn't have time for dinner."

Austin takes my hand. "We're gonna head out."

"It was nice meeting you, Mr. Wheeler," I say.

"It's Mitch." He smiles as he closes the fridge. "And nice meeting you too." He looks at Austin. "I'm sure I'll be seeing you again."

Austin walks me back through the living room and out the front door to his truck. As he's pulling away from the house, he says, "Second date and you've already met half my family." He laughs a little.

"It wasn't a date," I say.

"It was a date." He turns left at the stop sign.

"We went to a movie. That doesn't make it a date."

"We did things after the movie that made this a date. I wouldn't do those things with someone I wasn't dating."

"So now you're just declaring we're dating? You didn't even consult me about this."

We're parked in a long line of traffic that isn't moving so he turns to me and smiles. "Then I'm consulting with you now. I'd like to date you."

He wants to date me. But do I want that? I'm supposed to be putting all my efforts on getting back in shape to compete. And I have to put at least some effort into school. Which leaves me no time for a boyfriend.

"What if we're just friends who...do things?"

"Friends with benefits?" He shakes his head. "No. Sorry, but I don't do that. It's all or nothing with me. You date me or you don't. And if you don't, then what we did tonight isn't happening again."

Is he serious? What guy turns down the friends-with-benefits offer? Isn't that every guy's dream? A physical relationship without the commitment?

"Besides," he says, "I don't think that's what you really want."

"What do you mean?"

"Do you really want some guy to just have sex with and nothing else? Because that doesn't seem like you. I know we just met but I'm just saying, I think you want more than that."

He's right. I do want more than that, but not right now. Right now, I don't have time for a relationship. But I also don't want to end what I've started with Austin. I really, really like him.

"You're right," I say. "That's not me. But if we date, that doesn't make me your girlfriend."

"It sure as hell does," he says, turning down a side street to get out of the traffic that wasn't moving.

"People can date without the girlfriend and boyfriend labels."

"Maybe some people, but not me." He drives through a neighborhood and comes out onto another street that has less traffic.

"You seriously call a girl your girlfriend after just a couple dates?"

"Not usually, but you brought it up so I'm assuming that means you want to define our relationship." He turns down another side street."

"Okay, wait. I was not trying to define our relationship. In fact, I was suggesting that we NOT define it and just be friends who...do stuff."

"Which we both agreed we don't want. We want more than that, which is why I'm making you my girlfriend."

---