Plain Jane & Hunky Tarzan

"Cynthia?"

His voice lured her back out of self-absorbed thoughts and back into the here and now.

"Oh, sorry. My mind drifted off just there for a moment."

"It certainly did. I was beginning to think there was another planet I didn't know about that you might have visited."

She giggled. "I was that bad, was I?"

"Uh huh. So what gives? A penny for your thoughts?"

She sighed and stared into his thoughtful, sincere looking face. She decided he preferred it when women were honest and just spoke whatever was on their minds. She decided to give it a masterful try.

"You keep saying you like me, but a girl likes to know where she stands. Just how much do you like me, and how do you like me?"

Cynthia suddenly realized that her unexpected and impulsive line of questioning was not going to yield her any satisfaction whatsoever.

He was probably not going to talk about her looks, and would probably talk once more about her sports brilliance and sparkling personality.

Still, as much as she might try to deny it, women had that one fatal flaw where they really wanted men to admire them for some kind of physical attribute, whether it be their figure, or their hair and nails, or whether it be for their luscious lips or gorgeous hair.

"I love you for a lot of reasons," he said slyly.

She was now blown away. He had ever so craftily substituted love for the word like. Did that mean that he had somehow become enamored with her upon first glance? Did that mean she looked sexy to him in ways she hadn't thought of? And most importantly, was the word 'love' a mere slip of the tongue or something a whole lot more.

All her life she had been waiting for such romance, intrigue, excitement and sexual fulfillment. In Craig, she seemed to have it all and a whole lot more. Some things were too good to be true, and yet, she felt like she had finally stumbled upon something amazing and worthwhile.

"And what about me?" he asked, out of the blue.

"Pardon?"

"What about me? What qualities or attributes do I have that make you love me so much?"

He was beating her at her own game, and yet, it was a game worth playing.

"I like that you are so damn handsome," she said, pulling him in off the doorstep as she closed the door behind him.

"Trapping me inside are you?"

She tried to kiss him. He pulled away. "Wait a minute. You haven't finished saying all the things you love about me yet."

"Fine."

She unbuttoned his shirt and pulled his t-shirt up over his head. "I love this chest and these stomach muscles."

He suddenly jumped into the fray, unbuttoning her blouse and yanking off her bra. "I love these firm black breasts, and the thick, juicy nipples attached to them."

He sucked on them feverishly and she moaned softly before pulling away.

His belt buckle made a clink hitting the floor and she pulled down his underpants as well, watching his stiff cock stand at attention.

"You have a large erection and you certainly know how to use it," she added, grasping it and loving the way it felt hot in her hand.

He unzipped the back of her skirt all the way down, then pulled down her panties, watching as she kicked them away.

He picked her up and carried her up the stairs.

"I prefer the rough and tumble feel of the kitchen counter," she whispered in his ear. "Or perhaps being slammed up against the wall. A bed is so predictable."

"Maybe," he agreed. "But I want to fall asleep in your arms tonight, and then wake up in your bed again in the morning."

"You're going to keep spoiling me if you continue making me breakfast."

"That is my plan," he said, "to keep you good and spoiled."

"Although," she whispered ominously. "I'm assuming that you don't have a condom again today? Sooner or later lightning is going to strike and my belly is going to start swelling and the truth is, that I really don't want a kid right now, unless, of course, we are talking something a lot more longer term? Something lasting where a child might have both parents in its life?"

There was no immediate response, and she waited with baited breath to hear him mention living together or perhaps even the all elusive 'let's get married' phrase. Still, she was smart enough to know it was far too early in their relationship to be talking marriage.

They had only known each other for about a week, hardly enough time to know enough about each other, and Craig certainly didn't look like the kind of man that impulsively would marry a woman he'd just met, although stranger things had happened.

He stopped on the stairs and put her down. Then he slumped to the step and sat down on it, patting the stair next to him, indicating he wanted her to sit next to him so that they might chat.

"I know this whole relationship seems scary and is evolving quickly. Sometimes that is the thrill and fun of it all, doing something on impulse, and enjoying it while not having to feel guilty."

She wanted to argue with him, telling him that taking chances on a baby was just nuts, and quite frankly, plain stupid. There were enough fatherless children running around, especially black and interracial ones. Why add one more? And what would that do to her life?"

"Tell me," she said, glad he had wanted to have this little chat. "Do you have some kind of fetish about making black women pregnant?"

His answer stunned her. "I have never gotten a woman pregnant before, and you are the first woman that I actually have not used a condom with. Honestly, that first time in your arms, I fully expected it not to go all the way. I hadn't anticipated sex on that first date and so I hadn't brought one, but it felt so right. I've never been with a woman before that has put me on such a high. We have so much in common, and there is such a sizzling undeniable chemistry between us. You can't say there isn't. I have dated dozens of women over the years but you are the only one that has touched my heart, and as amazing as it is to believe, you have touched it so passionately and so thoroughly in such so short a time. Don't ask me to explain it, because it is as though I've known you for years. I am not sure what tomorrow is going to bring, but what I do know is that I am certain it will be a whole lot sweeter and a whole lot more exciting if you are in it. I would like to move in with you. I know that for some women that might seem like an abomination, but for me, it is the first big step towards a more permanent arrangement like marriage."

He suddenly stopped talking, letting his words sink deep and hard into her mind. It wasn't exactly a firm offer of marriage, but it was obviously a very heartfelt and honest declaration of exactly where his heart and mind were in their fledgling, yet blossoming relationship. A part of her was blown away, and yet, he seemed to be expecting some sort of yes or no answer. He wanted to move in with her and live together with her and start sharing their lives together, and yet, because it was so early on in their relationship, he wanted to do it all without a ring or that long walk down the aisle.

She stared into his dreamy face and thought over her options before answering. Sometimes you could spoil magical moments or sully an escalating romance by putting your foot in your mouth. She sucked in her breath, trying to figure out what she was really looking for.

"What about your place?" she asked

He nodded no. "My place would be the next step, but that would only be if I should one day propose. If and when I buy you an engagement ring, then that would be the time for us to move into my place. But for now, your place would be more appropriate. I could bring over a few things, and spend most of my time here."

"Not all of your time?"

"As a businessman I do have to travel now and again. But let's just say that my place would be gathering some serious dust, and that I would spend every waking moment with you, right here, if I wasn't out of town on business."

"And these business trips. How long would they last for?"

She braced herself for his response, wondering if he was going to say weeks or even months. His answer was a pleasant surprise.

"Only a few days at a time and only once every month."

She shrugged. He was taking her in deeper and she was a willing accomplice. Her heart was smitten with him and she was on the verge of falling in love. Apart from the lack of a condom, she was having no real problem with his offer.

"On two conditions," she said carefully, not wanting to antagonize him.

"What would they be?"

"First, that you would let me accompany you on these trips. It's not a matter of trust, but rather I always have wanted to travel and never have had the money or the chance. It would be nice to visit new places and jet set. If we did really fall in love, then obviously it would eat me up to be apart from you."

"Second, I would want you to start wearing a condom."

"I haven't got one on me now," he said.

"I bought some yesterday at the drug store. They are in my purse. Please. I'm not saying it's a make or break condition. I'm only saying I don't want to have a baby unless I'm married."

"Fine," he agreed. "We'll use your condoms."

"Then it would be wonderful having you move in," she said excitedly. "There is just so damn much we don't know about each other, but I suppose we are going to learn it all in a hurry."

A part of her thought she was crazy for agreeing to his offer. But handsome, rich, single, nice guys like him didn't come by every day. Some of them only came by once in a lifetime. Letting him move in would supposedly take him officially out of the arms of every other woman in existence, and put him firmly into her arms for keeps, at least for the time being. At least now she could keep an eye on him and learn as much as she could about him. He seemed to really enjoy being around her, and was the first man in her life, white or black, to ever love being with her on an ongoing and prolonged basis. He was also the first man to ever want to move in with her.

"You're not married, are you?"

He glared at her with a quizzical gaze.

She sought to clarify her terse question. "I'm not trying to insult you or anything, it's just that some guys definition of being single is to claim to be separated. I really, really like you, and moving in with me, although frightening in some respects, would certainly be the first exciting thing to happen to me in a long time, except that I have to be sure you really are single first. You would be amazed at how sophisticated some guys are at lying."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, there was this one married guy, who broke into a friend's bachelor pad while he was on holidays, then invited me over, claiming it was his place. He had even gone to the trouble to put up pictures of himself around the place."

"No kidding?"

"No kidding."

"And you knew it wasn't his place in the end, how?"

"I was making love to him on the couch when suddenly in walks his friend along his wife and their kiddies. You can well imagine their surprise at seeing the two of us naked on their couch. They had to cut their vacation short on account of his job, and so the guy I was with didn't realize they were coming back early. I was so embarrassed."

"And you think I might be lying as well, about not being married?"

"I know it sounds insulting for me to doubt you, and honestly I don't doubt you, it's just that I wanna be sure is all. For all I know, you're wife may be off to visit her mother for two weeks and so you want to stay with me for that long then find a phoney excuse to break up with me later on."

"Do I really come across as that kind of a guy?"

"No, not at all. I'm just trying to be sure is all. You're the first good thing to come along in my life in a long while, and I wanna go all in with my entire heart, soul, mind and body. Doing that would leave me open to a broken heart if you're not who you say you are."

He took her in his arms and planted a kiss onto her mouth. "There are just so many things about you that excite me also," he managed, once he had let her come up for air.

XXX

Fourteen days had passed since they'd gone to see Phantom of The Opera. It was also the end of the second week of their living together. So far the arrangement seemed to be made in heaven. They made love every day, and would chat for hours by the fireplace about which college teams might win which games and which college stars might score the most points, and which winning teams might win games by the widest margins.

"I'm off to Detroit tomorrow," he said out of the blue. "I'm assuming you'll want to go, simply because you did say you'd like to accompany me on these trips.

Cynthia sighed. "The problem for me is that I have taken off so much time already. My workplace is starting to get angry. Jetting off to Detroit and missing three or four more days would simply push them off the deep end."

"Then why not tell them to simply fuck off? They're not paying you that much anyways, are you?"

"Jobs are hard to come by," she said sternly. "If our living together doesn't pan out, and if I should tell them to 'fuck off' as you say, then how will I live?"

"I'm giving you money now, ain't I?"

"Yeah."

"Well then, just tell me how much you extra you need and pack your bags for Detroit. It isn't much of a great city anymore, mind you, it's bankrupt. But you'll have much more fun when we travel to places like Los Angeles, New York, Miami and Boston."

"Sounds amazing," she agreed, although, it would be nice to know the reason for these trips we will be taking."

He sighed. "I'm a bookie."

"A what?"

"A bookie. I take bets on college sports, and I don't mind saying that all those fireside chats we've been having about which college football or basketball teams are going to win and by how much, have really paid off. Your predictions have been dead on in thirteen out of fifteen times. Plus, in each and every case, the teams you've chosen have covered the points spread you've predicted as well. I have made a ton of money, so from now on, as I said, 'fuck your job,' you in a sense are working for me now. I'm really excited about what a great team we make."

"Isn't that illegal? Taking bets?"

"Not to worry. That is why I fly to these cities, to collect the cash and bring it back here. Banks record every five thousand dollar deposit so I work outside of the system to remain undetected, laundering the money by investing in real estate and such. But the penalties for book making are very small, fines mostly even if you are caught, not jail time. It's not like drugs or anything like that."

Cynthia's eyes lit up. For the first time it was all coming together in her mind. Things suddenly made a whole lot of sense.

"Thanks for telling me all about your business, but I've got something to tell you about as well."

"What's that?"

Cynthia smiled and sucked in her breath. "This middle aged black woman standing before you is pregnant."

Surprise splashed across his stunned face. "What? I though since we were using condoms now that-"

"We didn't use them those first two days, remember? It must have happened then."

She braced herself. There was no telling how he might react.

"How much months do you have left on this lease?" he asked

"Why would you want to know that?"

"Cause I'd like you to vacate it and move in with me, that's why. Living with you these last two weeks has been a lot of fun and fully satisfying. And in addition to a baby being on the way, I think I'm falling in love."

"As am I," she said.

"We do make a great couple," he continued.

"Yes we do, kind of like a 'Plain Jane and Hunky Tarzan' kind of team."

He frowned. "You're a lot sexier than you give yourself credit for," he said.

"I certainly do feel a lot sexier when in your arms."

"In that case, there ain't nothing left for us to do but head off to Detroit and buy you an engagement ring."

Cynthia's eyes lit up. "I've been waiting my whole life to hear those words."

Craig's eyes lit up as well. "And I've been waiting my whole life to say them."

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