A group of four young black men, boys really, came down the path and fixed me in their sights. I heard their ribald comments long before they got to me.

"That's some fine looking pussy," one said and the others agreed with him. "I bet she could suck the chrome off a trailer hitch," another one said. "Yeah," one said. "I'll bet the cunt would look good with her lips on my cock." "Look even better with my cock in her snatch." and other nasty comments.

They stopped a few feet from where I was sitting and I was beginning to become nervous. They looked around to see if anyone was close to us and I wondered if I could outrun them.

"You boys best move along," the black man said in a low voice that we could hear clearly.

"Or what?" the tallest of the boys said. He was obviously the leader of the group.

"Or I'll whip your black ass until your nose bleeds," the man said without raising his voice or even moving. "Move, and move now."

All four of the boys studied the seated man carefully for a few moments. They didn't move until the man effortlessly got to his feet. His movement reminded me of a jungle cat because it was so smooth and effortless. He was seated then he was standing and it seemed there was nothing in-between.

"I will not tell you again," the man said and took a step toward the boys. That movement caused them to move away but not without comment.

"Got that white bitch staked-out for his own self," one said as they walked away. "Bitch gonna have some black cock in her ass soon." His suggestion was agreed to by the others. When I looked back at the man he was sitting again.

"Park starts to get dangerous this late in the day," the man said looking at me. "The gangs are waking up and looking for prey. There is danger for a woman alone."

"Thank you," I said getting to my feet. "I should run along."

"No thanks needed but you are welcome," he said. "I'll follow you to make sure you get out of the park safely."

I took a closer look at him. He did not sound like a bum. I noticed his clothes were well worn and patched but they were clean. He didn't appear to be malnourished. In fact he seemed to be very healthy.

"I'm Megan Frees," I said as we walked along the path.

"I'm Nero Dover," he said with a smile showing me a lot of pearly white teeth. "Pleased to meet you, Megan Frees." He spoke clearly and carefully like a school teacher. It was obvious he was an educated man.

Once he was walking beside me I realized just how big he was. It was no wonder why the four boys had not wanted to tangle with him.

"I've seen you in the park on several occasions," I said.

"Yes, and I you," he replied. "I like the park and now that I have a lot of free time I especially enjoy it."

"I don't want to be rude but why do you have a lot of free time?" I asked as we emerged from the park.

"I was a college professor and a few months ago I was dismissed," he said with his beautiful smile. "You might say I am between jobs at the moment."

"You don't seem overly distressed about it," I said.

"I'm not," he said with a soft laugh. "I was looking for work when I got that position. I will find another sooner or later. I have some savings and by being careful I shall survive. May I inquire how Megan Frees earns her daily bread?"

"Megan Frees waits for her husband to bring it home to her," I answered more sharply than I intended.

"Nice work if you can get it," he said smiling.

"That's my building ahead," I said. "Thank you for your courteousness, Mister Dover."

"No problem, MS Frees," he assured me and we parted company.

Over the next few weeks I saw Nero Dover in the park several times. He always maintained some distance between us and seldom spoke until I forced it.

"Good morning, Mister Dover," I said one day and sat beside him on a bench. "It's a beautiful day, isn't it?"

"It is indeed a beautiful day," he responded. "I was watching that mallard drake over there. He seems occupied with gathering his hens and keeping the other males away. I was wondering if his reach had exceeded his grasp."

"Why so?" I asked. "Don't male ducks usually have a harem?"

"Yes, usually they do but this old boy has six hens and it takes all his time and effort to keep them. It seems to me that he would do better if he let some of them go and keep only what he could care for."

"I think the trait of wanting more extends across the species. At least for the male gender," I said.

"You may be correct," he said with a chuckle. "However, I suspect that gender has nothing to do with it. I think there may be just as many greedy women as men but I have no statistics to prove it."

"What did you teach?' I asked him.

"I was hired to instruct young men and women in black studies," he said. "The college needed more black professors and I came along at the right time even thought I knew almost nothing about the subject. I studied economics but they already had someone to teach that subject."

"May I ask why you were dismissed?" I said.

"The school managed to hire several black teachers and as it turned out I was the wrong gender. They needed more black women teachers. You see that equal opportunity is dangerous even for the minorities."

"I take it you aren't in favor of equally opportunity hiring?"

"I was when it got me hired," he said and laughed. "I was not when it got me fired. I do not care for playing the numbers games. That doesn't take into consideration the individual. I do not believe in discrimination of any kind. The color of one's skin should never be a factor. Neither should one's gender. I voiced my opinion loudly but still found myself unemployed. Of course," he added with a chuckle, "An alleged affair with the vice chancellor's wife may have influenced their decision somewhat."

"You had an affair with the chancellor's wife?"

"Vice chancellor and it was an alleged affair," he said. "Of course they had photographs but I stoutly maintain they were inconclusive. It seems as if the chancellor's wife was being watched by a private investigator. Much like that mallard drake out there I was temporally driven to take in more than I could handle. "

"Well fuck them if they can't take a joke," I said surprised at my choice of words. Fuck is not a word I normally ever used.

"Exactly," he said looking as startled as I felt with my comment. "I should think, according to the nice building you call home, that Mister Frees does well."

"Mister Frees does exceedingly well," I said. "Mister Frees owns that and several other buildings. Will that drake be able to hold onto all his hens?"

"I doubt it," Nero Dover said. "Given the fact he has no time to eat he will soon starve to death or wise-up to the fact he has to roll-back. The need to procreate will give way to hunger. It is entirely possible he won't reach that conclusion before he gets too weak to keep any hens. Almost human, isn't it?"

We parted soon after that because I had a useless meeting to attend. Nero Dover and I met nearly every day in the park when weather permitted. One day it started to rain and I invited him to accompany me to a nearby coffee shop.

I found myself fascinated with his intelligence. Not his education, which was impressive, but his basic intellect. Our conversations ranged far and wide and I found myself looking forward to our next meeting. One day over coffee he said something amusing and I smiled.

"You have a beautiful smile and you should use it more often," he said. I couldn't think of a single response that wasn't lame so I changed the subject.

"Is Nero your real name?" I asked. "I mean the one given to you at birth."

"My mother wasn't an educated woman but she read a lot. She read about Rome and the empire and when I came along she called me Nero," he said. "Yes, it's on my birth certificate. Growing up, my peers were mean and Nero rhymes with zero but luckily I grew quickly and my size soon stopped the taunts. Why don't you smile more?"

"I don't know," I said. Apparently he wasn't going to leave it alone. "I should be happy, but for some reason I'm not. I'm not unhappy, just not happy. Does that make any sense?"

"I should think a rich husband would make any woman happy," he said. "I realize money won't make anyone happy but it should make misery more bearable. Maybe it's sex," he said with a smile. "Or the lack thereof."

"You could be right," I admitted. "I feel ignored most of the time...all the time, actually. Alan seems to desire making money more than he does me. Oh crap! I had no intention of telling you my problems. Forgive me, Nero."

"Nothing to forgive," he said putting his large hand on mine. "That's what friends do. They tell one another their problems. Maybe there are solutions to the problems."

"You have a solution to my problem?" I said liking the way his hand felt on mine.

"Your problem is easy to fix," he said. "Beef."

"Beef? I'm sorry I don't get it."

"Your problem can be fixed by an injection of black angus beef," he said still smiling broadly. I still didn't get it...then I did. I felt my face flash hot and then strangely I felt moisture forming in my pussy.