The name is Henry Bateaux and I'm a six-foot-four, big and chubby young black gentleman of Haitian descent currently enrolled in the Criminal Justice program at the prestigious Hancock University, in the city of Weymouth, Massachusetts. This is the story of how I met my lovely girlfriend and fellow Haitian-American student-athlete, Natalie Jane Saint-Preux. The Black Love is back, people. And this time it's for real. I'm not just saying this because Valentine's Day just went by. I'm saying it because I absolutely mean it.
We met when I went to try out for the all-new men's Volleyball team at the Field House. Hancock University used to be Hancock College, an all-female private school. In 2007, the institution went coeducational. As part of its new image, the Hancock school changed its name as a result of its changed status and strove to attract young men to its campus. They did that by beefing up the athletic teams and facilities. A lot of all-female and all-white schools are going coeducational and more minority-oriented these days. I think it's kind of progressive.
The Hancock University Department of Athletics added men's varsity teams in Baseball, Basketball, Cross Country, Golf, Track & Field, Rugby, Swimming, Ice Hockey, Volleyball, Wrestling, Football and Lacrosse. The school already sponsored women's varsity teams in Softball, Golf, Basketball, Ice Hockey, Cross Country, Wrestling, Swimming, Field Hockey, Volleyball, Lacrosse, Rugby and Equestrian. Men now make up fifty two percent of the school's nineteen-thousand-person student body. It's also ethnically diverse. Students of African-American, Latino and Asian descent make up forty three percent of the campus population.
Natalie Saint-Preux was the captain of the Hancock University women's intercollegiate Rugby team. I was looking for the men's volleyball coach and she was kind enough to not only show me his office, but give me her number as well. Folks, I was smitten the first time we met. I've always had a thing for big beautiful black women but this sexy black dame was something else. Standing six feet one inch tall, deliciously heavyset, with large breasts, wide hips, thick legs and a huge round booty. She was also very dark-skinned, almost jet-black. I don't know why some brothers are so into light-skinned black females, or into Hispanic, White or Asian women. Black women are what this brother needs, folks. And the darker-skinned and bigger the better. If a black chick doesn't have a cute face, dark skin, big and thick body and a huge booty, then I don't want to date her. Sorry folks but that's just how I roll.
I arrived late at the Hancock University men's Volleyball team tryouts but I still made the team. I've always loved volleyball. I was on the guys varsity volleyball team at Brockton Community High School, the last institution I attended before enrolling at Hancock University. Lots of people tell me they'd rather see me play basketball because I'm so tall but volleyball is what I love. I just wish more schools fielded men's volleyball teams. Lasell College in Newton, Massachusetts, along with the Wentworth Institute of Technology, Elms College and Johnson & Wales are some of the few schools in the New England area with men's intercollegiate Volleyball teams. Sad but true.
At my new team's first home game, guess who came to cheer me and the guys on? The lovely Natalie, and she had brought a bunch of her friends with her. Man, I was real happy to see her. The Hancock University men's Volleyball team easily took out Lasell College and we went home happy. After the game, as I walked back to my dorm, Natalie and I had a chat. She congratulated me on a game well-played, and we shared a few laughs discussing the highlights of the game. This tall, voluptuous sister with the cute face and big booty from hell was actually very friendly and easy to talk to. I found that refreshing.
I don't mean to speak ill of anyone but too many sisters react negatively whenever a brother just says hello. It's like they're always mad suspicious of us. I don't like that at all. I'm a nice guy. I'm just being polite. Seriously. I'm happy to say Natalie was a very nice gal. A gentle giant, if you will. A big and tall black Amazon who was one of the nicest people I'd ever met. Folks, she was a real gem of a woman. We became friends. Just two black student-athletes hanging out on a college campus. Natalie was fun to be around. We had a lot in common. I was pleasantly surprised to discover that this big beautiful black woman loved Linkin Park's soul-stirring existential songs as much as I did. Hell, I thought I was the only black person who liked them. Natalie also liked the Hulk comic books. She thought the Green Goliath was a misunderstood antihero rather than a monster. I heartily agree with that.
One night, we were just hanging out in her dorm, watching the old show Hanging With Mr. Cooper when she planted a big kiss on me. I was surprised by that but kissed her back anyway. The feel of her soft lips on mine absolutely turned me on. We looked into each other's eyes, and saw kindred spirits reflected there. Sometimes, you just know when something is right. As I later found out, Natalie and I were more of a match than I ever would have thought possible.