About then there was a gentle knock at the door. Monica sprung from her seat and raced to the door. When she opened it, no one was surprised to see Derrick standing there. But everyone was surprised to see him drenched in sweat and carrying a gym bag. "I found a pick-up game and decided it would be OK to shower and change when I got here. I hope that's OK?"
Monica broke into a huge grin, threw her arms around his neck and pressed herself against his sweat covered chest. "Of course it's OK! I'm glad you're here! We were talking about the four of us having dinner together, unless you had already made other plans."
Monica had stepped back a little and Derrick looked down at her chest. His sweat had soaked her thin white t-shirt and it was now almost completely transparent. "I had just planned to hang with you, so dinner would be great." As he said this, his eyes never left her huge breasts that were almost fully exposed by the damp shirt.
She followed his gaze and realized that she was giving him a pretty good show. "Well, it's nothing you haven't seen before, and I hope that you will see them again and again!"
Derrick blushed, opened his mouth, closed it, opened it again, then closed it again. Obviously he didn't know what to say to that.
Before things got too awkward I asked, "Any preferences for dinner? How about carryout? Italian? Chinese? Any preferences?"
Everyone agreed that take out would be fine, and then at the same time everyone suggested something different. We finally agreed on a Japanese place that had really good food, and selected a mix-and-match menu that we all could share. Elaine and I went to get the food while Monica led Derrick to the shower.
"Do you think she will 'wash his back' while we are gone?" Elaine asked.
"I'm sure she will offer, and maybe offer to join him. But I doubt that he will agree. He's making progress, but I think he wants to wait until he feels something solid between them before he goes too far."
"I think that Monica is thinking about something solid! Something solid of his that she would like to take hold of and 'put in its place'!"
"She's not quite as shy as she once was, is she?"
"No, and I think that you should be proud of your part in that regard. Now she's a normal, almost-twenty-year-old with a healthy sex drive. She has relaxed and opened up to many possibilities. And I think that she may have found a wonderful man."
When we returned to the ladies' apartment everything seemed to be quiet. Then we heard Monica moaning in her bedroom. We discreetly made a little noise and heard a muffled "Shit!" in Derrick's voice. Several minutes later the two of them came into the living room. He was wearing a t-shirt and sweat pants (that had a huge lump in them). She had on a fresh t-shirt and running shorts. She had a flush to her skin and Derrick seemed to be having trouble looking anyone in the eyes, but his eyes drifted back to Monica again and again.
The ladies pulled out plates and drinks while Derrick and I opened the carry-out containers. The aroma was mouth-watering! We ate and drank, chatted and laughed, and avoided any questions about what might have been occurring when we returned with the food. I asked him about the pick-up game, and he said that he had a great time. I asked who won, and he said, "Who knows?" I was thrilled.
We taught Derrick how to play Euchre and we played for a while. Then Elaine said that we should get going back to our place. Derrick looked at her a little strangely, but as I wrapped my arm around her, he seemed to understand. We left Derrick and Monica to have some 'personal time', and we walked hand in hand back to their apartment.
After they were alone Derrick took Monica's hand and led her to the couch. "Let's talk." Monica's eyes showed the concern that those words generated. "It's not that bad," he continued.
"You are the best thing that has come into my life in a very long time. You are beautiful and sexy and more than I have ever hoped for. I feel like a better person when I'm with you. But I have a lifetime of history that I'm dealing with. I think you have made it clear that you would be willing to have sex with me, but I'm not ready for that yet. Can you be patient with me?"
Monica paused, relieved that it was not as bad as she had first feared. "I certainly can be patient with you, I think you're worth the effort. As far as 'having sex' with you, I assume that you are speaking of sexual intercourse, of putting your penis into my vagina." He nodded. "Well, we have been engaged in sexual activities since almost our first date. Erotic kissing, petting, and so forth are all sexual activities at a lower level. I would like to see us increase our sexual activities over the course of time including giving each other sexual pleasure, and yes, eventually having sexual intercourse. I think there is potential for us to have a spectacular future together. We're certainly not 'there' yet, and there is no guarantee that we ever will be. But if we don't work together to build a sustainable relationship, it will never happen.
"Are we talking about 'love'? I hope that eventually we will reach a point where we could definitely say 'I love you', but we aren't there yet. I can definitely say 'I like you'! I can definitely say that I feel emotional and sexual attraction to you. So I want to explore our compatibilities and determine those areas where, long term, we may have conflict. The pace of our progress toward sexual intercourse is certainly not a deal breaker. You are kind and considerate, bright and funny. You have hopes and aspirations for your future. Failure in those areas could be a deal breaker, but I think you are good there."
Derrick interjected, "But I'm just a big old black kid from the poor side of town who happened to be good on the high school basketball court. How can you talk about 'love' or 'future' with ME?"
"You haven't given yourself credit for any of the good things I have just said about you, have you? If you are going to limit yourself and your future to where you came from, then maybe we won't be able to have a future. But I don't see you really doing that. What I'm hearing is your fear, and your lack of trust. I will do everything I can to earn your trust, but you do have to meet me half-way."
"How can I feel like I deserve you? You're the most beautiful, sexiest, smartest woman I've ever known. What will your family say if you ever bring me to meet them? You're just such a great person!"
"I'm glad that you think I'm a great person, and I hope that you will always do everything in your power to make me feel that you deserve me! As far as my family is concerned, let me tell you a story:
"Several weeks ago I went home for a visit. I went out with the guy I had dated in high school and he was pressing me to 'give in' to him, to have sexual intercourse with him. I told him that I wasn't on birth control (although that was not true, I am) and I didn't want to get pregnant. He asked what would be so bad with that, I could drop out of school, we could get married, and start a life in the little Podunk town where I grew up. He works in a local factory and has no aspirations to do anything more, and I could become his little wifey. I refused and told him I never wanted to see him again. When I got home, my parents asked what had happened. When I told them, they were upset with ME! That's exactly the future they wanted for me! They didn't care about what I wanted for my future or my aspirations!"
"So, I don't really care what they might think about you, or any person I might choose to be with. I will choose someone who cares about ME! I will choose someone who shares my hopes and aspirations for the future. I will choose someone who values me and who I want to be with. If they don't like it, they can lump it!"
"Really? You would turn your back on your own family if they were not accepting of me?"
"I would turn my back on my family if they refused to accept my choice of my life partner. Period. Right now you have the inside track to become that person. So, yes!"
"Life partner? That's heavy!"
