TK walked into the commissary then. He eyed the two of them and then gave a lascivious grin. He gripped his crotch suggestively. Christopher put on his meanest expression and gestured with his head for TK to get lost. The other man silently went to the vending machines and got himself a soda. He could tell that their wordless conversation had tickled the black man who raised his ever-present sunglasses to look at the two of them and then blow him a quick kiss.Christopher scowled but it disappeared as soon as he looked down into the woman's peaceful face. She was beautiful, she had a teeny little peanut nose and perfectly formed lips. He used to look at pictures and photographs of lips; ones with perfect cupid bows; like hers. Her face was round and girlish. He figured that she was in her late twenties. Her long lashes left dark shadows on her golden brown cheeks. She wasn't pink, she was gold and brown like hot buttered toast.He wished that she would sleep like this forever. Ash

Monday morning, Ashleigh got out of bed early enough to make herself a breakfast of oatmeal and a slice of wheat toast. She dressed in sweatpants that were no longer quite as tight and an oversized shirt. She looked at herself in her full-sized mirror. Why was she still fat? Okay, she was smaller; the scale said it and so did her clothes but she was still round…well, her breasts had deflated. It was the one thing she hadn't minded being oversized.Ashleigh scowled and drove to work. She had to rush if she wanted to get in a full hour. As she headed for the gym she heard the faint clanging sound of bells. She hesitated, alarms, bells…clocks? And then she realized that it was part of a song. She picked up her pace and a smile came over her face. It was the Dark Side of the Moon by Pink Floyd! Lt. Christopher Jamieson was a god among men for playing Time at 5:30 am!He was pounding on the treadmill but this time he wasn't wearing his hoodie, just a t-shirt and sweat pants. She caught he

"Hey. You're kind of quiet" Christopher said, his accent heavy to Ashleigh's ears. She was sipping her smoothie in deep thought. She glanced up and smiled."Um…acai, cabbage and mango?"He chuckled. "Not even close.""Not even one?""Nope.""I give up.""Green apple, a tiny bit of watermelon, pears and green tea.""Green tea?! That's cheating. Whoever heard of a green tea smoothie?"He smiled. "It's good though, right?""Delicious." He stood and then helped her up. Whenever he gave her a hands up she was again amazed by his height, and of course his big hand swallowed hers. Being a fat woman next to a man who was feet taller than you was good for the ego. She felt dwarfed by Christopher. "What's it like being so close to the sun?" she had asked him once. His charcoal grey eyes had twinkled. "Amazing."They went through their workout and when they got to the tenth rep she didn't even believe it. "We're done?""Done.""No way…I'm still breathing.""Maybe it's an indicati

When Christopher got home, he walked right past Maggie who purred and followed at his feet. He sighed and then bent down and rubbed her ears gently. "Sorry, Mags. I'm not mad at you." She leaned into his fingers in contentment. "Did you miss me, girl?" He stood and placed his things neatly in the closet, popped in a John Coltrane disc and then checked his messages. His mother had called."Son, this is Mom." He smiled, as if he couldn't tell. "I hate to tell you this over the phone but Aunt Lonnie passed away today. It was quiet and she wasn't in any pain. Uncle Ray was there and the kids." Christopher blew out a deep breath and sank down into one of the dining room chairs. "The funeral is going to be Saturday down on the mountain. The funeral is going to be at the white church at two. We goin' to meet up at Aunt Lonnie and Uncle Ray's house early…before. They want you to be a pall bearer." His mother sighed again. Aunt Lonnie wasn't his mother's aunt she was his mother's sister. H

"Well what the hell am I supposed to talk about?" he asked out loud."You don't have to think of a topic!" someone said. "Just don't sit there looking like a dumbass.""Ask them what they do."Christopher looked up. "I already know what they do.""That's only because you're perving them." It was their word for watching people on the security camera.Christopher blushed. "No. Ashleigh told me what they do.""Pretend that she didn't tell you." TK was rubbing his jaw. His eye was already swelling. The guys gave him advice while he sniffed his armpits for freshness. Yeah, he was still good after his shower this morning. Someone handed him a bottle of cologne and he accepted it as if it were poison. He opened the bottle and sniffed. Not too bad. He put on a bit.He stripped out of his fatigues and pulled on tan slacks and a white button down shirt. He felt a little less nervous after burning off his nervous energy with TK and the guys were actually giving him good advice. He guessed