Finally realizing the better options they both could choose..

Based on a post by dark overlord 6, in 4 parts. Listen to the ► Podcast at Connected.

Roxy

closed the door behind her neighbor, chaining the lock and turning out

the light, but in spite of her exhaustion, it was a long time before she

fell asleep.

When

her phone rang early the next morning, it took her three tries to get

her hand on it, and she nearly pushed if off the end table and onto the

floor before finally snagging it in her grip.

"This had better be a lawyer telling me I just inherited a million dollars," grumbled Roxy into the receiver.

"Roxy? It's David. Did I call too early?"

"What do you think?" she snapped, sitting up in bed to rub her eyes.

"Sorry;

I just wanted to let you know it worked. Heather called me and wants to

see me next Tuesday night. She was practically begging me on the phone

to go out with her again."

"Oh; Ah; That's good news, David. I'm glad to hear it; "

"You don't sound very excited."

"At

this time of the morning, the only thing that would excite me is a big

cup of coffee, or for you to hang up so I can sleep four more hours."

"Right; Well, sorry to bother you I; I'll see you at work tomorrow."

Roxy

cut off the connection, laying back in her bed. Her mind drifted to the

conversation of the previous night with Mrs. Foster. And try as she

might, she couldn't get the thought of how handsome David had looked at

the water park, out of her head. How comfortable she had been around

him, and how perfect his lips had felt on hers.

"This

is bullshit; He's just a kid, and I'm an idiot!" she tried to tell

herself. But that didn't stop the pain that suddenly flared in her chest

or the tears that started to flow down her face.

"Mommy?

Why are you crying?" asked Emily appearing at the end of her bed with

the same uncanny stealthiness that Roxy herself had displayed on more

than one occasion.

"It's nothing, Baby. I just got something in my eye. Hey! You want waffles for breakfast?"

"Oh! I love waffles!" shouted Emily.

Roxy wiped the tears from her eyes and followed her daughter into the kitchen, trying to put the phone call out of her head.

The Measure of A Man.

David

pulled the comb through his hair again, annoyed at the stray hair in

back that flatly refused to lay down. He slapped some cologne on his

face and grabbed his keys off the bathroom counter.

"Where are you heading out looking so fine?" asked his Mom from the couch where she was reading a novel.

"I got a date with Heather," he said, stopping to tie his shoe.

"I thought you two broke up?"

"We did; but she's having second thoughts."

"Good for you guys! I always thought you made a cute couple."

"Thanks. I'll see you later," he said over his shoulder as he headed out the door.

He

found traffic to be a little heavier than usual for the time of night,

and he slowed turning the radio on to relieve the boredom as he crawled

forward. In the distance, a glowing billboard advertising the latest

ride at Wave World dominated the skyline. A memory popped into his head

unbidden; of Roxy walking toward him in her red bikini, the sunlight

falling on her reddish hair, lighting it like a fiery halo. His

heartbeat picked up as more images flashed through his mind, Roxy laying

with her bare feet in a desert spring, Roxy breathing hard with

excitement after their plunge down the slide, Roxy kissing him;

"Shit!" he yelled as he slammed on the brakes nearly hitting the car in front of him that had come to a stop.

"What's

a matter with me? This is ridiculous. A couple of kisses that didn't

really mean anything and now I can't think straight."

He

resolved to put the bombshell woman out of his mind as traffic finally

picked up and he exited a short time later pulling into Heather's

neighborhood.

The

number of times he had pulled up into this same driveway were too

numerous to count. He looked up at the big, white, two-story house,

recalling all the parties and events he had attended here. He was just

about to get out of the car when his cell phone rang, and to his

surprise, it was Roxy's number on the display.