Taking It Up A Notch 1

This story continues the events of the first date related in "Denae and Bill - The Beginning"

The purpose of this story is to provide background for some events to be related in subsequent stories.

NOTE: Because it is important to events in subsequent stories and a key to the relationships between the characters, this story includes a mention of domestic violence. Domestic violence is wrong and should never be tolerated. Should you or someone you know become a victim of domestic violence, seek help. There are organizations, agencies and people who can and will help. No one should be victimized in this way.

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After dinner, Bill and Denae went for a walk and along the way they stopped and got some ice cream. Being Friday night, lots of people were out and restaurants and cafes were open and busy. As they strolled, they talked about many things, from school to friends to family.

Bill already knew Denae was from Southwest Florida. But wanted to know about her childhood, high school and her family. She portrayed herself as a fairly typical high schooler; decent grades, lots of side interests, cheerleader all four years. She playfully struck a glamour pose as she mentioned she spent most of her spare time at the beach in her bikini.

Denae explained her parents settled in Largo, Florida because her dad's job was in Tampa. Her mom and dad, both from Italy, moved to the U.S. when her dad completed his mechanical engineering degree.

Denae asked about Bill's family as she knew little more than he was from Yadkinville, North Carolina, about an hour and a half from campus. He told her it was just his mom and him since he was nine years old. Denae, supposing his parents had broken up, asked if he saw his father much from age nine.

"No. It was just mom and me. She worked really hard to raise me by herself. She often did without so she could provide me with things."

"Did your dad just abandon you both?"

"Well, in the strictest sense, he did. But I don't think he wanted to. He died."

Denae stopped in her tracks and grasped Bill's arm. "Oh. Bill, I'm so sorry. I had no idea."

"It's OK. How could you know? But that was a long time ago. So..."

Anxious to change the subject Bill went back to asking Denae what her home and home town were like. He had never been to the Gulf Coast but told her he had heard it was nice. It was, she assured him, as she vividly described the white sand and clear water and all the outdoor activities that could be enjoyed year round.

After a lot more conversation, and even some hand holding as they walked, they eventually found themselves back at Bill's car. He opened the door for her as they got ready to leave. They talked more as they made their way back to Denae's place. Once there, he got out and walked Denae to the door of her apartment.

"I had fun tonight." he said.

"Yes. I did too, once you settled down and got over the mental obstacle you created for yourself earlier. Ya know, you can be pretty charming once you relax and just be yourself."

"Yeah?" he responded with an air of confidence. "Earlier, at the restaurant, you mentioned something about a goodnight kiss..."

Smiling, she said, "Oh, did I? Are you sure about that?"

"I do recall that."

He pulled her close, putting his arms around her waist. In turn, she reached up and put her arms around his neck. They kissed for quite a few seconds before coming up for air.

She put her hand on his chest and asked, "So, do you want to come in?"

He thanked her, but suggested he get going as they both had to work the next day. He had six recreation league basketball games to referee and thought he remembered she had to work at the boutique from noon until closing at seven o'clock. She looked disappointed, but did not press the matter.

"May I call you tomorrow?" he asked.

"I hope you do," she said with a smile.

He turned to leave and she went inside. Her roommate, Suzy, was there making out on the couch with her date for the evening. Suzy looked up when she heard the door and saw Denae enter.

"Where's your rebound guy? Did you send him packing?"

"You know his name; you've met him several times already. And no. I didn't send him packing. He has to work tomorrow. And I do too."

"Did he try anything? Did he get out of line?"

"No. He was a real gentleman. Though I wouldn't have minded..."

At that, Suzy got up and nudged her date. "C'mon Gary. Let's let Denae have the couch and TV. There's more room for us to fool around on my bed anyway."

Turning to Denae, Suzy added, "Good night D. We'll try to keep it down."

Rolling her eyes, she sarcastically replied, "Thank you very much. Good night."

####

Saturday morning, Denae woke up around nine. She could smell coffee, so she got up and went to the kitchen where she found Suzy having a cup as she flipped through a fashion magazine. She grabbed a mug and helped herself to some coffee as well. She looked around and realized they were alone in the apartment.

"So, where is Gary?"

"Ah. He left around one a.m. After some very average sex, he wanted to get something to eat so I told him I needed to get up this morning for work."

"You don't have a job."

"He doesn't know that. And don't tell him...IF you see him again. But you probably wont. I'm thinking I'm done with him."

Denae rolled her eyes and took a sip of her coffee. "Again? You don't give guys much of a chance."

"I can't help it if I'm quick to asses things. Besides, life is short. No need to waste time on guys that wont work out."

Denae merely shook her head.

"So what's the deal with you and Bill? Last night you said you invited him in and he declined. What's wrong with the guy? How's he ever gonna close the deal if he wont at least come inside at the end of the evening?"

"You're a hopeless romantic, aren't you Suze?" Setting her mug down, she continued, "Bill's a really nice guy. I mean he is always opening doors for me, carrying my books and things. He's fun to be around. He makes me laugh and when I'm with him time flies by. But he's not very assertive. I'm hoping it's just because he's shy."

"Dream on, Denae. If a guy isn't trying to get in YOUR pants, something's wrong with him beyond being shy."

A while later, the doorbell rang. Both girls were still in the kitchen and since they were wearing only their robes, they looked at each other, silently urging the other to answer the door. Neither was inclined to budge.

"You look better than me in the morning," Suzy finally said. "Why don't you go see who it is? And if it's Gary, tell him I'm at work."

Suzy headed for her room as Denae reluctantly headed toward the door. Upon opening it, she found a delivery person holding an arrangement of pale, pink flowers in a vase.

"These are for Dinee Rappar...Repper...?"

"Denae Rapallino, by any chance?" Denae asked, mildly annoyed. Not too many people managed to butcher both of her names at once.

"Yeah. That sounds right. Please sign here," he asked as he held out a clipboard with a pen dangling from a string.

Denae signed, took the flowers from him, then closed the door. She looked them over and breathed in the aroma. She set them on the kitchen table just as Suzy emerged from her bedroom. Denae pulled the small envelope from its holder on a stick and opened it up.

"Wow. That's a respectable flower arrangement. What's the card say?" Suzy asked, secretly wondering if Gary had sent them.

'Dear Denae. I had a great time last night and hope you did too. Here are some Floribunda roses for a beautiful Florida rose.'

"Aw. How sweet!" Denae exclaimed.

"Maybe he IS trying to get into your pants," Suzy admitted.

Denae grabbed her phone and excitedly sent Bill a text. "Got the flowers. They are beautiful. Youre too sweet. Call when you can."

####

By the time Bill had a chance to call Denae, it was early afternoon and she was at work at the dress boutique in town. She had been working there since her sophomore year. She liked her boss, Ms. Linda, the owner, very much and also liked having an employee discount. It was a great arrangement for her in that she made some spending money and always had nice clothes in her closet.

"I saw your text. I'm glad you liked the flowers. I'm sorry I wasn't able to call before now," he said, raising his voice over what sounded like crowd noise and basketballs bouncing in the background.

"That's OK. Hope your day is going well. And thank you very much for the flowers. You were really thoughtful."

"You're more than welcome."

"Bill, I was wondering if you wanted to come over this evening after we're both done with work."

"Would love to. I really would. But I had promised my mom I would head home tonight and help her around the house tomorrow. I'm sorry. Its something I try to do every few weeks."

"That's OK. You should do that. It's good that you check on her. Being alone must be tough for her."

"Denae, I'm sorry. If I hadn't set this up a couple of weeks ago, I would definitely come over."

Denae covered her disappointment by trying to sound cheerful. "Its OK. You're a good guy to look out for your mom. We can get together next week."

"I was thinking about that. You know we have that test in art class Tuesday. And you know I need help. So, how about Monday night we get some pizza or make something for dinner and have a study date at your place or mine?"

"Yes. Let's do that," she said. "And we'll see each other Monday at class but if you think about it, give me a call some time Sunday?"

####

Bill did call Denae Sunday afternoon. He filled her in on what chores he had been helping his mother with; doing things for her that she was unable to do alone. He cleaned out the rain gutters, nailed down a loose piece of trim molding in her hallway and moved some furniture so she could clean behind it. They spoke for a few minutes and then Denae reminded him they would see each other in class the next morning.

They sat together in class Monday, as they had done every day since they had met in the art gallery a few weeks before. As they left the auditorium together, they made their plans for that evening. Bill would come over to Denae's, she would make some pasta and sauce from one of her mom's own recipes and they would study together for the test the next day.

Bill arrived right on time and, along with his art text book, brought a bottle of red wine for Denae and cake for dessert.

Denae answered the door and let him in saying, "Hey. I've been working on the sauce already."

"Mmhh. That smells good. Need any help?"

"If you wouldn't mind opening some cans, that would be great."

After setting the cake in the refrigerator, he set about opening the cans she had pointed to on the counter. He noticed the flowers he had sent were on the kitchen table.

"Where is Suzy? Will she be eating with us?"

"She's got a date. Someone she met while she was working out at the Rec Center. She wont be around for a while...unless she starts finding faults with the guy, then she'll bail on him and show up here."

Bill laughed. "Do ya'll do that cell phone thing for each other? Where you call about 45 minutes into the date so the person can make out like it's an emergency so they have an excuse to leave?"

Denae looked surprised. "Never heard of that one. Do you and your friends do that?"

"I've had to call a few times for friends. I don't remember any of them taking the opportunity to cut their date short."

"Well, don't give Suzy that idea, I'll wind up spending most nights for the foreseeable future calling her to see if she needs an out."

As Denae was adding a can of crushed tomatoes to the pot of sauce, some splashed up, causing her to jerk back a little and prompting a mild squeal. She grabbed a rag to wipe off spots of tomato from her arms. Bill noticed some on her right cheek that she did not wipe off, apparently unaware it was there.

Gently slipping the rag from her hand, he said, "You missed some."

"Oh, where?"

"Right here on your face." he said as he gently brushed her cheek with the rag. "There. I think that got it." He then lightly kissed her cheek where the mess had been.

"Thanks," she said with a smile.

Denae went about adding the last of the ingredients to the sauce. Referring occasionally to a piece of paper on which the recipe had been written by hand. With everything in, she took off the apron she had been wearing and turned to Bill.

"While this is cooking some, should we go study up on Modigliani?" she asked.

"Yeah lets get some of this out of the way. I'm not looking forward to the test. When I registered, I thought Art Appreciation would be easy, but the professor is actually pretty tough."

They moved to the couch in the family room and got out their text books and class notes and Denae's laptop. She turned on the smart TV and put on some music. The test they were preparing for would cover several artists, but the one they knew the least about was Amedeo Modigliani. They dug in.

"Huh. Whaddya know about that? He was Italian, like you," Bill commented to Denae as he opened his book. "Was a sculptor and painter."

"Get this," Denae said as she looked through the search results on her laptop. "Apparently, his 'Reclining Nude' got an art gallery shut down. We gotta see this."

With a few clicks of the mouse, 'Reclining Nude' appeared on the screen. It was an image of a woman laying with her hands behind her head and the entire front of her torso in full view. She had a really nice figure, neither too slender nor too plump. She had nice, round breasts, a flat stomach and a patch of dark pubic hair.

"Seems pretty tame to me," Denae noted. Then she laughed a littled and added, "She's built a little like Suzy. And I'm not sure why her face is red. Too much rouge, maybe?"

"Looks like she needs to shave her armpits," Bill observed.

Denae shook her head and laughed. "This was around the turn of the last century. I don't think they did that back then. Just curious. What do you think of her body?"

"Aren't we supposed to be assessing use of light and shadow and things like that?"

Laughing again, Denae admitted, "Yes. I guess we are. But do you think she's hot?"

"It's kinda hard to judge," he said sheepishly. "It's a painting. Now if it were a photograph, I might be able to give an opinion."

She shook her head and smiled at his evasion of the question. They researched and discussed more of Modigliani's work and made notes. After about an hour, Denae announced she should check on the sauce and get the pasta started.

They both returned to the kitchen where Denae opened the lid on the sauce pot and started to stir. The sauce was bubbling and as soon as she started moving the spoon around, some splashed out, getting red spots on the stove surface and on her shirt as well.

"Oh no. Your shirt," Bill said, looking a little concerned. "Do you think that will come out?"

Denae dismissed the incident, saying, "I'll try. But if it doesn't it's not a big deal. This shirt is a little old now."

"I like that shirt on you." Looking at the stains, Bill appeared a little melancholy. "That's the shirt you were wearing when we met."

"It is? You remember what shirt I was wearing when we met?"

"I remember everything about when we met."

Denae cocked her head slightly. "How? That was weeks ago?"

"43 days."

"43? hhmm. That was a fun day," she said as she looked at him.

He was still looking intently at her. "That was an amazing day."

She looked at him for a few seconds without saying anything. He was silent as well. In the quiet, they could hear 'Possession' by Sarah McClachlan coming from the TV. Denae turned to put the lid back on the pot but then turned the stove off and turned back to him. He was still watching her in silence. She reached her hands out and placed them on the sides of his face and pulled him close and kissed him. He put his arms around her and kissed her back.

Their kiss went on for what seemed like a long time. She finally stepped back and took his hand in hers and started moving toward her bedroom. Once in the room, she closed the door and kissed him again, just as passionately as a moment ago. Then they made love for the first time.

####

Later, Denae and Bill emerged from her bedroom. She was wearing her robe, a pink, silky, long sleeved robe that came down only to her upper thighs and tied shut at the waist with a belt made of the same material. Bill, having nothing else to wear, put his clothes back on.

"Are you hungry now?" she asked as she turned the sauce back on. "Let's eat and finish studying."

Bill had been admiring how she looked in the robe. "Yes. It smells great. I was sure glad for the interruption, but dinner would be nice."

Denae, with Bill's assistance, rewarmed the sauce and got the pasta ready. He poured a glass of wine for Denae and, after discovering there was no beer in her refrigerator, poured a glass of wine for himself as well. They each grabbed their wine and their bowl of pasta and headed out to the couch where they had been studying earlier.

The TV was still pumping music into the room. 'Edge of the Ocean' by Ivy was playing. Denae put her bare feet up on the coffee table and slid close to Bill. He could not help but stare at her silky smooth legs as her robe threatened to come open all the way up to the point at which the tie held it together.

"This sauce is incredible," he said as he took his first bite. "This is your mom's recipe?"

"Sure is. She's a great cook. I was really spoiled growing up, having great Italian food all the time. In fact, I hardly order Italian at a restaurant 'cause it usually doesn't measure up."

"If I had grown up in your house, I'd weigh 300 pounds by now. This is really good."

"Well, you ain't seen nothing yet. This is just pasta and sauce. Wait 'till I make her sausage and peppers or chicken parmesan for you."

"I can't wait for that."

They both ate a few bites without saying anything. Finally, Bill took a sip of wine. "Denae, I really enjoyed...you know...in there. That was special."

She smiled. "Me too. I was beginning to wonder if it would ever happen."

Puzzled, all Bill could say was, "Oh?"

"Well, I mean you hadn't taken any hints I threw out there recently. Back in the kitchen a while ago, I thought you were about to make a move, but when you didn't, I got caught up and took a chance. I was really touched when you remembered everything about how we met. I got caught up when I realized how special that was to you."

"It sure was. I'll never forget when we met. And as a matter of fact, in the kitchen there, I was really tempted to see if you would be open to going to your room. I guess I just wasn't sure if you felt the same way."

"I hope you don't have any doubts now," she replied.

After a short pause, he cocked his head. "You threw out hints lately?"

"Yes, silly. I tried dropping a few hints. Like Friday night. I asked you in at the end of the evening."

"That was a hint?"

She shook her head and laughed. "Yes. That was a hint, Mr. Oblivious."

"Wow. I'm dumber than I ever imagined. I'll try to do better picking up hints in the future."

Turning to him, she smiled and said, "Let's do this. Why don't you just assume that I'm always up for sex with you? You don't need to wonder. And I'll figure you're always up for it too, so I don't have to wonder."

"I like the sound of that," he said as he took a large swig of wine.

Just then, they heard the noise of the lock on the apartment door and then the door opening up. Suzy came in and closed the door behind her and looked through the kitchen out to them.

"Hi Denae. Hi Bill."

"You hungry? Help yourself to some pasta if you want," Denae said turning toward her roommate.

"Oh yeah. I'm starving. Your mom's sauce, right?"