Standing on Nick’s porch, I was uncomfortably nervous. In all the time I had known Nick, I never felt that way. My heart was racing and my knees were shaking as I knocked on the door.

“Hello Ashton. Come in.” Nick held the door open from me.

I slowly walked in and followed him into the living room. I didn’t know what to expect from him.

“Dinner should be ready in about twenty minutes. Do you want something to drink?” He asked politely.

“No thanks.” I sat down. It was very awkward.

“Do you want to talk now or later?”

“Let’s get it over with.” I shifted uncomfortably.

“I’ll go first. I want you to listen. I mean really listen to what I have to say.”

“Go ahead.” He was already beginning to annoy me.

“First off, I apologize for being a jerk. I was having difficulty with leaving you. I didn’t think about how you were feeling. Second, I should have worked things out. Once again, I was stupid. My ego got in the way.”

“Nick, I accept your apology.”

He gave me a look. Then he sat beside me.

“I thought I told you not to talk.”

“Sorry.”

“Moving on. For this relationship to work, you can’t runaway every time it gets tough.  Deal with me, but don’t you ever break up with me.” He said seriously. This was a different side of Nick. I wasn’t sure I liked it.

The next thing I knew Nick’s lips were on mine. I couldn’t go there. Not yet. My body was feeling something different than my brain. I started kissing him back. I slid my tongue in his mouth. He broke the kiss.

“We’re not going there yet. I’m not finished. I realize that we moved faster than we should have when it came to sex. It was to the point that it was the only thing we did. As much as I like making love to you, I want our relationship to be something more than a roll in the hay.”

“Umm…Nick we’ve never done it in the hay, but if you want to I know a barn in Kentucky.” I joked.

“I’m not joking Ashton. I’m taking this relationship seriously. I love you and only you. I don’t want to be with any other woman. We will never break up again. Someday we’re going to get married and have a bunch of kids. We are going to communicate about everything.”

When did Nick become a take charge kind of guy? Where was the Nick I knew and loved? This guy seemed to be bossy and controlling. He didn’t want me to have any say in the relationship.

“Right now you sound kind of domineering. You’re just telling me what’s going to happen. Don’t I get a say in the relationship?” I moved away from him.

“Yes, you have a say. There are just some things I’m putting my foot down about. You may not like it, but there’s the door.”

“You’re such a jerk. Maybe I don’t want to play by your rules. I think we should play by our rules.” I complained.

“Fine. If that’s the way you want it. Let’s make rules for our relationship. Let me get our dinner.”  Nick went into the kitchen.

I sat on the couch. I didn’t know if I was angry or dumbfounded by this situation. This is not what I thought was going to happen. I thought Nick would seduce me and get me into his bed. This was going to be a night of surprises.

Nick came out of the kitchen with a homemade pizza and some sodas. He set them on the table. Then he went over to the bookshelf and grabbed a notepad and pencil.

“I’m going to write down the rules of our relationship. That way we both have a written copy.”

“Are you for real?” I asked incredulously. Nick was being more and more ridiculous.

“Yes. I want to make this work. At this point I’m not sure I can be the best boyfriend unless I know what’s expected of me.” He smiled at me.

“Fine. I get it. I still think you’re weird.”

“I think we should have a weekly date night with exceptions when I’m working in another place.”

“That sounds fair. I think we should make it a priority to talk about the things that bother us. Even the little things, so they don’t turn into big things.”

“I like that. I think that we shouldn’t have sex for six months.” Nick said stoically. I choked on my soda.

“Isn’t that a bit much? We haven’t had sex for over three months. You want to wait six more months.” I yelled.

“Is it getting to you? Yes, I want to make love to you, but I want to strengthen our relationship. Sex was just getting in the way. It was the only thing we thought was important.”

“I guess we kind of focused on sex. Can we make it one month without sex?”

“How about three months?”

I sighed. I don’ think there was any way I was going to win.

“How about two months?”

“Fine. Everyone thought I was the horny teenager. Kevin got it all wrong.” He laughed. I threw my napkin at him.

“Can we at least make out?”

“Sure. I’m not joining the priesthood. I want you more than you know. Is there anything else?”

“I’m not sure. I think we can add to the list as things come up.”

“Good. I’ve missed you so much.”

“Nick, I missed you. It hurt when you didn’t want to talk about our relationship. I felt unimportant.”

“I was an idiot. All the guys kept telling me to talk to you and fix things. I was stubborn. From now on I’m going to talk to you about everything.”

“Sometimes we are going to say things we might not like, but we need to be honest with each other. It’s not going to work if we don’t communicate.”

“I agree. Now kiss me.”

My lips met his. I was in heaven. I missed being close to him. Things were going to work out. Maybe it was a good thing we were taking things slowly.