The story begins at a Quik Mart in upstate New York.
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1. Watching Rani reach.
It all started innocently enough as far as I was concerned. I would stop at a gas station on my way to work and pick up the morning paper and a cup of coffee. The only reason I began stopping at this particular place was that it was easy to get in and out of. The reason I continued to go there was Rani.
Rani worked the cash register on weekdays. She was a very pleasant, albeit shy, young woman who had recently come to America from India and was studying at the State University in the city. Rani was about 20 years old and wore glasses. She wore her hair pulled back and had a very cute and petite figure. Originally I had begun talking with her and hanging around for a minute or two because she was fun to talk to. One day she gave me another reason to loiter; an even more compelling one for me.
"Pack of Newports."
That was what some anonymous customer asked one morning as I sipped my coffee and waited for Rani to get the guy's cigarettes so we could resume our conversation on foreign policy. I happened to be watching Rani as she looked for the guy's brand. This store had all the cigarettes in a rack that was above the cash register, and as Rani reached for the Newports I saw an amazing sight.
Rani had to reach high for the cigarettes, being only about five foot tall. As she did the sleeve on her yellow uniform top slid up slightly. Peeking out of the sleeve opening was a spray of coal black hair, with the promise of much more hidden in the shadow.
The glimpse lasted a mere second or two, but my cock stiffened immediately at the brief sight, and stayed hard until long after I left the store a few minutes later. All day my mind went back to that glorious vision, and I was not a very productive employee that whole day, as I thought about going back the next day to hopefully see more.
It had been quite a while since I had seen an unshaven woman, as the fashion of the times was to wax, pluck and shave everything, or so it seemed. Gone were the days when women would remain gloriously natural, and I found the silicone Barbie doll look unappealing for the most part. Now out of the blue came Rani, a visual oasis that I wanted to see more of.
I went back the next day and every day thereafter in hopes of getting another view of Rani's hidden treasures. Now that I was looking intently for the times when Rani would raise her arms, I became an aficionado of sorts.
The company made the staff wear uniform tops, One was yellow and the other was blue. I much preferred Rani in the yellow one. It fit differently than the blue one in that the sleeve slid up higher when she raised her arms, thus affording me better visual opportunities. Additionally, the yellow contrasted better with Rani's brown skin, and the rare times I got to peek under her arms I was better able to enjoy the view against that fabric.
I realize that this all sounds very silly to a lot of people, especially people who find the thought of women with body hair disgusting. Maybe it's a generational thing; as growing up in the sixties and seventies when natural women were plentiful made it an acceptable thing to enjoy, whereas now the occasional exception of an Ani DiFranco, Juliette Lewis or Julia Roberts exhibiting such a normal thing as underarm hair it is pretty much looked on as an oddity.
Anyway, when you're a guy in his forties who's a widower and who hasn't had a date in a couple of years, you shouldn't have to feel ashamed about seeking such harmless pleasures, so I didn't. I continued to enjoy watching Rani and took great joy when I got the views I longed for.
Even just speaking to Rani gave me a great deal of enjoyment, as she was very smart and knew a lot more about this country than most people her age did, and appreciated living here more than most too, I'd bet.
I grew very fond of Rani, and grew to appreciate the rest of her beauty as time went on. She had beautifully smooth skin, almost bronze in hue, and her hair was impossibly black and shiny. She had small breasts, or so it seemed, and she appeared to be self-conscious about that. I thought that sometimes she thought that I was staring at her chest, and usually that wasn't the case at all. Still, I couldn't imagine denying it in any way that she would understand.
"I wasn't looking at your breats Rani. I was trying to see the hair under your arms."
Wouldn't work, I figured. I did manage to tell her how cute she was in many ways, and I did suggest as summer approached that the company would buy the women sleeveless tops to work in so that they could stay cool. Hell, I would have paid for them myself to see Rani in one of those.
Another thing I did was to start buying cigarettes that Quik Mart. I figured out which brand gave me the best and longest view of Rani's underarm hair, and bought a pack every day that she wore the yellow top. Each time I would watch as Rani reached high for the cigarettes, and as the sleeve would slide up and that jet black hair came into view, my day would be made.
As for the cigarettes, I gave them to some hopeless addict at work who didn't smoke that brand but was more than willing to smoke them for free. Disgusting habit, smoking is, but I've got my crosses to bear as well.
One day I surprised the hell out of myself and asked Rani out. Why I did it, I don't know, and I also can't explain where I got the courage to do it. I was twice her age, and while not a total disaster, I was still not exactly handsome by any standards. So when I asked her out awkwardly one day, much like a high school freshman whimpering for his first date, I was fully prepared to be shot down. Sweetly, since Rani could not be anything else, but refused nonetheless.
"I would like that Adam," were her exact words.
I was so shocked that I even asked her if she was sure, and she giggled at my embarrassment when I realized what I was doing in giving her another chance to say no. Saturday night for dinner was the plan.
2. Me and Rani.
The date went better than I had dreamed possible. We were both shy people but instead of the endless stretches of silence I had feared, we both opened up and chattered like there was no tomorrow. Things could not have gone better.
Well, since Rani wore a long sleeved blouse and slacks I guess I shouldn't say that, but you can't have anything. By the end of the night I was hoping I had done well enough for another date, and judging by the nice kiss Rani gave me when I walked her to the door, I thought I might have a shot.
That thought was correct, and we went out a couple more times. Even though summer was here, she never wore anything that afforded me the view I wanted, and while we had escalated to making out somewhat heatedly, we had not progressed beyond that.
Rani offered to make me dinner one weekend, and while the thought of eating Indian food made my stomach spin, I was willing to sacrifice for love. As a thank you, I stopped at a woman's clothing store in the mall and bought Rani a cammisole and blazer outfit. It was very attractive together, but I wanted to see Rani in the skimpy top so badly it hurt.
Lavender and purple with a paisely pattern, it was held up by tiny spaghetti straps that would showcase what I was sure were incredible shoulders. I was afraid that she would be too modest to wear it, but was willing to take the chance.
When I arrived for dinner and gave her the outfit, she seemed shocked but pleased, actually praising my tastes. Rani did seem rather reluctant to try it on, much less wear it in public, but went into her bedroom to finally shut me up.
When she came out with it on, she looked incredible. Rani had the blazer buttoned up, and I longed to find a way get her to take the blazer off.
"But Adam, it's a very revealing blouse underneath," Rani said when I asked her to shed the blazer.
"We're alone here," I said trying to not faint from the anticipation.