Set Your Messy Love Aside

Wes went to wait by the Palms Club at 2 A.M., because he knew that was when Rae finished work on Saturday. She said she wanted to talk with him after work. But before 2 A.M., Rae sent a puzzling message to him.

She said she had done "some thinking," and "figured it out why it was the way it was." She then said they shouldn't waste time on each other.

What the hell was she talking about? Was this another bye-bye, have a good life type of message she left for him? How many times is she going to do this to him? Seriously?

At first, Wes was mentally too spent to even guess and wonder. Wes had agonized over her and regretted how things ended for a couple of months now. He felt the hurt too much already. He didn't want to feel this way anymore.

He couldn't take another harsh termination again.

This hurt and frustration gradually turned into anger. Why the hell did Rae always do this? She wanted to talk, and then she wanted to stop talking. He deserved some explanation. This woman can't be this cruel to him. Rae is better than this, isn't she? So he drove to where Rae works. Parked and waited. He was determined to speak to her regardless.

Just as predicted, Rae walked out from the Palms Club right after the closing time.

What he didn't predict was, Rae walked up to some guy on the sidewalk, and that guy gave her flowers, and she accepted it. She seemed to be chatting with him gladly.

OK. That's it. Wes then got back into his car.

He sat in there, boiling with emotions. He was too mad at that moment to drive away. That was why Rae saw just his car and not him.

He tried to calm down. And he decided, he's done with her. She's just like every woman. Fickle. Selfish.

He almost couldn't find another negative word for her. But still. No more of this bull crap.

He is Wesley Warren. He has a lot more to do with his life than worrying about this woman. He is busy. He is always expanding his businesses and taking on new projects. Seriously, he's done. No more wasting time on her.

He shouldn't have let this woman in his life. Well, he didn't, really. She kind of just barged into his life on her own, right at that club.

She actually made him get up and follow her so she could yell at him. Who does that? She was so firm and so adamant. She was mad at him because she was worried about a secret that really wasn't her own. That means she has a heart.

She was so simple and so naturally responsive to his presence. It made him feel good about himself. He felt comfortable with her, because he could tell she was different from other women. She wasn't calculating how to seduce him. She wasn't thinking about anything, really, just simply enjoying his company, and simply impressed by him. Nothing else. No game. No agenda.

For those reasons, he thought she could be the woman he wanted to share his life with.

Although, he thought wrong once in the past. He was wrong about his first girlfriend, Miranda. He wanted to marry Miranda at one point. How terribly wrong was he.

Maybe he is wrong again. Rae is just another Miranda.

*** ***

Rae wakes up before Dan this time. She doesn't feel too good right now.

After the lust in her body has been taken care of by another night with Dan, she just feels empty. Her romantic relationship world is a mess right now. But she doesn't want to focus on that part.

She forces herself to think about something positive. Oh yeah, she is doing a food competition with Dan. It's coming up next weekend. That should be good. They will decide what bread to go with.

She even thought of something creative— instead of just serve a bowl of chili with bread, why can't they change it up a little, and make a chili sandwich or something? Think about it, chili is really essentially just a bowl of loose meat in gravy. Like a sloppy joe.

Rae is so excited with this new idea, she pushes Dan and wakes him up.

"What? What time is it?" Dan's eyes half open.

"Good morning. It's 6 in the morning."

"Oh good, I'm not late. Come back next to me."

"Dan, is it against the rule if we make a chili sandwich?"

"What? What rule?" Dan is still half asleep.

"You know, the chili competition." Rae is excited.

"I don't think there's really much of a rule. As long as it has chili and it's tasty. Why?"

"What if we transform chili and actually make it a food item?" Rae holds her open-mouth grin. She is really liking her own idea.

"What are you thinking?" Dan asks.

"OK, so here's what I think. Because the weather is getting warm, no one is going to enjoy sitting there, eating a bowl of thick hot chili. You know, chili and soup sales drop in the spring and the summer. And I think this weekend is going to be very warm."

Dan sits up. He rubs his eyes. "Wait, you researched this?"

"Not recently. I know this for a long time now. I read stuff about food all the time."

Dan has a curious smile on his face. But he seems to try hard not to smile.

"OK, so, I'm thinking we can make a chili sandwich. Like a sloppy joe, but we don't use flimsy hamburger buns. We can use French bread or ciabatta, the kind that has a crispy crust on the outside, and I'll scoop out the soft part of the bread inside, fit more meat in it. Add some grilled onions, maybe? A slice of pickle long-sliced or banana pepper, maybe?

Dan finally can't help but smile. "You woke me up for this?"

"What do you think?" Rae's eyes are big. She sees his soft brown hair cowlicks are ruffled and he looks good even with messy bed hair.

"I can't believe you woke me up to tell me this. Are you sleeping with me so you can be in the competition?" Dan touches her face.

"Ach!" Rae scoffs, brushing his hand off, "I actually told you I couldn't hang out with you last night, remember? You intercepted me at my work."

"You're right. I guess I seduced you into sleeping with me again. Or you just really hated that party," He pulls her arm, "What you described made me hungry. That sounds like a good idea. We will try that on our day off tomorrow."

"Yay! This is great."

"Rae, don't ever think you haven't achieved anything. You have, you just need more people to know about you." Dan says softly.

Rae suddenly thinks of Z. He seems to have always known she was great without needing her to prove it. And Z has always tried to find a way to help her expand her life.

Rae decides she will call Zach and asks Zach for Z back. Even just the box version is fine.