"Hi, I'm Diana. Nice to meet you." Strange way to greet a stranger you bumped into in an alley on a cloudy night. "I'm John and the pleasure is all mine, miss." Taking her in, she stood no taller than my solar plexus. "Well, I've gotta get going. See'ya later." I said turning around and getting on my bike. "Where do you work? I could make it more enjoyable." "Well, seeing as you haven't made a bad impression, I guess you could come. Hop on." "Isn't that seat a little small for the both of us? I mean, I'm not thick but I'm certainly not thin." "From my thought process, you have three choices: 1) you sit on the seat and I stand on the pedals 2) you sit on the handlebars and lean back or 3) you sit on my lap. Take it or leave it." As she considered her options, I checked my watch. I had enough time even if she waited an hour to decide. Staring up at the dark, overcast sky I wanted it to be clear. "I'll sit on your lap." 'At least she took her time' I thought, 'unlike any of the other women I've dated.' As the wind picked up the moon came out illuminating her. Finally seeing her in better lighting, It was easy to tell she was a beauty. Slightly pear-shaped, beautiful raven hair, snow-white skin, and a gracefullness that probably stemmed from years of dancing. As she tried to climb up over the bike, she finally looked up at me. "Could ya help a girl out?" Prompted me to lift her by her waist and place her on my lap. "Get comfy. It's kind of'a long ride." When she finally stopped moving I set off to my job. 'That's strange.' I thought as I checked my watch again. 'It's only been five minutes but I could'a swore she took five to decide. Oh well.'  Reaching my job exactly at 00:00 a.m., I clocked in and walked to the bar after having Diana walk through the front. "Hey! John!" "Yes Elizabeth? Did you break the dishwasher again? Or one of the wine glasses?" "Only a few hearts but that's not what I wanna talk to you about." "Ok." As Liz, my boss walked around the corner of the bar, all the men in it, excluding me, stopped looking at the other women in the bar. She was a statuesque woman. Definitely top-heavy, but still elegantly proportioned despite it. Before I had started my job at The Hot And Heavy, some men had tried to get her to go out with them, and when she said no assaulted her. Luckily, she was a stereotypical Texas woman, keeping a .45 revolver and a foot long double edged blade hidden on her right thigh. Needless to say she beat some sense into them. Along with some respect for women. Now they know that when a woman says no, she means no. "I was wondering of when we got off if you would like to hang out?" "Does tommorrow work for you? I'm busy today." "Yeah, tommorrow is fine." "See you then." All of a sudden there was an audible silence. Looking towards the door, it was Diana in a beautiful red number. As she walked towards the bar, every single head swiveled to follow her path. "John." "Diana. I see you changed." "I dress to impress." "It looks like you've succeeded. Nobody except for me can take their eyes off'a you." "Hi. I'm Elizabeth John's boss. Are you who he's hanging out with later today?" "Yes I am." "And y'all are just friends?" "Yep. Just friends." Giving a scoff as I walked away to manage shifts, Liz said. "Don't break his heart like the others. Or I will kill you." Approaching me after I came out the back to man the bar, the bar Diana said, "Is she always that territorial?" "Whenever I bring a woman to work or some girl chats me up, yeah." "How do you put up with it?" "Cause I have to. And cause it's a part of who she is." Work flew by with Diana there to keep me talking. Headin' out back towards my bike, I saw Diana already there. "Where do you live? I can take you back there." "Currently I don't have a place to live. Mind if I crash at your place?" I mean at this stage if she wasn't at least a friend what was she? "Not at all." When we were almost back to my place the sun suddenly rose blinding me. Of course knowing the roads and sounds of the way home by memory really helped us get back. Entering my apartment and, revealing the most meticulously clean Diana had ever seen, brought a smile to my face at her expression. When she turned to me in complete shock it brought out a laugh from somewhere within. Which caused me to pause. When had I laughed last? Five years ago, when Emma told me she was breaking up with me. I hadn't taken her seriously. Turns out she never loved me. Only the idea I represented. I trudged back to the moment and looked at Diana. She was looking at me like she understood what it was like to love someone wholeheartedly, only for them to have no love for you. Tearing my gaze away, I pointed to the couch. "You can sleep there and I'll get you some blankets to keep you warm." "Ok." "If you need me I'll be in there. Bathroom is approximately seventeen feet from the couch on the left when facing towards the windows." "Got it." Heading to my room and undressing after getting Diana some sheets, and turning in I quickly fell asleep.

'He sure is strange.' I thought. 'For one he is extremely clean and two he has Aphrodite as a boss at his work. And he feels no sexual attraction to her whatsoever. Or if be does he hides it very, very well.' When she had warned me not to break his heart like the others, i thought she meant the other goddesses. But, no she had meant the other women he had dated. The last one must have really done a number on him for him not have had any emotion for the last five years.' Suddenly, John called out from his room, "No! Emma! Don't leave me! I love you!" 'He must be having a nightmare.' As I got up and entered his room, I saw how disturbed his bed was from his thrashing. As he lay on his left side panting and crying in his sleep, I crawled into his bed. "Shh, it's okay. It's okay." Pulling his arm around me and curling up against him, I felt his breathing slow and his his heart along with it. Falling asleep here would be bad. Trying to pull away proved futile, as whatever I tried only caused him to pull me against him harder. 'To hell with decency.' I thought as I made my clothes vanish. Hearing his heart beat a nice steady rythm. 'It never occurred to me just...how...much...bigger...he is.'

Waking up at dusk to discover Diana in my arms was...confusing. First and foremost, what had made Diana feel the need to climb into my bed? Second, Why was she undressed and where were her clothes? Third, why was my bed so messed up? Lastly, why did i feel so at peace with her in my arms? All thes questions answers would have to wait till I woke her after I prepared breakfast. Quietly getting up and releasing my hold on her, I left for the kitchen. Grabbing a skillet, 6 eggs, my spatula, and some pepper I set put to make some damn good eggs. As I started the skillet heating, I grabbed a frying and the last of my bacon. 'This should be enough for the both of us even if I wasn't so freaichly tall.' Having prepared breakfast and layed out the table, I set about waking up Diana. "Diana, wake up." I called softly in the bedroom. "Diana, it's time to get up." Sighing I became resigned to having to share her awake. Approaching silently, I saw her face in the setting sun. With the golden light weakening and becoming softer, it made her beautiful skin almost seem like it was glowing. Looking at the other window as the sun finally set to see the moon had just rested the horizon and looking back to see if the lighting had changed on her face made freeze. She looked perfect. There was no other way to describe how she looked in the full moon's light. The silvery glow lit up her face and complimented her skin tone much better than the setting suns had. If anything she looked better in the moonlight than anybody else he had knew, including Elizabeth. As I shook off my stupor, I realized that breakfast was still on the table and I proceeded to wake her up. As she came to she pleaded, "Orion! Just five more minutes and then I'll get up. Please?" "Diana it's John. It's time to eat breakfast." Rolling over, she opened her eyes and looked at me. "Oh, hi John. Is it morning already? Wow, that was fast." Quickly realizing that I was dressed while she remained in her undergarments made her get up and dressed. "Sorry for not being up earlier. I haven't always been able to sleep in a bed never mind this monstrosity you call one." "It's not my fault your two and a half feet shorter than I am." Standing up on the bed, she was still shorter than me a good foot and a half. "Last night, did you have heels on?" Hearing this made her blush profusely. Almost ashamedly she admitted,"Yes I had heels on. If you must know I am actually three and a half feet shorter than you. So get all the short jokes out know." "No, I was just curious as to why you were still so much shorter on the bed than you ghouls have been. Now, if you don't mind, I have prepared breakfast. Eggs and bacon." "Wow a man that can cook, is a major piece of eye candy, has a nice place, and is still single. You must had women lined up to get you for themselves." Reaching the kitchen table before answering, "I wouldn't say lined up. More like it's a prison riot that has been armed by the military. That is immune to nuclear radiation." Hearing her laugh at my accurate description stopped me in my tracks. It was so musical and so uniquely hers. It fit her cheeky, witty personality perfectly. "So where do you wanna go today.?" "Well what is there to do?" Taking a bite of food to buy time to think I finally said, "Well there are the dance halls, the ice rink, the roller rink, the court, and the parks. That's about it." Deciding to give her some to think about the plethora of places and things to do, I cleaned the dishes. As I washed the dishes, she came up behind me, and gave me a hug. Feeling her small body press against my back I turned around held her close until she broke off. "It's been a while since anybody just let me hug them." She said somewhat lugubriously. "You need a hug, just ask. Anything for a friend." Nodding she resumed thinking. Having finished the dishes, Iprceeded to organize them by size, type, and coloration. "Why don't we go to a dance hall?" "Sure, I kn ow a few. What type of music do you want to dance to: country, club, or more intimate?" "Letr's gor for the more romantic setting." "Do you need to get ready? Seeing as I own the property and have a few songs for us, there isn't a need to get dresssed up. Unless of course you were trying to impress me." Smiling, I waited for her answer. Finally she responded, " Nah, I think this is good enough don't you? I mean these clothes really emphasize my curves." Upon closer inspection they really did emphasize her shapeliness. If anything the clothes she was wearing were a tad bit too small for her. "You sure you can dance in those tight clothes? They don't look they'll stretch much if at all." "They'll do. Now let's get king." With that, we left my house for the dance hall.