Gabriella winced as she tried to cross the street. There was a light at the center of Westport Road and Pennsylvania, but the sidewalks were full of young women of all sizes in all manner of dress. The young men driving by never seemed to keep their eyes on the road; and certainly not on the one light above the intersection.

She had gone back to her car to get some more boxes of chocolate. She had run out earlier than she was used to. She had a small shop she had inherited from her parents when they died. Her parents had inherited the shop from her mother's parents when they died.

Gabriella had grown up making confectionary since she could put a candy in the middle of a confectionary foil. The paper was actually Gabriella's invention. They took a thin aluminum foil and had flowers and other designs with their shop name, "Guinevere's Chocolates" silk screened on it.

The way they wrapped the chocolate came from watching them do it in Paris. The graphics came from Gabriella's graphics class during her college years. She had majored in Architectural Graphics with a separate degree from Le Cordon Bleu in the Culinary Arts.

She had longed to work for one of the local architects, but felt trapped to help her mother when she fell into poor health and refused to sell. Actually they couldn't sell it. Nobody really knew how to make all the assorted Swiss chocolate variations they offered.

Her grandparents and parents refused to upgrade their equipment through the years. Most of the work was done by hand. Once her mother gave up trying to oversee everything, Gabriella managed to put in several chairs and small tables. She got up so early to start the chocolate; she also began serving many more expensive coffees as well.

Lately she started offering a line of ice cream she had been developing. She hadn't worked out very many flavors, but didn't have much room either. The kids got a kick out of her actually making the chocolate covered cones right in front of them.

The coffee advertised in the gourmet sections of the expensive specialty stores and coffee shops didn't display the fact that their "Kona" coffee was less than 1% coffee from Kona, Hawaii. Gabriella's Kona Coffee was 100% pure beans from Kona. They were about $70.00 per pound for the beans, so the coffee was much more expensive than the beans from Costa Rico, Brazil or Togo.

One day, she was making some chocolate covered strawberries when the bell over the door tingled. She looked up to see one of the biggest, meanest looking black men she had ever seen.

She had seen his picture in the paper when the Chief's had picked him up. He had bounced around the league for a few years. He must have been 6'-6" tall and about 260 pounds. He was one of the few men to have beaten the world record holder from Jamaica. After that, every pro football team in the NFL was after the Nigerian track star. Tony Olakandi looked bigger in real life than the newspaper clippings.

The sides of his head had been shaved. His kinky Mohawk was wide on his head, and the back of it was combed almost like a ducktail from the 1960's. The top was more like a flat-top, with the edges longer and curled back up over the top.

His long muscled legs still bulged with muscle under his Levis that hung over his lizard skin boots. His white, starched button collar oxford cloth dress shirt was starched almost as stiff as a board. The darts in the sides made it fit like a glove. His Dolce and Gabanna dark glasses gave no hint where he was looking.

The girl he was holding the door for was spectacular. She had obviously dyed blond hair that was permed and looked like it was ready to take wing. If her hair couldn't get her off the ground, her water wings could. She looked like she had both elbows stuck in her blouse; a tough job for something cut that low.

Her short skirt barely covered her ass and her high heel shoes were tall enough to cause serious injury if she fell. Aside from that, she was truly a beautiful girl. It was a shame she couldn't let her natural beauty show.

Bambi, as she heard Tony call her, was intent on getting an ice cream cone and a couple of pieces of Belgian chocolate. She sampled the Marzipan, the Gianduia, the Dark Chocolate Cherry Cordial, the Raspberry Truffle, and some of the Dark Chocolate rolled in Cocoa Powder.

It wasn't so much that she was a discerning shopper as she didn't know what anything was and might as well have been picking over the shelving at Wal-Mart.

With all his hostile and threatening appearance, Tony Olakandi was twice as sophisticated as she was. "What a pathetic pair." Gabriella thought to herself. "It looks like he got himself a sure fire lay tonight, she thought to herself as she tried to present her most sincere smile.

"Can I help you folks?" she smiled.

Tony tried to look interested, but it was hard. It was hard to tell behind the Dolce & Cabanas, but he actually was checking out Gabriella. She was like looking at Susan Aniston next to Courtney Cox. Courtney Cox is so blindingly beautiful; you don't notice Susan at first. Her dingy mannerisms, her humorous dialogue have a tendency to minimize her actual looks.

Tony took a closer look at the middle aged woman with a blue denim apron behind the counter. She was probably a little over forty years old. Her long reddish brown hair was done in a long French braid; obviously to keep it out of her work. She wore no makeup; maybe a slight touch of lipstick. Her green eyes were framed by her wire rimmed glasses. She had no jewelry.

Her blue Levis concealed some high heeled lizard skin boots. They were almost identical to his; except the heels were higher. "I like your shoes." He said with a faint smile that was hard to tell with his dark glasses on.

"Thanks." She replied as she peered over the counter and noticed his.

"I'm working on some new ice cream. When you're through with the candy, why don't you try some? No charge." She said as she turned and went to the next display case. She pulled out a small plastic bottle and took off the top to pour some batter onto the griddle and drew a dark brown wooden stick across it. It was the same wooden tool the French use to make crepes.

She wrapped them around some wooden cones to cool. "This is my version of Dark Belgian Ice Cream." She said as she dipped it in a canister of chocolate and then sprinkled some chopped up macadamia nuts over the top. The chocolate dip was still soft and the macadamia sprinkles stuck to it to create a nice garnish of white in the dark chocolate.

"Where did you learn to do all this?" Tony asked as he took the two cones from her.

"My mom and grandmother used to take me to France and Belgium when I was a little girl. I used to watch them make this stuff. I am working on several more ideas. I'm trying to find a way of combining puff pastry with the chocolate and ice cream. There is only so much you can do when one person is doing everything and it is all handmade." She said as she wiped her hands on her apron.

There was also only so much attention he could give another woman if he wanted to get laid with the one he was with. He thanked her for the free ice cream and went back to sit with his date at a wrought iron table for two against the window.

The young girl at the table sensed the interest between her date and the shop proprietor, so when he turned around to sit down with her, the short dress was probably a little higher than it needed to be as she sat with her legs crossed. "This ice cream is delicious. Where did it come from?" she asked.

"The woman made it; along with the candy, the coffee and everything else." She probably decorated this place as well" he said as he glanced slowly at the all-white sheetrock walls, tables, counters and chairs. The all white background contrasted dramatically with the dark chocolate confectionary on display. It was a subtle and almost subconscious display that was lost on most customers.

The smell of fresh chocolate, and fresh coffee brewing was intoxicating. Tony was getting laid for sure today. This was the most sophisticated little shop he had been in since he had come back from taking his mother through Europe.

While Bambi was being impressed with Tony's selection of a nice eating place, Tony was becoming interested in the proprietor. Barbie leaned forward, raising her spoon of ice cream for Tony to sample, while raising her dress in a subtle effort to divert his attention from Gabriella. When she felt she was losing the struggle, she insisted they go for a walk.

Several days later, Tony was there at about 6:00am when they opened. He had on nearly the same clothes he had on before; except for the shirt now being blue. He had a USA Today paper and ordered a cup of coffee. Gabriella let him finish his coffee and came by to offer him a refill. "I got some glazed doughnuts on the way in and can't possibly finish them myself." She said and offered him one without even asking him if he wanted one.

"Several of the older retired men come by in the morning and spend half the morning drinking coffee and fighting about politics. It doesn't look like they're going to make it in today." She said. "I usually get them some doughnuts because they are real good about eating everything else I have."

Tony smiled but didn't say anything. When he was done with the paper, he put it back in the rack with the Kansas City star, which others had left to share.

He left a tip of $100.00 under his coffee cup. She was stunned to see the tip after he left.

The next day, they went though the same ritual. He came in; ordered his coffee and she handed it to him. "I can't possibly accept a tip like that from you." She said softly as she handed him the coffee and a doughnut.

"It's not a tip. It's a wager." He said. "I'm willing to bet that if you change the way you dress, you will double or triple the business in here. You have some fantastic food here. Everybody comes in and takes home some of the best chocolate in the city. I'm willing to bet with the money I left her that if you wear something different you will quadruple your income."

"Tomorrow I am going to come in again. I want to see your hair pulled back; and a much shorter dress." He left without Gabriella saying anything.

The next morning, the tall dark savage came in as usual. There behind the counter, Gabriella had braided her long reddish brown hair into a fishtail; it had been braided a couple of times at the base of her neck, tied off with an emerald butterfly and the rest of it cascaded loosely down the right side of her head.

Her dress was an emerald green, sleeveless button front dress that was a few inches above her knees. Her long high heeled shoes put her several inches above the counter, where her delectable firm breasts pushed proudly up and out to the sides. They weren't monsters like Barbi's. They were modest, melon sized testaments to defiance of gravity in the way they seemed to perk up and against the top of her form fitting oxford cloth garment.

Tony looked around. The old men were back; about a dozen of them. Young men who had their children for the weekend were all in there. Nobody was using the drive thru lane. Everybody had parked outside and was waiting, without complaining, in line, intrigued with the sudden change in Gabriella's looks.

"I guess I owe you some money." She said as she sheepishly handed him his coffee. She had prepared it without asking what he wanted. He would have taken it no matter how she had prepared it.

"You keep it. I knew this would happen. You are worth it." He said as he took his coffee and tried to find an open table. When Gabriella went to clean off his table after he left, she found another tip of $100.00 wrapped around his business card. It wasn't much of a business card. It had his name, Tony written in magic marker on one side. The other side had his number. That was it.

After she had cleaned up and closed, she was walking back to her car in the parking lot. She pulled out her cell phone and called him. "Thank you so much for the tip. I really don't deserve it, but it came at a time that has really helped." She said.

"You know that it came with strings attached." The voice at the other end said. "I was hoping maybe you would have dinner with me tonight."

"I have to go home and fix dinner for my mother and wait up until she goes to bed. Maybe we can find some other coffee shop that is open later. My treat." She replied.

"I'll go if you look as good as you did today." He answered. "When you're ready, text me the address of where you want to meet. I can be there in 30 minutes if you let me know before you leave." He said.

Gabriella felt she was in a bit of a dilemma. She knew he was probably used to getting laid every time he went out. At the age of forty, she was too old for those games. On the other hand, what was she holding herself out for? Why can't I play the same game? Why can't I just latch onto some hunk for a one night stand and fuck his brains out? These were the thoughts that tormented her whenever she faced this kind of a situation.

She had met a series of lawyers, doctors, college professors and business men through the years since she had graduated from college; "like smoke from the tops of a coal train, her dreams were just the same; nothing but empties, coming back." Some were married, some were drinkers, and some were beaters. She had pretty much given up hope of any long term commitments. Never the less, she longed to have a daughter, and some sort of long term companion.

Whatever it was she was looking for, Tony certainly wasn't it. He was obviously a player; he was too young to even know what he wanted. She could sense a mean streak in him. Still, there was an air about him that was compelling; like a bright light to a moth. She knew better, but couldn't resist his magnetism.

Gabriella finished the dishes after her mother had finished eating. She woke her mother after the news was over, and guided her into her bedroom:

"If you are still interested, I can get together in a half hour at Chubbys. It is at 3100 Broadway in Kansas City." She typed into her cell phone.

"C U there." Came up after she opened her reply.

Gabriella was nervous as she drove "Burt," her pink 1972 Beetle down through the Brookside and Westport Districts. She smiled at the guard in the parking lot as she locked the car and walked briskly towards the door. It was a sort of trendy all-night restaurant, depending on your perspective.

There were girls with tattoos and purple Mohawks; drunks, winos, and of course all the minor celebrities in town. It was an amazing mixture of the haves and the have-nots. When she made it through the vestibule, tony was waiting there for her. The hostess walked them across the cheap vinyl tile floor with the alternating black and white checker board pattern. They sat in a big corner booth covered in brown plastic. The waitress handed them a wax paper packed with a stainless steel knife, fork and spoon.

When the coffee came, it had a spoon in it and she brought a little cup with real and Imation packets of sugar. The waitress was a tired old woman that Gabriella had seen there for twenty years.

It wasn't a romantic place. It wasn't a very clean place. It had safety in numbers. Gabriella was in another dilemma. She was there out of curiosity to meet and impress a man she wanted to have no part of; or did she? Everything about him was wrong; yet tempting.

They spent several hours feeling each other out; Gabriella outlining where she wanted to go with her shop. Tony talked about his prospects with the current team and what he was considering after football.

He had several offers to partner up in a beer distributorship, car dealership, several bars and an insurance company. He had some knowledge about most of the business, but they weren't anything he was passionate about yet. He talked about the dilemma of trying to do something with the community where he was born and the problems with that.

"Would you like to go up to my place?" he asked after he had paid for the food.

"Tony, I hardly know you yet. You're half my age. I can't just go home and fuck you like the other groupies do. I'm too old fashioned. You need somebody more your age for that."

Tony smiled but didn't say anything. He walked her out to her car and kissed her lightly on the cheek as she got in. "I'll call you" he said as she pulled out of her stall.

"Yah, sure." She told herself. "If he doesn't get laid, that is the end of it." She mused.

The next day, Tony was there; a little later, but he was there. He came back later in the day, as she was closing. "I thought about some of the things you said last night. I have some extra money. I am willing to go halves with you on this shop. You need some more money if you want to make all this stuff you want."

"I spent quite a bit of time on the internet last night. I have talked to my lawyer. He wanted me to protect myself. He doesn't want me to be in the position of letting you claim this is a gift. I've laid out the equipment costs of these items, included a business plan and have a contract.

"If you want, we can be half-owners. You will have enough to make the chocolate candy, roast your own coffee beans; make your own ice cream and have some ovens for puff pastry. I can come by and shake hands with everybody; sign autographs; shit like that. I can bring in the women. You can bring in the men."

Gabriella was stunned. Maybe this was a way to keep this man around, she thought. I wouldn't have to fuck him to keep him here. "Let me think about it. This is all so sudden." She said.

By the time she had cleaned up, there wasn't much to decide. She had a number of reasons to accept his offer. It would help her business and it was a good way to keep this handsome stranger around without being a lover.

In the back of her mind she was intrigued with the possibility of a lover; she just hadn't accepted in her mind that it could be him. They went back to Chubby's to go over the contract. The sticky situation was in the event of dissolution of the business. If that happened, he could demand all of his money back and she had to repay him within thirty days. Gabriella didn't really understand it all, but it seemed like a good deal, so she signed the papers, which would assure her enough money to take her shop into the 21^st century.

Within a few weeks, Gabriella had been able to lease the space above and below her shop and remodel it. She and Tony added more dining space and fortified the existing kitchen with more ovens, refrigerators, computers, and mixers. She was able to hire another young girl to help her.

The space on the upper floor became a reading room. She loaded it with used books. People could come in and borrow or leave books they liked. They could use computers to read e-books.

The lower level had a walk out exit. It was turned into a small theatre where people could put on small performances. They could go upstairs to get snacks of pastry, ice cream, chocolate or muffins.

Things were going progressively better. A growing clientele began patronizing the shop. They were able to sell a number of things online. Business was getting pretty good. Whenever Tony was there, everybody wanted an autograph. His presence seemed to take a new double entendre: Gabriella's Dark Chocolate"

"She's banging him or why would he be here?" most of the women and a number of the men thought.

"Let's go out tonight and celebrate" Tony said one night. Gabriella was getting used to him, but still wary. As a partner, he was okay. As a date, she wasn't sure. The truth is always different from reality.

"Okay," she said. "Where do you want to go?"

Tony escorted her out to his car, a 1955 Chevrolet convertible. It sat low to the ground; sides shaved of all handles, and had a blower sticking out of the hood. It wouldn't do for a car to go across country, but would get from Westport to the Plaza just fine.

They went to the Nelson Art Gallery. It was Friday night. Roselle court was open a little later. They went into the restaurant, which was an interior courtyard that was a two or three story atrium between the main rotunda and the Egyptian collection. It was a courtyard bordered by columns up to a mezzanine level. All the surfaces were limestone clad walls. The floor around the perimeter stepped down about three steps to a courtyard that was a good 100 feet square. A large fountain in the middle bubbled water to give a soothing background of soft noise. A beautiful middle aged woman was playing a violin.

The food was a series of silver warming trays with an assortment of very tastefully prepared main courses. Gabriella was impressed with his choice of restaurants. She had come there a number of times to inspect the confectionary they served for desert. The atmosphere could not be matched by any place she could have found.

They each ordered a large salad and a turkey club sandwich which was about $25.00 each. The desert was close to what Gabriella made. She could do better. The 300lb ice sculpture was an elegant double swan with their necks entwined.

"I'm impressed with your choice." She said shyly as she pushed the last few cuttings of onion around on her plate, waiting patiently for him to finish."

"I think it's time to go up to my place, don't you?" he asked; almost demanded.

"There it was; fuck or walk." She thought. As much as she was tempted, she didn't feel she could accept; at least not the way the proposition was presented to her.

Perhaps, nestled on a blanket in front of a fireplace, with a glass of wine in her hand, she could be romanced into it with a man, a white man, her age, she might have succumbed. Under such a blunt proposition, she was a little embarrassed about doing something she was subconsciously willing to accept.

"I'm sorry Tony. We are partners in this business. I don't think it would be appropriate to have sex with you under these circumstances. I think you should take me home." Tony didn't say anything, but his manhood had been clearly injured. The ride back to the shop was silent. Gabriella tried to lighten up the mood by discussing what a nice place the Courtyard was, and how she hoped they could go back again; her treat.

Tony did not go around to let her out. Gabriella knew things had not gone well, but didn't know what to do about it.

That night before she went to bed, she got a text from Tony:

"I think your appearance is getting shabby lately.

Tomorrow I want to see things get a little sexier.

When you come in, wear that green button front dress again, but I don't want to see any panties or bra underneath.

If this is going to be strictly business, we can concentrate on getting more customers in.

Gabriella was crushed. What had gotten into him? When she got in to open up, Tony was there, waiting. He followed her in. "I thought I gave you specific instructions for your appearance from now on." he said as he sat down and waited for his coffee.

Gabriella's mind raced, trying to think what to do. This was going to kill her. She went to the restroom. She peeled the top of her dress down and removed the bra. She buttoned back up and looked at herself in the mirror. Her smooth, form fitting green dress would not be able to hide her long pink nipples. She struggled to unbutton the top two buttons. That left her open to the bottom of her breasts. If she had to lean over to scoop any ice cream, she would fall out. Gabriella repositioned her fishtail braid over her right breast. That might give her some cover.

She studied her reflection as she raised her dress and reached for her panties. She couldn't believe she was actually going to do it. Her eyes reddened a little as she let her panties fall to the floor. She bent over and picked them up. She put the two garments into her purse. She watched the woman in the mirror pull the hem up to unbutton the lower part.

"You poor pathetic thing; you." She said to the figure in the mirror that she no longer knew. She watched the woman smooth her dress. She pulled the dress up several inches and let it drape over her belt. She was going to make herself look like the Bambi girl he brought in some time ago. "If that's what he wanted, she was going to give it to him" she told herself.

When Gabriella opened the door and walked out, she tried to present a look of defiance that she did not have. She could not stop the welling in her eyes. She was injured in the sense that one more man she had started to have faith in had now turned on her. He was different.

The others she could just walk away from. She could refuse to take their calls or not answer the door for them. This one was different. She was financially bound to him. Do what he wants or take the consequences. "Fuck or walk." Was the term she was familiar with.

Gabriella came out with the large purse over her arm. She sat it down on the counter in front of him and pulled the sides open so he could see the two garments in it. He didn't need to. He could see the long stem pink nipples pressing against the snug fabric. He could see her six pack abdominal muscles and belly button against the thin form fitting fabric.

He could see her bare legs where the air-conditioning fluttered the sides of her lower dress open. She was more than naked. Naked is a woman standing in the dim light in the bedroom.

Here was this splendid looking older woman wiping her hands with a small towel ready to ask a man with his little boy what kind of ice cream they wanted. Her mind was numb as she poured the batter onto the griddle and spread it with the Crepe Batter Trowel Spreader. She tried to make casual conversation with the father of the little boy. It was her natural procedure when she made the cones, but somehow she was full of tension.

The young man who had been there many times also, was stunned at the woman in front of him. Normally covered with a long apron, this beautiful creature was standing there with her nipples pretty much out in front of everybody. They were technically covered from the front, but when she had to lean over the griddle and swivel the Trowel around the cone batter, it was impossible for her to keep the sides of her dress completely together. He was sure he had seen a long pink nipple wavering around inside that dress. It was only a millisecond, but he had seen it.

He was going to let his golfing buddies in on this little incident when he got home. He was also unable to take his eyes off of her outrageously short dress. He had guessed she had nice legs, but now there was no doubt about it. Her long tapered and toned legs were tanned and looked magnificent below the short hem.

As the day wore on, the lines got longer. Tony took out his cell phone. Gabriella was going to need more help. The girl that usually came in later was going to have to come in early today. When she did, she was a little taken back by what she saw. She had never seen Gabriella dress like this, and didn't really understand what had happened.

Gabriella sent her home about closing time. She didn't want to, because she wasn't sure what Tony would do next. After thinking about it more, she felt that whatever Tony had in store for her, she didn't want her hired help to know. She would rather take her chances with him alone.

When the shop closed, Gabriella turned the slats of the storefront down so nobody could see in. She turned the lit sign from "Open," to "Closed."

Her heart was racing when Tony turned the latch on the front door. They were locked in now; just the two of them. Tony went over to the large leather couch that the coffee drinkers usually sat in. He picked up the daily paper, sat and crossed his legs. Gabriella stood behind the glass counter, waiting to see what he wanted next.

"I think I would like a fresh cup of coffee to go with a couple of the Dark Chocolate Raspberry Truffles you have left." He said without looking up. Thankful that that was all, Gabriella turned to make one cup in the Keuring Special Edition B60.

"On second thought, I think I want something different. I think that since I am your partner, I deserve special treatment. I want you to come over her and take off that dress. I don't want you to get it dirty with chocolate or even spill any coffee on it." He said, again, without looking up.

Gabriella was stunned. She stood with her back to him for several moments and tried to gather her thoughts. Slowly as if she hadn't really heard him she came back over to him. Softly she leaned over and grabbed his hand.

"Tony, maybe it is time we just went up to your place for the evening." Her mind was racing now, but her voice was calm, like a mother trying to calm a screaming child. She tried to take his hand and gently lead him to the door.

"It's time." She said to herself. She resigned herself to the fact that deep down she knew she would eventually have to "give it up."

"I don't want to, but I'd rather go up to his place and subject myself to some outrageous demands that seem to be coming up right now. Maybe I can calm him down by the time he gets home." She told herself.