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goin’, hon?”
    Kaitlyn shook her head, and tears formed in her eyes. Her friend shut the door and crossed the room. Bending low, she gathered Kaitlyn to her in a bear hug.
    “Janine, I don’t know what’s going on.”
    “What did he do? Tell me about it.”
    Kaitlyn pulled away and wiped at her eyes. She felt her experience might be too difficult for others to accept, so she kept her answer short. “He hasn’t called in three days. We had an amazing weekend, and then he just disappeared. No phone call, no note, and no flowers. Nothing.” She sobbed, buried her face in her hands.
    “Oh, Kaitlyn, I’ve never seen you so worked up about a man before.”
    “I’ve never been dumped before.”
    Janine laughed and, when Kaitlyn shot her an angry scowl, she tried to apologize. “Oh, sweetie, I don’t think you’ve been dumped. What happened this weekend? Maybe I can help.”
    Kaitlyn’s face heated all the way to the roots of her hair. “I don’t think I could tell you about it. You would think I’m weird.”
    Janine snorted. “With everything I’ve been through in my life, I doubt you could surprise me.”
    Kaitlyn sighed and gave Janine a sidelong glance. She couldn’t hold eye contact for this conversation. She told the story slowly, leaving out very few details.
    Janine listened intently, never said a word, until Kaitlyn finished. “You two certainly had a very intense weekend”
    “Wouldn’t it mean he’d want to talk to me? I always thought the more I allowed in a relationship, the more the man would want me. I’ve never opened up like this before to anyone.”
    “Maybe it isn’t you he’s scared of. Maybe he’s scared of himself. What you’ve told me about Steven suggests he isn’t the sort to just walk out on a woman without an explanation. Maybe he just needs some time. Maybe he has no idea how he’s to top this and freaked out.”
    Both of them laughed, and it eased Kaitlyn’s tension, slightly. “I think I’ll call him again.”
    Janine patted Kaitlyn’s knee. “Why don’t you take the rest of the day off and go see him instead. Sounds like you two need to sit down to a heart-to-heart.”
    Kaitlyn nodded. The client she was setting up the advertising campaign for could wait, there were much more important matters to take care of.
    * * * *
    Nervously, Kaitlyn knocked on Steven’s door. His job as a loan processor allowed him to work from home. A perk she didn’t have. His modest, suburban home engulfed her in loneliness, but she smiled remembering the times she’d played housewife.
    Just as she was about to knock again, the door swung open. A bleary eyed man she barely recognized, stood at the door with a cotton robe wrapped loosely around his body.
    “Kaitlyn.” He breathed her name.
    A need to be the assertive one came over her, and she pushed past him into the house. His normally immaculate space lay completely disheveled. Empty beer cans, plates, cups, even cigarette butts lay in ashtrays. The place smelled like a bar. Instantly, her hand came up under her nose as she surveyed the damage.
    “Steven, what is going on here? Did you have a party last night?”
    He stepped around her and picked up some of the mess that surrounded them. “Not exactly. Just me on a weekday.”
    She raised a brow and set her hands on her hips. Unable to handle the stench, she opted for staying busy and opened a few windows instead. “Yeah right. As anal as you are about tidiness, I don’t believe a word of it. Try again.”
    “Kate, there are some things you don’t know about me. I don’t want to talk about them.”
    Kaitlyn shook her head. “Not going to work, Steven. You’ve left me hanging for three days now. I’ve been an emotional wreck over things I don’t understand. It would have been nice to have you around to help me through it. Something.” Tears burned her eyes again, and she fought them back. “Now tell me, what the hell is going on.”
    “Kaitlyn, it isn’t that easy.