"Do these jeans make me look fat?"

Lulu turned awkwardly to study her backside in the full length mirror. Her best friend and partner in crime, Gita, rolled her eyes before responding, "No your mother's banana pudding makes you look fat."

The nervous woman proceeded to go through the motions of shedding the pants before her moves were hampered by her friend's involvement. Date number two was rapidly approaching; as in less than two hours away, rapidly approaching. Lulu's mouth was dry, her palms were sweating, and her pudgy little stomach was threatening a malicious revolt against her jeans.

"Lu stop it," Gita shifted on the bed, cradling her ever expanding belly, as she waddled quickly to her friend's side, "You're gorgeous and all that sugar is going straight to your hips."

"Exactly," Lulu moved again to release herself from the jeans until a firm whack caused her to shriek, "What the hell G?"

"Your ass is now smackable," Gita pointed her finger in Lulu's face, "Change those jeans and risk four more years of celibacy."

It was Lulu's turn to roll her eyes, Gita was happily married to her high school sweetheart, expecting her second child at any moment, and she was breathtakingly beautiful. She meditated on the words of her friend, secured the tab of her jeans, and slid the zipper upwards. She couldn't breathe, but she had to admit, her hips and legs looked good, damn good, in the stretchy dark denim.

"You promised you wouldn't pull the celibacy card."

Gita shrugged before she shifted her body into a half moon pose right there in the middle of Lulu's bedroom, "I lied...you know I'm a compulsive liar...I took your Play - Doh in first grade and lied about it with a precious, cherubic smile on my face."

Lulu shook her head as she stared in awe at the eight month plus, pregnant woman, flaunting her flexibility, "He doesn't even have a real job."

Gita returned to a standing position and crossed her arms over her expanded middle, "And you haven't had a real date, since...wait... oh we can't count the IT guy, it's been a while Lu."

Lulu retrieved the thin, chest hugging tee from her bed and slipped over her head. She shoved her feet into the new, still reeking of Journeys, purple Pumas, and took one last look at herself in the mirror. She noticed Gita staring at her like a proud momma and she issued a whole hearted request.

"Please don't smack my ass again."

Gita beamed, "I was leaning towards pinching a nipple this time."

~`~

"The chick from the restaurant?"

Dennison ignored the squawky voice of his friend Raul as he checked his fly for the umpteenth time.

"Her name is Lulu."

Raul rattled off a few choice phrases in Spanish and Dennison gleaned crazy, woman, and what he thought was a reference to some primo herb from the man's ravings.

"Dude, you're a substitute teacher..."

He quickly interrupted his friend before he could finish, "Was a substitute teacher, I am now a Supply Chain Analyst."

Raul face fell flat, "For your Pop's business, what the hell would she want with you?"

"I thought you were my friend?"

Dennison was quickly growing agitated with Raul's intercession. Sure it had started under the guise of concerned friendship and now it was slowly making him feel like a worthless piece of shit.

"I am your friend," Raul stood from the black leather sofa, "I just don't want to see you sniffing around some snobby ass chick that has no intentions of even giving up..."

"Everything is not about sex Raul."

A sheer look of confusion graced Raul's features. He was dumb, still thought he was young, and wished he could find a senorita who was ready, willing, and able.

"Its sacrilegious to even utter that sentence Den," Raul shook his head, "Next thing I know, you'll be skipping your overgrown ass down the aisle in a penguin suit."

~`~

When Dennison sent his address by way of a jumbled series of text messages, Lulu did a double take at the screen of her phone. His conversation and gentlemanly behavior post her emotional outburst during their date had been the first clue of his upbringing, however his choice of residence said a lot about him.

Mr. Dennison Lord had not always been a substitute gym teacher.

He lived in the heart of the Village, right in the midst of the hustle and bustle of NYU, and in close proximity to her favorite restaurant to grab a grilled eggplant sandwich.

She was sure the building was a Co-Op, with its landscaped courtyard and recently renovated exterior, geared to attract, younger, hipper, buyers. It was cuter than her building in Chelsea and she wasn't sure she knew how she felt about that. She gave the hem of her shirt a tug before she pressed the buzzer to announce her arrival.

Lulu could hear the clatter that ended with a resounding thud on the other end of the intercom. A breathless, "Yeah," came a few seconds later.

"Hey, it's me," She kicked herself and bemoaned internally, how could he know who me was?

"Hey Lulu," Well obviously he did, "I'll buzz you in."

She heard the door click and she grabbed the handle and entered the building. The interior lobby was even more charming and she felt herself subscribing to apartment envy.

She decided to take the stairs for the two flight sojourn. She fluffed her hair as she climbed each level. She lined her lips with gloss before she exited the stairwell and into the hall. A brief rush of excitement tore through her, and Lulu calmed her nerves, with deep relaxing breaths. She could hear Gita voice and her mother's well meaning chastisements as she raised her hand to knock on Dennison's door.

Her hand had barely connected with the wood, when the door opened, and Dennison was revealed in all his vertically blessed glory. She was way under dressed. Her mouth parted, but no sound was emitted as she took in the tailored oxford shirt, flattering cut of pants, and the loafers on a very large pair of feet.

They both laughed nervously as they studied one another.

There Lulu stood in skin tight jeans and an equally form fitting tee, and Pumas. Casual shoes, she didn't know the meaning of the word. She had changed, conformed, compromised, for the sake of Dennison and his dimples.

She raised her hands above her head, "Surprise."

Dennison quickly countered, "I'll change."

Lulu slipped into his apartment, unprepared for the second shock of the evening. Her building envy morphed into deeper jealousy, when her feet met, professionally stained hardwood floors. She stood mesmerized at the openness of the space.

Dark leather seating encompassed the living area, along with sleek glass tables, and

conservative, yet modern plasma television hanging on the wall. Two stools and high bar table rested on the edge of the cook's kitchen.

"Your place is gorgeous."

A deep tenor responded with a, "Thanks," from behind the shelves that hid half of his sleeping alcove.

She resisted the urge to follow the sound of his voice and the grunts that filled the air as he shed the constricting clothing for more relaxing fare. Instead she opted to study the books on the shelf and if she caught a glimpse of bare skin, then it could honestly be construed as an accident.

Her fingers lingered on the volumes of poetry offered from Pablo Neruda, Frederico Garcia Lorca, Dylan Thomas, Edgar Allan Poe, and Nikki Giovanni.

Yes, Dennison Lord, was definitely more than the average, substitute teacher.

Lulu's heart skipped a beat when she found her favorite E.E. Cummings on the same row. She quickly opened the book and flipped through the pages. She didn't hear him when he joined her, "If you tell me, you're one of those converts to Cummings after seeing that wretched chick flick..."

She shook her head, biting down on her lip, when her fingers landed on her favorite piece. She didn't say another word to argue her case; she just began to read the lines aloud.

"I like my body when it is with your body."

It was deeper and maybe a bit too sensual to read to a virtual stranger, but it was still her favorite. Plus she had to avoid the true answer to his earlier question like comment; yes she was a Cummings convert who greedily devoured every bit of his poetry after seeing said chick flick with Cameron Diaz and Toni Collette.

"I like your body...I like what it does...I like its hows..."

Dennison was hanging on every word she spoke, careful not to disturb the mood, but silently engrossed in her recitation of the literary classic.

"I like to feel the spine of your body and its bones..."

His body was closer now; height towering over her, enclosing her in a shadow of warmth.

"I like kissing this and that of you..."

He removed the book from her hands and closed it firmly. She stared up at him through mischievous eyes, "I was reading that."

Dennison shook his head, "No, you owe me a date," He returned the book its proper place, "First you try and kill me with a plate and a knife...next..."

The remainder of his sentence was left unspoken but Lulu was sure it fell in line with the obvious shift and wiggle he did with his leg, to hide the slight bulge in his pants. Was it too soon to count four years of abstinence a thing of the past...maybe.