Rachael's Year

"Thank you again for the excellent company, Rachael. It means a lot to me. You are a cool kid."

"Well thank you for the coffee and the company too," Rachael replied, standing in front of her closed driver side door.

"Give me a hug!" Ronnie said, extending his massive arms. He reached down and grabbed her, taking her by surprise. Rachael stood and chuckled as he gave her a quick hug.

"We should do this again, don't you think? Also, please consider going to that Halloween party. You should go as Supergirl."

"Supergirl?"

"Yeah. You're a girl and I think you're super!"

"Ha! I don't know about that. Maybe I will."

"Oh alright. See you Sunday!" Ronnie called out to her as he hopped into his truck.

Rachael waved and smiled as he drove off. She thought about the quick embrace and smiled all the way home.

Chapter 4

"So are you going or not?" Carley, Rachael's friend asked as they walked to their next class together. She was 5'8", long blonde hair, and Rachael felt she was far prettier than her. Carley was friends with everyone. Rachael's mother once told her not to be too friendly with Carley because as soon as they would enter high school, Carley would be hanging around the more popular kids. This turned out to not be the case at all. Carley had always been very sweet to everyone she meets.

"I don't know, I wasn't invited and you'd be the only person there that I'm friends with," Rachael said.

"Well, yeah, I guess, but you can come with me. It's not like you'll get throw out of her house if you show up." Carley was referring to Zoe, the 18 year old classmate whose house the party was at. Rachael disliked her and tried to avoid her, but she kept thinking about Ronnie and his suggestion that she go. She wanted to go only to avoid making him frown. "Aww you should've gone. I think it would've been a fun time for you," she imagined him saying to her.

"Ok fine! But please stay close to me; I'm not fond of Zoe." Rachael whispered to her friend as they arrived at their class and sat next to each other.

"I will, I promise. It'll be fun. I'm going as a cowgirl. What about you?"

"Supergirl."

"Oh that'll be cute! You have the hair for it, and well, it looks like you are getting some muscles too," Carley poked Rachael's shoulder. "Just don't overdo it at the gym. You wouldn't want to look like some chick on steroids or something."

Rachael shrugged and rolled her eyes. She thought of Ronnie and wondered if some people thought that about him. She certainly didn't. As the teacher entered the class her mind went wandering. She pictured herself as Supergirl. She was in costume at the gym with Ronnie twirling a 50 pound dumbbell around the tip of her finger like it was a basketball, or throwing an iron plate around like it was a Frisbee. She imagined herself making Ronnie laugh as she lifted 300 pound barbells above her head, one in each hand. Then she imagined Valerie busting through a wall and punching her through the wall on the other side of the building. She would fly back in and punch Valerie sending her soaring across the parking lot crashing into a car. In her fantasy she would go to Ronnie and pick him up and fly off, carrying him in her arms high above the ground, laughing with him. She would land on the top of the tallest building, gently setting Ronnie down in front of her. He would trace his big index finger across her cheek and say her name.

"Rachael," he would say as she looked up at him, "Rachael. Rachael!" Ronnie's voice changed to her teacher's.

"Looks like someone is in La La Land," her teacher said, causing much laughter in the class room. As her teacher continued calling the roll, someone threw a piece of paper at Rachael, hitting her in the back of the head. It was probably David - one of the jerks in the popular crowd. Rachael glanced at Carley who was turned around glaring in David's direction behind them. Rachael sighed and paid attention for the rest of the class.

That Sunday Rachael met Ronnie at the gym as usual. When she arrived he was talking to and laughing with Valerie and the girl that works at the front desk. When she entered Ronnie turned to her, smiling, and held out his hand for a high five. Rachael shyly gave him one then quickly glanced up at the Amazonian-like woman Valerie. Sweat was running down her abs in little rivers.

"Ok I'm hitting the showers. Talk to ya'll later." Valerie said as she left the group.

"See ya," Ronnie said as he turned to Rachael. "Ready?"

It was a great session that afternoon. Ronnie really pushed her hard. She would certainly be sore tomorrow and she loved it. What happened after the workout was even better. Ronnie invited her to grab a smoothie with him. They sat and talked for an hour.

"You have my number right?" Ronnie asked.

"No I don't think I do."

"Here let me give it to you, so you can let me know how the Halloween party went. Right?"

"Sure, I guess," Rachael replied. She was trembling with excitement as she entered his number into her phone. She couldn't believe she had his number now.

"Now, you call me when you leave there and let me know how it goes. Try to stay as long as you can, but if people are being mean to you, just leave. They aren't worth your time. Do you understand?"

Rachael smiled weakly and nodded.

"Good, now give me a hug."

Rachael leaned into him and closed her eyes as he wrapped his huge arms around her for a brief hug. "I give it a C-. You didn't hug me back, you just stood there!"

"Oh. Sorry, I-"

Ronnie laughed, patting her on her shoulder. "It's ok! I'll see you Tuesday alright?"

"See ya," Rachael said, watching him leave. She thought about improving her hugs all the way home, hoping she would get a chance to try it again soon.

That chance came next week. After their Tuesday session, Rachael quickly wrapped her arms around Ronnie's waist as they were leaving, catching him off guard. She pulled away embarrassed. He laughed and thanked her for the awkward hug. Thursday was much better. It was more mutual and enjoyable, although generic.

"Remember call me after your party tomorrow night ok?" Ronnie reminded her. "I want to hear how it was. I'm proud of you for stepping out of your comfort zone and attending it."

Rachael nodded, "I will."

Chapter 5

Rachael's mother, Nikki, stood at her bedroom door looking at her daughter with her Supergirl costume on. It was a short red skirt, a short blue halter top that exposed most of her toned abdomen and had the Superman logo on the chest. There were tall, knee-high red boots and the costume was finished off with a red cape that came down to her knees.

"Well don't you look...interesting," Nikki said.

"Thanks," Rachael replied. She heard Carley's horn from the driveway. "Gotta go," she said, brushing past her mom.

Rachael followed Carley, opting not to ride with her in case she wanted to leave before her. As Rachael entered the house she reminded Carley to stay close to her. "I will, I will, just relax ok?" Carley reassured her.

Zoe's house was full of people. Seniors and juniors from their school were in attendance along with some older people that had graduated one and two years ahead of Rachael. She felt uneasy. It was even worse as she could hear the occasional "why is she here?" or "who invited her?" Zoe, thankfully, completely ignored her. That jerk David was there too, but he also ignored her. Rachael saw no parents.

Rachael sat next to Carley on the couch. An older guy, probably 21 or so, was hitting on Carley - three years his junior. He, like most people there, had a beer in his hand. Rachael wanted to leave but tried to stay as long as she could.

After a few minutes of sitting, looking around the room while Carley talked with the guy next to her, Rachael noticed a line had formed in front of a closet door. She counted about 10 guys standing, waiting for something. Then the closet door opened and a guy she didn't know, probably older than her, walked out and zipped up his pants. Zoe was in the closet, on her knees in her nurse's costume, wiping something from her mouth. The stranger left and David, who was next in line, looked down at Zoe.

"Give me that fucking cock," Rachael barely heard Zoe command through the loud music. She watched David enter the closest and close the door behind him.

"Ok, so, yeah..." she thought to herself, figuring out what was going on in that closet. Meanwhile, a guy named Trevor sat next to her on the couch. He hadn't been drinking. He was a fairly nice kid at school, never mean, but never really spoke to her.

"Nice costume," Trevor said.

"Oh, thanks."

They sat in an awkward silence for a few moments until Trevor broke it. He asked her about college and some other random things. That chatted for a few minutes, Rachael wasn't really paying attention. Then she noticed Carley was no longer sitting next to her.

"I'll be back, I have to go find Carley," she said, getting up to walk around the house. She ducked and weaved past various people on her way down the hall. She peeped in the rooms but never saw Carley. There was a final room at the end of the hall whose door was closed. Rachael slowly approached and went to open it to peep in when she heard a loud moan. She rested her ear on the door and she heard it again followed by a loud "yes!" It was Carley's voice she heard. She realized what was going on in that room and bolted out the house. She ran to her car and left. She was so angry at her, but shrugged it off, realizing she was more excited because she could call Ronnie now.

"Hey! Did you leave the party early?" Ronnie said on the phone to Rachael while she sat at a stop light.

"Yeah, it was, well, no good."

"Oh no! Are you ok?"

"I am. At least I went. So I guess that counts for something, right?"

"Of course it does! What are you doing now?" Ronnie asked.

"Nothing. Heading home."

"No, you can't do that! Would you want come over and hang out here? I mean, you don't have to, I don't want you to get in trouble."

"Yes! I mean, sure. I'd like to."

"Great! Maybe we can watch TV or something," Ronnie suggested, then gave Rachael directions. He didn't live far from the gym at all.

"Holy crap, look at you girl!" Ronnie exclaimed , opening his apartment door to see Rachael in her Supergirl costume. "You look awesome!"

Rachael blushed, thanking him. "Come in, come in!" Ronnie said. She couldn't help but smile at his constant, jovial, enthusiasm. She followed him into his small, one bedroom apartment. It smelled wonderful in there. She thought it smelled manly.

Ronnie offered her a chocolate-flavored protein shake. Rachael sipped it, while sitting on the couch next to him. He complimented her costume again and told her he was proud of her for staying at the party a little while. They started watching TV while chatting casually about the events of the evening. Rachael didn't mention the closet cocksucker or what she thought Carley was doing in that back bedroom. She simply told Ronnie her friend didn't stick by her side. She finished her drink, setting it on the table next to the couch.

"Ronnie?" she spoke up.

"Yes ma'am?"

"I'm a little chilly."

"Aww well come here then." Ronnie raised his huge arm gesturing Rachael to snuggle close to him. She was a little taken back as she was expecting him to get her a blanket, but she certainly did not mind. She moved in close, leaning against him, resting her head on his stomach. His arm was resting on her hip. It was so heavy and warm. She felt peaceful and relaxed. She loved being there with him at his apartment. Within 30 minutes she was asleep.

"Wakey, wakey. It's after midnight, you should probably get home," Ronnie said, gently shaking her on the couch a few hours later. Rachael rose up and fixed her hair. She had been laying there for about two hours.

"Sorry, I must've dozed off."

"It's ok, Rachael. I saw a movie come on I wanted to watch but noticed you were asleep, so I didn't wake you."

Ronnie walked her to her car and bent down to hug her, resting his massive black hand on the exposed area of her back.

"Ok well drive safe and I'll see you Sunday at the gym, alright? Oh and, don't be mad at your friend. It sounds like she thought you would be talking to that guy from school so she went to hang out with the other guy. I'm sure she'll ask where you ran off to at school on Monday."

Rachael nodded and ended the embrace. She couldn't wait until Sunday. The horrible Halloween night ended on a good note. Ronnie was right too, Carley asked about her on Monday and apologized for taking off like that. Rachael never mentioned what she heard.

Chapter 6

November was a wonderful month up until Thanksgiving. Rachael and Ronnie continued their workout sessions and went out for either a coffee or a smoothie at least twice a week. They no longer high fived, every goodbye consisting of nice hug. Deep down Rachael felt Ronnie looked at her like a daughter figure. Granted he was black and she was white, the color of the skin didn't matter, just the connection. She was ok with that. She basked in any platonic attention she received from Ronnie. There were a couple Friday nights in November where she would hang out at his place. They would laugh and talk for hours. Perhaps she was the daughter he never had, she didn't know or care, she just knew she was happy spending time with him.

Rachael's mother took her out of school a few days before Thanksgiving break. They had a long drive to Florida to make. Rachael and her mother barely talked on the way. She mostly slept or listened to music on her headphones while her mom drove.

They first stopped and spent the night in Jacksonville at her Aunt Robin's house. That was an awkward experience. Her Aunt's boyfriend, Bob, kept flirting with her mother who shamelessly flirted back. She wondered if it bothered her Aunt Robin, but it didn't seem to, maybe they had a special relationship going on. Robin and Bob were both senior citizens, perhaps they were at the "don't give a fuck" stage in life. Who knows? She rolled her eyes when her mother gave Bob a quick kiss on the lips goodbye the next day after she hugged her older sister.

Their next stop was in Tampa to visit her other aunt, Joanne. She was going through some marital problems so that, too, was an awkward visit. To her surprise she was greeted by her much older cousin Denise when they arrived. She hadn't seen her since she was a little kid. The cousins hung out most of the time with Denise occasionally including her Aunt Nikki in the conversation.

The drive home was, again, long and boring. Rachael daydreamed about Ronnie most of the time and thought she would get him a simple Christmas present. She wasn't sure what, but perhaps she'd make him something. She liked to knit. She decided she would knit him a goofy looking hat. She envisioned him erupting in laughter and putting it on at his apartment.

Rachael was sitting on the couch knitting a funny looking stocking cap for Ronnie. It would have multicolored stripes and a big white puff ball on the end of it. She overheard her mother in the kitchen yell into the phone at her brother. "What?! Are you serious Ted?"

It sounded like her mother was angry; probably because Rachael's older brother, Ted, wouldn't be coming home over Christmas, for the third year in a row. "Ted...whatever...Ok, fine. Fine. I'll mail your present again I guess. No, don't worry about it. We'll deal with it. I love you too. Bye."

Rachael watched Nikki storm through the living room, then down the hallway, slamming her bedroom door. She rolled her eyes thinking about how she didn't want to spend Christmas alone with her mother again. Ronnie would be out of town visiting his brother in Miami for Christmas to New Year's. She would be so bored.

On December 22nd Rachael followed Ronnie to his apartment after their workout. She gave him his funny hat and as predicted, he erupted in laughter and put it on. Then he picked Rachael up in a bear hug, easily lifting her off the ground, twirling her around. He held her close and she wrapped her arms around his huge neck.

"Thank you so much, I will wear it to the gym next time!" Ronnie joked, setting her down, her arms sliding off his neck and shoulders.

"No you don't have to wear that in public, maybe just to bed if you like," Rachael countered.

"Ugh! Ok fine!" Ronnie replied, faking disappointment. They hung out for a few more hours, talking and sitting on the couch with Ronnie's arm around her. It was a great day; she would miss him for the next week or so.

Boredom was certainly the theme for Christmas and New Year's in Rachael's house. She and Nikki got along fine as they stayed out of each other's hair. Her mom went to Christmas and New Year's parties with some friends. Rachael went to the gym. It felt like how things were before she met Ronnie and she didn't like it. The only exciting thing she did was re-dye her hair blonde to take care of the brown roots that were showing.

The first week in January Ronnie was back and Rachael couldn't wait to see him. He texted her to let her know he would see her at the gym on Thursday. Rachael arrived early, passing Valerie in the hallway. For some reason Rachael nodded and smiled at her. She had never done that before, chalking it up to being excited. Valerie nodded back, the blonde bombshell walked past her.

That evening it was like two old friends hanging out. They did more laughing and talking than weight training, even continuing for an hour at the nearby coffee shop.

Rachael got an idea. She looked at the hulking man sitting next to her on the couch and thought about her mother. She smirked, thinking that perhaps Nikki would be jealous. To her knowledge her mom never hung out with studs like Ronnie. So Rachael gathered a little courage and asked Ronnie to come over for dinner tomorrow night.

"Well I don't know, are you sure your mom wouldn't mind?" Ronnie asked.

"She doesn't have to know. I usually cook my own food anyway, and she cooks hers. So I'll just cook enough for you and me. It's no big deal."

"Hmmm..."

"It'll be cool, trust me."

"Alright, alright. I'll come over at 7, how's that. Just for dinner. I don't want your mom getting nervous about her girl hanging around some black guy."

"Black guy? I don't think she would care." Rachael reassured Ronnie.

"Ok, well what about the age issue, she may think I have ulterior motives or I'm a perv." Ronnie countered.

Rachael shrugged. "I wouldn't worry about it; I don't see her kicking you out of the house or something. I'll tell her I have a friend coming over for dinner."

"Ok then, I will do it. Tomorrow, Seven o'clock."

Chapter 7

Rachael thought about how much had changed since she met Ronnie while she was cutting carrots the next night in the kitchen. She and Carley were still friends, but Rachael no longer clung to her. The douchebag, David, was still a douchebag, occasionally throwing paper at her in class or dishing out insults as they passed each other in the hall - but she didn't seem all that bothered by it. Rachael would even sit with Trevor and his friends at lunch. To top it all off, she was cooking dinner for her friend that night. Not a high school friend but a 43 year man - a black man. He was a muscle bound behemoth of a man and he was coming over for dinner with her, not her mom, but her. She hummed to herself while she continued cooking.

When Ronnie arrived he was wearing the stocking cap Rachael knitted for him as a Christmas present. They both laughed at his silliness. Dinner was wonderful and filled with laughter. Ronnie volunteered to help her clean the dishes and kitchen afterward. It was then that Nikki arrived home from a late night at work. The look on her face was priceless.