Characters aren't mine and I make no money.
I was listening to Meat Loaf a few nights ago and this one-shot hit me and begged to be written so here it is. I wrote it out in about an hour and it's not beta'd so please excuse my mistakes. I hope you enjoy it!
Two Out of Three Ain't Bad
When she called me to come over tonight, I had hoped it was coming over for a night of hot sex. It was snowy and I hated driving in weather like this but seeing her was worth it. I, however, knew stepping into her apartment that it was the beginning of the end and I prepared myself for what I knew was coming. I like to always be prepared for the worse case scenario. And tonight was the worse case.
We started off talking and it quickly turned really bad. Instead of spending the night in bed together, we spent the night arguing. After hours of saying the same thing over and over, she finally broke down into tears. She knows her tears are my weakness and she is not afraid to use them against me.
"Please don't cry. You know I can't stand to see you crying." I tried not to sound like I was pleading, but think I failed.
"What did you expect? I just don't understand. Just tell me why?" She looked so heartbroken and I really didn't know what else to say to her to make her see the truth that's always been in front of her.
"We've talked about this all night but it's not getting us anywhere. I've told you why. I'm messed up. I'm not good for you and you deserve the best. I just can't!" I knew this day was coming eventually. I secretly hoped she waited a few more months or even years to bring it up but like most women, they reach a point in the 'relationship' and they just have to hear those words. Words that I will never be able to say.
"I don't care how messed up you are. I love you and I just want you to love me back. What's so hard about that?" She was getting frustrated and the tears were still flowing down her gorgeous face. It pained me to see her beautiful eyes red rimmed. They were what always drew me to her. They were always full of life and now, they are just dull and ordinary.
"I've shown you that I care about you. I'm always here when you need me. I've let you live with me when you needed to. Doesn't that say enough?" I knew deep down that it wouldn't be enough for her no matter how much I yearned for it to be. She was one of those women who needed it all but I couldn't give it to her.
"Oh, I'm sorry. How silly of me wanting to hear the words that I think are there. How silly of me needing to know that you are committed to me." She collapsed down into her couch in her small apartment and pulled her knees up into her chest. I didn't want to say it again to her because I knew it was going to hurt, but I needed her to understand that what she sees in front of her is all she's ever going to get.
"I keep telling you the exact same thing. I want you! I need you! But there is no way that I'm ever going to love you." Fresh tears poured down her face and it about broke my heart. "Don't be sad. Like the Meatloaf song says, two out of three ain't bad, right?" Her eyes sparked fire and I knew our time together was coming to a close. She quickly approached rhino mode.
"You want me in your bed to fuck whenever you need it. You need me in your life so you can feel good as a man or so I can stroke your ego along with your dick. And I'm just supposed to sit back and think that everything is all fine and dandy? Fuck you! I deserve it all and I thought you were going to be the one to give it to me." She scoffed and turned her head away from me. "I guess I was wrong, wasn't I?"
"Ba..." I started to talk but her hard glare made me stop my words. There were daggers in her eyes and they were pointed right at me.
"Don't ever call me that again. You've lost that privilege. You need to leave. Now! I can't stand to look at you any longer." She stood up off her couch and walked purposefully toward her bedroom. I heard the door slam and then heard her collapse into sobs. I stood and looked out the window. She is not the first woman who I have left in tears and I'm sure she won't be the last either. I knew I just needed to get it over with and move on.
I walked slowly to her bedroom door and knocked. I heard her crying on the other side and the sounds tore through my heart even more. "I can't lie to you. I can't tell you that I'm something that I'm not. I'll never be able to give you what you need. I'll never be able to love you because I just don't have love in me anymore. I hope you can understand that and forgive me, someday. I never meant to hurt you."
I spoke through her closed bedroom door. I could have picked the stupid lock and walked in to comfort her, but that would have just made her angrier and hurt her more in the end. I knew it was time for me to go and never look back. This has happened so many times before that I was kind of used to it. In my head I'm singing Another One Bites the Dust.
"I'll show myself out. I'm going to miss you." I turned to walk down her hallway but stopped when I heard the bedroom door open. She stepped out looking drop-dead sexy. Even with the puffy face from crying and her disheveled hair, she was still beautiful. What I wouldn't give to fuck her one more time before I left, but I knew that it was never going to happen again. I needed to cut my losses and move on. That is the story of my life.
"Tell me why!" I looked at her with one eye brow raised. She always hates when I do that. "Tell me why you can't love me." I let out a long sigh and look at her. We were over and I knew it, so I guess she deserves to hear the truth. My reason for never loving another woman is the last thing that people in my life hear before I walk out on them permanently. It's not something that I'm proud of so I tell them and I leave before they have time to think less of me.
"There is only one woman who I'll ever love. It was many, many years ago, but she'll always be my woman. Although she stole my heart and I know that I'll never get it back from her, she never loved me back." I watched as the woman in front of me furrowed her brows. She wiped the tears off her face and straightened her spine. I knew she didn't want to think about me with someone else but it was the truth.
"I know! Big shock. I give my heart to someone and they don't even want it. Pissed me off too. I can still remember how she left me." I ran my hand over my face. This is the part that I hate because it makes me sound so weak.
"It was storming out and we spent an entire evening in bed together. There was no other place that I ever wanted to be. Making love with her was beyond amazing, at least for me." I watched the pain mar her beautiful face when she pictured me with another woman. "She kissed me and rolled out of our bed. I knew she was leaving me for him, but I begged her and pleaded with her not to go." There's that weakness I was talking about. I'm a macho guy and there I was begging and pleading like a little bitch. I even had tears on my face but she didn't even notice them.
"But nothing worked. She packed her bags and turned away from me. She kept on telling me that she wanted me and that she needed me. She told me that there was no way that she was ever going to love me because she was in love with someone else. She said the same thing I said to you earlier...two out of three ain't bad. She left and never looked back. " I turned and leaned up against her hallway wall. It hurt thinking about the woman who ruined me. She will always be the love of my life and there's not a damn thing I can do about it.
"So that's why I can't love you. I have no love to give. She has it all and doesn't even know it." She nodded and turned back into her bedroom. I let out a sigh and turned toward her door. It was going to be the last time I walked through it and I was almost all the way out when her small voice stopped me.
"What was her name?" I sighed and hung my head. I haven't spoken her name in years and didn't want to now, but decided at the last-minute to tell her. What would it hurt?
"Her name was Stephanie Plum and she is the most amazing woman in the world. I love her with every ounce of my being and she's with another man. She didn't choose me when the time came. She's now happily married to him and last I heard they're on kid number three." I felt the tear fall before I knew it was even happening and I jumped when I felt her small hand on my shoulder. I turned to face the woman who moments before was angry with me. Her features were softened and she looked almost sympathetic.
"She was stupid. You're a good man and I hope that one day you can learn to love again." I smiled at the woman in front of me and walked out her door. Halfway down the hallway her voice stopped me once again. "And Joe...feel free to come back whenever you need to." I searched her face for acceptance and I when I saw it, I smiled. Maybe she was different that the other women. Maybe we could still be together even without the love.
"Thanks Baby." I remembered what she said earlier that night and cringed. "Oops, sorry. I'm mean, thanks Megan. I'll call you." She smiled and then went back into her apartment. I left her building with a smile on my face. I knew I would never love any woman like Stephanie Manoso, but if Megan was willing to settle for two out of three, then that ain't too bad.
A/N - What did you think? Take a minute and leave a review. It won't kill you. : )