Teddy was already late for the meeting at his father’s house when the plane touched down in Philly.  He and Nikki walked off of the plane feeling rejuvenated, but they also felt strange too.

For Teddy, it was the first time he made love to somebody he had real feelings for.  Every single one of his other times had been all about sex and sex alone.  About getting him through the night.  But this time, sex, remarkable even to him, had little to do with it.

He looked over at Nikki as they walked to his Corvette.  This time, it was all about being with her.  Entering her.  Helping to get her through the night.  It was a feeling that excited Teddy.  But it alarmed him too because he didn’t know where their relationship was going.  Or even if he wanted it to go that far.

For Nikki, it was all about the odds.  Despite the fact that he came to L.A.; despite the fact that he helped get her out of the toughest spot she’d ever been in, the odds of their relationship going to that special place was still in that pipedream world for her.  Mainly because she’d never had a relationship that went there.  But, also, because she wasn’t all that certain if going there with a straight-up gangster like Teddy Sinatra was a smart life plan.

And the way he was always staring at her unnerved her too.  What was he looking at that had him so captivated?  Was it positive, or negative?  Was he saying to himself what so many others had told her out loud: if you lost a little weight, you’d be gorgeous?  If that was how he saw her, they had a problem.  She was big-boned.  She was curvaceous.  She was healthy.  She was satisfied.

And Nikki, being Nikki, didn’t leave that conversation in her head alone.  She looked at Teddy as they made their way across the tarmac.  “May I ask you a question?” she asked him.

Teddy smiled.  “And if I say no?”

Nikki smiled.  “I’m going to ask it anyway.”

Teddy laughed as they arrived at the passenger door of his waiting red Corvette.  “Ask away!”

“Does my size bother you?” she asked.

Teddy’s smile remained, but she could see that his look changed.

And she was right.  But not because of the question.  Teddy’s look changed because of the pain he saw in her big, amber eyes.  The fact that she did not have the body type of some thin girl apparently caused her a lot of consternation in her life.  She probably had to deal with the kind of guys he knew: guys who liked their women tight and right and thin as hell.  If a girl had a little ass, it was too much junk in her trunk for them.

But not for Teddy.

“Your size is an asset in my view,” he said.

“An asset?  Are you being facetious?”

Teddy laughed.  “No!”  Then his looked turned serious.   “As you know now, if you didn’t already, I’m a big guy.”

“Oh, I know.”  His cock was so big, and had caught her so off guard, that Nikki felt as if it was still wedged inside of her.  “I still have the soreness to prove it.”

Teddy grinned.  “Sorry about that.  But thin has never done it for me.  I need a woman I can wrap my body around.  Somebody who can take all of me.  You fit me perfectly, Nikki.  And not just that.” His look turned serious again.  “Your personality is big, which is another plus in my book, and you’re a strong lady.  A very strong lady with a big heart.  Your heart is what I’m after.”

Teddy couldn’t believe those words came out of his mouth, but it wasn’t as if they weren’t true.  He’d stand by them.

His words were very reassuring to Nikki.  “Thanks,” she said.

“The real question is,” he added, “and it’s a big one.”

Now Nikki was curious.  “What is it?” she asked.

“Does my size bother you?”

Nikki loved how he reversed it on her.  And she laughed.  “It takes some getting used to, that’s for damn sure,” she admitted.

“I would have thought you’d been with big guys before.  Cock-wise, at least.”

“I’ve been with guys with big dicks before, sure I have.  But ba-by, yours make theirs look like pencils.”

Teddy laughed.

But then her look turned serious as well.  She knew he meant more than his cock.  The size of his life was big too.  “Yeah,” she said, without a doubt, “I can handle it.”

Teddy loved her confidence, and her courage.  He opened the car door, and she got inside.

Once he got behind the wheel, they were off.  Teddy drove only one way: fast.

Nikki was looking around.  “This hunk of junk yours?” she asked.

Teddy was, at first, shocked that she would call his hundred-thousand-dollar car a hunk of junk, but then he realized who he was dealing with.  She didn’t take life so seriously that she couldn’t joke around.  He smiled.  “Yeah, it’s mine, motherfucker,” he said, joking around too as he shifted gears.  “You got a problem with that?”

Nikki was smiling too.  “It’ll do,” she said.  “I mean, I’m used to city buses and musky taxicabs to get around in.  A Corvette is a little beneath my standards.  Know what I’m saying?”

“Yeah, it’s a hard luck car, alright.  But I can take your ass to the bus stop right now, if you prefer?”

Nikki was inwardly laughing.  “No, I think I’ll endure the Corvette.  But only this one time.”

Teddy was inwardly laughing too.  “Yes, ma’am,” he said, shifted gears, and flew.

 

It was only when they drove down a quiet, seemingly isolated street, and then up to an electronic gate with armed men standing outside, did Nikki begin to wonder where they were going.  Was that mansion behind that gate Teddy’s place?  For some reason, he didn’t come across like a mansion-dwelling dude to her.   He seemed more fast-car and condo to her.

The men waved at Teddy and the gate automatically opened for him.  And when Nikki saw the depth and breadth of the mansion, she looked at him.  “All of this yours?” she asked as he drove through the gate.

“No, it’s not mine,” Teddy said.  “We’re going to my dad’s house for dinner before we head to my place.”

Nikki was shocked.  She nearly turned all the way around to Teddy.  “Your dad’s house?  But Teddy, I’m not ready to meet your father!”

Teddy smiled.  “It’s not about that,” he said.  “It’s a prearranged meeting my dad called with me and my siblings.  It was set up before I got that call from you,” he added as he continued to drive toward the main house.

“Yeah, but still, Teddy.”

“Don’t worry.  It’s not that bad.  My dad and my stepmom are cool people.”

“Mick Sinatra cool?” Nikki asked.  “I Googled him, Teddy.  His photograph terrified me!”

Teddy laughed.  “Wait till you see him in person.”

“Teddy!”

“I’m just kidding, Nikki, dang!”

But Nikki’s look wasn’t buying it.  “No, you’re not,” she said.

Teddy glanced at her, realized just how serious this moment was for her, and had to admit the truth, too.  “No, I’m not,” he said.

And as he stopped just behind his kid brother’s Dodge Charger, and the reality was right in front of them, they both sobered up.