They didn’t see each other very often lately, but it was clear that they were close, and Conner had ultimately decided that if Katrina was important... to Tessa, he would do his best to like her. Tessa seemed equally interested in Conner’s life. He explained that his family only lived a few blocks from him, but he only saw them once a month. His brothers were busy with their families, Conner had two nephews and one niece, and he loved them all, even if he hardly ever saw them. He also loved his. ' She pointed to her stomach, which showed signs of about five or six months pregnancy.'I must admit I had noticed you were black,' I said with a straight face. I was rewarded with a laugh, 'but I'll be honest I hadn't noticed junior'.She laughed again at my euphemism for her bump. 'How could you miss it?''Oh I wouldn't have missed it. It's just that the view at the top was that good I hadn't looked that far down when you caught me staring.'I'm sure she blushed but it's a lot easier to tell. It made for a pleasant day, and I'd rather it didn't end."Where would you like to go for dinner?" I asked as we neared her cousin's home.She looked over to me, a wrinkle on her brow. "Haven't you had enough of me yet?" No. Not at all. Have you had enough of me?"She didn't answer right away, but her eyes never left mine. "You know I'm flying back home tomorrow?" Well ... I've been meaning to talk to you about that." I was running out of time to spring my spur-of-the-moment plan. "I was going to. I had been thrifty the whole time I was in the Marines. I spent many a night on the floor or on cots in the barracks to save paying for officer's quarters out of my pocket. I had Jake invest it for me. We had invested well. He always chose the things that were stable, none of the risky things. Even with the down turn I had continued to make money. Some of the tech stocks were doubling every two years.I had no house or vehicle payments, nothing but food and utilities. Since the girl's parents.