I got out of the shower and towel dried my hair. I decided to let it air-dry wavy tonight. I put on a fitted periwinkle blue long-sleeved cotton casual jersey dress and made up my face.

All I needed to do now was sit down, relax with some tea and wait for my call with Cedric.

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*** I was surprised when I received a text from Cedric at 10:30.

Cedric: Hey. Are you home? I

got done a little early and so, I

wondered if you wanted to Skype in

like five minutes.

Allison: Hi. Yes, sure…I’ll turn it

on.

Cedric: Can I ask you a favor?

Allison: Sure. What is it?

Cedric: Can you show me what

you look like as Wonder Woman? Can

you wear the costume when we

Skype? I’ve been thinking about it all

day since you told me.

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Allison: Are you serious?! I just

showered and changed out of it.

Cedric: Ok. :-( Never mind.

Allison: You really want to see

it?

Cedric: Yes!

Allison: Okay, I’ll change.

Cedric: Really? Yes! Just for

that, I’ll wear my Clark Kent glasses.

My contacts are acting up anyway

and I want to be able to see this

clearly?

Allison: I’ll bet you look sexy in

glasses. See you in a few.

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Cedric: xo

I laughed hysterically as I ripped off my dress and grabbed my Wonder Woman outfit, which consisted of a strapless red tank with gold accents and a royal blue mini skirt with stars. I topped it off with the gold crown and put on my red thigh high boots. In public, I wore a blue cardigan over the top, but I would leave it off for Cedric. I can’t believe he is making me do this…but I would do anything for him at this point.

I sat on my bed in character now, feeling like a goof, wondering what Cedric will look like in his Superman glasses.

I jumped at the sound of my phone. It was another text from Cedric.

Cedric:

Are

you

in

your

costume?

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Allison: Yes…I turned on Skype.

I am waiting for you to go online.

Cedric: I am not going to be able

to Skype tonight after all, sweetheart.

What?

Allison: Okay. What happened ?

Cedric: Well, for one there is no

wireless in your hallway.

I read over the text again. There was no…wireless…in…MY HALLWAY?

I shrieked, ran to the door and opened it up the sexiest man in glasses I have ever seen.

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CHAPTER 22

CEDRIC

As I ran on the treadmill at the hotel gym on Wednesday morning, I got the call that would change my week entirely.

The general manager at KABV-TV

cancelled my meeting scheduled for that day, so I immediately called my Thursday morning client and cancelled them too. Figuring I would now have to come back to ll.A. another time to meet with KABV, I would reschedule both meetings for another time. Dripping with sweat, my heart raced as I thought about feeling her next to me again. This meant I could go home and be with Allison again almost two days early, so I wasted no time getting myself on the 11:00 am flight back to Boston.

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*** On the flight home, I closed my eyes and thought about how I should surprise her.

I decided I would text her on my layover in Newark and pretend I was still in California, arranging the time to Skype tonight. I should have enough time to drop by my condo, shower and change, assuming no delays.

The flight attendant startled me out of my fantasies when she offered me a drink.

I opted for a glass of Merlot to help me relax.

As I slowly sipped the wine, nerves overcame me as I pondered whether I was making the right decision diving headfirst into a romantic relationship with the one woman on Earth that should be forbidden.

Unfortunately, she’s all I can think about and all I want.

So many people could get hurt if things don’t work in my favor, not only 385/727

Allison and me, but Mom and Callie. Mom would find out the truth about everything if… when…I had to tell Allison. When would I tell her the truth? I wasn’t ready to go there and needed to make sure she trusted me first. More than anything, selfishly, I needed to have her…at least once…before I ever possibly lost the chance. If that means I am going to Hell, then so be it.

A cornucopia of emotions flooded through me on that flight home: guilt, longing, grief for something I haven’t even lost yet. Allison wasn’t just special for what she meant to me before I laid eyes on her in that diner that first day. Every moment spent with her since, has made me realize feelings in myself that I thought were long dead and some feelings I have never experienced before. Maybe, by some miracle, there would be a way to make her understand why I needed to wait to tell her the truth.

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The fasten seatbelt signal snapped me out of my ruminations as the plane prepared to land.

When we arrived in Newark, I had only a half hour layover. The first thing I did was text Allison. When she responded to me about the Wonder Woman costume she had to wear for work, I nearly lost it. That sounded so sexy, even though I knew she wasn’t intending to be. We planned to Skype later tonight, which really meant I would be showing up at her apartment to surprise her. The confused emotions I felt on the plane from ll.A. disappeared as my excitement grew.

The trip to Boston, which was a quick commuter flight, seemed to take forever. The jet was smaller and I was sandwiched between two older women, one of whom smelled like gasoline while the other ate tuna. When we touched down at Logan 387/727

Airport, I grabbed a cab to my condo and was so happy to be off that plane.

*** It felt amazing to be home. I had about a half hour to shower and change before heading over to Allison’s house and I really needed to look good for her tonight.

Unfortunately, the dry air on the plane did a number on my eyes; with my contacts acting up, I would be wearing my glasses. My hair was gelled to perfection and I wore dark blue Levis and a navy blue hen-ley, spraying ample cologne and grabbing a few condoms, just in case.

I was pretty confident Allison wanted to have sex tonight, but I wasn’t going to assume anything; After all, I would be springing this visit on her, but I needed to be prepared.

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I was ready to go, but running earlier than our scheduled Skype call. I decided to head over there anyway, impatient as hell to see her.

On the drive to her house, I couldn’t get the image of that that friggin’ sexy Wonder Woman costume out of my head. By the time I pulled into a parking spot around the corner form her house, I decided to text her to let her know I was ready to Skype early and to ask her to wear the costume for our

“call.” Can’t blame a man for trying, right? I was amazed when she actually agreed and I got hard just imagining what she would look like opening that door.

I sat in the car for a few minutes before we were set to Skype and then got out walking around the corner to her house.

Luckily, the front door was open and I only needed to make my way up the stairs before texting her one last time to let her know that 389/727