In a Room Full of People

Once Taylor had the towel around her I left the bathroom and fussed around in my bedroom for a while until she came through. She looked at the bed and then at me, that smile still hovering even when I pointed to the bed. She dropped the towel on the floor and looked at me, while her hands traveled to her hips and stayed there.

"Before the race I told you to your face that I had shown you mine, and that you would show me yours after. It's now after."

Shuffling from side to side while trying to hide my growing erection sure wasn't easy. Taylor did that rolling of the eyes thing before her hand went to the waistband of my jeans.

"OK; I've had enough. Move again and I'm calling Marta to come help me get you undressed. I'm a patient girl, Mitchell Cromwell, and I've cut you plenty of slack; not to mention the number of hints I've been throwing at you these last few months that you seem to have been avoiding with that cute smile of yours, but I've had enough."

When the jeans went down she made sure she had my boxers go down at the same time, pausing only long enough to get the waistband of my boxers over my cock. The look she gave me when she reached for my t-shirt gave new meaning to 'resistance is futile.' Her foot went on top of the crumpled mess of my jeans, now around my ankles, and she told me to step out of them.

Mustering what little in the way of defense I could find, I started to protest. One hand covered my mouth, and the other wrapped itself around my cock and held me in a grip that said she was waiting for a positive response to her request to disrobe.

"You're a good man, Mitchell Cromwell, and I have loved our last eight months together more than I ever thought I would. But enough is enough! You have a naked black girl in front of you, Mr. Cromwell, and I'm out of hints."

Yep, Taylor Dennison could sure be bossy when she had a mind to, and it seems I had driven her there first class. My t-shirt came off and joined my pants on the floor; one foot came out and the second joined it a moment later. She smiled, gave my hard-on its own handshake before releasing it, and just as quickly wrapped her arms around my neck and kissed me.

Our lips parted and both tongues kept each other company as her pelvis swayed from side to side, rubbing my hard-on over the top of her pubic bone. When we broke our kiss Taylor's head moved back so we could focus, her pelvis continuing to move lazily from side to side.

"I've lived with you for eight months, Mitch. I've seen all your good and bad habits, and I'm still here. You've seen and heard everything there is to know about me, either from me or my friends; I've seen to that. It's time to turn the page, honey."

Taylor then kissed the tip of my nose to make her point. Her arms came away from my neck and she moved onto my bed, making herself real comfortable on the towels. The next hour was somewhat surreal as I massaged every inch of her body. I had massaged all three of my college girlfriends over the course of those relationships, and even did more homework about it when Taylor decided on the half-marathon, yet no amount of homework would allow me to detach my carnal thoughts this time around.

I was as hard as steel with my hands on the most stunning person this side of my wet dreams; every time I pressed down on a tight muscle a gentle moan would escape her lips. When I was within range of either of her hands it would wrap itself around my erection, and move gently up and down my shaft. When I wasn't, she would run her fingertips over whatever part of my body her hand could find.

My hands had traveled over her fantastic ass several times, Taylor's instinctive clenching causing dimples to appear either side before she relaxed and sighed into the pillow. That evening Taylor was just being Taylor; it had taken me all of those eight months to figure that out. Mom was right all along: for a guy with a high IQ, it didn't serve me too well sometimes.

The tight muscles in her body were all but gone, the sighs and her musk starting to increase. That short-circuit thing in my head made another appearance when I instinctively threw my own leg over Taylor's legs so that I could be in a better position to get to the base of her spine. My cock of course now rested in the crack of her ass and we both paused, although I'm almost sure it wasn't for the same reason.

Her head came up from the pillow she was chewing on and looked directly at me. Her stare was so intense I felt frozen in position. Taylor's ass wiggled, and I swung my leg away so I was now kneeling to one side of her. That ass of hers came away from the bed and lifted up and her legs parted, more of her scent assaulting both our senses. Taylor wriggled her ass one last time before she spoke.

"It's time, Mitch. No fancy words, honey, it's time."

Taylor's hand came out from under the pillow and opened to reveal a condom.

"I promised Marta you don't get in here tonight without a coat on. But I didn't say anything about the other million and a half times."

*******

She once again shifted her position so she rested on her side, my cock less than a foot from her when she handed me the condom. As I opened the packet she again took me in hand and started working it up and down.

"Want to put this on for me?"

She smiled and her eyes lit up, but she shook her head and moved so that she was on her back. "No thanks, honey. You look like you know what you're doing, so I'm fine just watching."

One hand went to her sex, and her middle finger gently stroked her clit. The condom was out of the wrapper, but the guy and multi-tasking thing got involved after that so I just watched her. I'm almost sure my tongue wasn't hanging out, but I wouldn't like to bet the farm on it.

"Like to watch, huh? I must admit to a certain amount of excitement that you are, but I'm being more practical than horny. This hasn't seen any action other than my vibrator for close to a year now, and I'm worried that what you're packing is going to hurt on the way in."

My eyes locked on hers. "A year?"

She nodded her head.

"Something I didn't tell anyone. When I got you hands-off status I thought it only fair that the same applied to me. I'm on my second plastic boyfriend, and I don't even want to guess how much the batteries have cost over this last year."

Her head nudged towards my hands and back to me before that wicked smile broke out again.

"I never thought I would hear myself say this, but... could you PLEASE hurry up."

Now broken out of my reverie, the condom went on in double-quick time. Her left leg went down and both her hands went to her pussy, pulling her lips apart, and I must admit that I paused once again. The contrasting colors of her coffee-colored hands and pink inner lips; the way her thumb would still tease her hood while a finger on the other hand gently delved between the folds of her pussy lips; they all conspired to shut down my brain yet again.

Suddenly her hands stopped, but my eyes stayed rooted to her treasure.

"You're drooling."

"What do you expect? I'm human. Dammit, Taylor, you are one heck of a woman - with or without your clothes on."

Her finger slid deep within her and came out glistening. I watched spellbound as that same finger touched my lips. My mouth opened and her finger ran the full length of my tongue. I tasted her for the first time, and I just knew.

Taylor Dennison felt it and so did I; she could see it all over my face. The phone calls over summer break and living together for the whole of this semester faded to nothing as we found ourselves caught up in this magic moment. Tasting her was simply the icing on the most amazing cake imaginable.

She motioned that she wanted her finger back, and my lips reluctantly parted. Her finger slid out so that her whole hand could rest on my burning cheek.

"Does this mean I'm going to have to spend my time fending you off from now on?"

I croaked a "Yes" in reply. The heat from my face got worse just then, both from embarrassment that "yes" was all I could manage, and a realization that I wanted so much to be a part of Taylor Dennison's life and have her in mine.

For so many years I'd heard the comment that women glow. The romance and bodice-ripper books that Marta seemed have a vast collection of all mention it, and on that Saturday evening I finally saw it for myself, watching with awe as Taylor was lit up by something inside.

Her other hand came to my other cheek and brought me back to reality. She looked concerned, but seemed afraid to ask, so my mind sought out ways to lighten her spirits. I had seen her fear still hovering in the background, and didn't want her to retreat into it.

"Will you marry me?"

Shocked only for a second, she smiled and pulled my face to her lips so we could kiss. Her glow still seemed to linger, helped no doubt by the smile she had.

"Honey, you haven't even given these goods a test drive yet! What happens if I'm not going to be that great piece of ass you think I am?"

I reached outside my comfort zone to answer her.

"Then, Miss Dennison, I will make it my life's work to gather all the information I can on the subject, and give you tests every single night."

When she laughed her voice almost sang. Her head went back, exposing her neck and pulling her tits into view once again. Her nipples were even harder than the Band-Aid incident. My head moved downwards and her hand followed as my mouth devoured her breast. She gasped as my tongue ran over her right nipple, causing her hands to move behind my head and rest on my neck.

Not to leave her other tit unloved, I changed over and did the same to her left, listening as she sighed when my tongue once again played with her nipple. I pulled my body up an inch and my cock bumped up against her pussy lips.

When Taylor thought I was in the right position, one of her hands came away from my neck and held my hard-on as I moved between her legs. Her left leg skipped over me and planted itself between mine to stop me moving for a moment.

When I looked to see what she was doing and then turned back to her she had the most amazing smile I had ever seen. Both her arms went back around my neck.

"Now, Mr. Cromwell, the laws of physics state you're not going to last all that long, so let's use this moment to test my pussy before the pounding you're going to give it later."

"Why, Miss Dennison, you say the most romantic things at just the right time."

The kiss came first, her reply making us both giggle.

"What can I say? If you have it, why not flaunt it?"

I nodded my head. "Oh, you're doing that just fine."

The giggle that followed came to an abrupt stop when my cock again nudged her pussy lips. Taylor moved her leg out of the way, and for just a second she stared long and hard into my eyes before nodding her head.

Her pussy was a furnace, and in total I stopped only once on the way in. Her thighs tightening around my hips gave me a not-so-subtle hint that she wanted me too; the lip-lock we were into at that moment may have had given her some more encouragement. Finally, with a satisfied grin and her legs locking me into place, her arms went around my neck and the cutest smile came to her.

"It's taken just over a year to get you here, but welcome home."

We made love that evening and, as tired as she must have been, she was just as insatiable as I was. I heard the birds outside starting their pre-dawn song as Taylor finally placed her shoulder under my right arm and her head on my chest with a small sigh and what little of her energy she had left. Her vocal exhortations were replaced by the sound of steady breathing, and I drifted off knowing she was now asleep.

*******

I woke before Taylor; it seemed she was a light sleeper, because she woke as soon as I tried to move. This time the kiss on the end of the nose was mine. I could hear Taylor in my bathroom while I put the coffee on. When she came out I went in, with her slapping my ass when we passed. I threatened her with sexual harassment, and she laughed before telling me she would see me in court.

By the middle of breakfast I noticed a change in Taylor. By the time she was finished and had her hands around her coffee cup she was borderline panicking.

"Any regrets?"

I flew out of my seat and was pulling her from hers by the time her tears had started. My God! Just how fragile was this woman, I kept asking myself, as the onrush of emotions sent wave after wave of tears to soak my t-shirt. My thought was to pull her back to my room, but thankfully my big brain screamed 'NO.' I guided her to the couch instead, wrapped a blanket over both of us, and held her tightly to me, occasionally kissing the top of her head when I could.

Neither of us watched the time, but we both heard the church bells in the background, the morning breeze causing the sound to travel over to the outskirts of the college grounds as I held the frightened child that was Taylor Dennison in my arms. As the bells tolled their last I spoke, smiling for just a second when she jumped, startled by my voice.

"In a room full of people, why do I feel so alone?"

The question that started all this. I closed my eyes and read from memory the near-on essay I sent Taylor in reply. I had unashamedly plagiarized three separate poets who citied loneliness as a theme. Hell, even Shakespeare got a mention, with scenes from 'Hamlet' and 'Romeo and Juliet' to balance my reply as I answered her question that fateful night. By the time I got to the last two paragraphs of my answer to her question, Taylor was matching me word for word.

I had said enough. It was obvious that she needed to rest, but to move felt like it would damage any progress I had made with her, so all I did was lay back on the couch and let Taylor move to fill in the empty space. She ended up beside me, still clinging to me and the blanket.

"Yes, I will, but not until after we both finish college and get good jobs. I can live with you knowing that marriage is on the table, but I'm still an old-fashioned girl at heart so you're going to have to ask my folks."

I was still absorbing her last statement when her head suddenly came up to let her look at me.

"Oh, and I intend to finish here with a full marathon under my belt as well, so please plan accordingly."

The old Taylor was back: that was for sure. I held her and refused to let go until she said she needed the bathroom, assuming the same position when she was done. Over the day we talked. As usual, no topic was off the table, and I'm almost sure we covered nearly everything under the sun. As darkness fell Taylor moved to lie on top of me, her smile being one with a hint of mischief, and yet something in her manner made me wonder if she had changed her mind.

"Thank you."

Confused, I asked the only question I could think of. "What for?"

She wasn't about to back down, and I was truly proud of her.

"For saving me. It sneaks up on me from time to time. But you knew that, didn't you?"

To answer her question, I started by telling her about a slip of paper sitting on the dining room table that only had a phone number on it, then the tentative conversations that lasted longer when I stopped asking why. Then the sound of her laughter that would always give me a warm feeling when we talked on the phone over summer break and she was making fun of herself, me or anyone else who amused her and, of course, onto the last eight months of living with her.

Monday night football, college track and field events, and months of training alongside her when she decided she wanted to do the half-marathon. Those hours spent giving Taylor home-made mock exams on her weakest subjects, and watching her puff out her chest when her own course work came back from her teachers with B+ or A on the paperwork.

Even the memories of her first few visits to her new therapist, and the hours of conversations we had when she came back. I'm a guy, and honest enough to admit that women are and would always be a mystery to me, but I could always see the cry for help in Taylor Dennison's eyes. It was that look as she asked her one question that caused me to leap from my chair, and the silent promise to this stunning woman that, when it was within my power to do so, I would always be by her side.

*******

Taylor was going home for summer break, so her dad came to pick her up two days after the end of school. I watched them leave and went back to the apartment. I still had a few days before I left and, with a now almost empty college, I got a lot of things done. My bag was packed was ready and sat by the door. I spent time with Marta in the afternoons; we had lunch a couple of times, and yet I felt a little lonely when I walked into the apartment. I had spent months with a sidekick attached to my hip, and I missed her.

Mom, of course, was mom. She spotted my mood, and dad was immediately invited to spend time working on whatever project he had going on in the basement. Wow! My mom couldn't make that man any happier, although the interrogation started as soon as he was out of earshot.

I stopped her before she drew breath, feeling that it would be much easier if I set the pace, rather than keep answering the questions where she expected detailed answers. So I told her everything. Mom was pleased that Taylor's grades were up, but she also figured out real quick that we had slept together. I tempered that with telling her about Taylor's almost headlong leap into a depressive moment she had, and what I did to turn it around.

Her look of great sadness at the news cleared as she heard how I had coped, but she still got up from the kitchen table, came round and gave me a hug. She also used the moment to make us all a coffee. She could sense I needed a moment, so fussed down in the basement with dad while he drank his, bringing his used cup back ten minutes later. To mom and me the topic was over, for the moment at least. Making my excuses, I went to visit friends and didn't get back until late evening.

Since I knew my room I didn't bother with lights, so just stripped and sat on the edge of my bed while my mind played out the events of these last few days. The hand that rested on my shoulder scared the crap out of me and I jumped to my feet.

"Scared yah, huh?"

"Dammit, Taylor, are you trying to give me a heart attack?"

Her giggle pierced the emotional moment as she switched on the bedside lamp. Then I had one of those guy moments when I asked her why she was in my bed. All that got me was Taylor pulling the sheet back and inviting me in. She had been here for a while; she sure was warm.

"When dad took me home, mom took one look at me and knew. We sat down and talked over the next couple of days."

Her eyes found mine watching her, and they had an intensity that I had only ever seen when I set her mock exams. "She told me that she was so pleased I hadn't fully unpacked yet. She phoned your mom and they went into conference mode. She still wanted your side of this drama we are playing out, but it was agreed I would come late today for half the break and you're with my folks for the other half. I missed you by an hour, but told your mom to leave you to have fun with your friends."

My thoughts wandered to my lips when I asked Taylor "Does it feel like our folks are interfering with our lives?"

Her answer was so quick that I felt I wasn't the only one thinking about it.

"I don't think so. The feeling from my folks is that they are bystanders. Temper that statement with recognizing that they are BOTH our folks and, as parents, don't want either of us to get hurt, and I figure you have an idea how they are at the moment."

My hands went around her body. She shuddered and remarked on how cold they were before our lips touched and she shut up. It was clear to see the reason why she left me alone; now she got to have her fun.