A Closer View – Part 2

An erotic coupling story: A Closer View – Part 2

Author: Ann Douglas

Saturday passed normally enough with Jim spending the morning playing softball in Prospect Park with some friends from the local bar. The afternoon was spent catching up on the laundry, which made him think again of Maria as he hung it out on the line. It was getting late and he wondered if she’d had a change of mind and wasn’t going to stop by. He really should’ve given her his number, he thought, so she could call and let him know at least.

Less than ten minutes later, his doorbell rang and when he opened the door, there stood Maria, dressed in dark slacks and a light blue blouse, holding a large white plastic bag. The small white cartons visible inside identified it as Chinese takeout and the wording on the bag said it came from the small restaurant down on the avenue.

“I hope you haven’t had lunch yet,” Maria said as she stepped inside. “I really didn’t feel right showing up empty handed.”

“No, I haven’t,” Jim said as the enticing aromas from the cartons reminded him that he’d barely had breakfast either.

“Great,” Maria said as she carried the bag into the kitchen, “why don’t you get us some plates and I hope you have something cold to drink, I didn’t like the look of the cooler they had at the take out place. To say the sodas were room temperature would be kind.”

“I have cold drinks,” Jim replied, knowing the cooler in question and agreeing with Maria’s assessment. He opened the refrigerator door to check what he had, realizing as he did that shopping was something he hadn’t gotten around to this week. “Would you like a soda or a beer?” he asked as he took inventory.

“A beer would be great,” Maria said as she opened the cartons and dished out a generous portion of each on the plates Jim had produced.

Jim placed two cold bottles on the table. He got his beer from the local deli where he’d been picking up six packs for his father and uncles since he was ten years old. The owners, who had known him all his life, weren’t going to deny him the right to a few beers because some stupid law said he had to be twenty-one to buy one.

“The neighborhood certainly has improved in the few years since I moved out,” Maria said as she tossed a piece of shrimp into her mouth.

“Yeah, it has gotten a lot better,” Jim agreed as he went to work on the beef and broccoli.

“I passed a real estate office down on the avenue when I stopped to pick up the lunch,” Maria said between bites, “Looking at the apartments they had listed in the window, I can’t believe what they’re getting for them. It’s almost as bad as Manhattan.”

“Yeah, they have jacked up the rents pretty bad,” Jim concurred, “That’s why I’m so glad we have that long-term lease.”

When Maria inquired what that was all about, Jim explained it to her. The owners had several times tried to break the lease, but failed. Worked out at a time when people were moving out in droves, the agreement had been worked out by an uncle who was a lawyer. One that knew all the loopholes and made sure everyone had been covered.

“Wow, that’s even better than rent control,” Maria exclaimed as she realized that Jim was paying less than her one-third share of her Manhattan apartment.

They talked a little more about the neighborhood and continued their discussion from last night about Jim’s plans in school and Maria’s at work. Finally she asked if she could look around the apartment and Jim said of course. After all, he had spent a good amount of time last night after getting home cleaning it up in case she did show up.

“It really hasn’t changed much,” Maria said as she recognized most of the same furniture from the last time she had been here.

“Well Mom didn’t take much more than her clothes when she moved in with Aunt June,” Jim explained, “and neither Susan or Judy wanted any of the old furniture.”

“Oh I’m not saying there’s anything wrong with it,” Maria said. “In fact, I kind of like it, it looks very comfortable.”

Jim said that it was.

“You still have the same bedroom?” Maria said as she stepped from the living room to the smallest of the three bedrooms. “I thought you’d have taken one of the bigger ones since the whole apartment is yours now. “I guess I’m just comfortable in the little one,” Jim shrugged, “after all I grew up in it.”

Actually, there was a good reason he kept his old room, but he really felt silly explaining it. Sleeping in his parent’s bed was out of the question. Somehow, he really didn’t feel comfortable having a woman sleep over, and it did happen occasionally, and getting it on in the same bed his parents had. He could of course just buy a new bed, but never got around to it. As for his sister’s room, well he had no reluctance about getting laid there, even though both Susan and Judy had done it there when their parents weren’t home. He just had other plans for the large room, such as turning it into a sort of den where he could study and work in peace.

“Well there’s the old home,” Maria said as she looked out across the courtyard into her former apartment. “You know, I never realized you could look right into my bedroom before.”

Jim almost choked. It took all his self-control to take a deep breath and then say “Really?”

“Oh come on, you can’t have never noticed,” Maria laughed. “Especially at night when the lights are on.”

Not knowing what to say, Jim just smiled and hoped she would let the observation drop.

“Who lives there now?” Maria asked curiously.

“A nice lady named Mrs. Dumbrowsky,” Jim answered, “she works at the Parish rectory. But I really don’t think she plans to move anytime soon. She took the apartment after her husband died.” he added, remembering what Maria had said about wishing she’d had her old apartment back and thinking that was what all of this was about.

“Oh I wasn’t wondering if the apartment was available,” Maria said as she continued to look out into the courtyard. “I probably wouldn’t be able to handle what they now charge for rent anyway.”

She pulled her head back in and turned around to Jim. The broad grin on her face told him she certainly had been thinking about something.

“Is something wrong?” Jim asked.

“I was just wondering,” she said, “if you lay in bed at night and jerk off to her while she changes like you used to do when you watched me, that’s all.”

This time, Jim did choke.

-=-=-=-

“Easy now,” Maria said as she patted him on his back, “take short breaths and relax.”

“You knew?” Jim sputtered out as he regained his breath.

“Well, not in the beginning,” Maria said, the smile on her face reassuring him that the revelation hadn’t been made out of anger. “But one night I just happened to be looking in the right direction when someone opened the bedroom door here,” she explained with a motion to the door to her right. “The light from the living room lit up this room just long enough for me to notice that someone was laying on the bed over there.” she added with a motion in the other direction.

“Probably mom checking up on me one of those nights I forgot to put on the door latch,” Jim thought, remembering how his mother had been concerned that he might be sick since he was going to bed so early with no school to get up for.

“After that, it stood to reason that if I could see into this room, whoever was in here certainly could see into mine, especially since my dresser, with that big mirror on top of it, was right in what would be someone’s line on sight. So the first thing I did was move the furniture around.”

“Wait a minute, I remember that,” Jim said as he thought back to the night his little peepshow ended. “That was the night I saw you …”

“Masturbate?” Maria said, using the word that Jim seemed to hesitate on.

A nod of his head said that was it.

“Well, to be honest I was pretty angry when I first realized that someone was spying on me,” Maria went on, “especially because I though it was your father at first. He was always checking me out in the halls so naturally I assumed it was him. It wasn’t until I came over here the next day, your sister, Judy was home and invited me in, that I discovered that it was your room that was right across from mine.”

“Weren’t you still angry?”

“Not as much,” Maria continued, “after all, I had little brothers and they were always trying to catch me coming out of the shower or looking down my blouse. It’s just natural for a young boy to try and see a naked girl. And to be totally honest, after I began to think about it, the thought sort of turned me on. I mean having some teenager, and a cute one at that I have to add, getting all hard looking at me. Of course I couldn’t let it keep going on, but I decided to give you one last show before I put an end to it for good.”

“Shit!” Jim exclaimed as he remembered that show. “I think that was the hardest I ever came in my life. Sorry, I mean …”

“That’s okay,” Maria smiled, “I’ll take that as the compliment I’m sure you intended it to be.”

Jim was relieved at that, even as he asked her what was the real reason she had come to see him today. He really didn’t believe the story about being homesick for the old neighborhood.

“Well, I have to admit, that was a little hokey,” Maria confessed, “but it wasn’t too far from the truth. The way the neighborhood is now, I do regret moving away.”

Jim was listening intently, so much so that he didn’t realize that Maria had taken a few steps closer to him until she reached out and draped her arms over his shoulders.

“And then, when I had the good fortune to run into you yesterday, my no longer so young friend, it occurred to me that maybe, we might be able to work out a mutually beneficial arrangement. ”

“What kind of arrangement?” Jim said as he became a little suspicious, but not so much that he asked her to remove her arms.

“Well before I get into that, I do want to say I didn’t have this idea until after we had dinner last night,” Maria pointed out. “I really did appreciate the help you gave me yesterday and my ass really was on the line.”

“Okay, I believe you about that part,” Jim replied, “but what was this about an arrangement?”

“Well,” Maria said with a deep breath, “here you are with this big beautiful apartment, and there I am with my one-third of my little apartment, and a rent that just keeps going up and up. So … what I was thinking was, maybe you could use a roommate.”

“What?” Jim asked as he stepped back out of her arms. “What made you think I would want a roommate?”

“Well, until you told me about your sweetheart deal with the rent here, I actually thought you might have trouble meeting it by yourself. After all, you can’t be making that much working part time and still going to school.”

“My dad’s union gave me a full scholarship based on my grades,” Jim interrupted, “and he left me some insurance money, enough to make up the difference.”

“I see,” Maria replied. “I didn’t know that. But there was one other thing I was willing to bring to the deal, something that I thought might help you see it as to your advantage.”

“What was that?” he asked curiously.

“You’d get me.”

“Excuse me?”

“You heard me right,” Maria said. “You’d not only get a roommate, you’d get a lover that would let you find out exactly what you could only imagine laying on that bed a few years ago.”

“You think I can’t get laid on my own?” Jim said a little defensively.

“Not at all, in fact, I’m surprised a cute guy like you doesn’t have a regular girlfriend already,” Maria answered. “In fact, if we were a little closer in age, I might be applying for the position myself.”

“So let me get this straight,” Jim said as he sorted it out. “I let you move in here and not only do you pay half the rent, you let me fuck you whenever I want?”

—————–

Parent Post: A Closer View – by Ann Douglas

• A Closer View - Part 2
• A Closer View - Part 3