co-written by RatedrKjErIcHo.

Caroline sat out on the porch of the house she now shared with Mike a few weeks later and smiled when she saw Anna's car come into view. She felt Mike tense beside her and she squeezed his hand. She'd invited Anna over for lunch so she could meet Mike. And she was nervous as to how they'd get along.

Anna looked at Caroline and Mike as she pulled into the driveway. She was nervous about the meeting. Nikolas was with Dwayne's parents and Dwayne was in Mexico on business. He would be back that night. She turned off the SUV and got her purse and the cake she had made. She took a breath as she got out of the car.

Caroline turned to Mike. "Please try. She's my best friend and she apologized to me."

He smiled at her and nodded before he leaned in and kissed her softly. "I promise you I'll try. But the first little dig and she's outta here." Caroline nodded. Anna walked up to the porch and smiled. Caroline walked forward and hugged her.

"Glad you could make it."

"I brought Carrot Cake. You said it was Mike's favorite." Caroline smiled and looked over at Mike. He stepped forward and took the cake.

"Welcome to our home."

"Thank you." Anna smiled as she followed them in.

"Where's Nikolas?" Caroline asked.

"Oh. He's with Dwayne's parents. They wanted to spend some time with him." She said as she walked in. "Your house is beautiful."

"Thank you." Caroline replied. "I know it's not as big as the previous one but we like it."

"It's perfect. You don't need a big house to be happy." She said a little softly.

"Yeah I agree." Mike replied when he came back.

"Well, lunch is ready so let's eat."

She followed them into the dining room and had just sat down when there was a knock at the door. Mike looked at them. "That'll be John. I invited him." He leaned over and kissed Caroline and excused himself to answer the door. Anna looked at Caroline and smiled.

"I don't think I've ever seen you smile that big before."

"I haven't in a long time. Far too long. I'm glad I finally admitted to myself that life is too short to be anything but happy." Anna nodded as Mike and John walked back into the room.

"John, you know Anna right?" Mike said as they walked into the dining room.

"Yes, nice to see you again." He smiled and sat down by her.

"You too. Although, it seems that I've seen you a lot lately." She smiled.

John laughed. "Yeah it does."

"So...Anna what is it you want to know about me?" Mike asked as he sat down next to Caroline. Anna looked at them all.

"How did you two meet? I mean I know you guys grew up together but...how did you meet officially?"

"Middle school. Eighth grade I think." Mike said looking at Caroline to confirm it.

"Yep eighth grade math. He was hopeless at it and I was a brain. So I tutored him." She smiled. "And things just went from there."

"He came to English class right after that and told me he was in love. I rolled my eyes. It wasn't until lunch that I met her too. And you could pretty much tell that they were into each other." John said. "Mike's about as subtle as a sun burn though. It was pretty funny to see him stumble over words at first when he was trying to talk to her." Caroline laughed and nodded her head.

"But I knew he was a sweetheart. And he was the cutest boy I had ever seen." She said.

"That's great." Anna smiled. She could see how happy Caroline was and she really felt bad for how she acted when she first found out. But that was in the past.

The lunch was nice for the rest of the time. She got to know Mike and got to know John more. It was soon late afternoon and she knew she had to get back home.

"Well, I hate to rush off but Dwayne gets back tonight and I need to head home and make sure the house is perfect." She said as she got up from the sofa. "Thanks for having me over." She hugged Caroline. "Mike, it was nice to meet you. Caroline, call me. John, I'm sure I will see you again and probably soon." She smiled.

"I'm sure we will, Anna." He said with a smile. Caroline walked her to the door.

"He's a really great guy. And I'm happy you're so happy." She said. Caroline smiled at her. "I'll call you and we'll talk about Nikolas' birthday party soon." Caroline nodded. Anna walked out to her car and drove home. She was a little surprised to see Dwayne was already there.

She parked her car in the garage and headed in. She walked through the kitchen and saw her husband in the living room.

"Hey, I wasn't expecting you so earlier." She said when she walked in.

"I arranged things to fly out early. I expected my wife to be here when I got home with my son." He said getting up from the sofa.

"I wasn't expecting you until six. I had a romantic dinner planned. Your mom called me this morning and asked if she and your dad could have Nikolas for the day and night. I said yes because I knew you would be home tonight and I wanted to surprise you with a romantic dinner." She said to him.

"Then where were you? I don't see any bags so you couldn't have been at the store or shopping. So, where were you?"

"I had lunch with Caroline and we did some window shopping. I didn't want to be here all day alone so when she called, I said okay. "

"I don't want you hanging out with her anymore."

"Why? She's my best friend. Really the only friend I have."

"Because she left Dave and is now shacking up with some mechanic she's been having an affair with. She's a bad influence and I don't want that around you or Nikolas."

"What kind of bad influence?" She asked trying not to upset him.

"She's a cheater. I don't want her to give you ideas or anything. She's just a bad influence and I would prefer if you didn't see her anymore."

"Dwayne." She said walking over to her husband. "I have no desire to cheat on you. You're my husband." She knew the next words she said weren't exactly true but she knew they were what words she needed to use if she wanted to see Caroline and keep her as a friend. "I don't want anyone else. I don't think of anyone else. I promise. It's only you. Caroline is my only friend. I need a girl to talk to about things."

"Alright. But if your attitude starts to change, that's the end of it." He said as he walked over and kissed her. He wrapped his arms around her and pulled her onto his lap. His hands went to the buttons on her blouse and it soon hit the floor. It was followed by the rest of their clothes and they were soon making love in the living room. Something they had never done before.

She laid there on the sofa with him and sighed to herself. It seemed like the only time Dwayne wanted her these days was when he wanted to have sex in an attempt to get pregnant again. And she hoped every time they did, that it wouldn't work. That they wouldn't have another baby. Because she didn't want to bring another baby into this loveless situation. Nikolas had been the only good thing to come from their marriage. The only thing she loved. And while she couldn't imagine her life without him, she didn't want to have another baby with a man she didn't love. "That was different."

"Yeah, it was." He said with his arms around her. He kissed her on the cheek and grabbed his pants off the floor and put them on. "I'm heading to New York in a few weeks. Shouldn't be gone too long." She nodded. "What's for dinner?"

"I was going to make some steaks and potatoes."

"Sounds great. Have it done in an hour." She smiled and nodded as she got up to get dressed. She sighed once he walked out to the office and she walked into the kitchen. She closed her eyes and shook her head as she thought about Caroline and how she'd looked so happy earlier. And how she wished like hell she had the courage to go after what she wanted. And it seemed that all she wanted these days was John Cena.

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