Simply Complicated (15 page)

“I’m sorry to hear that,” she said.

“That’s okay—it wasn’t your fault. There’s no need for you to be sorry. I was madly in love with her and completely committed to her. We met while in graduate school and were engaged for two years.

“The night before our wedding, I found out that she slept with her ex-boyfriend. She claimed she ran into him at the club where her bridal shower was being held.

“She was supposedly drunk and when she woke up that morning she was at his apartment in bed with him,” he said.

“How did you find out? Did she tell you?” questioned Camille.

“No, she didn’t tell me. Her ex-boyfriend called and told me about it. When I confronted her she started crying and said she didn’t mean for it to happen.

“Naturally the wedding was called off and I’ve never been committed to another woman since.”

“That was a long time ago, baby. I understand your pain and anger but holding on to that isn’t fair to our relationship. You should not let that situation dictate your life. By doing so you’re letting her win all over again,” said Camille as she went over and put her arms around him.

“I know, baby. I was doing well until I met you. You’re the first woman I’ve met that I even thought about committing to since I broke off my wedding to Lisa,” he said.

She felt confused and was not sure what to do about their relationship. “What are your intentions with our relationship? Do you think you can ever get married or commit to me?”

“I do love you, Camille, but right now I don’t want to change anything about our relationship. It’s perfect the way it is.”

“Do you think you could ever stop seeing other women and be committed to only me?” she asked.

“Out of all the women I am involved with, you’re the only one I truly love. Can that be enough for now? The other women mean nothing to me,” he said.

“I don’t understand why you don’t want to stop seeing them. You say you love me but not enough to be faithful. That makes little sense to me.”

“I’m not ready to give up that part of my life and settle down with just one woman. I thought you were okay with how things are between us,” said Jake.

“Come on, Jake. I was at first but I didn’t think things would be that way for this long. It has been over two years since we started dating. I’m sorry but I cannot do this any longer. I feel like a fool. It’s obvious that you don’t intend on committing to me.

“We seem to want different things now and I want someone who can only be committed to me. I love you so much, which makes this so difficult. It is over. I believe it’s time we let go and go our separate ways,” said Camille.

Jake didn’t know what to say. His enormous ego was actually bruised. He had never had someone break up with him before. Whenever his relationships ended, he was always the one who finished them.

Should I try and convince her to stay? Or should I let her walk away? Man, I’m not sure what to do. I do love her but I don’t like being backed into a corner either,
he thought to himself.

“I understand your position but are you sure this is what you want?” he asked.

“You know what I want but you’re not ready for it. I don’t want to end it but I feel it’s what I need to do,” she replied.

Deep down he wanted to ask her to stay but his pride and male ego would not let him. He gave her a cold, hard stare, then turned and left her apartment, intending to never see Camille again.

The next few weeks were difficult for both of them. Camille painfully realized that maybe Jake did not love her as much as she previously thought.

The fact that he would rather lose her than stop seeing other women was a harsh reality for her. She thought they would be together forever. She decided that she would put all of her energy into her career and not get involved with anyone for a while.

Jake, on the other hand, realized that he cared for Camille more than he imagined. He thought it would be easy to get over her, especially since he was involved with other women. When he told her he loved her he meant it. He was starting to have second thoughts about his decision to let her go.

After about five months of being apart, Jake realized his life seemed different. Something was missing. He was not as happy as he was before. He was beginning to comprehend how important Camille was to him. How she made everything seem right, especially when he had a bad day at work. His other women only fulfilled his sexual needs. With her he was able to be himself. He was able to put his guard down without being judged.

While Jake was beginning to wonder if he made a huge mistake letting her go, Camille was starting to feel better about herself. She started working out again and putting more time into her career. She even started to date. Part of her did miss Jake and part of her did not. She was beginning to move on with her life.

One night while out with a group of friends having dinner and drinks, Jake saw a familiar woman walk into the restaurant; it was Camille. Her friend Paul had come to town on business and he and Camille decided to go out to dinner. They had been dating for four months. He would fly her to Los Angeles and he would fly to Chicago to see her.

She looked beautiful and happy. She did not notice Jake because she was so focused on Paul. When he saw her he wanted to say something but didn’t know what. Jake began to get jealous. This was a new feeling for him; he had never been jealous before.

Ken was with him and noticed he was acting strangely. He asked what was wrong and Jake told him that Camille was there with someone else.

Ken could tell Jake was starting to get uneasy, “Jake, do you want to just leave?”

Jake refused to let anyone know that he was bothered seeing her with someone else, “I’m good—let’s stick around.”

The night proved to be very difficult for him. He couldn’t help but look over at her to see what she was doing. Finally after about an hour or so, he got up from his seat and went over to where she was. When she saw Jake walking towards her she didn’t know what to expect or say. She had no idea he was at the restaurant.

“Hello, Camille. How have you been? Can I have a minute to speak with you?” asked Jake.

She didn’t want to be rude to Paul so she introduced them. “Hello, Jake. Paul, this is Jake; Jake, Paul,” she said nervously.

“Hi Jake,” said Paul as he extended his hand to shake Jake’s.

“Paul,” said Jake as he ignored the extended hand.

“I’ve been well, Jake, but this is not a good time to talk. You can give me a call in the morning and we can talk then,” she said.

Jake did not accept this and asked her to just give him a few minutes. She could tell that he had a little too much to drink and to avoid a scene, she asked Paul to excuse her and to give them a few minutes to talk.

Camille and Jake stepped outside. “Who is that guy you are with and how long have you been seeing each other?” he demanded.

“I don’t have to answer to you. It has been five months since we broke up. I suggest you call me in the morning when you’re sober so you don’t say something stupid,” she retorted angrily.

“I really miss you, Camille. I love you. I made a big mistake letting you go. Please give us another chance. We were together for almost three years. How can you just throw that away?” he said while attempting to put his arm around her.

“I’m sure that’s the alcohol talking. Besides I don’t think you can count the past five months, since we are not together, as part of our relationship,” she said as she moved out of the way of his reach.

“Yes, I have been drinking. But that’s not why I’m saying this. I really do miss having you in my life. My life has not been the same since you left. Please take me back,” he begged. She was shocked to hear him say these things. This was not the man she was used to.

Back inside the restaurant Paul began to wonder what was taking Camille so long to return. He paid the bill and decided to look for her outside. As he approached them, Jake was just leaning towards her, attempting to kiss her.

When she saw Paul coming, she put her hand out to prevent him from doing it.

“Hey baby, is everything okay?” asked Paul.

“Yes,” she said.

“Are you ready to go?” he asked.

“I am sorry, Jake, but I need to leave. Take care,” she said.

He stood there watching as they walked towards Paul’s car. After they left he went back inside the restaurant.

“Where did you go?” asked Ken.

“I needed to speak with Camille so we went outside to talk. I think I may have lost her forever,” Jake said, signaling for another drink.

“If you love and miss her as much as you say you do, then you need to stop letting your ego get in the way and tell her exactly how you feel. Then you need to commit to her and her alone,” Ken advised.

Jake simply nodded his head and took a sip of his drink.

As she and Paul drove towards her apartment, Camille could not help but think about what Jake had said to her. She had no idea that he loved her this much.
What does this mean?
Is he only feeling this way because he saw me with someone else? Would he have said this if he had not been drinking?

She began to wonder.

When they arrived at her place she invited Paul in for a cup of coffee. He gladly accepted. As they sat and talked he asked her about Jake.

“So who is Jake?” asked Paul.

“He was the man I was involved with when I first met you in Los Angeles. I broke up with him because I finally realized that he didn’t want to solely commit to me. Not to mention he doesn’t want to get married,” she said.

Paul held her hand, “Are you okay? If you want to be alone tonight I understand.”

Of course he was hoping she would ask him to stay.

“Actually, I don’t want to be alone. I was hoping you could stay the night.”

Although her feelings for Paul were still developing she was very attracted to him and for the first time in over two years, she shared a special evening with a man other than Jake. She was hoping that by being intimate with him, she would be able to forget about Jake and the things he said to her that evening.

The next day they decided to have breakfast before Paul’s flight left later that morning. When she arrived back home after breakfast and the airport there were two messages on her answering machine. They were both from Jake.

“I apologize for my behavior last night. Please give me a call,”
he said in his first message.

“Hey, I really need to talk to you and I hope I can see you soon,”
was his second message.

She was hesitant to call him back but she did. She agreed to meet with him over dinner.

Jake spent most of the evening apologizing to her about everything. “Hey baby, you look good tonight. Please have a seat,” he said as he stood and pulled out her chair.

“Hello, Jake,” she said.

“Thanks for meeting with me tonight. Let me start off by saying that I meant everything I said last night. I’m ready to date you exclusively,” he said.

“Why should I believe you? You seemed so sure five months ago that you didn’t want a monogamous relationship. What changed your mind?”

“Your absence from my life changed my mind.”

“That sounds good but I’m afraid to get involved with you again because I couldn’t handle it if you were unfaithful to me. What assurances do I have that you mean what you’re saying?” asked Camille.

Before she could finish her sentence, he stood and got down on one knee. Taking out an engagement ring, he asked, “Is this assurance enough for you? Camille, will you marry me?”

She began to cry. She had not expected him to propose. Camille didn’t know what to say. “I don’t know Jake. I’m scared. I really love you but I just don’t know,” she said.

“Take a chance on love, baby, and say yes. Make me the happiest man in Chicago,” he said.

“Yes Jake, I will marry you. I am putting my heart in your hands and I’m trusting that you’ll take good care of it,” she said.

He leaned over and kissed her gently on the lips. She was too excited to finish dinner so they left the restaurant and went back to her apartment to celebrate.

The next morning she was still excited. She woke up before him and cooked breakfast.

“Good morning, baby; I fixed your favorite breakfast,” she said as he wandered into the kitchen.

“Thanks, baby. This is just one of the many things I missed about you. You always take care of me,” said Jake.

“I’m glad to have you back, sweetheart. I missed you so much. I must admit I never expected you to propose. Now that we’re engaged, we need to come up with a date for the wedding and a date for the engagement party. I was thinking that we would make a date for next year,” she said.

“Slow down, baby. Let’s enjoy the engagement first. We have plenty of time to get things ready,” he said laughing.

She laughed and agreed.

“Well I need to get dressed so I can get home, shower, and change for work. I need to go into the office for a few hours today,” he said.

“Okay baby. Finish your breakfast so I can clean the kitchen. I have errands I need to run today and I want to get an early start,” replied Camille.