Ginger or Marianne?

The kiss lasted a good, long time, and when it finally ended, Farah could only say, "I should put these in some water."

Shawn, of course, had no idea Farah had decided she was ready to take things to the next level. He wanted that, too, but he was in no hurry. She was someone worth waiting for, and if she needed another week or even a month or more, that was just fine as long as he could be with her.

As she trimmed the stems, Shawn stayed on the other side of the kitchen counter.

"I hate to keep saying the same thing, but you look even more amazing tonight than...ever."

Farah smiled and kind of even laughed before thanking him.

"It's funny, but it seems like I spend a lot of time wanting to make a good impression on you," she told him as she set the first rose in a vase.

"You do that just by being you, Farah."

"Ben always made me beautiful."

She looked at Shawn then added, "Too."

He came around the counter and stood behind her as she continued trimming.

"I'm glad I make you feel like that, but the truth is, you are beautiful."

She sensed him moving closer then when he reached up and gently pulled her hair back on both sides she froze and both of her eyes closed as she waited for whatever might come next.

Shawn leaned down and softly kissed her neck and Farah's body shuddered.

"Goosebumps?" he quietly asked.

"Yes," she whispered as he continued nuzzling.

"Your perfume mixed with your shampoo are intoxicating."

Farah set the knife down once her hands began trembling.

She moved her head further to the side offering more of her neck to his kisses. When she did, the soft, gentle kissed became less gentle. At one point, she felt his tongue touching her as his lips sucked the skin harder and harder.

"Shawn, you're going to leave a hickey," she nearly moaned as he moved to a new spot.

"I'll be careful," he whispered in her ear as he nibble it before returning to her neck.

This time his arms wrapped around her waist as Farah stood up and pushed her bottom into his body. She was rewarded with a familiar hardness she hadn't experienced in what seemed like forever. As she pushed against it, Shawn groaned quietly, and that caused Farah to push ever harder as she took his hands and again placed them on her breasts.

"If we don't slow down, I may not be able to stop," he quietly warned her.

"Who says I want you to stop?" she asked, her voice husky with desire as he squeezed both of her soft, round globes causing her to gasp.

"Then wouldn't it be better to find someplace comfortable to continue this?" he asked as he gently used his teeth to 'bite' a large area of her neck.

"I...I agree," she replied, her breathing getting deeper as her urges grew.

Shawn closed down on the bite just a little bit harder, and when he did, Farah gasped. She pulled his hands down, turned around, and put her arms over his shoulders and pulled him to her.

"Make love to me, Shawn," she said between furtive kisses.

He pulled her arms down, took her hand, and led her to the only hallway in the house and waited for her to tell him where to turn. Once inside the room, they nearly clawed each other's clothes off before Shawn grabbed her and laid her on the bed.

Neither of them spoke as he got on top of her then began exploring her body. When he got to her naked breasts, he began sucking one of the nipples when she decided to risk sharing something with him that only Ben had known.

"Would you...bite them?" she moaned, hoping he wouldn't think her request was so odd that he'd stop.

He not only didn't stop, he did what she asked. When he did, Farah moaned loudly with pleasure and told she loved that before telling him she liked it even more when it was harder.

Shawn had been with two other women who loved the same thing, so he wasn't surprised at all. The only words he said were, "Tell me when it's too hard."

Farah never said those words, and as he did the thing she loved and needed, her 'special place' grew wetter and wetter until she begged him to take her.

There was no need for oral on either side. The demand for sex itself was so intense neither of them cared that they'd omitted that part of the lovemaking experience.

He'd only been in her for a very short time when nearly three years of pent-up want and need exploded in a body-shuddering orgasm, the likes of which Shawn had never seen or Farah had ever felt. Her body tensed and jerked over and over as she cried out with happiness and relief.

When the spasming stopped, she pushed him off her and immediately lowered herself onto him and spent several minutes slowly and deeply pleasuring her young lover with her warm, wet mouth. When he could take no more, Shawn roughly rolled her over then repaid the favor until she begged him to take her again.

Neither of them had any idea how long they'd spent making love. All they knew is they were as satisfied as they'd ever been.

"You are unbelievable!" Shawn told her as he rolled off of her and onto his back.

"Me? Oh, my gosh! No. it's you and that...magic staff of yours!" she told him.

Shawn laughed then rolled back on top of her and smiled.

"You are the most amazing woman I've ever known," he told her.

Farah laughed a happy laugh then asked, "Known? As in...the biblical sense?"

Shawn laughed, too, and said, "In every way. You are just an incredible woman."

"You're pretty incredible yourself. And not just in bed."

"But I am amazing in bed, right?" Shawn teased.

"Are you kidding? I need a new word to describe your talents. I know it's been a long time, but I have never before in my life had my body do that."

He smiled at her just before said, "I mean. I'm still shaking."

"You know, I would have waited. Longer," Shawn told her, suddenly serious.

"I knew you would, and I love that about you," Farah replied. "But I couldn't wait any longer."

She looked into his eyes then asked, "Is that okay?"

"It was more than okay. It was absolutely amazing."

He smiled again then told her, "Like you."

"Is it too early to ask you to stay here? Tonight?" Farah asked hopefully.

"No. Not at all. Nothing would make me happier."

"Really?"

"Yes. Really. I'm not the kind of guy who stays, Farah. Nor do I ask women to stay at my place. I only say that to let you know that you are a one-of-a-kind woman to me."

"Yeah?" she replied with a happy smile.

"Yes. Big time," he told her.

"Speaking of...big," she said as she felt him growing hard again. "You are um...very big."

Shawn laughed, opened his eyes wide then said, "All the better to...you with, my dear!" as though he wear the Big Bad Wolf.

Farah also laughed and realized she was truly happy as she replied in character.

"I see. Well, then this Little Red Riding Hood wants you to do just that to her—again!"

Other than to get a snack around 11pm, they stayed in bed the entire night and well into the morning when Shawn told her he had to get going so he could study, go to work, and rehearse.

"Come listen to us," he suggested after they showered together. "It's the only free time I'll have today."

"I'd love to," she told him, knowing how busy he was and amazed at how he handled it all.

After the rehearsal that evening, Shawn told Farah he wanted her to meet his father. She'd mostly put her concerns about their 13-year age difference aside, but she couldn't help but think his father would see her as some kind of sick, predatory older woman. But he reassured her it wouldn't be anything like that, and in the end, she agreed.

Shawn's father was every bit as warm and accepting as she'd been told. He was also a very attractive man for someone in his early 50s, and Shawn looked like a younger version of him so much it was uncanny.

"You're almost all my son talks about anymore," he told her after dinner. "And now that I've met you, I understand why."

By the time she left, Farah felt like she'd not only known Shawn's dad for some time, she understood why his son was such an incredible man. His father had also put himself through college many years ago, and he'd instilled many positive values in his son; values that were making her fall in love with him.

A week later, Farah asked him to meet her parents, and Shawn had no misgivings whatsoever. He already knew he loved Farah, and all he could do was hope her parents would at least accept him.

Her mother was the easy half. She already knew her daughter had fallen in love with a much younger man, and she welcomed him like he was part of the family. It took her dad a little time to realize this 'kid' was everything his daughter had told him he was.

As they were leaving some three hours after getting there, her father begrudgingly gave his approval. Kind of.

"I uh, I had a lot of reservations about my daughter dating someone 15 year younger than her," he began.

"Dad. It's not 15 years, okay?" Farah said rather defensively.

"Oh. Okay. How many years is it then?" he asked while looking at his daughter with a raised eyebrow.

She knew the actual number of years wouldn't sound any better so she only said, "Okay. Point taken."

Satisfied, he actually smiled then looked at Shawn.

"I'm still not sure about all this, but I haven't seen my daughter this happy since Ben was alive, and if this makes her happy, then...I suppose this...thing...is okay."

Shawn thanked him then stuck out his hand. The older man hesitated, looked at his daughter and saw her smile, then accepted the handshake.

"That wasn't so bad, was it?" Farah asked on their way back to her place.

"No, and the truth is, I'd have walked through fire if that's what it took," Shawn told her.

He tried to sound playful, but Farah knew he was serious.

"I know you would. And that's just one more thing I love about you."

Shawn reached over and took her hand then said, "When we first made love, I didn't want to rush things, and I hope I'm not rushing them now, but..."

He looked over at her as they drove and said, "But I love you, Farah."

Her face lit up immediately, and without hesitation, she said, "I love you, too, Shawn."

Shawn's time was very limited, but he found a way to see the older woman he loved every day for some amount of time through mid-November.

After a huge Thanksgiving meal with both families, when they were back at her house, Farah suggested her place was large enough for two.

"Why Farah—with one 'r'—are you asking me to move in with you?" Shawn asked, as though he didn't know.

"Well, your place is, um..."

"A dump?" Shawn suggested.

"I was going to say 'rather spartan', but...okay," she replied with a laugh.

"Yes. I'd love to move in with you," he told her seriously before getting playful again. "And not just because my place is a...dump."

Shawn had to give up playing in the band after that, but everyone knew he would be gone by the 1st of the year at the latest anyway. They all understood this was the only way he could finish his thesis and other classes, and be able to spend more time with the woman he loved. Giving up music was an easy choice as not working wasn't an option for him.

In early December, Shawn's faculty advisor accepted his thesis, and once that was done, all he needed to do was attend classes for another two weeks then wait for grades to come out and receive his diploma. He got the grade report online a few days after Christmas, and his graduation ceremony was scheduled for the first working Friday evening in January.

By finishing mid-year, that meant there weren't many people receiving diplomas with him, but everyone Shawn or Farah knew were there to cheer for and congratulate the new graduate.

Shawn's father paid for a celebratory dinner afterward, and the question came up about what he wanted to do next. It wasn't a new question, it was more that now that his coursework was done, it was a reality everyone had to face. A reality that would likely include moving somewhere out of state.

No one wanted either of them to leave Indianapolis, but everyone understood the amount of jobs available there in Shawn's chosen profession were scarce. Even so, he'd already quietly sent out resumes, and without telling Farah, he'd also gone to a job interview with a company called Comlux Aviation, located in their hometown.

Just that morning he'd gotten a call from the chief engineer who'd interviewed him that included a job offer; a job with a very good salary and full benefits. Shawn told him he needed to discuss this with his girlfriend, and because it was the weekend, he had three days to get back with the company.

"Well, I have some good news," Shawn replied.

Every head turned his way as he put his arm around Farah, who was sitting next to him, and said, "I just received a job offer today and it's right here in town."

Farah's eyes opened wide in disbelief as several family members demanded details.

"I need to discuss this with Farah, but..."

"Yes!" she told him without any further explanation.

There was a lot of laughter before he told them who it was with.

"Full benefits, too. Now that's a job!" Farah's father said as he proposed a toast to the newest graduate in town.

"And now that I have a job—with benefits—I'll be able to support a family," Shawn said while glancing around the table before turning to Farah.

Her heart began beating wildly as she saw the way he was looking at her.

"At the risk of rushing something else," he said to her, knowing only she would understand, he produced a small box then, as he got down on one knee, he opened it.

He had quite a few lines memorized about how his life had changed since the first time he saw her at the restaurant with Traci and her mother. He was also going to say something about how wonderful she was and that he couldn't imagine his life without her.

But before he got halfway through the first sentence, Farah shouted out, "YES!!" several times so loudly everyone in the restaurant turned to look.

The people at their table all laughed as Shawn said, "So much for the speech," and slid the ring on her finger as she grabbed him and kissed him before he could stand up.

Shawn nearly lost his balance, but he managed to keep his footing, but in doing so, he ended up spinning Farah around. It almost looked intentional, so he dipped her then stood up, took her hand and bowed as the entire room burst into applause.

That summer, the engaged couple bought a home of their own, and the following month, they married in a local church where the members of Carbon, less their former drummer, played at his wedding.

When Shawn's father asked his new daughter-in-law to dance, they chatted for bit about how happy she and Shawn were when he said, "You know you're his Marianne, right?"

Farah had forgotten all about that since the time Shawn first explained it to her, but when he mentioned it, she was all smiles.

"I do. And one of these days I'm going to watch the show to find out who she is. And this Ginger woman, too."

He laughed then said, "For what it's worth, I agree with my son who tells me you're the most beautiful woman he's ever met."

Farah laughed happily then said, "Well, your son is a very smart man."

He laughed again, told her agreed, then moved aside when his son asked if he could cut in.

As Shawn took his wife's hand she smiled and told him what his father had just said.

"Ah, yes. That's right."

He looked right at her then said, "Ginger or Marianne. Gee, that's a no-brainer."

Farah smiled back, moved closer then put her arms around her husband, the only...other...man who'd ever made her feel beautiful and loved.

The question about whether or not he wanted children was answered a year later when Farah Baker told her handsome younger husband she was pregnant. He picked her up and spun her around and told her she'd just made him the happiest man on earth. Again.