Chapter 1

Author note: The Relationship Edition of this story has involved removing saucy parts in order to focus on our couple's growing relationship. That being said, there will be plenty of food and stuffing to sate your appetite.

Sometimes I wonder about how I got to where I am in my life. Looking back at my early 20s, I was a very different person. I had a decent job, which was mostly working from home. So I saved a lot of money on commuting. I took up jogging and was getting in shape, even though I wasn’t unfit, I had a bit of a belly that I was trying to burn away. All in all, I was feeling pretty good about myself. So I felt it was the right time to move out of my parents' place. I just didn’t know at the time how life-changing it would be.
It was actually my parents who found the place being advertised in the local paper. The advertisement was pretty brief.
Looking for a roommate. Any gender. Two-bedroom apartment with en-suite facilities. Split rent and utilities, specifics negotiated on meeting. Contact below for further details.
I took a shot and sent off an email. After a brief back and forth with the poster, Lee, I was on my way to, what will be, my new apartment. Looking back, I was so nervous back then. Anxiety hit hard as I stood staring at the building. I remember my hands trembling when I pressed the buzzer, my knees felt like jelly as I entered the building and my legs shook as I approached the apartment door. Dazed, is how I would describe myself back then, everything felt just so ethereal. Which, knowing how things turned out, seems very silly in hindsight, because all of my anxieties melted away when it opened, revealing Lee.
Lee hasn’t changed too much since we met that day. She was and is a very slender, angular woman with a soft, golden skin tone. I remember she wore a pretty baggy, yellow shirt with fashionably torn skinny jeans. But what caught me was her smile; soft, warm and welcoming. Her lips would crook up slightly, showing just a little bit of teeth. I don’t know what it was about that smile, but she immediately put me at ease. Honestly, surprised to see her in person, I had previously assumed that Lee was a guy’s name. Pleasantly surprised, but still surprised. Another thing that feels silly in hindsight.
“You must be Ted!”, she beamed excitedly, her voice had a very slight accent that was immediately endearing.
“Yeah, and you must be Lee”
“That’s me” she gestured to me to come inside. “So I got all the details hashed out already. How about I show you around and you can sign if it all fits?”
“Sure, that sounds great”
I followed behind her; she wore a loose-fit shirt that swished back and forth as she moved through the apartment. She was practically skipping as she gestured and spoke about the apartment. I would be lying if I said I took anything in. At the time, I was more amazed by the situation, both by the apartment itself and the pretty woman showing me around. Everything seemed muffled as I tried to take it all in but it was useless. I was along for the ride.
It was bigger than I expected. The bulk of the apartment was a fairly large living space with a decently sized kitchenette and a sitting area that was complete with nice plush couches and chairs, centred around a modern-looking table and faced a large TV that took up the seating area. There was a warm aroma of baked cookies wafting through the whole place, which completed the idyllic look. This all seemed too good to be true, which made my anxiety bubble up again. We hadn’t yet finished discussing rent and there was no way I could afford this place.
On the far side of the apartment, there were two doors, one a pale yellow and the other plain white.
“So this one is yours,” Lee gestured toward the plain white door, “feel free to check it out and I’ll get the paperwork ready”
I entered the room hesitantly; it felt alien, clinical even. The room was spacious and painted a neutral, cream colour. Furnished in a basic, but adaptable way. The most notable feature of the room was a king-sized bed. With a bit of personalising, it would be very homely in no time. The whole thing was too good to be true. I felt this strange mixture of excitement and disappointment. There was no way I could afford to help rent a place like this. The rooms were spacious and beautiful.
So I left the room, forgetting to even check out the bathroom. She grinned at me, I could have sworn I saw her eyes linger over my stomach. Normally that would not bother me I had developed a bit of paunch from working at home over the past year. It’s not like I had a gut but a bit of a paunch had developed and I was very self-conscious of how it looked when I was around women. Something that I now understand to be a silly thing to fret about. Instinctively, I tried to hide my stomach with my shirt.
“So what do you think? Ready to talk money?”
“Well, sort of, this place is amazing but…”
“But, what?”
“But I don’t think I could afford it, even splitting the rent…”
“Oh, don’t worry, that’s what we are here to discuss, let’s-” her phone’s alarm interrupted her “Oh one moment please”
I sat a little confused and disappointed as she hurried away. So turned inward that I barely even look up to see where she went. I was just felt so stupid for even contemplating moving in here that I kind of turned inward. She returned a moment later, setting down a plate of cookies, fresh out of the oven.
“Sorry about that, didn’t want these to burn,” Her gaze met mine, “please, help yourself”
Not wanting to be rude I took a bite out of the smallest cookie. Oh Lord, it was heavenly. Fresh out of the oven they were a little gooey and soft, but still had enough of a bite to them. They were chocolate too, but not the cheap stuff. The rich stuff. But there was something else in them I couldn’t put my finger on. Embarrassingly, I let out a moan of delight as the flavours hit my tongue.
“Good, right?” Lee beamed.
“Yeah, these are amazing!”
She pushed the plate toward me and almost instinctively I obliged. Taking another one of those delicious little cookies. I will always be a sucker for freshly baked cookies.
“Here’s the thing Ted.” She said, still with her wide, friendly smile plastered on her face. “I don’t need a roommate financially. I just need someone around. Helping with rent is just a bonus for me. You see, I grew up in a big household, lots of family and all that stuff. So I always dreamed of making out on my own. But it turns out, I don’t like the quiet.”
“So that’s why your ad was so open?” I asked, stuffing another cookie in my mouth. I covered my mouth before continuing to speak. “So you don’t really care who moves in, right?”
“Yes, and no. You aren’t exactly the first person I have met about the room. But most of the folks I have talked to either gave me bad vibes or felt weird about the uneven payment thing.” She visibly shuddered as she mentioned the bad vibes bit, but I did not pry and allowed her to continue “So how about this? We do a trial run. One week here, free and so can we see if we get on well together?”
“That sounds like a good-” I froze, realising that I had eaten a whole plate of cookies. To this day I still don’t know how I did it, I wasn’t exactly in the habit of eating a whole plate of cookies in one session.
“Idea?” she finished my sentence leaning forward to shake my hand, “I know I am full of them. So what do you say?”
“Oh, umm. Yes”
We shook on our semi-arrangement. She did this cute little giggle. I noticed her eyes darted between mine and the empty plate of cookies, just quick enough to not draw too much attention, but just enough to notice.
“You can move in whenever you are ready”.