"Betty, I'm sorry." The words flew out of James' mouth as soon as she turned up at their spot in the park. 

Betty looked completely different from how she did that morning. She seemed vibrant. 

"It doesn't matter," she said. James knew that it did, but he just couldn't put his feelings into words. His lack of expression frustrated the living hell out of him. Betty would never truly understand how utterly sorry he. "It's summer!" she chirped happily. "We're gonna have fun. Stop sulking."

James nodded. For her sake he would keep it together.

"Let's get some ice cream!" Betty announced.

James was all for the idea and he drove his Chevy to the cinema. When Betty sat beside him, smelling like a fresh car, James raised an eyebrow, but she didn't notice. She was busy staring at the boring brick buildings in the business sector through the window.

"Can we talk?" James prodded. Betty looked at him quizzically. "About anything except our problems."

Betty looked as if she would argue at the 'our problems' part, but then she took a deep breath and said, "Sure. How's the farm?"

James chuckled. Maybe he couldn't talk about his feelings, but he had enough stories about Big Bessie, their prize cow to make Betty chuckle all the way until they pulled up at the cinema's parking lot. 

They spoke further about his new calf, Betty politely inquiring and James obliging with the details of its birth past midnight as they joined the line for ice cream. 

He was so engrossed in the story that he didn't even notice when they had reached the end of the queue. It was only when Betty ordered her double chocolate cone that James turned his eyes away from his girlfriend and saw Lorraine in her branded apron.

"Oh hey, Lorraine!" he said to diffuse some of the unintentional awkwardness between them. If anyone could pull-off the serving apron look, it had to be Lorraine. 

"You guys should come to Inez's party next week," Lorraine said unprompted, her smile a little too wide to be comfortable. "It's gonna be a blast."

"We'll be there!" Betty answered for them. "It's summer, right?" Her enthusiasm was infectious. James felt himself getting excited about something that he probably wouldn't have attended voluntarily. But Betty was happy and he wouldn't leave her again, especially with Adam waiting to swoop in again.

Lorraine handed Betty her ice cream as James declined the same offer. "I'll see you guys there," she waved them off with finality. 

Something made James want to stay close to Lorraine. He couldn't put a finger neither on why he had hesitated to move away from the counter and let the next customer order, nor on the fact that he kept looking back as Betty confidently walked back to his Chevy.

He hadn't thought about it before but Lorraine was the kind of drop-dead-gorgeous he could not ignore. It hadn't occurred to him before that while Betty was his girlfriend, Lorraine has started to get under his skin. 

Could he like two people at the same time? James was confused. He knew that it was wrong. He knew that he couldn't do that to Betty. But his heart, his body, his soul and his affections were diving against his better judgement.

Maybe, he should have spoken about it to one of his friends, but as usual, he was at a loss for words.