Maybe I don't.
Tossing the empty paper cup in a trash can, he turned as a man walked through the set of double doors. He walked directly over to Patty and leaned down to speak, their heads together. Without a backward glance, he walked out again.
Smiling widely, Patty stepped into the middle of the room.
"He's been granted parole. Ben's going to be free."
2
One year later...
Chris Marks slapped Knox on the back and grinned. "She's a keeper, my friend. You need to hold on to this one."
Knox and his friends, Chris, Luke, and Ryan were having a fun night out with their significant others. They'd gone to a movie and then ended up at a sports bar that had tons of gaming equipment. So far Knox had lost three straight air hockey games to his new girlfriend Jenna. Far from being put out about it, he was actually quite proud of her. She was damn good at the game. He liked that she didn't feel the need to pretend to lose to him or some such bullshit to try and protect his ego. That was such crap.
My masculinity isn't that fragile, thankfully.
"You just want everyone to be married like you are," Knox replied, signaling the waitress for a refill. He'd already had one beer and that was his limit tonight. He was drinking soda as of about ten o'clock. "It's like a cult. First marriage, then a baby, and then a minivan. I'm not driving a damn minivan so you can just forget it."
"They're very practical," Chris laughed. "Lots of space."
"It's not for me. You and Ryan can compare models to your heart's content though."
Ryan's fiancée Mariah was currently six months pregnant and they were deep into decorating the nursery and buying car seats. Knox was pretty sure he'd heard his friend talk about buying Mariah a minivan. Did Mariah even want one?
"Seriously," Chris said. "Jenna's fantastic. Smart, funny, beautiful. She's the whole package. And you've got a great meet-cute story for the grandkids."
They did have a great story. Knox had been hanging out at a local sports bar watching a game and he'd headed to the men’s' room during halftime. On the way back, they'd literally bumped into one another, sending Jenna's drink down both their shirts. After her effusive apology and a stack of napkins to clean up the mess, Knox had bought her a new drink and asked her to join them. He'd also asked for her phone number, which she'd given with a smile. That was three weeks ago. So far, so good.
Jenna had said she wanted to take it slow and Knox was fine with that. It was far better than a few other females he'd dated that had practically had the wedding planned after a few dates. He could be patient. As far as he was concerned, Jenna was worth it.
Because he liked her. Really liked her. More than he could remember liking any other woman in his memory. She was everything Chris had said and more. He found himself thinking about her at the most inconvenient times of the day. There was something about her that he couldn't quite put into words, but he felt comfortable with her in a way that he hadn't with anyone else he'd ever dated. She challenged him too, making him think about things in a new way. She was wickedly intelligent and incredibly gorgeous. She was also funny as hell and she could probably have just about any guy that she wanted.
It appeared that she wanted Knox.
Which is just fine with me.
She only had one flaw that Knox could see. She wanted to talk. Specifically about their relationship. Several times now she'd said that they needed to have a serious discussion.
Knox didn't "do" serious relationship discussions if he could avoid it. He especially didn't want to have them in the early days of dating. If she wanted to know where their relationship was going she was going to have to wait and see, just like him. Luckily, so far, he'd been able to get her away from the topic using diversionary tactics. Kisses, joking, whatever would work in the moment. If they continued dating, they'd eventually have to have some sort of conversation but he wasn't looking forward to it.
It really didn't make much sense to him either. Jenna swore she wanted to take things slow, but then she also wanted to have a serious talk.
Which was it?
"I think we'll wait on the grandkids. We've only been dating three weeks."
"It looks like it's going pretty good. She fits into our strange little group very well."
"I'm not sure that's a good thing," Knox laughed. "I wouldn't call us mainstream or even normal."
"Who wants to be normal? I don't," Chris declared.
"You're well on your way, bro."
Jenna, Mariah, Ella, and Shaw were finished playing a game where they shot water into a clown’s mouth and inflated a balloon. The first one that burst won a prize and Shaw was holding a large pink stuffed elephant proudly and showing it to her fiancé Luke.
Jenna shrugged and laughed at her loss, settling into the chair next to Knox. She looked beautiful this evening, dressed casually in blue jeans and a white button-down blouse. She wasn't petite or delicate, instead tall, leggy, and athletic. She had that California-girl look with her pale blonde hair, almond shaped blue eyes, and golden skin, although she swore to him that she'd never stepped foot in that state
"I didn't win," Jenna said, mock pouting as she linked their arms together and rested her chin on
