Page 79 of Holding On

"Are you saying I'm immature?"

"No, but Ethan is, and like I said, you don't need that kind of drama in your life."

"He's not immature, and the drama will go away once he figures out his future."

"Which you won't be a part of."

"I don't have to be. I'm not looking to marry the guy. We're just...hanging out."

Mike gives me a disapproving look, then shakes his head as he stirs the taco meat. "Are you going back to his place later?"

"No. I'm staying here. I have stuff to do." I'm not telling Mike about Ethan kicking me out. Doing so would make Mike think even less of him.

"You're dating him and yet you're not hanging out with him on a Saturday night?"

"I told you, I have stuff to do."

"Did he tell you to leave?"

Mike is always so damn perceptive. Sometimes I swear he's a mindreader. Maybe they teach you that in the military.

"He didn't tell me to leave. I left on my own. Now tell me about Heather."

"She's awesome." He gets a big grin on his face. "I know we just started dating but I really feel like there might be something there."

"So this might get serious?"

He shrugs. "Maybe. It's too soon to tell. But we have a lot in common and we get along great so there's potential for a serious relationship."

"Does she want that?"

"I don't know. We haven't talked about it."

"Do you want that?" I'm hoping he'll say he does. It's obvious he really likes this girl so the only thing holding him back is whatever love he still has for Tricia.

"With the right girl, yeah, I do want that. I'm just not sure I'm ready for it yet. For now, I just like spending time with Heather. She has so much compassion for people. She's so much different than...." His voice trails off before he says Tricia's name. He's trying not to talk about her anymore. But he's right. She had no compassion for people. She was all about herself and her own needs.

Mike shuts the stove off. "I'm going to head down there." He scoops the taco meat into a bowl. "You want to join us?"

I laugh. "On your date? No thanks."

"I'm only inviting you for dinner." He smiles at me. "After that you need to get lost."

I hop off the counter. "I'd rather stay here than watch you two lovebirds make out."

"So what exactly is this stuff you need to get done?"

"Clean my room. Vacuum. Maybe do some laundry."

"You'd rather do laundry on a Saturday night than be with your boyfriend?" He gives me a suspicious look. "Are you sure something didn't happen?"

"Nothing happened. I just want some time alone to catch up on a few things."

He finally stops badgering me, probably because he's in a hurry to see Heather. He covers the meat with plastic wrap and heads to the door. "See ya later. If you need anything you know where to find me."

"Are you spending the night or not?"

He grins. "We'll see how it goes."

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