A Super Romance

"Yeah," she said with a smile.

"So what's stopping us now? We're both here. Kinda seems almost like fate, almost?"

"Yeah," she repeated. She obviously possessed the same level of discerning verbal fortitude as I had a moment ago.

"How's about we go to the movies, say we meet at the theater around eight, and see what's showing? The one by your place on Court Street?"

"When?" she asked.

"Why not tonight?"

"I, uh, really?"

"Sure, I know I can make my schedule free, especially for you," I said with a smile, getting closer still.

"Okay, I think that'd be okay," she said a bit hesitantly, her eyes looking upward, calculating something. "But I really have to go right now!" She turned to go and then stopped, turning back.

"Hey," she started, "I'm really glad I ran into you." I smiled. "Guess I'll see you tonight, okay?" she said with a heart stopping grin as she tucked her hair behind her ear.

"I'm really looking forward to it," I said.

Work was a haze after she quickly took off, I wouldn't be able to say exactly what work got done, really, my mind was too occupied by the bizarre nature of meeting her on the roof, much less getting the chance to see her again that night. She looked amazing, as usual.

I got done with plenty of time to get back home, shower, and get back to Brooklyn with time to spare. It was about quarter of when I walked into the theater and she'd beat me to the punch. She was staring at the Now Playing list, checking showtimes. Her blond hair simply fell, though it was obvious she had worked to get it look so natural. It paid off. Today was a blue sweater with some cute animal on the front, green scarf and form fitted khaki pants that had my eyes drifting down, then up, then down...

"Well, hello to you too!" she said as my eyes snapped back to their proper target.

"You look...fantastic," I managed to put out there.

"Thanks," she said, blushing a bit. "Not too bad yourself."

I beamed, and asked her what seemed good. A couple things were showing, but we settled on Super Rage Fury, an action/horror/comedy/romance/musical. Aren't those genre mash-ups just great? The movie was fantastic, it really had something for everyone. During the film she got really excited at the action and gory parts, giggling to herself. It was adorable. As the romantic portion came around, she had leaned into me, even resting her head on my arm a little. I wasn't daring enough to go for the classic "stretch move" to put my arm around her, she seemed to fidget too much for it to ever be practical.

After the movie let out I suggested we walk a few blocks to get some ice cream at Blue Marble. We sat inside where it was a bit warmer. While we were there she started a bit of small talk, changing our topic from the movie and the stars in it.

"So what did you make of that whole alien thing a little while back?" she asked nonchalantly.

"Crazy, huh?" I said. "Honestly I didn't keep up with it much."

"Really?"

"Yeah, I barely knew what was happening at the time."

"How? It was all over the place!" she said, amazed.

"Eh, I was kinda in a rut, I suppose," I conceded.

"What happened?" she asked.

"Well," I said, steeling myself, "I had met this amazing girl. I mean, she was fantastic, the complete package - smart, funny, beautiful, you know? We went out, had a great time, but somewhere at the end I'm pretty sure I messed up real bad, and I didn't even know how to get back in touch with her." I finally looked back up at her.

She sat quietly for a moment, contemplating what to say, her eyes elsewhere. "If it went so great, you probably didn't mess up at all, she probably just wasn't ready for something like that yet."

I chose my words carefully and said, "Well, if I happened to run into her again and she agreed to go out with me again, do you think that means she'd be ready for something...like that?"

"Maybe," she responded, fidgeting again.

"Maybe's fine by me," I said. "Any chance I can spend more time with her, the better."

She looked back up at me. "You're too much," she said as she finally cracked a wry grin.

"I really like you, Karen, you know that right? Like really like you."

"I know," she said, holding her head up with her hands, elbows on the table. "I like you too. Like, like like."

I laughed with her as she giggled. "Well my dear, may I, like, walk you home?"

We made the journey mostly in silence, eventually I casually reached for her hand which she took, fingers intertwining. Her hand was warm, even without gloves in winter. I thought back to the bipolar nature of our very short relationship. When we were actually together, it felt very natural, but when we had to depart it was oh so very awkward. As we came up to her brownstone steps I felt the nerves come back, hoping this wouldn't be affirming my theory.

We arrived at her building's front door, and a thought occurred to me.

"Can I call you?" I asked.

She laughed. "You can. Better yet, give me your area code, and I can just text you so you have it."

So I did, and she sent me something then and there. I felt some kind of odd accomplishment, or perhaps it was simply relief, I'm not sure.

She put her phone away, and fished for her keys. I waited for her to find them, and focus her attention back my way. "Well, Ms. Starr, I had an absolutely fan-"

She did it again! Interrupted as I was with her lips pressed to mine, I couldn't even think. Barely a moment went by when she stopped and pulled her face back just a fraction of an inch and laughed lightly to herself.

"Your lips are cold," she said.

"Yours are delicious," I told her as I kissed her back. She had put her arms around my neck as I pulled her close in by the waist. My hands roamed her back, exploring and massaging, hers would run through my hair. It was nothing remotely risqué, but very sensual all the same. It certainly got my lower half's attention, though part of me hoped she wouldn't notice.

She broke it off seemingly out of breath, her hands still caressing my neck and shoulders. I didn't want her to go, I held her tight.

"I have to go upstairs now," she said.

"Okay," I said.

"Really."

"Okay." I kept her embraced, but made no force to keep her anymore. She backed away and looked into my eyes.

"Call me," she told me as she opened the door and made to step inside. She stopped as the door swung open, and kissed me lightly once more, tender and gentle. "Ya happy now?"

I just smiled my biggest smile and watched her go.

---------

I know there's some three day rule, but I was pretty sure it only applied to calling a girl who you've not gone out with already. Even so, I don't think I've been able to contain myself. I called her the next day. We talked for a while, but she was busy with work apparently. I asked her when she'd be free and she didn't know.

So I waited again. We'd have small texting conversations here and there about random things, and I'd ask when she'd be free. It went on like this for a while. The next few weeks flew by as my ever growing need to see Karen grew, but she only sated my appetite once a week if I was lucky. Though every time I called she sounded delighted to hear from me, but things were always "just too busy" or "I've gotta fly." When we did get that chance, we talked more about her desires for her new company, or her staff, or her cat, or her friend Atlee. Never about her past though. When I've asked I just get vague references as if she's playing out memories in her mind that she won't share, and then she changes the subject. Honestly I didn't mind, I was getting to spend time with this goddess and that was fine enough for me. Every evening was punctuated by a kiss, each seemingly better than the last, but she'd never take it any further than that. I never brought it up, but she'd even apologized once on the phone about it. I told her it was perfectly fine, I'm in no hurry. She kinda laughed it off, but I could tell she was still uncomfortable with the whole ordeal.

I told Max virtually everything, and he was extremely happy for me. Perhaps jealous? I wasn't certain, and didn't care. I think he was getting a little sick of seeing me beam after nights Karen and I had gone out. He thought it was weird I was so happy and hadn't even spent the night with her, but again, I didn't care. I'm a patient fellow.

He had even gone so far as to invite me on a double date with him and his wife, but I politely declined. I was a bit greedy when it came to my time with her and wanted a more stable relationship to form so we could feel comfortable bringing our personal lives directly to each other. I knew she was holding back part of herself, and I wanted to be privy to that firsthand.

---------

"You like...coffee?" she asked after our most recent outing, some fine dining at the Russian Tea Room.

It was late, since we could only get a later time for our reservation, so we opted for a walk in the park before getting to dinner, and since you don't rush excellence, dinner and the ride back to her place took us toward the top of the clock.

We were on her porch and never even got to our awkward pause, our look, our kiss. She just walked in expecting me to follow her. I was a little stricken, but I followed quite quickly. "You know I do," I responded.

She was a few floors up with only stairs as the means up, she took them swiftly, and I'll admit I was a bit short of breath at the top. She wasn't even phased.

We walked into her place. It was pretty spacious, with a large living room that connected to an open kitchen. Cardboard boxes filled with her possessions were still around, mostly tossed into a corner. She walked to the kitchen and set her purse on the island as she began to make some coffee and I took a seat on her comfortable blue couch. Not much hung from the walls, or adorned the entertainment center, or hung around the kitchen. It was austere. Most of her personal effects must still be packed up.

"Still moving in?" I asked.

"Heh, yeah I suppose," she said. "Listen, I'm gonna go freshen up a bit while the coffee's brewing, feel free to make yourself at home.

"Sure," I said.

"But no snooping," she said with a smile as she walked down the hallway.

I looked around, no magazines or books on the coffee table. All I could find was the remote, so I turned the TV on for a bit. The news was on, they were covering the cleanup process of parts of downtown Manhattan. They were interviewing the different heroes about what had happened.

"Ugh, change it," I heard from the bathroom as she cracked the door open. "Put on something fun."

I complied, and put it on one of the music channels. Something a bit relaxed and wordless. Romantic perhaps? I certainly hoped. With the coffee done brewing I made her and myself a cup, and brought them to the couch.

She came out right after, and sat with me. She smelled wonderful, like strawberries and vanilla. It was a lovely combination with the aroma of coffee.

"And just how I like it, too," she said as she took a sip and set the cup down.

"I took notice whenever you ordered when we went out," I said.

She smiled at me. "You're just so...ugh, great," she said, staring into my eyes. "You know, there's something we forgot to do on the steps downstairs..." she said as she leaned into me on the couch and pressed her lips to mine. They were hot and moist from the coffee, which made it all the more inviting. I pulled her toward me to the edge of the couch, so she was partially laying on top of me. Her large breasts pressed into my chest, cushioning her slightly up. My hands roamed her back, up through her newly brushed hair. The bulge in my pants could hardly be unnoticeable after long, what with the way she writhed on top of me, our lips never apart.

Suddenly she broke it off, and sat back. She looked as if she had done something wrong.

"I'm not easy-" she started.

"I know."

"-and I take this kinda thing very seriously, I don't share-"

"Okay."

"-and I've not been trying to be a tease or anything, I just..."

"Really, Karen, it's okay," I said. "I've never been in any kind of rush with you."

She looked confused as she brushed her hair behind an ear. "Well why not?"

"Huh?" I asked, confused all my own.

"It's been a while now we've been seeing each other, and you've never made any kind of move!" she said.

"I made my move," I explained, "that first date. It seemed to have catastrophic effect so I didn't want to take any chances. I figured when you're ready you'd, you know, let me know." I gestured in general to us being in her apartment.

"Yeah," she conceded, "but I've just never met a guy who wouldn't press the issue by now."

"Not me," I shrugged.

"Damn it," she said as she smiled and grabbed a pillow. "Why not? Am I just not pretty enough to make a move on?" She laughed pensively, and looked at me out of the corner of her eye.

"No, you're the prettiest girl I've ever met! It's because you're unlike any girl I've ever met before. You know what's important to you, and someday I hope that's me...because not only are you strong, independent, and beautiful, but I've seen you soft, vulnerable, and reluctant." Karen frowned at me, and turned her face away, almost ashamedly.

"You are important to me!" she told me.

"I know, but I wanna be someone you can depend on, someone you can open up to, and I think you've let me in there a few times." I shifted closer to her, cupped her cheek, and turned her bright blue eyes to meet mine. "And each time was so fantastic, I just couldn't..."

I leaned in, and placed my lips ever so gently on her mouth. She matched the slow movement of my kiss, placed her hand on the nape of my neck, and broke it off with a shuddering sigh, our foreheads touching, eyes closed.

"I can't figure you out," she said in a half sob, suppressing a smile.

"What?"

"I don't know," was all she could muster.

"You think this is all just play," I realized. "Like I'm some kind of player, saying all the right things." It made sense to me, I suppose. Guys with the determination to get with someone as drop dead gorgeous as her certainly existed, and I'm sure she's seen her fair share of men who considered her nothing more than a conquest, especially if she was being her normal evasive self.

She moved away from me, and turned her head, an angry tone entered her voice. "Isn't it? Isn't it always? How am I supposed to tell?" She looked down. "I can do a lot of things, but I can't read minds."

I tried to scoot closer to her. "I know, and that's always the hard part," I said. "Trust is what it comes down to, I guess."

She sat back, and ran her hands through her tousled blonde hair. I couldn't help but admire her curves yet again, the way her stomach flattened when she leaned back, her shapely legs confined in tight jeans, and her chest reaching out as her arms went behind her head.

"Don't you think after two months any other guy who just wanted to get in your pants would have taken the hint?" I asked. She pulled her hands over her face.

I looked away, almost ashamed myself. How could I convince her I wasn't just some jerk who puts the notch in his belt? I figured there really was only one answer to that.

"Listen, it's okay that you're not ready for the next step," I said softly. She took her hands from her eyes, and wiped away tears. "Like I said, I'm in no rush. Take your time, and I'll call you tomorrow. I'd really like to see you again soon."

I stood and went to her, and she rose up to meet me. I still was unaccustomed to a girl as tall as me, but it gave me a chance to look in those sky blue eyes, which were now fraught with tears and redness.

I gently wiped away a tear, and she smiled and gave a small sob at the same time. "I can't believe I'm like this," she said. "All day long, brimming with confidence and can-do, and now I get crushed by kind words."

"Rendering beautiful tall blondes speechless must be some kind of superpower for me," I joked. Her expression changed to something quizzical, then amused.

"I got a confession to make," she said. "I don't go out on dates, like, ever."

"So why-"

"So," she stopped me, "I made a deal with Atlee that I had to go out at least once on a date, in a week's time."

"And this was when I first asked you out?"

"Yeah, it's why I never gave you my number or anything. I did it just to do it, you know? Just to appease her."

"Wait, why?" I asked. "Was it a bet or something?"

"No, she just threatened me with constant nagging if I didn't go out with someone. It was nearing the end of my week, and I'd already told everyone else 'no.'"

"Everyone else?"

"Well, I don't really get asked out that much," she admitted. "I guess guys are intimidated or something. But there was two other guys that asked me out and they both seemed like creeps. Then you came along, and you were funny, and nice, and cute."

"Well, I'm honored that you picked me, I suppose," I said, practically beaming at the compliments.

"I'm really glad you finally asked," she said. "You weren't exactly subtle at catching glances at the coffee shop."

"What? You saw that?"

"Every time I went there for lunch, you were there too," she said. "I told you I thought you were cute, so yeah, why wouldn't I notice you?"

"Uh, because I always thought you were way out of my league," I answered honestly.

She looked surprised. "So why'd you chase after me that day and ask me out? Why then?"

"Confession to make?" I prefaced. "Max made me a deal, said I could take a half day if I finally asked you out. He'd noticed me noticing you and I guess I couldn't keep focused on the work he wanted to go over, so he said 'What ya got ta lose?'" I said in my best Max imitation.

"So we both came into this thinking it'd not go...as planned?" she asked generally.

"Well I had my hopes, and really didn't want them crushed," I explained. "I don't know what I'd have done if you'd brushed me off."

She stepped back as if she realized something, her hand covering her mouth. "I never meant to even act like I was brushing you off, especially back on that first date," she said, looking upset again. "You know that."

"I know, you've told me, many times."

"And I'm not trying to brush you off here, I'm just apparently really guarded about this kind of thing and...I'm sorry." She looked away again, her arms folded across herself.

"I know that too," I said. "Everything's okay with me to take it at your pace. As long as I still get to see you, I'm happy. Very happy." She looked at me with anticipation, as if waiting for me to keep talking.

"So why don't we just try this again some other night?" I said. "As much time as it takes, I'll prove to you that I'm not some typical guy." She still stood there holding herself, looking down now. I pulled up her chin and gave her a quick peck on the lips, then took a step back. "There, ya happy now?" I asked with a smile, and walked across her apartment to let myself out.

As I turned to say one last goodbye, she surprised me by being right beside me as I never heard her follow. My eyes lit up first from the sudden jolt, then from reading her determined expression.

"Don't go yet," she said as she pushed the door closed. She leaned into me, kissing me hard. I responded in kind, pulling her waist toward me as I wrapped my arms around her. Her hands ran through my hair, and then encircled my shoulders. "In fact," she breathed, "just don't go."

I smiled at her, and dove back into our kiss with that fiery passion she showed me only a moment ago. Her tongue flicked over my lips, to which I energetically responded in kind, and we were dancing a slow but deliberate caress between our intertwined parts. I started trailing kisses down her neck and to her ear as my hands found her ass wrapped in those impossible jeans. She reached to untuck my shirt and started sliding it up and over my head with ease. I went to do the same for her, reaching for her sweater's bottom, but she grabbed my wrists with some measure of force and just smiled at me and then said "Not yet."