What If?

Chapter 11 - The 'Rents

Ted picked Carol up at 10:00 AM for the 10:30 service. They drove to Carol's church. Carol was wearing the knit dress she had purchased on Friday night. The top had some plunge to it, but nothing too extreme. The hem came about ten inches above her knees. The dress hugged her curves. There was a black wide belt around her waist. Her long blonde hair hung in ringlets surrounding her face and down to the middle of her back. She wore four inch black heels and dark stay up stockings. She wore a matching purple lacy bra and thong panties. Earrings dangled down about two inches from her ears. Her makeup was pretty much the same as what she wore to work every day. When Ted came to her door and first saw her, he was awe-struck. They kissed in greeting - not a passionate kiss, but a kiss that only two people in love would share. Ted stepped back to say. "My hot girlfriend strikes again. I love it." He helped her on with her jacket. And they left. Her parents had driven in their own car.

When they got to the church, Carol was aware that maybe in looking so good, she had set herself up for some critical remarks. But the only remark she received was from an attractive older lady in the congregation who came up to her and said, "Carol, you look radiant this morning." Well, she did.

After church she turned to Ted and said, "You have a beautiful singing voice. How come you were never in choir?"

"Couldn't fit it into my schedule," he said. What with taking the vocational courses plus the science and math classes I just couldn't get into choir. How 'bout you? You were never in choir."

"I didn't like some of the girls in choir. They had this attitude about them. I didn't need their attitude."

"I understand. I get put off by the people who give me the impression that they think they are better than me.

When they got home after church Carol went to change clothes. She had purchased this outfit on Saturday afternoon when she went out to do the family's grocery shopping. She was wearing a pair of Daisy Dukes. As they hung on the rack they had about a two inch inseam. But she rolled them up so that there was no inseam at all. The bottom of the shorts hugged the curve of her ass right up to where her beautiful long legs reached her glutes. On top she had a western shirt which she had rolled up and tied under her breasts. Her bare midriff was showing as well as her navel piercing with jewelry dangling from it. Her mother was going to say something but was stopped by a nudge by her husband. On her feet was a pair of western styled boots. They had three inch heels instead of the normal heel of a cowboy boot. They were about sixteen inches high and had a zipper on the inside aspect of the boot so that the boots clung to her calves.

Saturday night after their date Carol had made an apple crisp. Sunday morning she had awakened early enough to brown a Swiss steak and then put it into a crock pot with diced stewed tomatoes, onions and peppers. After she changed clothes, she peeled and boiled potatoes, cooked a vegetable and made a tossed salad. When the potatoes were done and mashed, she took the meat out of the crock pot and thickened the juice it had been cooking in all morning to make a gravy. After the delicious meal she took pieces of the apple crisp, warmed them in the microwave and served them with vanilla ice cream.

When they were done eating and it looked like Carol was about to clear the table, Ted said, "I'll help you clean up." She and her mother objected a little bit, but Ted seemed to be rather insistent, so Dorothy and Karl retired to the living room. Drawing Carol to himself, Ted said, "And my hot girlfriend can cook. Is there anything my hot girlfriend cannot do?" Without waiting for a reply, he answered his own question: "I think not. You're amazing."

After the dishwasher was loaded, the perishables put in the refrigerator and the crock pot was washed, they joined Carol's parents in the living room. Karl asked Ted about his job and Ted described what a typical day was like for him. He mentioned that he was glad that he had taken advanced math and physics as well as some electronics courses at the voc/tech center because each new model of truck that came out had more sophisticated electronic equipment on board, and so far, he was able to keep on top of all the latest developments and felt he was equipped to be able to continue to do so.

Carol had to prod him into telling about the good news he had received from his foreman on Friday. That bit of information came in handy a little later when the conversation got a lot more serious. Karl had said, "You met at lunch on Thursday and already Carol is bringing you home to meet the parents. How serious is this?"

Ted was going to say, "As serious as a heart attack," but as soon as he thought of that he remembered that Dorothy had had a heart attack a little over a year ago, so he though that remark might be inappropriate. So he went on to say, "We met at lunch on Thursday, but we've known one another all the way through high school. And even if we were not the best of friends we were aware of each other's reputation. Carol was known to be about as smart as they come and responsible. She was friendly, was quick to smile. She did not hang out with the snobs, in fact was not part of any clique, but was nice to everyone. I'm not sure what my reputation was other than I worked hard at my studies and did reasonably well in my classes and was a good mechanic. I wasn't a jock, so did not hang with that crowd and I wasn't a geek so did not hang out with that crowd. I suppose most people looked at me a being pretty quiet but competent at what I did. I'm pretty sure that if I had a bad reputation, Carol would know it and would have steered clear of me. And I know that if Carol would have had a questionable reputation I would have steered clear of her.

"Carol has a stable job doing what she wants to do. I have a stable job doing what I like to do. Starting Monday I will be earning the type of money that would allow me to support a family. I think Carol may be making more than I am. Yet we're both living in a room in our parent's house. Yes, I'm thinking that maybe I am approaching the time when I should move on, and I'm thinking Carol may be at that same stage, too. I am at the point where I'm thinking Carol might be the one with whom I will spend the rest of my life. We need to spend more time together to see if any red flags pop up. But if, in a reasonable amount of time, no red flags pop up for either one of us about the other, I will come to you and ask you for her hand in marriage. That's how serious I am."

Carol nodded her head in assent, and said, "And that is pretty much where I am coming from, too. Ted's a good guy. The child is the father of the man. He was a good guy in high school - not flashy, just solid and dependable. That's the type of man he has become. His latest evaluation at his work bears that out. I love you guys and I love my little room upstairs, but I'm beginning to want a home of my own with a solid dependable husband who loves me. Ted could be that man, and, as Ted said, after we've given it some time, if no red flags pop up, I'm ready to make my home with him."

Karl looked at his wife for a while, then turned to Ted and Carol. "We knew - no - we hoped that a day like this would come. Last week at this time we would have guessed that maybe the time

would come in a few years. And suddenly here it is. I know I speak for my wife as well as myself, we wish you well as you spend time together - making the most important decision you'll make in your entire life. We will try not to interfere, but we are here for you if you need us."

It was time to go over to Ted's parent's house. As they stepped out the front door, the air of the late fall day had become a little cool. Carol untied her shirt from under her breasts and let it fall down, tucking it into her shorts. She grabbed a blazer that she sometimes wore to work in case she needed it to keep warm. "Those shorts are new?" Ted asked.

"Just bought them yesterday. You like?"

"I think they're great," replied Ted, "but I've told you about my mom before, she is hyper critical and I'm sure she'll find fault with them unless . . . Where did you get them?"

Carol named the store. It was near the grocery store where she had gone shopping on Saturday. Ted stopped off there. They went in. "Take me to the rack where you got those shorts," he said. Carol found the rack and Ted took a couple pair off the rack to try them on. He came out wearing a matching pair of shorts that he, too, had rolled up to match Carol's. His package pushed out in front very obvious. He bought the shorts, putting the pants he had been wearing in the bag from the store. "If my mom asks whose idea it was to buy matching shorts, we can truthfully tell her it was my idea. She won't criticize me in front of you or my dad, so you will escape her poison tongue, at least over the shorts."

Ted's parents were different from Carol's. Ted's mom was a good woman in her own way, active in civic projects and a hard worker. She kept a neat home and was a good cook. But behind people's backs she was hyper critical and had few good words to say about anybody. She would probably criticize Carol for being a "bottle blonde" and for wearing such short shorts. Ted could not do anything about the hair remarks, but he thought he might stop criticism of the shorts if he wore a matching pair. Ted escaped public ridicule from his mother, although one-on-one she was capable of ripping him to shreds. Given her choice of targets though, she saved her most caustic remarks for her husband, who anesthetized himself somewhat through a day-long consumption of alcohol - not enough to make him out-and-out drunk, but just enough to keep him slightly buzzed and somewhat oblivious to his wife's remarks. She would probably be good today to him, not wanting to show her bitchy side to Carol, but might have tried putting Carol in her place by a cutting remark about the shorts.

"But I could have worn something else," Carol stated as they left the store.

"No, no, I love my hot girlfriend and I love my hot girlfriend's hot choice in clothing," replied Ted. "I don't want you to change."

"Well I kind of like the way those shorts look on you. I never understood baggy shorts that go all the way down to a guy's knees. These look good. I like the look of that lump in front.

"Which reminds me, our kisses have been having an effect on me, in case you haven't noticed, and one of these days real soon we are going to have to talk about sex."

"Right," said Ted as they turned into his parents' drive.

Ted and Carol walked into the front door of the home and Ted called for his parents. They were in the kitchen. As they entered the kitchen, Carol received a friendly greeting from Ted's dad, Art. But the greeting from Marion, his mom, was strange. The words were warm and friendly but her demeanor personified the old phrase, 'Cold as a mother-in-law's kiss'." She looked at Carol's shorts and was about to say something when she saw Ted's matching shorts and simply said, "And matching shorts, how cute," with words that dripped in sarcasm. Neither Ted nor Carol responded, and Art quickly changed the subject by announcing that he was glad that they had come because their being there gave him ample excuse to fire up the grill to make hamburgers and hot dogs.

Marion would have invited them to sit out on the patio just to try to make Carol feel uncomfortable in the cold, but Marion herself was sensitive to cold, so she invited everyone into the living room and offered drinks and munchies to everyone except her husband, to whom she had said softly, but loud enough for everyone to hear, "You've had plenty to drink already."

Marion asked Carol about her job, and Carol answered in a few short sentences. Ted wanted his parents to respect Carol, and so encouraged Carol to tell more. "Tell them about how you got your job," he suggested. When she would stop talking, he would ask her another question or suggest another topic that she could talk about. Carol normally did not like to talk about herself, but Ted kept her at it, and she understood that he wanted his parents to begin to appreciate her for who she really was.

The time went by rather quickly, and Art didn't even feel a need to get another beer in the middle. It was time for Art to fire up the grill and Marion to prepare the burgers and get out the chips and condiments. Carol asked Marion whether she could help, and, surprisingly, Marion invited her into the kitchen where she could slice pickles and peel and slice an onion and help set the table.

It seems as though, having heard Carol's story, Marion had mellowed a little bit in her attitude towards her. The meal went well, followed by a dessert that Marion had brought home from the bakery.

As everyone had to go to work in the morning, Ted took Carol home at a reasonable time. It was a little chilly, so Carol had him come into the house to say goodnight. Dorothy and Karl were watching television, Dorothy trying to multitask and read a book at the same time. Carol took Ted back into the kitchen. Softly she said to him, "I have a little more insight as to why men are fascinated by breasts - just two lumps of flesh sticking out from a girl's chest. But ever since you came out of that dressing room in these shorts, showing that lump between your legs, I've been stealing a glance at it every chance I get, and I want to put my hand down there and rub you. I know we need to talk about sex, and we said we would, but as we kiss goodbye tonight I'd love to have you put a hand on my breast, just on the outside of my clothes, and I'd love to put my hand on your package. Can we do that?"

"Yes we can," said Ted. They began their kiss. It was intense. Ted's right hand moved to Carol's left breast. He felt it and gently squeezed it. He was pretty sure he felt her nipple getting hard under his touch. He tried teasing it. In the meantime, Carol put her right hand on the lump in the front of Ted's shorts. She could feel his cock becoming hard in her hand.

As they finally broke off the kiss Carol said, "Tomorrow?"

"Right after supper," replied Ted.

Chapter 12 - The Relationship Progresses

Unless Carol or Ted had some other commitment, just about every evening was spent together. They had their talk about sex. For now they would only touch one another through clothing. While they did spend time "practicing" they had many meaningful discussions. They became more and more convinced that they were right for one another. Carol's place of business pretty much shut down during the Christmas Holidays. Ted still had to work. But on the Thursday during Carol's Christmas break, Ted made arrangements to take off some time from work in the middle of the day. He asked Carol to meet him at the diner across from her work at 1 PM. He had called the diner a few days before and asked to talk to the waitress that had served them on the day they had met in the diner. He asked, if it was possible, that she reserve the table where they had sat.

Now, when Carol met him at the diner, he ordered the same thing that they had ordered on the day they met. This time they finished the meal. And then he asked her to marry him. There were no squeals of delight. She knew it was coming. She looked at him with a big smile on her face and told him, "Yes."

There wasn't even a ring. In their talks, Carol expressed the opinion that rings were to impress friends and she did not have the type of friend that needed to be impressed. Rather, she would rather save the money and use it to help make the down payment on a house. All she wanted was an exchange of gold wedding bands on the day of their marriage.

During the holidays they told family and friends as they went from one family gathering to another or attended a party with friends. After the holidays they talked more about taking their sexual relationship up a notch or two. Their conclusion was that they had waited this long and were still virgins. At this point, they would begin to study up on doing sex right. They would get marriage manuals and sex "how-to" books. They would purchase sex ed. videos and watch them together and separately. They would talk about them. They used the same approach with the books they purchased. Their goal would be that on the day they were married, they would know what they were doing sexually so that there would be a minimum of fumbling around and so that they would be able to give one another maximum pleasure from day one.

They decided they would relax their previous rules so that as they learned how to pleasure one another, they would be allowed to do so except that Ted's cock would not be allowed to penetrate any of Carol's openings until after they were married. Eventually, they would be able to get naked in front of each other, and masturbate themselves as the other watched. They were married in mid-April, shortly after Easter.

After the holidays, they also began house hunting. First talking about the size of house they wanted, then deciding on the size of yard, what neighborhoods were acceptable and how near or far away from work they wanted to be. Then they looked at the age of the house they might want to move into, and looked at their finances to see what they could afford. By mid March they had a house - not a starter house but a house they fully intended to grow into, having a family and raising their children there. Neither Ted nor Carol had brothers or sisters, nevertheless they were thinking in terms of two children - maybe more. They were also thinking about having them while they were both still young. That seemed best for the health of the mother and for the health of the children.

The home they bought was not brand new, so they wanted to get it all painted and ready before they moved in. It didn't work out that way, exactly. They painted the kitchen, had new flooring put in, and bought kitchen furniture and new appliances. They also ripped out the carpeting in the bedroom and went together to choose the paint. Carol would work on finding curtains and any other wall decorations. They picked out carpeting and a bedroom set. Ted worked on painting the bedroom. When he was done, the new carpeting was installed, and the furniture was delivered. Ted put up

curtain rods and helped Carol put up the curtains and hang two pictures she had purchased for the room. There was also a large screen TV mounted on the wall attached to a video player. They would watch additional instructional videos and also some porn to add to their pleasures.

The night after they were married, they did not go on a honeymoon. Instead, Ted drove them both to their new home. He unlocked the front door, picked Carol up and carried her across the threshold and into their bedroom. They made love in their new bed. Their homework paid off. There was no awkward fumbling. Ted's only aim was to give his new wife pleasure. Carol's only aim was to give her new husband pleasure. That night was a grand success.

They both had taken off a week from work for their honeymoon. During the day they spent it working on the other rooms of the house, ripping up carpeting and then painting. It may sound dull, but Carol had purchased matching lace bras and thong panties to wear while working and also found what looked to be white athletic socks, but they pulled up over the knees and to the middle of her thighs. On her feet was an old pair of running shoes. Ted had found some men's bikini underwear, and that is what he wore as they worked during the day. Towards the end of the week they had to put a little more on as a crew came to install carpeting in the living room and dining room areas and in two of the upstairs bedrooms. They also laid linoleum in the upstairs bath, the downstairs bath and the bathroom off the master bedroom.