Inevitable

Chapter 14

Liz wakes up the next morning naked, on the floor, with the bedsheets wrapped around her. She looks next to her and sees Matthew laying down. Liz stands up to go to the bathroom and laughs at what she sees. Their clothes were scattered all over the hotel room. Her white blouse was draped over the television, her black pencil skirt thrown on the bathroom floor, and her shoes are no where to be found. Matthew's clothes were in a pile in the corner of the hotel room.

When she walks out of the bathroom, she sees Matthew making coffee in the kitchen. Liz walks up to him from behind and wraps her arms around his waist. She loved the feeling of his rock hard abs against her skin. "Good morning," Liz says as she props herself up on her tippy toes to kiss Matthew. "Hey baby," he whispers back to her. Something about what he said forced Liz's grin to drop.

"Is there something wrong?" Matt asks.

"I just can't stop thinking about Melanie and your son," she answers.

"Her and I are getting an annulment, Liz, everything will be fine."

"Can I meet her?"

"Meet Melanie? Sure, I guess."

"Ok," Liz smiles, "I'm taking Krista out tonight for her birthday if you two want to join us."

"Is that such a good idea?"

"Why not?"

"Well, she knows about us and I don't want you two to feel awkward."

"Matty, everything will be fine. I promise."

"Alright, why don't we go for a walk?" Matt suggests.

Liz smiles, "I would like that."

The two get dressed and go for a walk. Walking together, they talk about everything that has happened to both of them in the past two years. Matthew talks about all of his dates with Melanie and how they met. He tells her how they met on the bus.

"You met her on a bus?" Liz asks.

"Ha, yeah. Well, a couple buddies and I were going to a bar and Melanie came on the bus. My friends were hitting on her because she is pretty, but this was recently after you left me, so I wasn't talking to her as much. Then she mentioned how she was heading to her house which is in South Florida and our bus was heading North."

"How the hell did she do that?" Liz questions.

"She's not the smartest, Liz. But anyway, I told her how she was going the complete different way and we both got off at the next stop."

"You got off with her?"

"Of course, to help find her way back to her house. Then we just started talking and I don't know what it was about her, but I felt like I loved her that day. It was like we were the only two on the planet."

"That's cute, Matt."

"Thanks, Liz. I think it was because she was just like you. I mean, she had the same laugh as you and you guys dress the same. She's a blonde version of you. But then when we got to her house, she invited me inside for tea. That was another connection to you."

"Don't tell me you two, ya know."

"Oh no, we went on a couple dates, kissed, and then we eventually got there. I made her take things slow. I still missed you, still in love with you. It killed me to kiss her or even sleep with her, but I thought you were never coming back."

"I understand, Matty. I felt the same way," Liz says as she looks down at her feet, looking guilty.

"What happened when you were in Chicago? Did you meet anyone?" Matt asks her. Noticing how she looks upset, Matt speaks up, "Hey, it's ok, you can tell me."

"Um, yeah I met someone. I met a lot of someone's actually."

"Did you do anything with them?"

"Matty, you have to understand how hurt I was and you know me better than anyone else."

"So you've slept with them?"

"No, I didn't sleep with them."

"So you went two years without having sex?"

"Oh no, I've had sex. Lots of sex," Liz wipes her eyebrow and rubs her temple. She continues, "I've had sex with a lot of the men I've met, but I never slept with them. Do you get it?" Matthew nods his head and wraps his arm around Liz's shoulder. "I couldn't have anything more than a one hour relationship. It absolutely killed me to think that I was having sex with someone other than you, but I felt like that was the right thing to do at the time."

"So we both had a bad two years," Matt adds.

"Oh yours sounds so lovely though."

"Liz, are you kidding?" Matt and Liz take a seat on a bench in the park. He continues, "It killed me to let you go. I...I said marriage vowels to another woman. I lived our dream with someone else. But I knew I had to let you go. Then a couple years went by and you just stroll back into my life. When I saw you standing in the coffee shop, right then and there I knew that Melanie was not the woman I loved, you were."

Liz's eyes fill up with tears, "How did you know?"

"Because for that split second I saw the back of you, I completely forgot about Melanie, and I knew that the woman I was staring at was you."

Liz smiles at Matthew and the two stand up to walk back to the hotel.

When they return, Matthew drives back to his house to invite Melanie to Liz's dinner.

"Hey Mel," Matt greets as he walks inside the house.

"Hey," she replies.

"Uh, listen, Liz invited us to dinner."

"Me? Why me?"

"She wants to meet you."

"She does? This is a good thing, right?" Melanie asks.

"Absolutely."

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At the dinner, it is Krista, Nick, Liz, Melanie, and Matthew. They were all sitting around a table at a fancy, Italian restaurant. The five of them talk about multiple different subjects. Liz made sure that she sat next to Melanie so they can talk as well. After all, if Liz and Matthew decide to get married, she will be this child's stepmother.

"So, Melanie. When are you due?" Liz asks.

"In about two months," Melanie replies.

"I heard you're having a baby boy, congratulations. Any names yet?" Liz asks, smiling.

"I think Matthew and I have decided on John."

"That's adorable, Melanie."

The two girls talks about all sorts of things and Liz made plans for the two of them to get together at some point. She wanted to befriend Melanie so no hard feelings came in between them. Liz payed close attention to the way Melanie spoke and acted and realized that Matthew was right- they were both almost identical.

During the dinner, Matthew sat and watched how they were being so friendly towards each other. He thought it was so cool. Near the end of the dinner, Krista was overwhelmed with birthday presents. She opened them all at the table and thanked everyone. Krista acts like a child when she receives presents. It has always made Liz laugh. It was a very successful night and Liz was proud that everyone got along. "Happy birthday, Krista," they all said as they left the restaurant. Liz jotted down Melanie's cell phone number before she drove home.