Tom and Jane Ch. 07: Ray's

Chapter 7 - Ray's

Jane and I walked into the newest, coolest restaurant in Detroit, a soul food restaurant called Ray's. The owner was a man named Ray McNeal, formerly AT3 McNeal. You see, Mr. McNeal was the plane captain for 503, and one cold, ugly night on the USS Eisenhower, Ray saved the lives of my crew and I when our plane caught fire. I owed Ray more than the cost of a meal; I owed the man my life. I had decided on this place, expecting to get Jane out of her comfort zone a bit. She didn't know where we were going, I just told her the address, and I arrived 15 minutes before I had said we had reservations. I had my reasons.

Ray came out and greeted me when just after I sat down. He was bouncing around, talking to people, getting things done; basically, he was the same Ray he was all those years ago. "Com-" he stopped himself, we were both civilians now "Tom Banner, how's it going!" I could feel Ray's infectious grin, and turned around into a huge bear hug, which I returned.

"This place looks great, Ray" I said, and I meant it. All the stuff he had collected, old newspapers he had frame, paintings done by schoolkids, all of it oozed Detroit history. Even if he was proud of his food, I think he was a thousand times prouder of his hometown. Ray and I sat and chatted for a minute, until he had to head back to the kitchen to help fix an issue.

While I waited for Jane, I looked through the menu, found the catfish that I knew would be amazing, and just kept looking. I wanted to pass the time and keep an eye on the door, because I didn't want to miss the show. Ray kept coming back out to check on me every few minutes, and I began to suspect that he thought I had been stood up. That was going to be a fun surprise. Eventually, 15 minutes after I had been seated, and with Ray back at my table checking on me, Jane walked in. She was wearing a sweater with a floppy neck, a straight skirt that hugged her hips, nylons, and high heels that matched everything. Jane looked gorgeous. Ray looked up, and did a double take, and then looked at me. Just by the look I gave Jane, Ray was fairly certain that he knew who had walked through the door. Ray looked over, and we just fist bumped. I introduced Jane to him, and he bent over to kiss her hand, saying an exaggerated "enchantained, mademoiselle" in a ridiculous attempt at a French accent.

After he had left, Jane glared at me. "If you showed up 15 minutes early to watch me walk in here, you're an asshole."

I laughed a little, and the glare turned into a sweet smile. "Jane, you know I would totally do that." She just titled her head and looked at me as if to say 'Really? Really?' We made some small talk about the house moving, as she was still getting the small things out of her old house. We had put most of her things into storage, but were looking at a run sometime in the next week to take the last of her furniture away. A lot of the stuff she had, though, we just used to replace mine. I wanted her bed, and she just laughed when I explained my reasoning.

We went through the menu, and I had already picked out my choice. Jane seemed to have a hard time, before settling on the shrimp and grits. I was impressed, as that was one of their specialties. "You've done your homework" I said, matter of factly.

Jane looked at me, and said "Tom, if you haven't looked at me recently, it has to be obvious that I like my food." I looked at her, slightly annoyed that she was putting herself down.

"No, Jane, I just see the sexy woman I invited on a date tonight" I retorted. Jane blushed a little bit. I was hoping that she was fishing for compliments, but I knew her insecurities were still there.

We talked, had a drink, and watched the people around us. The place was busy, and given that we were among the oldest people there, it was a hip restaurant. I had waved goodbye to being hip years ago. Jane didn't notice, but loved the wall decorations that Ray had put up. The food arrived, much faster than I had expected, given how busy it was. We both ate our food and talked, more talking than eating, and I soon realized that I was losing myself in Jane's glowing blue eyes. They had the mystical ability to entrance me, and I loved every second of the hypnotization. We finally finished our food, both of us loving our meal choices.

Ray came out after we were done, and proceeded to tell Jane the story of when Ray had to save the day. "So I'm standing there at the back seats, just busted the canopy out, and I see the front canopy is up. I'm thinking 'they're out of the plane, the canopy's up.' I jump over to the front, and who do I see? His dopy ass, flipping switches and trying to save the jet. So I yell to him 'Skull, what are you doing?!' and he just looks at me like I just barged in on him in the restroom. I know he's not moving on his own, so I reach in, pop off the harness, and pull on him. I guess I didn't know how hard I pulled, because I launched both of us out of the front cockpit and onto the deck. His ass lands on me, breaks some ribs, and all I got was a thank you from Uncle Sam." Jane was roaring with laughter at the story.

"Ray, I sprained my wrist when we landed on the deck" I replied, weakly.

Ray only said "If I had left you in there, Banner, you would have been flying with the angels, and not the Blue ones." This only made Jane laugh harder, and I started laughing as well. Ray had a great way of telling this tale, even though I don't remember a lot of it happening the way he told me. I'm pretty sure that the sparking ECM pod was a new wrinkle in the story he had just thrown in.

By now, everyone in the restaurant was listening, partially to the story, but mostly to my beautiful date laugh at it. Ray had a hell of a way to tell it. Ray begged his leave, and gave me a huge hug. He was a great man, and if there's any justice in the world, he's going to have the best restaurant in all of Detroit.

After Ray had left, Jane looked at me, a look of being impressed with my actions. "Who knew my boyfriend was so heroic?" She said.

"Not really heroic, just" I struggled for the words.

Jane laughed "Stubborn, stubborn is the word you want to use." I protested, but yeah, she was right. Jane laughed more. She was beautiful when she laughed. I just looked into her eyes and smiled, and she smiled back.

Eventually, we realized we had been at the restaurant for a couple hours. I got the check, found out it had been comped, and proceeded to argue with Ray about that. After a few minutes of good natured ribbing, Jane said she would pay for it then, and Ray and I threw up her hands in mock surrender. Jane laughed again, and I saw around us that the other people there loved it when she laughed. Jane deserved to be the center of attention. She made people happy. She paid the check, I put in the tip, and we were off. I offered to drive, as I wanted to go somewhere, and Jane was happy to let me do so. The drive into downtown was quick. Detroit had a rough past, and was just now finally shedding it. Downtown was more vibrant than it had been in years, and the walkway along the river was beautiful, safe, and clean.

We parked, and got out to enjoy the view. "Thanks for a great night, Ray's is an amazing place" Jane said, then kissing me on the cheek. I held her hand, and we looked across the river at Windsor.

Finally, I spoke again "Thank you, Jane. I haven't been this happy in years." Jane just smiled at me sweetly, and then gave me a hug. We started walking, enjoying the view, talking about everything. I couldn't help but stop and look at her eyes, which were glowing. I had taken to calling them her mood ring, which Jane had laughed about, and said that her parents both had said the same thing.

Finally, after a few minutes, we reached the bend in the river walk where the city opened up to us. It was a beautiful sight. Jane smiled at me "Thank you for taking me out here, I forgot how beautiful this city could be." I kissed her.

"Jane, I just wanted to tell you that the last few months have been amazing. I never realized I could fall in love with someone so much. Every minute I spend with you is magical, and now, Jane, I want to spend the rest of my life with you." At that, I pulled the ring out of my pocket, and got to one knee. Jane's hands went to her mouth, and she started crying almost instantly, happy tears through blue eyes that lit up the city. "Jane Majewski, will you marry m-." I didn't get to finish.

"Yes! Yes!" was all she could say, and I picked her up into a huge hug. We kissed, and I eventually was able to slip the ring onto her finger. Jane looked at me, and was still crying. "Thomas Banner, how" she couldn't properly form the thought, just looking from me to her ring. I held her hand, and just looked into her eyes.

Finally, I said "Night isn't over yet" and looked up at the Renaissance Center.

Jane followed my eyes, and saw. "Thomas, did you?" she trailed off. I just nodded and smiled.

We walked up to the hotel, and I got our rooms. Jane went ahead to the room, and I went back to move the car. I knew what would be waiting for me back at the room, and was excited by the idea of it. The entire trip to the car, then back and up to the room, felt like it took an eternity. In the elevator ride up, my impatience was starting to show, as I realized that I was repeatedly pressing the button for my floor. Whoa there, calm down cowboy. The elevator hit the floor, and I headed down to the room. I opened the door to see very little light, the room being illuminated by the city. I walked in, and Jane purred from the bed "It took you long enough." I smiled, undressed on my way to the bed, and slid under the covers. Jane took me into an embrace, and I realized she was completely naked. "Sorry babe, I was planning on throwing on the good lingerie at home, so you get only this" Jane whispered.

"Best $7.95 ever spent" I joked, and Jane threw her head back in laughter. I swore I could see her eyes glowing in the dark. We kissed, and then began gently playing with each other. The foreplay was slow and careful, and we couldn't stop looking in each other's eyes.

Eventually, Jane jumped on top of me, and we both pushed against each other rhythmically. The sex was slow and loving, and we spent a lot of time kissing and looking deeply into each other's eyes. Jane got tired of being on top, and we rolled on the bed, me ending up on top. She wrapped her strong legs around my butt, and guided my speed. After some time, we were both built up so that we had our releases within a minute of each other. Jane looked into my eyes as we both finished. I had to finally pull away, and we lay on the bed, looking at each other.

"Tom, I love you" Jane finally said.

"I love you too, Jane" I replied.

We stayed like this for a time, and eventually Jane brought her hand up and looked at the ring. "It sparkles like your eyes when you're happy" I said, and Jane smiled, her eyes tearing up.

"Tom, it's" and Jane was happy crying. We lay there like that the entire night, falling asleep at some point, or at least I did. When my alarm woke me at 9am the next morning, Jane was awake and looking at the ring. She smiled at me when she saw me wake up. She was crying happy tears again.

I got up and used the restroom, and came back out. "Shower?" I asked, and Jane got out of bed without a word. We held each other in the shower for forever, and ended up having to cut it short just so we didn't miss our check out time.

Jane could finally really talk on the drive home. "Thomas Banner, how?" she seemed at a loss for words, surprised and elated at the same time.

"Montreal" was all I could say. Jane smiled sadly at me, but I continued "that's where I really, finally knew that you loved me as much as I love you."

Jane started crying a little, and said "I think that's where I realized you loved me too." Jane looked at the ring again, happiness on her face. We drove in silence a little while longer, me holding her hand, until we picked up her car from Ray's. She drove home, and I followed a few minutes behind. It was enough time, in fact, to be met by Jane at the door to our condo, in some of her sexy lingerie.

"This is what I had planned for last night" she said, grinning her huge, sexy grin. She took my hand and led me to the bedroom. Jane lay down and pulled me on top of her, where we made out for a bit. We kissed and touched everywhere, and eventually had pulled the clothes from each other, when Janes pushed me back onto the bed and jumped on me.

"You'll get your chance babe, but for now" and with that, Jane had me inside of her. She moved her hips slowly, slowly building herself up. I just enjoyed the ride for a few minutes, until I decided to have some fun by playing with her nipples. "Oh god, OH!" Jane had a little orgasm, and then playfully glared at me from her high position "Thomas, what the hell are you trying to do."

I only had the smug grin for her, saying "Just moving my chance along, dear." Jane just looked at me through squinting eyes, before she jumped off of me, and lay on the bed on her stomach.

We sat there for a moment, before Jane, looking at me and still laying on her stomach, rolled her eyes and said "I was hoping you'd get the hint, Navy." I startled a little, but got the hint, and was on top of her in a second. I began rubbing my hard cock up her butt crack, until she said "Mmmm, not today, baby, I need some rest from that." I must have sounded dejected, because she turned and, pulling me close to her by my hair, whispered in my ear "I'm going to need a good assfucking soon, just not right now."

I didn't think I could get harder, but I did, and slowly slid myself deep inside of her pussy. Jane let out a low moan, and I gently rode her. I tried to keep from having my release just yet, and made it last as long as I could, before Jane jumped into action. She took control, pushing me with her legs, and lifted herself up a bit. I couldn't resist, taking one of her breasts into my hand, and playing with the nipple. Jane turned her head, and uttered "Do it, Tom, fill me with your cum." Jane was good at this, and so I did as I was told, as she had her orgasm at the same time.

Spent, I rolled off of her, and she rolled back onto me, taking my less-hard dick into her again. I looked at her, at first, like she was crazy. "Just moving my chance along, dear" Jane said to me, mockingly.

"Oh, you" I playfully glared at her, like she had done to me. Then I had the thought in my head, and not a particularly bright one. "Ever been to a rodeo?" I asked. Now Jane looked confused, broken only when I tickle the spot where she was extremely ticklish. She let out a loud, sharp laugh, and tried to pull herself off of me while being tickled and held in place. After a brief struggle, she was off me, and returning the tickling.

It was a while after that, while laying on the bed catching our breath, and still laughing and occasionally tickling each other, that Jane spoke. "Tom, we need to promise each other two things," Jane asked "first, that we'll always be as good as you were about being considerate of what we both want in bed."

I interrupted with a little mock condescension "Jane, I'm not an asshole." Jane just playfully glared at me for the pun, but continued.

"Second, and equally important" she paused, smiling "we're always going to be like this."

I thought for a second "Jane, we can have that put in the vows if you want."

Jane jumped on me, tickling with fury, and we fell off the bed. That was her cue to go downstairs to get her notebook, and we started wedding planning that day, naked, in bed.