Second Chances Ch. 04

If you are unfamiliar with this little series, please read my notes at the beginning of the first chapter before diving into this one. It is very important.

"Wakey, wakey," I softly whispered in Dawns ear, lightly kissing her neck.

"Mmmmm," she quietly moaned. "That's nice." You could hear the warm and contented smile in her voice.

Dawn and I slept in our t-shirt and shorts from the day before. Destiny is a wonderful woman and I greatly valued her friendship. On the other hand, Dawn and I seemed to hit it off right there when I comforted her on the planes take off. Touches and looks between the two of us lasted longer than with Destiny. I wasn't sure if I wanted to pursue a relationship with her because of the 600 or so miles between us.

That kiss last night made me throw that doubt out the window. It proved to both of us that we were indeed attracted to each other. I am not trying to brag, but I have kissed quite a few women and none were even close to the magic she and I shared. There was no doubt there was something between us, and we both felt it in a big way.

After Destiny left the room, we did resume kissing and included some heavy petting. In the end, we reluctatly broke it off, even though we both wanted more, a lot more. We decided that further action would be unfair to Destiny. After all, this was her room too. She was gracious enough to give us some alone time, yet we felt it was wrong for taking advantage if we spent too much time alone, leaving her literally out in the cold.

"Let me go talk to her," Dawn said as she left to find her friend.

Ten minutes later the girls came back into the room. Destiny came right over to me where I was brushing my teeth in preparation for bed time.

She had a huge smile on her face as she gave me a big hug. "Oh I am so happy for you! You have made my bestest friend in the whole wide world happy, and that makes me happy!" as she accented the statement by giving me a big kiss on the cheek.

As she backed away, her smile faded into anger. "But...," growling at me, "If you hurt her in any way..." pausing to pick up an empty drinking cup, jamming it into my side. "I will kill you."

Backing off further, her look turned back into a smile, and she started laughing as she assumed a fencing stance. "Come at me, dude! Show me what you got!" and proceded to jab toward me with the cup.

I picked up another cup and mimicked her stance and chop and slice actions.

"Everyone was kung-fu fighting!" Dawn sang out in that never ending beautiful voice. Power, tone, pitch. Everything next level amazing.

"We were fast lightning!" as Destiny and I joined in with the singing. After several minutes, we all fell on the beds laughing our heads off.

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Dawn and I slept in one bed and Destiny in the other. My arm was wrapped around her body, my hand comfortably resting on the swell of her tummy. She rotated around from the little spoon position to face me, bed springs creaking as she moved. I stayed in position, my hand lightly following her sexy curves.

"Morning," she smiled, eyes still half closed as we lightly kissed. We didn't do anything more than that, just cuddled together. She is not a morning person. That is a very good thing.

Our serenity was disturbed a short bit later, when an energetic Destiny loudly burst into the room. "GET UP YOU LAZY BASTARDS!" she shouted, "I'VE GOT COFFEE AND DOUGHNUTS!"

"Oh I hate her!" Dawn grumbled.

"Get up! Get up!" Destiny instead.

"Shut up! Shut up!"

Destiny set the breakfast items on the table, and jumped up on our bed. "Get up! Get up!" she sang gleefully as she jumped around, tossing the two of us, and the bed covers all over the place. How she didn't land on any of our body parts is a miracle.

"Alright we are up," a wide awake Dawn mumbled as she sat up rubbing her eyes. Then, sniffing the air, "Do I smell doughnuts?"

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Lunch was bacon double cheeseburgers, fries, onion rings and stuffed jalapeños. The girls washed it down with chocolate shakes, and I had vanilla. Destiny was driving and I was in the back seat. She had never been in a luxury car before this trip, let alone drive one. Dawn quietly gazed out the side window, appearing to be lost in thought.

"I think I have gained 5 pounds the last two days," Destiny sighed contentedly.

"Where did it go?" I asked as I reached over the seat to tickle her ribs. "Here?"

She jumped as she laughed, "Yes!"

"How about here?" as I moved to another spot. "Here?

"Yes! Yes!" laughing all the way, tears streaming down her cheeks.

"How about here! Or here!" as I continued my tickle assault reaching around as far as I could.

"Stop!" howling with laughter. "Stop before I crash this car!"

The next 20 miles or so were spent in silence. Our journey together was about to come to a close, and none of us knew what to say. I was able to find a flight home, and it was the last one of the day. Still, there wasn't much time to spare.

Dawn was the one to break the silence. "Hey Joe," as she turned in her seat to face me.

"Yes?" damn she has such pretty green eyes. I don't think I could ever get used to them.

"Did I tell you that I am starting my second year in culinary school next week?"

"Wow! No. That's fantastic!"

"Working in a women's plus size clothing store is fun. You get to meet all kinds of neat people, and I get a big discount on their clothes. The company knows that we can sell more clothes if the employees are wearing their stuff."

"Sure, makes sense."

"Thing is, I love to cook and I think I am a natural."

"She's not kidding! Her food is fantastic!"

Dawn smiled and patted her friends arm in appreciation of the compliment.

"Sounds great! I can't wait to try it!"

I instantly regretted my statement, as it might very well be a long time before I see my friends again. Dawn and I busied ourselves cleaning up the car as we rode the rest of the way in silence. I insisted on taking them right to their car before I returned the rental. I wanted to help them with their bags and make sure Destiny's mini van started after being down for a week.

"Here it is," she stated as we pulled up to an older tired looking vehicle.

After loading their bags Destiny gave me a long and tight hug. "Thanks again being one of the good guys," as she gave me one last kiss before starting the van, closing the door to once again give Dawn and I a few more seconds alone.

"My flight leaves in an hour," I said flatly as we came together to say our goodbyes.

"Couldn't you find another flight?"

"Im sorry," as we embraced.

My heart broke as she began to sob. "We have addresses, emails, we are friends on social media..."

"I know, " as she dropped her head in sorrow.

"Listen," I softly spoke as I gently lifted her chin so I could look into her eyes. "We will see each other soon, I promise."

"Promise?" with a weak smile, as tears continued to stream down her cheeks.

"Yes, I promise," I replied with confidence as we kissed. "Besides, Destiny will kill me with a cup if I don't."

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One year later.

Today was finally the day! Dawn and Destiny were flying in, my best friend Darryl were going to the airport to pick them up and I was going bonkers with excitement. Darryl even said that this was the happiest he had ever seen me in the last 15 years we had known each other.

Dawn and I kept in touch with each 3 or more days a week over phone calls, emails, post cards. We shared everything. The good, the bad, everything. Just listening to the other breathe gave us an unending level of comfort after a particularly rough day. We talked multiple times about trying to get together sooner, but somehow it never worked out.

I think it was about the 6 months apart point when it happened. We were on the phone, and Dawn had me laughing so hard my side, stomach, and chest hurt. In fact, my whole body hurt, and I could hardly breathe. There were other times she made me laugh, but not like this. I thought I was going to die.

Finally after what seemed like forever, I started to calm down and blurted out, "I think..." before starting to giggle again.

Dawn was laughing right along with me, "What do you think?"

I took a moment to calm down and get serious, "I think..." hesitating again.

Realizing this was serious, she spoke in a soft quiet voice, "What do you think, Joe?"

"I think," and gulped trying to say what I wanted as I cleared my head. "I think that I am starting to fall in love with you."

Silence

"Dawn?"

More silence.

"Dawn? Are you there?" I was growing concerned. I could just barely hear a muffled sobbing, with an occasional sniffle.

"DAWN!" I yelled. "Are you there?" I was getting really scared. Had I just screwed up? Was it too soon? Was she tired of trying to maintain a long distance relationship after just knowing me for three days and was ready to move on? Did she hurt herself? Did she even hear me?

"Dawn baby, please say something," I begged of her.

"Something," came from the other end in her adorable small voice with a sniffle.

"Good, because I..."

"I LOVE YOU TOO!" she half screamed into the phone before starting to wail again.

"Wow! What a relief! I was scared that you were going to reject me..."

"Oh no way Joe! I would never reject you."

"I love you Dawn," with confidence.

"I love you too Joe."

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Darryl is a very imposing black man, especially considering his size at 6'3" and 350lbs. He likes big girls, or BBWs as he informed me. Big, beautiful, women. He had always dated plus sized women. It was just his preference. I told him many stories about my adventure with the girls. He was happy that I found a woman that I was happy with, and could possibly have a very good future with her.

A couple of weeks before their upcoming visit, I asked and Destiny wasn't seeing anyone.

"Ok Joe, I trust you. But can I trust this Darryl dude."

"I sent you his picture, and he is right here right now. Just talk to him. What could it hurt?" It was a blurry motion shot taken in a dark bar, but it was all I had.

"I like his beard. Ok, put him on."

"Hello Destiny, that is a very pretty name. My name is Darryl."

Pause

"No, I don't think so."

Pause

Then a big smile came over his face.

I didn't feel the need to listen in to any more of their conversation and walked away. 15 minutes later, he found me sitting on the balcony sipping a beer.

With a lopsided grin, he handed me my phone, and took a long swig of his beer sitting down next to me, before saying anything. "Wow! What a crazy girl! I like her!" Then, after a pause, " What did she mean when she said that she had been practicing with a cup? She said that you would know."

I laughed, and said,"Uh-oh!"

"Wait, what do you mean by uh-oh?"

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Darryl drove a big suv, so we decided to take his vehicle to pick up the girls. I asked him to wait in the cell phone lot and I would go inside to get them and would call him when we were ready.

I was concerned about what their demeanor was, especially considering the circumstances that surrounded our initial meeting. As I walked through the airport I got lots of "Awes," because of the two huge boquets of flowers I carried. I smiled and laughed as several women tried and to claim the flowers as their own.

My uneasiness was blown out of the water, for as soon as they saw me, they both shouted with delight, "JOE!" and came running toward me.

I opened my arms wide with a boquet in each hand. 'Dawn! Destiny! So good to finally see you two again!" as they came crashing into me. Smothering me with hugs and kisses.

"Oh baby, its so good to see you!" from a very happy out of breath Dawn.

"Have you been working out? Looking good!" Destiny panted.

"Here is one for you," as I handed Destiny her bouquet "And here is one for you," as I kissed my love.

"Oooh so pretty!" as she smelled the flowers.

"Not as pretty as you, my love," as we kissed.

"Come on! Lets get something to eat. I am hungry," from Destiny as she looked around. "Where's Darryl? I thought you said he would be here."

"He is at the cellphone lot. I decided be selfish, and enjoy some alone time with two of my most favorite women in the world."

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I called Darryl as we picked up their luggage from baggage claim. We were only waiting for a moment when he came rolling up in his Range Rover. As soon as he got out to meet the girls and help with their luggage, Destiny almost fainted, grabbing my arm to steady herself. "Holy crap Joe! He is freaking hot!"

With a big smile, he approached with an outstretched hand. "Hello, so nice to meet you. I am Darryl."

"So nice to meet you too. I am Destiny," as she shook his hand gazing up at him. And kept shaking his hand.

"Ok guys, lets load up and head out."

"Sure, load out head up," from an absent-minded Darryl, still shaking her hand.

Dawn wrapped her arm around me, leaning her head against me. "You think we are witnessing love at first sight?" she giggled.

"Yeah, I think we are," as I kissed her again.

"COME ON! GET MOVING! CAN'T STAY HERE!" shouted an airport police officer. This finally brought them out of their trance and Darryl and I quickly loaded their luggage. Destiny practically pushed me out of the way in her mad rush to sit in the front passenger seat to be nearer to Darryl. I laughed to myself as I thought, that was how we planned seating anyway.

"Where are we going for dinner?" Dawn asked.

"Very close by there is a steakhouse that we have reservations for."

"If you have reservations about taking us there, then why are we going?"

We all laughed at the dumb old joke. I said to no one in particular, "Great! out of all of the out of work comedians out there, my girlfriend has to tell jokes too."

"Hey! I have a job, you turkey!" as she giggled and playfully poked me in the side.

"Gobble, gobble."

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"A toast!" I announced to the table as I raised my glass. Beer for the guys, wine for the ladies. "To Dawn! Congratulations for graduating at the top of your class! I am so proud of you!" as we shared a kiss.

"Thank you everyone," she bashfully replied.

Just then, our waiter arrived. "Yes ma'am, congratulations indeed. May I ask what exactly are we congratulating you for?"

"She just graduated top of her class in culinary school back home in New Orleans." boasted a proud Destiny.

"Outstanding ma'am! Congratulations indeed! Now, does anyone want any appetizers to start out with?"

Dawn smiled, "Thank you, and most definitely. I would think you could hear my stomach rumbling all the way back in the kitchen"

Each time the waiter came back, he asked more questions about school. What is her specialty? Cakes, pies, and pastries. Is she looking for a job? Yes. How long was the school? 2 years. What kind of restaurant does she want to work at? Unknown at this time.

I was getting a little jealous and defensive about all the attention he was giving my girl. Did he seriously have the guts to be hitting or her right in front of me? I mean, it was pretty obvious that two of us were together. I was about to tell him to back off with the increasingly personal questions when....

"Wait," I asked him, "What did you just say?"

"Sir, my boyfriend is opening a new restaurant in one of those newer towers on the river, and he is looking for help."

And I was about to tell him to back off.

"Its too bad you live so far away. I am sure he would like to talk to you."

"I think I saw a sign in a window on the ground floor of my building, Manatee Glenn." The name doesn't make any sense, I swear developers pull two random names out of a hat and thats the name.

"Yes sir. That is the one," reaching into his apron, he pulled out a business card and handed it to me and walked away. I promptly put the card in my jacket pocket without even looking.

"You should go talk to him!" Destiny said excitedly.

"But I just got out of school!" Dawn protested.

"Perfect timing!" from Darryl.

"Its not even open yet. I live so far away! How good is the place? Is the owner friendly? Do they have quality equipment? Is he going to like me? What if he doesn't like my work?" She was in a panic, talking a mile a minute.

"Shhh, sweetie," I calmly said as I squeezed her hand looking directly at her with a reassuring smile, "Destiny said that you are a damn good chef and I believe her. You don't know until you go talk to him."

"But..."

"But nothing," I insisted. "I have his card. You can call him in the morning and see if you can get an interview. "

"But..." she tried again, weaker than before.

"Honey, this is meant to be. We met on the thinnest of threads. We got this waiters table, toasted at exactly the right time. I even live upstairs from the place!"

"Please!" begged Destiny.

She looked me, then at Destiny, then at Darryl. Then turning back to me, and asking in a very timid, small voice, "Are you ready for a roomie?"

"No," was my reply.

The hurt look on her face almost made me want to cry. I never wanted her to have that pained look ever again.

I dug a small box out of my pocket as I slid out off of our bench seat. Going to one knee, and opening the box in her direction, "I am ready for a wife. Will you marry me?"

Those gorgeous green eyes got so big, they nearly came out of their sockets in surprise. Her mouth gaped open in shock, as if she couldn't find the word she was looking for. She was frozen in time. Destiny and Darryl looked back and forth between myself and Dawn as if witnessing a tennis match.

Finally, after finding the right word, she screamed out "YES!" and came lunging in my direction. I was in the process of standing and was off balance as she tackled me. Falling over backwards, I pulled her on top of me to cushion her fall. So reminiscent of Destiny falling on me in the plane.

"Yes! yes! yes! yes!" she happily exclaimed planting a kiss on my lips with each yes.

The restaurant burst into a light round of applause before returning to their meals.

Dawn came to her senses, rolled off me, and sat up, "Omg! I am so sorry! Are you ok?"

"Never better my love," I smiled. "Never better."

"Allrighty then," from our waiter, "once again, congratulations are in order! Did anyone save any room for dessert?"

"I did!" Dawn exclaimed as I helped her up from the floor.

In between bites of her chocolate cake and ice cream, Dawn kept eyeballing her ring. "It's so beautiful, and it fits so perfectly! How did you get the size so perfect?"

I smiled at Destiny and she smiled back at me.

Dawn saw the look and her eyes got huge. "Oh my god! You knew!"

"I not only knew. I helped him pick it out. "

"Move," Dawn demanded of me as she pushed me off out of the booth.

"I love you so much!" as she happily hugged her friend.

"I love you too," Destiny smiled.

Back in the booth, as Dawn was finishing off her dessert, she asked Destiny, "How could you keep this from me?"

"Easy, Joe said that he had been practicing with a cup too."

A frustrated Darryl choked on his water, "Would someone please explain to me what practicing with a cup means!"

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In my condo, the four of us were relaxing in the living room, each with a glass of wine. Dawn was close by my side, and Darryl and Destiny were snuggling tightly too. Dawn, looking around said, "I can tell a woman has been here, but she has lousy taste."

"Thanks for the compliment," I flatly replied.

"Oh no honey! She has great taste in men, but she is a major dummy for losing you. What I meant was, that her decorating style has a lot to be desired."

Darryl started laughing. "Hey buddy, she has been your fiancé for an hour, and in your home for 10 minutes, and she already wants to redecorate!"