Muscular Maidens Pt. 02

As of late things had been complicated between them as he'd noticed Jess in a less platonic fashion for the first time. Her mesomorph shape was usually obscured by her perennial uniform of oversized sweatshirts, but there were signs of her femininity, nonetheless. The tops of those sweatshirts had become more filled out in recent months, and her development had not gone unnoticed.

"I'm not sure. I've never given it much thought."

"Come on," she protested, a tooth biting her lip in anticipation. "You're a guy. You must have thought something."

"So, guys are sexist pigs?" He fired back knowing he'd scored a point but had probably only delayed the answer.

As if on cue she responded, "Okay, point scored, no it's not just guys still... I'd really like to know," she cocked her head in anticipation. Clearly, his answer was insufficient, but when she crossed her arms in front of her, causing her breasts to fetch against the material more, he momentarily lost focus. Why am I noticing her and why now?

Suddenly even more anxious about the inquisition, he dragged his eyes back up to meet hers and fired back, "Well, what do you like in your men?"

"I like them smart, caring, and considerate," she said without hesitation.

"That's a total cop-out," he charged. "That has nothing to do with how they look. You wanted to know the physical characteristics from me and..."

"That's totally secondary to me," she interrupted with an intense nod.

"Well, how does that secondary feature play out?" he pressed, suddenly interested in something that moments earlier he'd never considered nor cared about much.

"I guess, I'd like them tall, dark, and thin, but like I said, it really doesn't matter to me." Jake was already nearly six feet tall, of olive complexion given his Italian background, and wiry. It seemed as if she might be describing him, but Jake knew otherwise. There was no hint of a come-on-- though he probably wouldn't have recognized a come-on even if it hit him over the head with a two-by-four.

"Now, back to my question," she pressed on, undeterred.

Man, she's like a dog in search of a bone. Hmm, maybe that is a bad metaphor for a girl.

"Jake!" she roared, bringing his interior dialogue to a screeching halt. "Tell me!"

"Fine, geez... well if I had to answer, and clearly I do." Jess narrowed her eyes at him and tapped her foot so loud against the floor that it sounded like a drum section. Jake resigned speaking quickly, finishing with, "She'd be big-breasted, but not sagging and have long thin, maybe fit legs."

She wrinkled her nose as if he was saying something offensive. "That's it? Come on. That sounds like a cartoon character."

"Cartoon characters can be hot," Jake teased. "Cheetara is scorching."

Jess released a long breath before demanding, "Jacob Robertson, answer the question!"

"I thought I did," he frowned.

"When did talking to me become so hard?" She asked.

"Oh, I don't know," he said defensively, without knowing why. "I guess I like blondes." An affirmative grin slid across her face. Jess was about as golden blonde as one could get. Occasionally when she was younger, before the pool pipes had been replaced, her hair even turned green. She was affectionately referred to for several summers as String Bean until she filled out. Was she thinking about me? he wondered again.

"What else?"

"I don't know. I really haven't thought about it."

"You haven't thought about it? You keep saying that and I don't buy it." Her eyebrows stitched together in frustration.

"That's what I said. Didn't you hear me? Is this the Spanish Inquisition, or what?"

The room grew quiet. Despite their everyday interactions, they'd literally never fought. This was about as close as they'd ever gotten. For some reason, he was defensive and needed to backtrack a bit. "I tell you what. I'll ruminate on it a bit," after I go through the Playboy, "then I'll introduce a character next week in our game, and you'll know it's her."

"Okay, that sounds fair." She resumed her seat and they returned to the campaign. They finished up about a half an hour later but when they made eye contact with one another there was an unnatural tension. They ended the evening by having Jess's character, Morgan, burst into the room of her allies and rejoin the main group. As they said their goodbyes, she let him know she wasn't backing down from her expectations.

"I look forward to seeing your ideal woman next Saturday. I'll be early."

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