Mario rose and helped Brenda from her chair. He wrapped her shawl around her shoulders and led her to the door and opened it for her. When they stepped outside he took her in his arms and kissed her softly. Brenda thought she would melt right there. She had never been kissed like this before. Their lips touching so softly and yet a passion flowed between them. Brenda was becoming very excited. Her nipples grew hard and she didn’t want this to stop! Mario pulled his lips from hers and looked deeply in her eyes.

“Brenda, I’m having feelings for you that I didn’t know existed. I think...I might be...falling in love with you.”

 

Runway
By
Arecee

 

---

Chapter 14 - The Dinner Date
 
 
Chapter 14

The sunshine streaming through her window awakened Brenda. Groggily, she peered at her alarm clock and panic gripped her! It was nine-thirty in the morning! Dammit! I overslept! she thought. Jumping out of bed, it suddenly dawned on her that today was Saturday. The night before, she had experienced a most wonderful date with Mario and was going to have dinner with him again tonight!

Brenda went on into the bathroom to shower. Letting the little streams of hot water hit her chest sent sensations coursing through her. Her breasts were exceptionally sensitive this morning and she cupped each in her hand to examine them. Brenda was happy. She felt along her legs and could feel the dreaded stubble. Spending some time, she lathered and shaved both of her legs and her underarms. Smiling, she felt sexy again.

Brenda dried herself and then looked in the mirror. I’ll have to ask Annie to help me with my hair, she thought. Brenda dressed casually and went down to Annie’s apartment to ask her for help.

Brenda knocked and Annie answered the door, “Hi dear! What’s up?”

“I have a date tonight and I really need some help with my hair.”

“I thought you had a date last night?”

“Well… it’s the same man, only this is for just a dinner.”

Annie grinned. “Come on in sweety. Let’s see what I have to work with.”

Brenda entered Annie’s apartment and went towards the kitchen. Brenda liked being in Annie’s kitchen because it reminded her of home. There was a lived in smell that only warm kitchens have, a combination of bread, soups, and other tasty foods. Brenda loved the little reminders of the love that once lived here in her children: the poster paper that had yellowed with age with the flower drawn on it and the words, “I love you mom,” the little spoon holder so difficult to make when your are eight years old laying proudly on the tile counter top and the name Shamus inscribed in the fired clay, another picture thumb-tacked to the side of the cupboards with a picture of a house with a family standing in front all drawn with crayon colors and the message, “My Family,” signed by James. Brenda felt she was part of Annie’s family now, rather than just being her neighbor.

Brenda seated herself at the kitchen table. Annie poured both Brenda and herself a cup of coffee and began examining Brenda’s hair.

Annie ran her finger though Brenda’s hair and fluffed it a bit before she said, “Brenda, I think your hair will need a tad more than I really feel comfortable with doing.”

“I really need to have something done with it before tonight.”

“It does look like it needs a trim though.”

“You think?”

Annie fluffed Brenda’s hair again and said, “It’s uneven, ragged ends, like someone hurriedly cut it.”

Brenda looked sheepishly down realizing that it had been done rather fast back at HQ.

“I need it styled for tonight. Do you know anyone that could do it?”

“There’s always Maud’s around the corner, she takes walk-ins, and she’s been there forever, all the neighborhood ladies have used her for years.”

“I’ll see if she can help me after I finish my coffee.”

“Tell me about your date last night.”

“It was so much fun. Mario’s a lot different than I thought he would be.”

“How so?”

“He’s always been such a flirt around work that I thought he would be the same when we went out, you know playful and flirty. But he wasn’t like that at all. He was caring and very serious about his family, he even introduced me to his cousin. I had a wonderful night.”

“It sounds to me like you had a good time.”

“Mmm hmm. And that’s why I have to have my hair done. I don’t want him watching other girls.”

“Jealous already?”

“No. Well, maybe just a little.”

“Don’t worry sweetheart. Men never look at other girls until they get married. And then they look around to see what they missed. Men, they’re all the same.”

The girls giggled at Annie’s wisdom and Brenda finished her coffee.

“I should be running along. Where is Maud’s? I’d like to see if she can take me.”

“When you go outside, turn right and walk to the corner. When you get there look right across the street and down a half of a block and you’ll see the styling salon sign. It used to say beauty parlor but Maud decided to update her place fifteen years ago and changed the sign. ‘Got to keep up with the times,’ she said, but that was all she changed. It still looks like a barber shop with those big glass windows. I told her she needed ferns but she just laughed and said the chemicals would probably kill them.”

“Thanks for the coffee Annie. You’re a lifesaver! I’ll see you later.”

Brenda dashed back over to her apartment and grabbed her purse. She then walked down and out the door to the salon.

Brenda found the establishment exactly where Annie said it would be, in the middle of the block. The painted wood sign looked worn with age, the paint had cracked years before and the plywood under layer could be seen through the cracks. The sign read ‘Styling Salon’ in bold feminine letters and beneath that read ‘Maud Greene, stylist’.

The large front window had the words ‘Beauty Parlor’ written on it in gold leaf script lettering and the initials of the sign painter below that. Brenda opened the door and a bell tinkled when it reached half open to signal the arrival of a customer. The smells of chemicals burned her nose and she wondered if Maud had ever invested in an exhaust fan to help with air circulation?

Brenda saw three styling stations on one wall and drying chairs on the opposite wall. A shampoo basin was in the rear against the rear wall between the corner and an opening covered with a curtain. Two women were under the driers, their hair rolled in tight curlers. A third was sitting at one of the styling stations with her bluish white hair, hanging wet after just being shampooed.

The curtain parted and a sixtyish looking woman with too much makeup entered the room. She was a large woman wearing tight clothing, which she shouldn’t wear. Her hips were large and her corseted waist was pulled tight wishing it was ten inches smaller. Her breasts, sagged with age, were pulled high up on her chest by a bra that had to be of industrial strength to carry that much weight. Her blue Capri pants looked as though they would split if she took one more step on her four-inch black pumps. The woven pink yarn that made her sweater promised to shred if she were to raise her arms. Her hair was bright red and teased until it stood many inches above her head and her bright red lipstick outlined nonexistent lips that did nothing but highlight her face. Her eyebrows had been plucked clean and drawn back in a high arching thin black line which drew attention to the clumped mascara and eye shadow which tried to cover the age lines on her face. The years had not been kind to Maud Greene.

“Hello, may I help you?” Maud asked in a cheerful tone. Maud specialized in the care of older women, the ones that had been born in this neighborhood fifty, sixty, or seventy years ago and would probably die here. They didn’t expect much other than to get rid of the gray and have a simple cut and style. Each customer never varied from her original hair style by much other than hair length. All the younger girls had drifted away to the upscale salons of Manhattan and their high prices. Maud’s pricing was stuck in the sixties and her customer’s appreciated that as most came from poor families and wouldn’t be able to afford much more. Brenda was like a fresh bouquet that lit up the room.

“I would like to have my hair cut and styled if it’s possible. You were recommended to me by my landlady.”

“Who’s your landlady?”

“Annie Patrick.”

“Annie. I haven’t seen her for a while. Her hair is a real chore to work on.” Maud grinned. “Sit down over here and I’ll take a look at what we can do.”

Brenda sat down and Maud ran her chipped bright red nails through Brenda’s hair.

“Did you have a particular style in mind?”

“I have a date tonight and I just want to look special for him.”

Maud remembered when she was this girl’s age. The future was bright and full of hope and looking pretty for a young man was the most important thought in a girl’s head at that age. Maud remembered her innocence when she was Brenda’s age, before she had married her first husband - the no good wife beater! She divorced him after twelve years of hell and met her second husband, a real dear of a man. They had two children, one boy and one girl, before he died of cancer at an early age. Maud’s life had been hard on her and it showed beneath the garish clothing and makeup. As hard as Maud’s life had been, she had never changed inside, she had a heart of gold and would never do anything to hurt someone.

“Honey, I’m going be honest with you. I haven’t worked on a young girl like you in years and I’d be afraid that I might ruin your hair. If you were old and gray, I could help you. But I don’t want to spoil your evening.”

“I have two kids, a son and daughter. My daughter just graduated from beauty school and got her license. I’ve watched her work and she’s a real artist. She was going to look for a salon that was hiring so I know she isn’t working yet. I’ll call her and see if she would come in and do your hair,” Maud said.

“Do you think she would?” Brenda asked.

“She needs the money. Of course she will!”

Maud called her daughter and said that she would love to do Brenda’s hair.

“Ashley said she’ll be here in an hour, is that alright?”

“Perfect! I’ll be back then. It will give me a chance to find something to wear while I wait. Thank you Maud.”

“Wait, I don’t know your name.”

“Its Brenda.”

“Very nice to meet you Brenda,” Maud said as she extended her hand.

Brenda gently shook Maud’s hand as she left.

Brenda returned to her apartment to look for something to wear on her date. She was very lucky that the FBI had provided her a large wardrobe for her to wear. She looked through her things and found a dress she wanted to wear but had never had anywhere to do it. It was a knit beige knee length dress that hugged her curves. It came off the shoulders and exposed her skin to below her neck, but well above her breasts. There would be no cleavage tonight! She found the perfect heels to wear with the dress, matching sling back pumps with four-inch heels.

Brenda returned to the salon and waited for Ashley to arrive.

Brenda was reading a magazine and was startled by the tinkling bells as the door opened. In walked a younger version of Maud, only this one was trim and well dressed. Her makeup was flawless and her auburn hair flowed to her waist.

“Hey Ashley,” Maud said.

“Hi mom,” she replied.

Ashley gave her mother a quick loving hug.

“Ashley, this is Brenda, Brenda this is Ashley,”

“It’s nice to meet you Ashley,” Brenda offered.

“It’s nice to meet you too Brenda!” Ashley said with her smoky alto voice.

Her voice sent shivers up Brenda’s back. She must drive men crazy! she thought.

“What would you like to have done?” Ashley asked.

“I need my hair cleaned up and styled for my date tonight, can you help me?”

Ashley took Brenda’s hair in her hands and looked at it, feeling the texture and length.

“I wish your hair was a little longer, but I have some ideas that I think you will like. You’re going out on a date?”

“Yes, to dinner.”

“It’s still early Brenda. If you’d like, I can give you a complete make-over; you know nails and makeup, everything. It’ll be fun, I promise. And I need the practice.”

“You can do all that?”

“Of course. I couldn’t get a license if I didn’t know how.”

“Alright Ashley, you have yourself a customer.”Brenda grinned.

“Have you ever dyed your hair?”

“No.”

“I didn’t think so. Your hair is brown. It’s boring. You need color and you need highlights. Brenda, when I’m finished with you, you will never want brown again. Let’s get started. I need to wash your hair.”

Ashley led Brenda to the vacant station and thus started a long afternoon of pampering for our heroine.

The hours passed on by as Ashley worked her magic on Brenda. When Ashley did Brenda’s makeup she explained each move and why she was using each. Brenda was amazed at what makeup did for her eyes. Her mood was interrupted by the tinkling of the bell as the door to the shop opened.

A little slip of a girl entered and looked around. She was bubbly and full of energy. She reminded Brenda of a kitten with her playfulness.

Maud walked through the curtain and the girl screamed, “Mommy,” and ran to her and threw her arms around Maud’s neck and gave her a hug.

Maud stepped back and said, “Karen, what are you doing here, why aren’t you in school?”

“There was a fire and they sent us home for one week while they repair the school.”

Ashley had stopped working on Brenda’s makeup while she watched Karen give her mother hugs.

Karen turned and saw Ashley and frowned, “Hi Ashley,” she said, with disdain in her voice.

“Hi Karen,” Ashley responded, somewhat meekly.

“Brenda, this is my daughter Karen. She goes to school upstate and there was a fire and, what a surprise,” Maud gushed.

“Karen’s your daughter? I thought Ashley was….your………daughter,” Brenda said as her voice slipped away.

Brenda’s mind was reeling. Holy shit! Maud said she had a son and daughter and if Karen was her daughter then Ashley must be her… No way! She’s too beautiful to be a… a man! Men can’t look like that! They’re like… all masculine looking! They’re… they’re, and then Brenda looked at her own reflection in the mirror. Where was the masculinity there? Where was hers? And where was Tiffany’s?

“Ashley’s not her daughter,” Karen spat, “I’m her only REAL daughter. She’s a FAKE! What are you doing here Ashley?”

“Karen. That isn’t nice to say. Mom asked me to come and do Brenda’s hair and makeup for her. I need the job.”

“Shit, Brenda! Do you know that Ashley is really a guy?”

“I didn’t until now,” she said softly.

Brenda could see the hurt in Ashley’s eyes as her sister berated her.

“Well she is! Or maybe I should say he is. You embarrass me Gary.”

“Please don’t do this me Karen. I never did anything to you. Not like this,” Ashley said as tears filled her eyes.

“Karen, stop it, THIS INSTANT! I’ll not have you doing this to your sister in MY SHOP!”

“But mom! You know how I feel about Ashley and why.”

“If you can’t be civil, I want you to leave.”

“I can’t be civil. So I guess I’ll leave then.”

Karen turned to go out the door.

“Please don’t leave Karen,” Ashley pleaded.

“Fuck you bitch!” she said as she slammed the door behind her.

“I’m so sorry Brenda, you shouldn’t have seen that. Do you want me to finish or would you prefer that my mother to finish everything?”

“Why wouldn’t I want you?”

“Because, well of what my sister said. A lot of people aren’t comfortable with… you know… me.”

Brenda was at a loss for words. This beautiful girl had just been hammered by her sister and she wondered if she wanted someone else to touch Brenda? Brenda rose from her chair and took Ashley in her arms and held her as Ashley dissolved into tears. Brenda could feel Ashley’s body heaving as she cried. She had no idea as to what else she should do, so she just held her tight.

Maud watched on as her baby cried, tears falling from her eyes. This wasn’t the first time Karen had lashed out at her sister and it wouldn’t be the last.

Ashley’s transition wouldn’t have been so bad if Karen’s boyfriend hadn’t met Ashley. Karen wasn’t happy her brother had decided to become a girl. The embarrassment would be too much for her as freshman student in high school. Gary had dressed for Karen one day and she was surprised at how pretty Gary was. As long as he kept it at home and no one found out, she was fine with it. In fact, she had fun with it at first, playing with her own dress up Barbie doll. Gary had been picked on in school because of his feminine ways and when he graduated he moved away and transitioned into Ashley. He had used hormones in school with his mother’s permission so when he moved out and began to live as Ashley full time, it was easy for him. He was and still is so passable as a woman, no one could ever guess Ashley hadn’t been born a genetic woman.

The hate began when Ashley came home for a visit after a year of living on her own. She had worked at menial jobs but was able to support herself and pay for cosmetology classes. She was to graduate in another six months and wanted to see her mother and sister as she had missed them.

Karen was home when Ashley arrived. Karen had brought her current boyfriend home for a love making session, to be blunt. Karen was a slut and having a mother that worked until early evening meant that she had free rein to do as she pleased and that meant screwing every boy she met. Ashley entered their apartment and found Karen on the sofa with her legs spread and her boyfriend buried deep within her.

“Karen, what are you doing?” Ashley had asked in surprise.

Karen hadn’t heard Ashley come in the room and it couldn’t have been at a worse moment, because at that moment her boyfriend came.

“Shit! What are you doing here?” Karen asked as her friend kept bucking.

The boy finally realized they weren’t alone and extracted himself from Karen spewing his spunk on both her and the sofa.

The boy hastily pulled his underwear and pants back on as Karen tried to find her panties.

“Karen this boy isn’t supposed to be here, you know the rules.”

“Fuck the rules! I do as I please.”

All the while the boy couldn’t help but stare at Ashley, her beauty made Karen pale in comparison.

Karen watched as her friend was paying attention to Ashley and completely ignoring her. He had just fucked her and now he wanted Ashley. He wanted her brother more than her - the bastard! Karen in her own sick way though blamed Ashley for the turn of events and not the boy, she wanted more of what he had and she wasn’t about to share it with Ashley. Karen could see the boy’s growing lust for her brother and she would put a stop to it.

“I see you’re turned on by my sister Jeffery. Well let me tell you something, she’s a guy. A fag! Get it? Now fuck off Gary! We don’t want you here.”

After that day the few times the two girls were in the same room fireworks started. Ashley would try to make peace but Karen wouldn’t hear of it. Karen hated her sister, not so much that she had caught her with the boy but because of her jealousy of her sister’s beauty. She hated Ashley for that.

Ashley gained control of her emotions and dried her eyes as best she could. She looked at Brenda and waited for the words of rejection.

“I wouldn’t want anyone but you to touch my hair or face Ashley, and I’d like to be your friend.”

Ashley watered up again. Brenda wanted to be her friend. She hadn’t rejected her but had embraced her.

After a few more minutes, Ashley went back to work on Brenda and finished with little time to spare. Brenda saw what Ashley had done to her and the only phrase that came to her mind was that she simply looked amazing! Gone was her boring nondescript hair. It had been replaced with a smart sexy style that was guaranteed to turn heads. Her makeup was perfect for the evening and the light danced off her sexy nails. Ashley had even polished Brenda’s toe nails to match her fingers. Brenda was very pleased with the results.

“Ashley, my god, thank you so much!”

“You were easy to do. I had a lot to work with.”

Brenda went and removed three one hundred dollar bills and handed them to Ashley.

“Brenda! This is TOO much money.”

“It’s not enough dear friend. I want you to give me your address and phone number so we can see each other again.”

“You aren’t just saying that to make me feel better?”

“No. I really want to be your friend.”

Ashley hugged Brenda again.

Brenda rushed home as the hour was growing late and Mario would be here soon.

Her dress that she picked out had tiny sleeves and the top created a straight line from underarm to underarm. The fabric stretched slightly and hugged her curves, She looked in the mirror and saw that her flaccid penis made a slight bump in the front of the dress.

“Damn!” Brenda swore. She loved wearing her thongs but this dress just hugged her too tight to do that. So she would have to wear her gaff. She hadn’t worn it for weeks and hated putting it on. It made her feel unwomanly for some reason, which is why she preferred the thong underwear. So she just rolled the skirt above her waist and slipped the gaff on, carefully tucking herself away. In her excitement, she forgot to put on her pantyhose and had to go through the same thing again, roll up her skirt and put on the hose. She lowered her dress again and took her heels in hand and slid them on her feet and stood. Brenda walked over to her mirror and looked at her reflection. Her mouth dropped when she saw herself. What have I done? she mused in wonderment. The door-bell rang.

Brenda buzzed Mario in and heard him climb the stairs to her apartment. Her stomach was fluttering with butterflies. What if he doesn’t like me? What if I’m not dressed right?

Mario knocked on Brenda’s door and she slowly opened it.

“Hi,” she said.

Mario was speechless when he saw the beauty that was his date. Her hair was flawless and shining with a new color. Her face radiated a beauty he had only read about in books. The lightly tanned skin on Brenda’s exposed neck and shoulders added a sexiness to her beauty that proved showing just a little is better than showing everything. Her figure was perfect. Her legs were perfectly perched on her heels and the manicured nails that were seen through her sheer hose made the picture complete. She had small drop earrings and a necklace to complete her look,

“You’re… beautiful,” he was finally able to say.

“I had to work at it, it took all day.”

“It was worth it, I’ll say!”

“Let me get my shawl in case it gets cool.”

Brenda wrapped her white shawl over her shoulders and closed the door to her apartment. She took Mario’s arm with her hand and they started down the stairs .Her heels made a sound with each step and made her concentrate on not falling, three inch heels were hard enough to climb stairs but these four inch babies were an absolute bitch! Brenda gripped Mario’s arm and he felt like she was going to rip his skin.

“Are you alright?” he asked.

“Why?”

“Because you’re squeezing my arm like you’re going to die.”

Brenda relaxed her grip.

“I’m sorry. It’s just that these heels make it really hard to walk on the stairs.”

“Why don’t you take them off until you reach the bottom?”

“And run my nylons? No way.”

Annie opened her door to see where the noise was coming from.

“Oh Brenda!” she exclaimed, “Let me have a look at you. I love your hair! My, my, aren’t we the regal one this evening. Who’s your friend?”

“Annie this is Mario, Mario, Annie. Annie is my best friend.”

“Pleased to meet you Annie,” Mario said as he extended his hand.

“It’s nice to finally meet you Mario. Brenda has spoken a lot about you. You two run along now. You had better be nice to my girl or you’ll have me to answer to,” Annie laughed.

“I will.”

Mario escorted Brenda to the waiting cab and helped her into the rear seat.

“I have tickets for Carnegie Hall tonight, so I thought it would be nice if we went to dinner at Patsy’s first and then we can walk to the concert.”

Brenda crossed her legs and answered, “That sounds wonderful.”

Mario gave instructions to the driver and then took Brenda’s hand in his. Tonight would be a night of romance.

The couple were seated at Patsy’s and ordered their drinks. Brenda had an iced tea and Mario a glass of red wine.

“This is a really nice restaurant Mario,” Brenda said.

“It’s been here for years. It was Sinatra’s favorite.”

“I can see why… it’s very romantic.”

“The food’s good too.”

“Mario, tell me more about your adventures when you traveled around the world.”

Mario began his adventure and had finally reached South America by the time they were halfway through their main course of dinner.

“I landed in Chili and hitched rides north until I reached Colombia. I had pretty much run out of money and needed a job. So I asked around and because I spoke English, this Spanish guy offered me a delivery job. He taught me how to drive a semi truck and had me making deliveries to Panama. I delivered everything from scrap iron to cow manure. I had to go to the craziest places to pick things up and some of the guys there scared the crap out of me.”

“Why would they scare you?”

“They all had guns. I don’t know why they would have wanted to protect cow manure.”

“How long did you work there?”

“For about a year. I would have worked longer but I had some trouble and had to leave in a hurry.”

“You weren’t hurt were you?” Brenda asked with concern.

“No, I wasn’t hurt. But I could have been. I was on a dirt road after picking up some manure and I drove around a corner and the road was blocked by the Columbian military. I stopped and the soldiers made me get out of the truck. I pretended that I didn’t speak Spanish and one of the soldiers told me in English to step behind the truck and not to move. They got on top of the truck and started to poke around in the manure and talking. The guy in charge seemed to get agitated and said the payoff wasn’t there and that my boss should be taught a lesson. I started to get a real bad feeling in my stomach that I would be the lesson so I slowly backed up until I disappeared into the jungle. I had a hundred yards on them before they noticed I was gone. When they saw that I had escaped they started shouting and running around looking for me. One guy even shot his gun at me in the jungle.”

“What did you do then?”

“I stayed put until they took the truck and left. I walked for hours until someone gave me a ride. I caught rides north whenever I could and finally ended up in El Paso, Texas. I called my mom and she wired me enough money to fly the rest of the way home and have been here ever since. You know the old saying, ‘there’s no place like home?’ Well it’s true. I’ve seen enough to last a lifetime.”

“May I take your plates?” asked the waiter.

“Yes, I’m finished,” answered Brenda.

“Would you like to see our dessert tray?”

“I really shouldn’t, but I would like to see what you have.”

The waiter removed the plates and returned with the dessert tray.

“Oh my, look at the chocolate mousse. I know I shouldn’t, but I have to have it. I’ll probably kill myself in the morning when I step on the scale,” Brenda giggled. “Would you share it with me?”

“I’d love to. We’ll take one of these and two forks please.”

The waiter returned with the mousse and placed it in the center of the table. Brenda took her fork and pushed it into the dessert. She withdrew it and fed it to Mario. Mario opened his mouth and closed it slowly over Brenda’s fork. She slid it back out and felt as though she was watching a movie. It was as though the dainty hand holding the fork had become detached from her body. Her long and feminine fingers caught her gaze as the candle light danced off her coated nails.

Mario tried to return the favor, but Brenda declined, “No, let me,” she said as she fed another fork full to Mario. She took one mouthful and decided that would be enough to add five pounds, it was so rich. She continued feeding her date until the mousse was gone. When she finished, she looked deep into his eyes and said nothing. She let her gaze say everything that needed to be said.

“My mother wants to meet you,” Mario finally managed to get out. He just couldn’t take his eyes off of Brenda.

“Your mother?”

“Yes, my mother. She wants to meet the girl that captured my heart.”

Brenda was silent. Things were moving too quickly. She liked Mario a lot and she loved being with him. But meeting his mother? That was more than being friends. That was <gulp!> love. Brenda didn’t feel right that she should meet his mother just yet. She was undercover and this wasn’t the time.

“I’d love too, when?” she answered before her brain gained control of her mouth.

“My family has Sunday dinner every week and the whole family is there. Even my cousin Sal and his family. My aunts and uncles: everyone is there. I would be honored, you know, if you were there… too.”

Brenda felt herself blushing. No one had ever said anything quite so nice to her in all of her life. Mario didn’t say I love you, but he might just as well have. She felt her eyes begin to water. Oh no! I’ll ruin my makeup, she thought as she took her napkin and dabbed her eyes to prevent tears from staining her face.

“Mario, that’s the nicest thing anyone has ever said to me. Please. Kiss me.”

Brenda leaned over the table and the two lovers lips met at the center. It was a short kiss but one of love for each other. This had gone way farther than Brenda had ever wanted and she was powerless to stop it. Her heart was guiding her before she had a chance to think. She felt warm and cuddly inside. She felt complete.

The waiter returned with the check and Mario placed his credit card in the holder. The waiter then took it and returned for Mario to sign the receipt. Brenda saw a series of numbers at the bottom, the first being a two. Being a woman has its advantages she thought as the waiter removed the receipt.

“Thank you Mario. Dinner tonight was simply wonderful.”

“You’re welcome. I’m so happy you decided to give me a try tonight.”

Mario rose and helped Brenda from her chair. He wrapped her shawl around her shoulders and led her to the door and opened it for her. When they stepped outside he took her in his arms and kissed her softly. Brenda thought she would melt right there. She had never been kissed like this before. Their lips touching so softly and yet a passion flowed between them. Brenda was becoming very excited. Her nipples grew hard and she didn’t want this to stop! Mario pulled his lips from hers and looked deeply in her eyes.

“Brenda, I’m having feelings for you that I didn’t know existed. I think… I might be… falling in love with you.”

Brenda couldn’t speak. The twinkling lights of the city danced off Mario’s eyes and she felt all squishy inside.

“Mario,” she whispered and pulled his lips to hers and let her love pour from her mouth to his.

The couple walked to Carnegie from Patsy’s as it was only a few blocks away. Actually it was a few blocks for Mario but a mile for Brenda in four-inch heels. Brenda and Mario had their arms around each other so Brenda didn’t mind as long as he was holding her.

One of Mario’s customers had given him the tickets at the last moment and he had no idea what kind of concert this would be.

The concert ended and Brenda had never heard music like that before. She had always been a hip hop person but this was SO different, SO wonderful… and so romantic!

“Would you like some coffee and cheesecake?” Mario asked.

“I’d love some,” she answered, “But would you mind if we got a cab? My feet are killing me?”

“Why do you girls wear those things if they hurt your feet?”

“Look at my legs and you’ll see why. We use them to tempt you men.”

“You’re right. Your legs always look good… never mind. Keep wearing them.” He grinned.

“I will, if you’ll pay to have my feet fixed later.’

“It’ll be worth it. You have beautiful feet Brenda.”

“Thank you, I’m glad you like them.”

“Not as much as what they’re attached to.”

“Now you’re being silly. You can’t have one without the other.”

Mario hailed a cab and had the driver drop them at Stage Deli.

“What time do you want me at your parent’s tomorrow?” she asked.

“Dinner is around three, but never starts until after the football game is over. And that’s after four. I’ll pick you up around one so we can have some time alone.”

“What should I wear?”

“My mom is kind of old fashioned and doesn’t like girls to look trashy if you know what I mean.”

“I don’t know what you mean. Have I ever looked trashy?”

“God no! In fact I didn’t even know you had boobs until the other day.”

Brenda blushed remembering the top she wore and showed her cleavage for the first time.

“I meant, is the dinner formal or casual? Do I wear a dress or jeans?”

“Jeans are fine. None of the women wear dresses except for mom and she only does it because she’s an old fashioned Italian woman.

“You’re no help at all. I’ll ask Annie, she’ll know what I should wear.”

The couple finished their cheesecake and coffee and caught a cab. When they arrived back at Brenda’s apartment, Mario asked the driver to wait, he knew it was way too early in the relationship to expect to sleep with Brenda, so he escorted her to the door of her apartment.

Brenda placed her key into the door and opened it. She turned and allowed Mario to pull her tight and their mouths touched. She placed her arms around his neck and pulled him to her, this kiss had much more lust than the others this night. The kiss lasted for several minutes.

“Mario, I,I,” Brenda paused, while her brain took control of her mouth. Please don’t say the love word, please mouth! “I had a wonderful evening, thank you so much.”

“I would like to do it again if you’d like?” he asked.

“I would love to,” she answered and kissed Mario again.

“I’d better go in…I’ll see you tomorrow.” Brenda said as she broke the kiss. She knew if she didn’t she might lose control of herself and this whole deception would be ruined.

“Goodnight Brenda,” Mario said as he walked away.

Brenda closed the door. She couldn’t help herself. She took a pillow from the sofa and hugged it tightly letting some tears come out. Brenda was falling in love.
 
 

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Edited by Sephrena Lynn Miller