Big Chees

Author's Note: This story is a prequel to the story "Big Cheeks."

June 1983

It was almost five when the elderly Asian couple stepped into Ellen Chang's neat, spacious office. The man handed her a check, smiling at her.

"June rent, manager," he said in Cantonese. "The maintenance man came and fixed the leaking toilet very quickly. Thank you very much! And we love our new apartment, thank you, thank you!"

Ellen grinned. "No problem," she replied in Chinese. "Glad you like your place. If you have any other problems or concerns please let me know."

The elderly man nodded. "Thank you very much, manager." He secretly slid a red envelope (lucee) into her hand.

"Oh, no, I can't accept this!" Ellen replied, shaking her head. "It's part of my job to help you." She gave it back to him but he was very insistent so she took it, not wanting to offend him or create a scene. "Thank you."

"Are you single?" the elderly Asian woman asked.

Ellen started blushing, smiling. "Yes."

"Maybe we can introduce you to a nice Chinese boy in the future."

Ellen laughed it off. "Oh, no it's okay!"

Not wanting to embarrass her any further the couple left. Ellen put the red envelope in her desk drawer and reminded herself to make a note to her boss about it. They couldn't accept money or gifts on the job. She looked at the clock again: five minutes till five. She straightened some papers on her desk and put all the rent checks in a manila envelope for the bank deposit tomorrow.

It had been a long day and she finally turned off her computer and desk lamp. She was a tall Asian woman with a thick, muscular build, having wavy, shoulder length black hair like a rocker, full lips, and brown skin. She hated dressing so formally but the work environment dictated it. The business suit she wore looked like a monkey suit to her.

A little after five she locked her office door and headed to the bus stop.

*

Ellen got off on Hesperian, going to the Record Factory that was located in a little strip mall there. The Friday evening rush hour traffic was brutal, cars clogged up the main thoroughfare like it was a parking lot, and the bus she was on had moved at a snail's pace. She took a deep breath as she went inside the record store, sandwiched between a video rental shop and a comic book store. Mike, the co-owner, smiled at her after he helped a customer at the cash register.

"Hey, stranger," he said. "Haven't seen you in a while."

"Yeah, I know. Work's been hectic lately."

"How you likin' working with the old-timers?"

"I enjoy it. I'm pretty good at crunching numbers, solving resident issues, that sort of thing. And I get to utilize my broken Cantonese for the job," she said, chuckling. "Keeps me in touch with my cultural roots and helps me remember the language."

"Awesome! You seem fluent to me, the times I've seen you order food at the Chinese restaurant and talking to the staff." Another customer approached the counter and he rang the person up on the register.

"It's funny, sometimes I remember words and phrases more than other times. I've been forcing myself to speak Chinese at home with my parents so I won't forget."

"That's good" He handed the customer change and their bag. "For a while there, when I didn't see you come in, I thought you had lost your AC/DC fix."

"No way! They're my outlet to vent my frustrations and stress, they've kept me sane through school up till now. Hey, when is their new album coming out again?"

Mike checked a clipboard. A little taller than her, in his late thirties and fifteen years older than her, he had a wiry frame and premature gray hairs mixed in with his blonde ones. "August 15."

"Oh, God, that seems like such a long time from now! Lemme see what else you have by them that I don't."

He grinned. "I thought you owned everything they made."

She smiled. "Maybe I missed something." She headed to the AC/DC bin in the middle of the store and flipped through the selection, thinking, 'Got that, got that, have that, got that one. . .' She grabbed something and also picked up some blank cassette tapes on the way to the counter.

"For Those About to Rock, huh?" Mike asked, shaking his head at her slyly. "I thought hardcore fans like 'you' had everything in their collection."

Ellen laughed. "I need a backup copy 'cause I played my first one to death. Doin' too much head banging!"

"I see, I see. Lemme give you a little discount."

"No, don't do that," she insisted.

"For being a loyal customer all these years," Mike smiled. "For keepin' this shop and the video store afloat."

Ellen beamed at him, surrendering. "Okay, okay, since you put it that way! Well, it helps you guys are always nice and have the best selection. Which, by the way, I have to stop by next door to grab a movie. Do you have The Thing in stock?"

"I believe so." He handed her her bag. "Why don't I accompany you next door to check. C'mon."

Mike perused the shelves and nabbed it. "Got it! Anything else, young woman?"

"That's it." She was relieved when he didn't give her a discount on the movie, she wasn't a fan of favoritism at all. He was such an awesome guy, though, she had to admit.

"Hey, wanna grab a bite to eat at the Chinese place?" he asked casually. "They've got some cool specials this week."

"Not tonight, I'm afraid. I have to hit the gym."

Mike nodded. "Yeah, yeah, I've seen you pumpin' iron at that place down the street when I walk by! Man, you've gotten bigger and more muscular! Kudos to you! Any of those macho bodybuilders challenge you to arm wrestling?"

"Some of them have, and I beat all of them," she replied proudly.

He chuckled. "Well, I definitely know 'not' to mess with you!"

*

The following week, on a Saturday, after Ellen finished her workout at the gym, she ran around the neighborhood near the strip mall, wearing a faded AC/DC shirt and very short black shorts. Her big brown butt cheeks almost bulged out of those shorts, causing some heads to turn as she ran. Her Walkman was clipped to the elastic band of her shorts, AC/DC's "Big Balls" blaring in her ears.

She ended her run near the strip mall, catching her breath, wiping the sweat from her face and neck with a small hand towel. After she gathered her composure she noticed she was hungry and went to the Imperial Palace, the Chinese restaurant, in the mall. And lo and behold, she saw Mike sitting at a table near the door when she came in, with the co-owner of the Record Factory, a white man with dark hair and a mustache.

"Hey, Ellen, have a seat!" Mike said. "We just got here ourselves."

She didn't want to refuse his politeness, especially after giving her a discount on the record last week. So she sat down with them.

"You remember my business partner, Brad, right?" Mike asked. "Brad, this is one of our loyal customers from the record shop."

Brad smiled at her. "Pleasure meeting you, and thanks for your support! Mike and I are also co-owners of the video store."

"Ellen's also a devoted supporter of that shop!" Mike added enthusiastically. "Always returns her movies on time, too."

"Definitely a sign of a good customer!" Brad grinned.

"I saw you running around the area earlier," Mike said to her. "Good workout?"

"Oh, yeah! Those endorphins definitely kicked in, let me tell ya. I always get hungry after working out and remember you mentioning those specials they have here."

"I recommend the shrimp fried rice. You can't go wrong with that. Everything okay at the old fogie's building?"

Ellen nodded. "Things are progressing. We had our monthly resident meeting this past week, and I did a lot of translation for my residents with their mail. Most of them can't read or speak English, and I'm the only one there that can speak Chinese."

"That's really helpful of you," Mike said. "Cool. And I see you've got the ever present AC/DC shirt on. Nice, nice." He noticed she smelled of Coppertone sun block. He liked the scent of it.

"Yes, yes! My band! I love them because of their inexhaustible energy and enthusiasm, it epitomizes rock and roll to me. And all of their songs have this rockin', energetic beat. Great for working out and running."

"Cool!"

*

July 1983

Fourth and July had come and gone so quickly. Work was crazy busy as usual for Ellen that she scarcely had time to enjoy the big holiday. As it turned out, Mike had invited her and Brad and some other friends to watch fireworks at San Leandro Marina. Since it was a group of people she didn't feel as awkward. But she noticed Mike making the moves on her and initially she didn't know what to think. . .she guessed because she wasn't really in the mindset to date, having broken up with her first boyfriend not that long ago. That relationship ended amicably, fortunately, yet she still felt the lingering after affects, warmth, and nurturing energy from that relationship. . .she wanted time to process everything, to reflect, to put some closure to it. . .she wasn't ready to jump into another relationship that fast. . .it was too soon. Plus, she wasn't really interested in Mike anyway. He was a super nice guy and everything, and she just saw him as a neighborhood friend. . .also, he was kinda old for her, by fifteen years!

Ellen was polite to him during the fireworks show and tried to just be herself and not show any 'interest' in him. But she noticed he was trying too hard to get her attention, at making eye contact, making conversation, and so forth. She just played it calm and cool. At the end of the night, he offered to drive her home but she declined, not wanting him to know where she lived. So she made up a story about having to stop by a friend's house.

The next time she saw Mike was when she returned a video to his store.

"How was the movie?" he asked, making conversation.

"Funny. I like anything with Eddie Murphy in it."

"Do you like him in Saturday Night Live?"

"Oh, yeah! Him and Chevy Chase."

"Oh, by the way, I remember you telling me you like the band, Loverboy. And that you were looking for a copy of Get Lucky. We got some more copies in last Tuesday."

"Cool." She checked her wallet. "Lemme grab one now then."

"If you don't have enough you can pay me next time you come in, it's no problem."

"No, I have enough." She followed him next door to the Record Factory. There was a long line at the counter, mostly teens.

When it came to her turn at the register Mike rang her up as she expected, and again, he offered her a discount!

"You don't have to do that, Mike," she protested. "I have enough money." But he insisted and she didn't want to insult him, just like with the resident giving her the red envelope. Why was she getting all these favors all of a sudden?! She just took it in stride.

"Thanks, Mike," she said, and left the store.

When she got home that evening her mother already had the dining room table all set up. A large, steaming bowl of fried rice was in the middle of the table, along with a plate full of bok choy, another dish had mushrooms and beef, and a rice pot was full of sticky rice. Yum!!! It all looked delicious!! She quickly took put away her things and asked her mother if she needed help.

"How was the bus ride home today?" her mom asked in Cantonese.

"Packed," she replied in the same language.

"Be careful, there's too many black people riding the buses."

"So?" Ellen asked defensively. "Why did you bring that up? There's also lots of Asian people riding the bus, too. You never say anything about them. I suppose we're all good, huh?" She shook her head. "You and Dad are so racist! I've never heard you say anything positive about blacks. Never."

"We're older than you." Her mother placed utensils on the dining room table. "We have more experience than you. You're still young and don't know a lot about the world, about people."

"Same old excuse," Ellen muttered, turning away. "Remember that time you saw me and this black guy working out together at the gym. You freaked out and told Dad immediately. Had it been an Asian or white guy you wouldn't of cared."

"I didn't know who he was. Naturally, I was concerned."

"He's just a friend from the gym, that's all. Helps spot me when I need it."

"You're not dating him, are you?" Her mother's tone got more serious.

"No, I'm not. I told you, we're just friends. I happen to have friends of different races, Mom."

Her Dad came over just then, sitting down at the table, looking at them curiously.

"It would be wise if you just had Asian friends," her mother replied.

Ellen shook her head in disbelief, not even responding to that.

"Are you dating anyone right now?" her Dad asked, drinking some water.

Ellen didn't think it was any of their business. "No, I'm not," she said after a moment. She noticed her voice had gone up an octave. "I don't have to report to you about who I'm seeing. I'm not a kid anymore."

Her mother sat down at the table. "You should start going to church. Maybe you'll meet a nice Chinese guy there."

Ellen suddenly lost her appetite.

*

Several days later Ellen thought about Mike and about the conversation she had with her parents. She thought it would be amusing if she started seeing Mike to spite her parents. But, no, she wasn't really interested in Mike to begin with. She just wanted to piss her parents off! She thought about moving out numerous times but financially she wasn't ready just yet. She just wanted to save some more money and maybe later on find a little apartment somewhere in the San Leandro, Hayward area. She liked the area where she worked, the area near the strip mall. The suburbs were stifling her. No culture, no diversity, no interesting things to do. Out of curiosity, she picked up today's newspaper and scanned the apartment listings, not finding anything she liked or affordable price ranges.

One day at the gym Mike walked over to her as she was using the leg curl machine. Her eyes widened. "Mike! What are you doing here?"

"I joined a few days ago. Need to exercise more, according to my doctor. I've got a history of diabetes in my family. It's perfect 'cause this gym is so close to the mall. I can come here when I want to, you know?"

Oh, shoot! she thought. That means I'll be seeing more of you! "That's convenient," she said, making small talk.

"Say, can you spot me at on the bench press, Ellen? I'm gonna try to lift a heavier weight this time. This is all so easy for you." He eyed her huge, muscular brown thighs and calves, raising his eyebrows. She was wearing those very short black shorts again and she pulled them down to cover her big ass cheeks when he wasn't looking.

After spotting him at the bench press he asked for her advice using some other exercise equipment to which she gladly obliged. In return, Mike spotted her while she did some sets using heavy dumbbell weights.

"Lookin' good there, Ellen!" he praised as she brought the weights back up evenly. Breathing in and out, in and out.

Next, she taught him how to properly do some squats and lunges using dumbbells and a stick. He couldn't take his eyes off her massive thighs and calves! She'd crush him! When they were all finished, she accompanied him down to the Record Factory where he grabbed a few things. Strangely enough, she found herself admiring Mike for just being a nice guy, for being a good businessman and human being. . .and sure he was fifteen years older than her but he didn't act it. Besides, age was just a number. They had the same taste in rock bands, in movies. . .she didn't know why she suddenly was thinking of all this. It just came to her as they were working out together. . .she was still processing the break up with her ex-boyfriend. But maybe she shouldn't dwell on that too much. Maybe it would be okay to meet new people, new friends. She was also fueled into action by the racist attitudes of her parents and wanted to move out of their house. She needed to get out of there, their viewpoints were making her sick.

So when Mike invited her to his house for dinner one night she didn't refuse. And boy, could he cook! He made her lasagna, garlic bread, and salad. His spacious house was located in Castro Valley, where he shared it with two dogs. The dogs took a liking to her immediately. Those were brownie points in his book, he said. One of them licked her bare foot and she knelt down and patted him gently. While she was bent over his dog, playing with him, Mike couldn't help but notice the crack of her big brown ass showing as her pants slid down a little. The thong she wore gave him an erection. He felt his underwear get wet. Oh shit!

"Hey, wanna look at my record collection?" he asked, knowing that would be a ploy to get her into his bedroom.

Ellen continued playing with his dog. "Sure." After patting the dog's head again she followed Mike into his bedroom where she saw a large hi-fi stereo system housed in a wooden cabinet. A tall bookshelf stored his giant collection. Ellen noticed his big bed, felt awkward actually in his bedroom but she just came in to check out his records. No big deal. And he was a friend. Still, seeing men's boxer's and undershirts on the floor gave her pause.

She perused his collection slowly, impressed. "Wow, lots of good stuff here."

He stepped closer to her, smelling the Coppertone from her body, feeling more aroused. Looking at her backside briefly he saw her butt cheeks again and the thong! He wondered if she wore anything under those very short black shorts. Probably not. Whenever he saw her running in the neighborhood, at her thighs, he always got an erection. Here was his chance to score now.

As she looked at a Rolling Stones album he stepped closer to her, brushing his body against hers. She didn't seem to notice. He did again. She didn't say anything. Then suddenly, she turned her head and met his face, just inches away from hers. She was so close that he could smell the pasta sauce from her mouth, could feel the warmth of her breath. That and the Coppertone turned him on. Before he knew it he pecked her quickly on her full lips. Ellen didn't back away, just continued looking into his eyes. She put the record away. Mike kissed her again, longer and more passionate this time, tasting the pasta sauce from her mouth. Yum! She managed a weak grin, wondering if she should back out of this now before it was too late. . .before it was the point of no return. Part of her told her to just go with the flow, to enjoy it and not worry so much. The other part of her told her she wasn't ready for a relationship yet, that she was still healing from the breakup. . .but what about a little fun? A little fling? That wouldn't hurt, would it?

When she felt Mike's cold hands move down and grab her big butt cheeks she decided to let go right there. He unzipped her pants, helping her pull them down, pulling at her thong impatiently. His underwear was all wet with precum. She threw the thong onto his big bed and suddenly he was staring at the hairy black bush covering her pussy!! His jaw dropped open.

"My God!" he gasped. "It's beautiful!" And the fact that the hairy bush was sandwiched between those giant, muscular brown thighs sent his heart racing. He imagined those thighs scissor locked around his neck, choking him. They kissed passionately again, soul kissing, with her thrusting her tongue into his mouth. Her big, full lips smothered him with wet, warm kisses. After removing their clothes they embraced each other tightly in his bedroom. Mike's two dogs appeared at the doorway, looking at them innocently. Ellen smiled at them. Mike walked over to the door, his long, giant penis sticking up in the air. He whispered something softly to his dogs before closing the door. Then he went back to her, big pink dick all wet with precum. His balls were enormous. She knelt down before him and fondled his nuts, stroked his humungous manhood. Mike closed his eyes and moaned. Later, she licked and sucked his big balls, thinking of the famous AC/DC song.