Late Bloomer

Margaret evaluated my housekeeping skills at random intervals about every two weeks. At the end of my second month with ever improving grades and skills, she brought me back to my apartment over one lunch hour, stripped down and had me fuck her on the kitchen counter. Again, I respond well to positive feedback. It was one of our rare lunchtime liaisons; usually we didn't have time in midday for a full-scale assault on each other's bodies.

Next was the issue of Bennett and how I spent my free time. Margaret thought I should have time to myself but that I should do something 'worthy' during those hours. Bennett and I actually talked about how to make our together time more rewarding both in terms of recreating as well as friendship.

Bennett said he'd always thought about bicycling as a hobby. We agreed that this was a worthwhile and laudable pursuit and so bought expensive road bikes and started to build up our endurance for long trips. In the process, I lost twenty pounds of 'beer flab,' and Bennett lost thirty-five. We trimmed up and tanned up. We entered some contests and didn't win, but Margaret rewarded my participation at the finish line with hugs and kisses. At my first race she promised me a mind-blowing sex session that evening; I collected. Again, it was nice to have the positive feedback.

Through the bicycling I met some other interesting people, many that were highly motivated achievers. Margaret and I went to some parties with these folks, and she was impressed that I was moving 'up scale' in terms of my friends. Poor old Bennett suffered, and I gradually stopped seeing him quite so much in favor of the newer crowd. I was learning how to have fun in new ways.

It turned out my parents were ecstatic about my moving out of the house. One evening when Margaret and I were over there for dinner, my mother apparently made a side comment to Margaret that my Dad was more romantic now that I was out of the house. I thought that was too much information about my parents.

My relationship with my parents changed, particularly as I took over doing so many things my parents had been doing for me. One of the things I'd never done was manage my own finances. My Dad set me down one day and explained about banking, saving, investing, bill paying, and taxes. I didn't even have my own bank accounts; if I needed money I'd just ask my Dad if I could have some or get him to write a check for me. I'd also used a credit card on his account.

It took over a month, but I became financially independent from my parents. Dad, of course, had kept detailed records of what I brought home and wrote me a large check for what he'd determined my balance was on his books. After I was financially squared away, Margaret took me downtown and we went dancing. As my reward for becoming financially 'adult,' she had me fuck her on the hood of my car in the club parking lot. The exhibitionism and chance that we might get caught created a rare excitement in our lovemaking. I was continuing to respond well to the rewards I was getting from her. Later we went back to her place and finished off the night more traditionally.

There were other things that I did as I rapidly left behind my laid-back and uncaring ways and opted for a more deliberate life with Margaret. In my mind, I'd become an adult.

One Saturday morning I went and saw my Mom and Dad and had a long talk with them about relationships and Margaret. I was coming up on my six-month 'trial' evaluation with Margaret, and I wanted things to continue. I guess Mom and Dad knew I was in love by this time so their advice all leaned in the direction of forming a longer-term and more permanent relationship. I was still skittish of doing something like this but had another week to think about it before what Margaret and I had agreed was a dinner out to complete the six-month evaluation period.

Margaret was also fairly pensive as we went into the final week. I know she was thinking about what might happen next and trying to decide if I were going to part of the next part of her life. Our week was quieter than usual. A couple of evenings we didn't even have sex; we just sat and watched TV with her cuddled against me. Of course, when we did have sex it was the usual mind-blowing experience that we'd both come to enjoy.

The Saturday of our 'Evaluation Dinner' I didn't see her during the day. I told her I'd pick her up at six o'clock, and we'd go somewhere nice to dine and talk. I picked up some special things that afternoon.

At six on the dot, I pressed her doorbell. I was dressed in a dark suit with a casual open neck shirt on. I'd also gotten a haircut. It was the nicest I'd looked since I'd graduated from high school. I was also standing at the door with a large bouquet of flowers and a bottle of fine wine. I'd gotten out of the habit of bringing her things a couple of months earlier and thought I rectify the situation tonight. Margaret seemed suitably impressed when she opened the door.

"Trying to influence your grade in this course?" She asked with a hint of humor.

"Most definitely, fair maiden," I responded as she let me in.

Margaret always dressed nicely, but tonight she was over the top. She had on a little black dress that left little to the imagination about her shapely body. It clung and tapered in all the right places plus there was a lot of skin showing -- skin that I loved to caress and touch. My mouth started to water. She'd also had her hair done and apparently gotten a manicure and pedicure. I guess she thought this was as important a night as I did.

I offered, "Our reservations aren't until seven. I thought we could have a glass of wine here before we go."

Margaret smiled at me and led me into the kitchen where I opened the expensive bottle of Chardonnay -- her favorite. I retrieved two glasses from her cabinet and poured the chilled wine as she put the flowers in a vase. When she was through, she placed the flowers on her coffee table then turned and kissed me on the cheek. "Thank you for the flowers and wine."

We sipped our wine out on the small balcony that overlooked the pool for her condo complex. We had some small talk -- unusual since we didn't launch into conversations of work or bicycling or talking about friends. The avoidance of our usual subjects made me very nervous, and I could tell that she was nervous too. I was in a death spiral.

After we'd exhausted the small talk I suggested that we head to the restaurant -- an upscale place called Zoria's along Main Street. I held the door for Margaret as she got into the car, carefully shutting it behind her. She'd often flash me a view of her pussy area, but tonight she hadn't; what did that mean. I took a deep breath as I got into my side of the car, started up and drove towards downtown Sarasota. The drive afforded us some additional neutral subjects to talk about -- the building slump, the new traffic pattern downtown, a new restaurant we'll have to try and so forth.

I let the valet take the car; something I'd never done before. The move was not lost on Margaret. Since the weather was pleasantly warm and mild we took a table on the sidewalk. After we had our glasses of wine, I decided to take the initiative.

"Margaret, when shall we do our evaluations of the past months? Now or shall we wait until after dinner?" I could tell the question caught her a little off guard. I don't think she'd thought about how the evening would unfold; she just knew she wanted to talk to me about some things. More important, however, was the use of the term "we" -- I clearly implied that I was doing evaluating too and that this would be a two-way street.

She responded with a timorous smile, "Let's wait until after dinner. I need to get my thinking better organized than yours apparently is." I nodded acceptance and shifted the discussion to what food we would order. I ended with a veal dish, and Margaret had some salmon in a white sauce. We tasted each other's dinners and decided we really like the chef's sauces.

Dinner ended, we passed up desserts and ordered coffee. I asked the waiter to leave us alone for a while as we had some things to discuss. I guess I sounded grave, for Margaret gave me a worried look.

"May I go first?" I asked her, again keeping the initiative.

She nodded and so I began. "Nine months ago the most wonderful woman in the world walked into my life. I wasn't very worthy at the time. In fact, she was a mature and wise professional and I was an immature thirty-five-year old kid. I shaped up a little but apparently not enough because six months ago she told me she wanted a 'trial' period. It was really a time to see whether I could leave my old, wanton ways behind and become an adult." I smiled at her and she nodded back indicating I should continue.

"Of course, I had to evaluate not only my own behavior but also yours. I also had to ask myself some fundamental questions about my life, your life, our possible future time together, as well as look at how our values and chemistry worked together." I paused, frowned, and Margaret suddenly looked very worried.

I went on, "I should tell you that I sought some outside advice from my parents -- who I might add think you are the next best thing to a Goddess, as well as Bennett, and a couple of the other folks we've socialized with from the bike club. I tempered all these glowing remarks rather strongly with my own opinions, needs and evaluations." Margaret still looked worried.

"So, it all brings me down to a single question for you," I took a long pause for effect. "Will you marry me?" I produced a two-carat diamond ring from my pocket that had belonged to my grandmother and held it out to Margaret. Further, as I'd asked the question I'd slipped out of my chair and kneeled beside her chair.

Margaret grabbed me and clutched me to her generous bosoms. "Yes! Yes! YES!" She kept repeating again as she let me slip the ring on her finger. She was crying, and tears were streaming down her cheeks as she pulled away and looked at me then launched herself back into my arms and started kissing me again.

So that was how we got engaged.

Margaret and I went back to her condo and made mad, passionate love. Then we did it again -- and again -- and, I surprised myself, again and once more after that. I again never slept in my apartment either. We moved in together in her condo.

Oh yes, I sold my jalopy of a car and bought a shiny new sedan. I call it my adult car. I got a promotion at work into the company's marketing department; in the process, I got a thirty percent pay raise and a new office (not quite so close to Margaret, unfortunately). One of the stocks I invested in moved up in price nicely in a short time period; I sold it and pocketed the money. Even after taxes we have enough for a down payment on a nice home.

Margaret and I are very much in love and starting to plan our next six months or six years or sixty years together. Me? I couldn't be happier being an adult.