Lust Or Love?
© Copyright 2020. All rights reserved.
This is a work of fiction. All characters depicted are 18 years and over.
Donald had been tossing and turning for hours. All the stress he was under was causing a bout of insomnia. He could just not get to sleep. His mind was working a mile a minute. He decided to get up and get something to drink. He threw the covers off of himself and sat on the side of the bed. He ran his hand through his hair and rubbed his eyes. Then he got up and went into the kitchen.
He looked in the refrigerator, not really expecting to find anything, but there was a little orange juice left. He took it out and poured the rest of it into a glass and discarded the carton in the trash. He moved quietly into the living room and turned on one of the lamps. He did not want to wake Steven, his roommate, or his girlfriend, Dana.
Donald and Steven had been rooming together for three years while finishing up the last two years of college, and now both working on a graduate degree. Steven was working on a Chemistry Masters and Donald was working on a Civil Engineering Masters. Both still had probably another year to go in order finish up. They knew each other very well by now and were very good friends.
About six months ago Steven had started going out with Dana and they had been living together for the last two months. Dana was easy to add to their little family, not only was she quite a good looking woman, but she was smart as hell. Donald liked her a lot but was careful not to intrude on their relationship. But lately Dana and Steven seemed a little at odds with each other. Donald was not sure what was wrong but since it was none of his business, he made sure to stay out of it.
But that was not what was keeping him up a night. That stupid thesis was starting to nag at him. His adviser had suggested several topics for his thesis, but none of them aroused much interest in him. And he was not having much luck coming up with any alternatives. It was driving him crazy. He needed to find an acceptable topic soon or it was going to impact what time he had left to write the thesis.
He took another drink of the orange juice and sat there looking blankly at the wall in front of him. He tried to close his eyes but that just made it worse. Maybe he should take a sleeping pill, he thought. No, that would not clear his head and that, more than anything, was what he really needed.
About that time he heard Steven's door open and close. Then Dana came into the living room to his surprise.
"What are you doing up?" Donald asked.
"I couldn't sleep. How about you?"
"Me either. This thesis has me all tied in knots."
She came over and sat beside him on the couch. She was wearing an oversize pajama top and her hair was somewhat mussed. She was just as good looking as if she had been dressed in an evening gown.
"Is Steven still asleep?"
"He sleeps with the dead. He would not wake up even if a freight train went through his bedroom."
"That's our Steven. He's been that way since I've known him."
She smiled slightly at that comment. "It can be infuriating at times, especially when I'm horny late at night."
Dana was always very open, it was one of the things Donald liked about her. She could say anything to anyone at any time. But she was discrete when she needed to be.
"Well don't look at me, I want to keep Steven as a friend."
"You're in no danger. It's just frustrating, sometimes."
"Uh, can I ask you a personal question?"
"Sure, ask away."
"Are you and Steven having problems. You don't have to answer if that is inappropriate."
She paused to frame her answer, not because she did not want to answer.
"Well, yes. It is a little hard to explain, but not because it's personal, it's just hard to explain. Neither of us can put a finger on it directly, we just seem to be uneasy with each other. It's not something that causes us to fight with each other, I think we could deal with that, but it is something else. I wish I could be more clear about it, but I can't express it any better than that."
"Wow, that's tough. I wish I could say something but I can't think of a thing."
She smiled at that. "I know. I wish I knew what it was, then we could fight about it. At least it would be out in the open."
They were silent for a while, not sure what to talk about next.
"So what about you? Have any girl prospects on the horizon?"
"Not really. This thesis has been occupying my mind too much lately to be interested in girls. I haven't even had a date in a month."
"That's got to be frustrating."
"Well, not really. Until I get past this thesis topic problem dating seems to be on my back burner."
"Maybe you should go on a date to clear your mind."
"I guess I could. It's just that I don't have any prospects at the moment."
"Maybe I could fix you up with someone."
Donald smiled at that. "I probably would not make a very good first impression. But thanks anyway."
Dana left it at that, but she did not want him to wallow in his own juices.
"You are good guy, Donald. If I wasn't with Steven, I could be with you pretty easily. Don't worry so much, something or someone will tickle your fancy and you will be off and running again."
"Thanks, that almost makes me feel better. But what about you? Are your classes going well?"
"I think so. No big problems yet. This semester can't seem to go fast enough. Just one more after this one and I can finally get my degree."
"Are you going to go on to graduate school?"
"I don't think so, at least, not yet. I want to take some time to travel a little, maybe visit Europe."
"So you're not thinking about marriage yet?"
"No, not yet."
Then, it was if a light bulb went on in her head. A strange look came over her and she was suddenly thinking very hard.
"Maybe that's it." she said.
"What's it?"
"What Steven and I are uneasy about. Maybe he is afraid of losing me and I really want to leave when I graduate."
She was still working over the idea in her head. Donald did not say anything but let her work through it on her own.
"Oh my God, that really is what is bothering us, or at least him. We each want something different and there is no way to resolve the problem without one of us having to give up something."
"You mean you really haven't talked about this?"
"No, we had a conversation about our plans a few weeks ago but that's all. Come to think about it, that's when things got different between us."
"You mean you're not in love with him?"
"No, I made that pretty clear to him some time ago. I do like him and the sex is great, but love? That's just not in the cards. I know he's not completely right for me. He is a fun guy and a great companion to run around with, but a husband? I don't think so."
"Yeah, I can see where that would devastate him if he was in love with you."