The Dilemma

The Irrational Dilemma...

Now was the moment of truth, Chloe Simmons sat on her couch looking at the ringing phone, part of her wanting to answer it, part of her wanting to just leave the apartment and let it ring.

***

Chloe was always up for new things and new challenges, she prided herself on her openness to learning or experiencing something different when ever the situation arose.

She had been born with the irrational fear of heights, so for her 16Th birthday, she treated herself to a bungee jump. Standing at the top looking down, she thought she would have a heart attack, her heart was racing way to fast not to explode, her chest was constricted so tightly, she couldn't breath, and just when she was ready to step back and scream "FUCK THIS SHIT!" she stepped forward and just jumped. Sure it was terrifying, her stomach stuck in her throat, and tears of fears whipping all over her soaked face. She wanted to close her eyes and fall deep into that safe place in her mind, where she was still on the ground watching the other fools bungee jump.

How insane was it it really, how desperate to let your entire life; your precious, running out of time, dying every minute life depend on one rubbery bungee cord. If it broke, that was it, there was no going back.

Foolish, rash, stupid and risky, but the ultimate cure to the fear of heights.

When her feet were planted solidly on the ground, Chloe remembered why she had done it, she felt alive, safe, appreciative of her life and non broken body! Since than she had none of the anxieties when it came to heights, a 13 foot ladder was nothing compared to that jump and she could climb it with ease.

So with all the daredevil tactics and self healing maneuvers, why was she afraid to date a white guy? She tried to reason with herself, but she could not see the logic, it made absolutely no sense and she didn't understand why she was fretting over it.

What made the least sense was her own mother, Avril, was white. A mother who she adored, a mother who adored her, a woman who, regardless of her race was a pillar of ultimate strenght and confidence. Her mother was the very one who had taught her about true love and how precious life really was.

Her father, Balthazar, was equally amazing, he was a strong black man who had advanced in a world not made for him to easily excel. One of the highest payed lawyers around, he was equally devoted to his family and loved them beyond reason. They had both showered their only child in love and gifts, but they also taught her about discipline, honor, and family; the things in life that really mattered.

Besides, it wasn't all about this strangers race, she didn't even know him, he was some complete stranger, and she was not the type of girl to just date a stranger. Hell, she had barley dated. She had had 3 boyfriends her whole life; her 1st had been her high school sweetheart. A disastrous relationship, she had spent her prom in the back of a hearse, giving herself to a guy who would leave her 3 days after for a much older widow who worked at the same grocery store he did. Sure the break up was a shock, but she was completely blown away when he told her the widow was a man.

She had no problems with homosexuality, to each their own. But she did have a problem with being a pawn to hide her high school sweet hearts homosexual tendencies. He should have just been honest, she would have helped him, she knew how homophobic his father was.

Needless to say, she had not enjoyed the sexual experience at all, she knew off the bat sex was not for her, so she had not done it since. It was such an intimate, personal act of sharing to be so unsatisfying. She was reasonable, she took into consideration that alot of women did not enjoy their first time, mainly because of the pain, but she hadn't felt ANY pain. No discomfort, no stretching, NOTHING!

She hadn't even experienced those feelings of desire or anything remotely sexual while she was growing up. During puberty when her friends discovered boys, she discovered nothing. She realized that she just wasn't one of those women that enjoyed sex. So she was a bit of a prude, who cared? The only ones that would think of her as prudish were the ones that wanted sex from her, why the hell would she care what they thought?

She understood the concept of sex equaling babies, but for anything else, it just didn't make sense to her. When she was married and ready for children she would have sex again.

***

THE BEGINNING...

Devlin Sinclair had only been here a few months, but he was already enjoying himself. There was just nothing like a small town atmoshere to make one feel all cozy and surreal, it was such a vivid contrast and a nice change from the fast, never sleep city life. He could actually relax here, he enjoyed the solitude he had, the freedom. With a large family, someone was always around, he never had peace at home, no personal space.

That's why he had enjoyed college so much, being away from them was ideal. He had missed them and was happy to return home after such a long time away, but his enjoyment was short lived. What started as a strong hint about marriage and family had turned into his mother practically planning his engagement, and to his complete and utter shock, she had basically picked his fiancee.

He was not his older brothers, so what if they were married with children, they did what they did and he did what he did. They understood him, so why was his mother so persistent? The pressure had him ready to crack, he was only 28 and in no rush to to settle down. Devlin had tried to explain that he wasn't getting married until he was either sick of women or met someone he felt he could settle down with and not be harassed in the marriage. A woman that realized he had a high sex drive and a love for women he knew there was no way in hell he would ever be able to shake. He honestly couldn't help it, he respected women, he had a mother and a sister to make sure of that, but he just knew in his heart that he would never find that elusive thing called love, and honestly, he was just not interested in it.

So when Devlin heard of the position available at a small firm, far from his clan, he applied. Of course they had called him back immediately, his family's name was legendary and their firm was ranked highest in the country, no Sinclare had ever left the family firm. The Sinclare family equaled money and power, there name alone struck fear in any attorney unfortunate enough to have to go against them in court.

This particular Sinclare had already set himself apart, proving after only one year out of college that he was a dangerous opponent. They were wary of the man with the devils persuasion and the looks of a god.

***

Chloe had been designing clothes since she could walk, and now that she was 22 she was ready to turn it into something more than just an addicting hobby. Dropping out of college had been a shock to her father, but her mother had known before she started that she was on the wrong career track. Chloe had found herself in a slew of odd jobs, saving her money to start her own small business. Her father had offered to help her, having more than enough money, but she was a grown woman now and she wanted to do it herself. It was possible, if she started very small and worked her way up. The Internet was her ultimate choice to begin with.

So after getting fired or quitting about six different jobs since she left school, she had finally found one she could actually relax and stick with.

It was only her first day of work at the 'Lyquid Anxiety' coffee shop, but Chloe could already tell she liked it, the work was easy and she loved coffee, how could she go wrong? Alright, so her coworker, Lita was a big of a irritant, but nothing she couldn't handle. She was just the braggy type, every guy that walked in the store either wanted her or she swore they were stalking her. She had told Chloe at least 7 times so far, how men just randomly tell her how sexy she is, how many guys she dated, although she was in love with a new guy whose name she didn't know yet, but who was coming into the coffee shop just to see her. Than there were her stories of guys fighting over her, and even horror stories about her breast implants.

That was way to much information for just meeting her a few hours ago, Chloe was always cautious of people who spilled all their personal information in the first 24 hours of meeting them. Chloe didn't have time for that kind of thing, to each their own, just don't involve her. She was here for the paycheck, she had her own life.

***

Devlin was taking it easy with women, this town was just to small. He had limited himself to only a few, who knew with out a doubt that it was nothing more than sex, he was dating other women and he had no intentions of EVER settling down. He did notice however, that one girl in particular, Alicia was getting a little to attached and really closing in on his personal space.

He had found this great little coffee shop, around the corner from work, he took his coffee very serious and this place made a serious cup of coffee. Unfortunately Alicia had turned up at the exact time he did, for the last 4 days, he was getting irritated. He liked drinking his coffee and reading the paper alone, in peace!

So he took an early lunch that day, just to try to avoid the Alicia drama, he walked in and frowned a little, looking at the one little detail of this coffee shop he did not care for, the strawberry blonde with the thick white blonde streaks and huge, obviously enhanced breasts. She came a dime a dozen, overly flirty, oozing with well planned sexuality she just could not pull off. This nice, comfy little coffee shop was becoming more of a hassle now than anything else, between the strawberry blonde's overt flirtations and Alicia's possessiveness. He needed to find a new place. Hell, he left home to get away from anything that could tie him down or anyone who could call him 'relation'. He wanted anonymity here, and unfortunately his sex drive had already ruined that. If only he could keep his dick in his pants, his life would be alot easier!

***

"Oh my god!" Lita almost dropped her cup of coffee, a few drops splashing on the counter as she slammed it down, "that's him," she was panting. Chloe wondered if she should put a napkin under her chin, she didn't mind cleaning up spilled coffee, but they didn't pay her enough to clean up drool. "He is so fucking hot! Have you ever seen some one so fucking HOT in your entire life?!" she squealed and he looked up just as Chloe looked at him.

There was no doubt about it, he was the sexiest man Chloe had ever seen. He was tall, broad shoulders, she could tell under his suit he was extremely muscular, his dark wavy hair, intense eyes, full lips, dripping with strenght, mystery and overt sexuality. Normally she wasn't into white men, but this guy was just hot, any race would agree, even lesbians would agree!

"Oh shit he's coming over here, hows my hair?" she turned to Chloe, with a vacant, albeit excited look on her face.

"It's fine."

***

He looked up and stopped dead in his tracks. She was sooo pretty, just standing there, looking at him. She was like a gourmet treat just waiting for him at the counter. Her skin was a pale mixture of butterscotch and mocha, she was a whipped chocolaty creation with a liberal dash of cream, she looked delicious.

Fuck the coffee, he wanted to drink her!

The closer he got the more bewitched he became, she was just so damn appealing, her deep chestnut curls, pulled back into an extra thick ponytail going down the middle of her back, her eyes were a pale amber with just a hint of rust, a peculiar color, but dazzling none the less, the pale color glowed like a soft citric stone framed by her thick, long dark lashes. She also had a body that could stop a clock and blow up a cock, he could tell even under the smock she was a curvy little thing, she couldn't be more than 5 ft. 5, with those large perky breasts, that teeny tiny waist and those perfectly curved hips. He wanted to run behind that counter, bend her over and bare that lush round ass he knew she had.

Damn he loved curvy women! It was his one weakness when it came to the opposite sex! Other wise, he had no preferences when it came to women, he loved fucking them all, regardless of race or religion!

"Hi." the strawberry blonde bounced as she greeted him, "What can I get you?" she asked, but he was still looking at the other girl. Chloe, feeling the power of that gaze, turned around to the coffee dispensers and started to make herself a cup of coffee.

"Espresso." he said frowning a little when she turned around.

"Anything else?" she smiled, batting her eyes, "we have fresh, warm cherry pie today." she leaned forward showing off her cleavage.

"Just the coffee." he said.

"There you are." Alicia was suddenly beside him, the strawberry blonde and her immediately turned to each other, with some secret, silent stand off, he was half tempted to tell them he didn't want either of them. "I was in town and I stopped by to bring you some espresso, your secretary told me you left for lunch early." she turned to Lita with a look of disgust, "A white chocolate raspberry latte, extra foam." she turned back to him, "let's go sit down sweetie, the waitress will bring it to us." she said 'waitress' the way one would say 'trash'.

He took another look at the beautiful girl who was now turning to see him with Alicia.

DAMN ALICIA!!!

***

Chloe was not impressed, every one knew Alicia, she was a gold digging, back stabbing, three faced bitch! She believed herself to be worth alot more than the comfortable middle class life her family had gifted her with, it was one of the reasons she had not spoken to her family since graduation, she honestly believed she was better than them and blamed them for not being millionaires at her birth. Most girls avoided Alicia, and quite a few hated her, Chloe didn't care either way, she had nothing to do with her life, so there was no reason to have ANY feelings about her. Still for some unknown reason, it bothered her just a tinsy bit that Alicia the ultra bitch was with this gorgeous new guy.

***

She woke up in a sweat, her eyes wide and her mouth dropped, she slid her hands between her legs and gasped, looking at her soaked fingers. What the hell, she was dreaming about sex now??? She never dreamed about sex, she never thought about it unless it involved telling someone that she wouldn't have it with them.

Than she felt the hot blush spread across her cheeks in embarrassment to herself, she had been dreaming about that cute white guy. What the hell? She wasn't into white men, she wasn't even into sex!

***

Devlin was weak, when he needed sex, all other things paled in comparison. So when he was trying to get rid of Alicia and give her the 'this is not working' speech at the same time, and she offered him sex, he took it. He fucked that girl all night long until she was begging him to stop. He wasn't paying her any attention, it could have been anyone below him, all he could think about was the caramel curves of the seductive little minx from 'liquid anxiety'.

***

Devlin decided to go to the coffee shop early before work, he smiled to himself when he saw her through the front window. He took his time walking to the counter, examining her. Her bee stung lips that he had a serious urge to just kiss, and suffer the consequences. Those exotic eyes he could seriously get lost in. He walked up to her, the counter seemed huge between them, putting her too far from him; he wanted to reach out and slide her across it, closer to him.

"What can I get you?" she asked, instantly remembering the sexy guy from yesterday, blushing to herself thinking about that crazy dream.

"You." he said seriously, looking deep into her eyes. He shocked her with his boldness and his intensity, it was making her legs wiggle and her breasts tighten. He noticed her body's reaction instantly and even though he really wasn't into sweets, he suddenly had a powerful lust for a sickly sweet caramel sundae.

"Sorry we only sell coffee here." she kinda smirked.

"Your names not sally." he said looking at the name tag on her apron that read sally.

"How do you know." she raised her brows.

"It doesn't fit." he touched the name tag and she instinctively pulled back, the name tag so close to the breast that now sported a very hard nipple. He noticed and smiled to himself as she flushed a little.

"What kind of coffee do you want?" Chloe snapped trying to get him away from her before she embarrassed herself, the more this man with the incredibly deep, husky, lust-laced voice talked, the more she wanted to rub her tingling coochie on the corner of the counter.

"Whats your name?"

"Coffee server, what- do- you -want?" she imitated sign language with her hands.

"Let me take you out to dinner."

"Sorry."

"Do you have a boyfriend?" he asked seeing her ring-less wedding finger was defiantly a relief to him.

"Now you know that's none of your business." she shook her head surprised at how bold he was, it was kind of turning her on and irking her at the same time.

"Go out with me."

"Yea, um, I'm not into threesomes." she shrugged.

"Threesomes?"

"Did you forget you brought your girlfriend in here with you yesterday?"

"She's not my girlfriend."

'DAMN, DAMN, DAMN ALICIA!!!'

"Whatever, this is not 'win a date' this is a coffee shop, so what do you want?" she tried to dismiss him.

"I told you, i want YOU." he said with such an arrogant sexuality the words hit her like a brick, waking her up, this guy was a little dangerous to her peace of mind. 13 minutes before she even met him she was almost repulsed and definately bored with sex, now it was all she could think of.

"I don't even know you, I-" she started.

"One date." he cut her off.

"No, I don't date, um-" she couldn't think of the polite way to tell him she didn't date white men.

"You don't date? Are you a lesbian?" he asked, praying to god this luscious creature was into men.

"No!" she snapped, getting irritated by him and her body's reaction to him. "I don't date white men." she felt a little strange actually saying the words she had never spoke aloud.

"You haven't or you don't." if she had turned him down because she was with someone or was into the opposite sex, he would have backed off, but because he was white? He had never been turned down by a women in his life and if by some wild chance he had of, it certainly would not have been because he was white! He had been with plenty of African American women and none of them cared about the color of his skin. He wasn't letting her off that easy, he wanted her just a little to much for that.

"Both."

"So what race do you date?"

"Black."

"But your not dating anyone now?"

"No."

"Than let me take you out."

"No!" she snapped, seeing a line begin to gather behind him.

"Why?" he seemed genuinely confused.

"I told you."

"Because your racist?"

"I'm not racist." Chloe yelled a little louder than she would have liked.

"Than you'll go out with me." Devlin smiled smoothly.

"No."

"But your not seeing anyone and your not racist, so why not?"

"Excuse me." the little old lady behind him said.

"Your holding up the line." Chloe said through clenched teeth.

"I'm not moving until you agree."

"I'm not agreeing."

"Come on." the teenage boy with a blue and green mohawk whined, standing behind the old lady.

"I'm Devlin." he said taking her hands in his, she tried to pull hers away but he wouldn't let go, "don't deny me the pleasure of your company or not take the chance to get to know me just because of my race." he said sincerely, "Go out with me one time and I'll never bother you again." he held her gaze. She wasn't sure if she wanted to slap him or kiss his full lips.