Chapter 2

"What was that guy's name?"

Jen turned away from the TV. "What guy?"

"That black guy that hit on you back in college."

Jen giggled. "Are you still thinking of that?"

"I'm just asking for his name," Michael said, feigning innocence.

Jen thought about it for a minute. "Gerard something ... Powers, Gerard Powers, I think."

Michael turned back to his computer and started typing.

"What are you doing?"

"I'm Googling him."

"What?"

"Wow, look at that. There's a ton of stuff on this guy."

Jen's disbelief of what her husband was doing was replaced by curiosity as she began reading all the hits. Gerard was a very successful business man, and owned substantial interests all over the world.

There were a number of pictures of Gerard, and Michael noticed that Jen lingered over those. Gerard Powers was a tall, handsome black man. Recent photos showed that he still kept in shape.

"So does he look as good now as he did in college?"

Still not taking her eyes off the screen, Jen nodded. Then realizing what she had just revealed, she turned away from the computer and playfully punched her husband. "What are you getting at?"

Michael was still searching on the Internet. "Wait a minute, look. He listed himself on a dating website." Jen looked over her husband's shoulder. Michael read further. "Hey, this is a web site for black guys looking for white women."

Gerard's page had a few pictures of him at the beach. He had muscular arms and legs, and his chest was sculpted. He wore Speedos that didn't leave much to the imagination. Michael looked over at his wife, who was intently studying the photos. "He keeps himself in shape, doesn't he?" Michael asked. Jen nodded, her eyes locked on the screen. Michael felt a twinge of jealousy. He was about to navigate away from Gerard's page when the IM flag appeared. Without thinking, Michael said, "Hey, Gerard's online right now. Click on that and you can chat with him."

"Michael, no. I don't want to let him know it's me."

Michael nudged her shoulder. "Go ahead. It's all anonymous, he won't know it's you. Click on it and let's see what he has to say." Michael reached out and clicked the flag as she playfully tried to stop him. They were both laughing as Michael typed, "Hi there!" and hit the send button.

"Michael, you're going to be in trouble if Gerard answers back."

A couple seconds later Gerard answered back and said, "Hi."

"Michael, see what you did? Now what do I do?"

"Go ahead, write him back, say something."

Jen was nervous as she took a deep breath and held her fingers above the keys. "What should I say? Quick, think of something."

"Tell him you liked his pictures."

Jen starred at Michael. "Go ahead. He won't know it's you."

Jen shrugged and began typing. "I really liked the photos you posted. You're really handsome."

"Thank you. My name's Gerard. Tell me about yourself. What's your name?"

Jen hesitated. "I better not tell him anything."

"No, go ahead. He lives in New York, and this is all anonymous. He'll never find out it's you."

Jen began typing. "My name is Jen and I'm blonde and petite." Jen looked over at her husband. "What else should I say?"

"Tell him your measurements." Jen scowled at her husband, and he laughed. "Go ahead, he's way up in New York, he won't bite."

"I'm about 34-24-34." Jen was about to hit send when Michael said, "Tell him you have great legs." Jen scowled at her husband again, but then typed, "My husband says I have nice legs."

Gerard's reply came on the screen a few seconds later.

"You sound beautiful. I'd love to see a picture of you. What color are your eyes?"

Jen typed back. "I have green eyes." She turned back to Michael. "What should I do, he wants to see a picture of me. Should I tell him I don't have any? "

"No, wait!" Michael clicked on a folder and found a picture of Jen in a short black dress. Her slim legs were crossed and she was showing a lot of thigh. Michael went into Photoshop and blacked out her eyes. Before Jen could object, he attached the photo and hit send.

"Michael, I don't like sending pictures of me!"

"I'm only having a little fun." Michael kissed her cheek as a message appeared on the screen.

"You're very attractive. I love your blonde hair, and I agree with your husband, you have wonderful legs. Can I see more of you? I'd love to see your face, I can tell you're very pretty."

Before Jen could say anything Michael found another picture, this time Jen in a sexy bra and panty set that Michael had bought her last Valentine's day. "Michael, no! I let you take that picture for just you to see!"

"It's okay, honey, this is all anonymous." Before Jen could act, he typed, "Here's another picture, but I don't feel comfortable showing you my face yet." He attached the picture with Jen's face blacked out, and hit send.

Despite being annoyed with Michael, Jen eagerly awaited Gerard's reply, which came just a moment later. "You have a wonderful body, and I completely understand about not showing me your face yet. May I ask, are you looking to date a black man or just curious?"