Raven Takes the Plunge

Life rarely moves in a linear fashion, following a narrow stream to an intended destination. Life is fed by tributaries, follows the contours of circumstance, and branches, giving life to pools and rivers teeming with possibility.

Raven had the thought her trip to Florida would be good for her career and her relationship. A few seminars, some job shadowing, and a little perspective. Leroy, ever the dutiful boyfriend, texted and called every night, but by the time she returned to her hotel after work she was so exhausted that she never responded.

Her future, her plans, had all been set. It would have been an easy ride down the river: work hard, marry Leroy, have some kids…

And then came Tim Thompson.

Damn that man. That adorable, sexy, wonderful man. How dare he wreck her plans? How dare he come into her life, pointing out all the holes in her boat?!

Yes, her career has certainly advanced due to her trip, but not in the way she has imagined. The arrest of Rick Santos and freeing of Martina Delgado had made national news. The media team from the local police service had insisted that Raven get as much credit for her part in the arrest. Of course, it was far more credit than she deserved, but Tim had instructed her to leave him out of it, that he was to be her silent partner in the affair.

And she had. Tim wasn’t the kind of man that you disobeyed. It wasn’t just that he had an aire of authority, but it was also that she respected him too much to disregard his wishes. So much of how Raven understood the world was through the lens of a command structure, like the police had. When she imagined Tim in that context, she wasn’t sure where he would sit on the chain of command, but he was most certainly higher than she was. Considerably higher.

And so, at the end of the week, she found herself packing her bag to go home. Home wouldn’t be the same. The day after the news broke, she had been informed via email that she was to come see her CO for reassignment. It turned out that there was an opening for a detective position, and while she was still a junior member of the service, her aptitude demonstrated in Florida has made her the leading candidate for the job.

But that wasn’t all. The biggest change was Leroy.

Who was she kidding? There was no way she could go back to him. Leroy was an amazing man, and Raven was sure he would find happiness with someone else, but if Raven didn’t tie her boat to Tim’s, she would regret it for the rest of her life. He was…

He was so…

Tim Thompson was everything she wanted.

Every night that week, Raven had put herself to sleep with her hand in her panties and his name on her lips. In her imagination, she replayed the night in the hotel over and over again, drowning in regret. Martina had been brave and decisive, knowing exactly what she wanted for her life.

Raven had been a coward.

But not in her fantasies. Each night, in the dark of the hotel, Raven would close her eyes and touch herself, dreaming about saying ‘yes’ to her man. She would jump on him, kiss him, fuck him. She imagined their life together, walking down the aisle in matching pure white wedding dresses, growing old together, having a family.

But more than that, she imagined Tim’s cock, what must be a thing of beauty, normally hidden from the world beneath his skirt, out for her to see, to love, to worship. She wanted to kneel before him, to serve him, to be his.

She snapped her suitcase shut. On the way to the airport, Raven would collect Martina, and take her home with her. The waitress had no means to buy a ticket, so Martina had sprung for it with a smile. The woman made Tim happy, so of course Raven would bring her home. With Leroy about to be out of her life, Raven could use a roommate, and having her there would be all the more incentive to lure her new man to her doorstep.

She expected that Leroy would be at the airport. That’s where she would do it. No use dragging it out. After she got off the plane, and before she collected her bag, Raven would pull him aside and give him the news. She would leave Tim out of it. No use to make things worse for Leroy. If he found out about Tim, the big man would want to compare himself with her new lover, and would only come up short. Leroy needed to realize that he was still a prize, and becoming emasculated by a specimen like Tim would only make things worse.

No, she would end it cleanly. It was her, she fell out of love, she wished him the best.

And then she would go home and call Tim.

And then she would give herself to the man of her dreams. She would give herself to him for the rest of her life. Her life hadn’t taken her on the river she had hoped for, but sometimes life had a way of making your reality much better than what you could dream. It was time for Raven to take the plunge and start living it.