A few minutes past 10:00 in the evening, Karen walked through the small living room of her one-bedroom apartment. As she walked to her kitchen, she heard the voice that called her every night. Stopping in the doorway to the kitchen, she looked back at the single chair sitting in front of the small table holding her laptop computer.

“Leave me alone,” she shouted at the empty chair.

She was back in the doorway two minutes later, staring at the chair. “I hate you,” she growled at the chair before turning back into the kitchen.

A few short minutes later, Karen sauntered to the chair and stood beside it. After a deep sigh, she removed her oversized t-shirt before she plopped down in the chair wearing only a dainty pair of panties. She switched the computer on and sat back.

For what must be the one-hundredth consecutive night, Karen was about to watch a twelve-minute porn video. The short film featured two young people on a large bed. For eleven minutes of the film, they would have sex in every imaginable position until they came to a loud orgasmic moment. They fell exhausted, covered in their own bodily fluids.

After the film’s first minute, Karen started caressing her breasts. As her nipples got hard, she began to twist and roll them between her fingers. Somewhere around the fifth minute, her hand slipped inside her panties and she started to rub the edges of her moistening sex. In another minute, a finger was pushed into her wetness. Seconds later, a second finger was added.

The only light in the apartment came from the computer screen. The sound from the computer was low because she was afraid a neighbor might hear it. Had someone been in her kitchen, they wouldn’t have heard anything until somewhere past the eleventh minute of the video when Karen joined the couple in the film in their climax.

Each night it had been the same thing. She became aroused as she watched the film and worked herself into an eye-crossing, groan-producing, squirting orgasm, leaving her numb and her panties dripping wet. She never watched the video twice or masturbated more than once each night. But her orgasms seemed to be habit-forming.

At 28 years old, Karen had a good job. She was a self-classified nerd. Her job required little interaction with other people, which was fine with her. Had she been willing to exert a little effort, the people around her would probably have thought she was attractive. But for her, it was easier to wear unstylish clothes and leave her hair unkept. It was just one more self-defense mechanism that allowed her to avoid personal contact.

Had she done any self-introspection, she probably would have determined her isolationism resulted from rejection while in college. Karen had always been an introvert, preferring books to people. However, in her junior year, she met a young man who excited her passions. They had been seated beside each other in an advanced chemistry class. After many weeks of ‘small talk,’ he had asked her for a date.

While having serious doubts about her ability to interact, she accepted his invitation to go to a movie. The film had been one she wanted to see and they had a good time together. They had gone to a coffee shop and agreed she would have dinner with him at his apartment the following week.

Before and after dinner, they had been drinking wine. Karen had become relaxed enough to let herself go and enjoy his company. Until that night, her sexual activity had been within the area of self-pleasuring, which she enjoyed often. As the evening wore on and the wine consumed expanded, Karen began to understand that tonight would be the night to lose her virginity. With great excitement and anticipation, she let him lead her into his bedroom, remove her clothing and join her in his bed.

He had admired her body and was anxious to give her absolute pleasure. She was pleased to see his excitement exhibited when his trousers hit the floor. Everything had gone beautifully. After a reasonable amount of foreplay, he had entered her missionary style. She had wrapped her legs around him, encouraging him with moans and groans, not to mention her fingernails buried in his ass checks. Everything appeared to be perfect until ... In a moment of perfection, Karen reached an orgasm. As always, she squirted, but this time expelled more fluid than usual. Her muscles shook and her eyes rolled back in their sockets.

It was perfect until he screamed, “You’ve just peed all over my bed! You crazy bitch! Why would you do that?”

Being frightened and mortified at his reaction, she quickly put on her clothes and fled his apartment. The following Monday, she dropped the class they shared so she would not have to see him again. Karen had always thought her orgasmic reaction was perfectly normal, but now she understood she was some kind of freak.

Today she was a treasured employee, making a better than average salary. She stayed to herself, avoided human interaction as much as possible and masturbated to the same video every night. And now, once more tonight, she sat in her chair, in wet panties, still shaking from the incredible squirting orgasm she had just enjoyed.

A young man sat in an apartment above hers and at a ninety-degree angle to her own. He was in the same chair he had used for the last fifty or sixty nights. His hand and one bare leg were covered with semen. The hand still held his stiff cock.

One more night, he had watched the woman below his apartment put her hand inside her panties and masturbate.

One more time, he had joined her, reaching his own orgasm as she reached hers.

Clark Donavan, a self-described introvert, pulled tissues from a nearby box and cleaned hot cream from his exposed skin.

One more night, he had rejoiced because ‘she’ had followed her routine.

One more night, he wished he could be near enough to hear the noises she made.

One more night, he wished he was bold enough to introduce himself to her.

The following morning, as usual, Clark walked to the bus stop and stood slightly behind Karen. This was his workday routine. They both rode the same bus to work every weekday morning. He, of course, recognized her. She had never bothered to look up to see him.

He knew she was employed by a company across the street from the building where he worked. As was his routine, he sat behind her on the bus. Clark had followed her once to see where she worked. He had done some investigating in their apartment complex and knew her name was Karen Rogers.

As he sat behind her, Clark envisioned her as she sat each night in front of her computer. He felt like he knew almost every inch of her beautiful body. One morning in the previous week, he was sporting an erection when the bus made the stop they both took each day. Clark had been sitting just inches away from Karen. He remembered how her fingers had worked inside her panties the previous night. Knowing that the people on the bus would see his condition if he stood, he rode the bus one more stop before getting off.

This morning he was again sitting behind her. Photos of her almost naked body ran through his mind. It was all he could do to restrain himself from reaching out to touch her hair. “Get a grip, man,” he said to himself. “It’s time to ‘man up’ and find a way to meet her.”

That afternoon Clark stood in the lobby of his building waiting for Karen to leave hers to catch the bus home. After waiting almost 40 minutes, he saw her leave her building and head toward the crosswalk. He waited until she passed him before leaving his position and joining her at the bus stop.

He waited until he saw the bus approaching and tapped her shoulder. “Excuse me, but do you have the time?”

Karen looked at her wristwatch and answered, “It’s 6:15.”

“Thanks,” he told her. “I left my watch on my dresser this morning.”

“Don’t you have a cell phone?” she asked, suggesting a watch was no longer needed.

“I do,” he said as the bus stopped and the door opened for them. “But it was the only thing I could think of to talk to you.”

Karen looked at him with disbelief for several seconds before turning and quickly getting on the bus.

Clark got on the bus right behind her. He paid and followed her to the back of the bus as he had done before. Only this time, he had spoken to her as he had wanted to do for such a long time.

When Karen took a seat, he stopped beside her. “Do you mind if I join you?” he asked.

Having not had a man speak to her outside work for such a long time, she was a bit perplexed, but she moved next to the window and nodded.

For the next five minutes, they sat silently, side by side. They were both wondering what to say if anything. Karen was thinking she remembered having seen him before. Clark was trying to convince himself to start a conversation.

Finally, he turned to her, blurting, “My name is Clark.”

When he put out his hand, she took it and answered, “I’m Karen.”

He had to bite his tongue not to say something like, ‘I know you are Karen. I’ve been following you for months.’ Thinking of his reply before opening his mouth, he said, “It’s very nice to meet you. I think I’ve seen you at the bus stop in the mornings.”

She looked at him carefully but didn’t recognize him. “I get the bus at Madison Avenue.”

“I do too,” he said with a bright smile. “I live in the River View Apartments,” he told her, knowing she lived in the apartment just below his.

Karen was quite surprised and responded, “Really? I live there too. I’m in apartment 3B.”

Her response was probably more than she had said to a stranger in three years.

“No kidding,” he replied, trying to act surprised. “I’m in 4C. I’m just one floor up and probably just around the corner from you.”

For some strange reason, Karen felt surprised but at ease. Typically she would have felt uneasy having a conversation with a complete stranger, but for some reason, this man felt comfortable to her. “We’re neighbors,” she said with a bright smile.

“I guess we are,” he said, again trying to act surprised. “How long have you lived there?”

Still smiling, Karen answered, “I’ve been in that apartment for a little over two years. How long have you been there?”

“I just moved in about six months ago,” he answered. “I was offered a job with Willart and Anderson to run their IT department about seven months ago. They suggested the River View apartments as close to the office and a nice place to live.”

“I know your company,” Karen replied, still smiling. “I work just across the street from you. I run the IT department for the Merit & Merit consulting firm. We are in the same business and neighbors.” For the first time in many months, she conversed with someone who didn’t feel uncomfortable. She had met someone in her own field and for some reason, it just felt right.

While Clark knew a little about her, finding out she worked in his field was surprising. He found it reassuring and knew now he had some basis for conversation. “That’s cool,” he said with a bright grin. “We do the same kind of work.”

Their light, ‘let’s get acquainted’ conversation continued until they reached their stop. Leaving the bus, both of them felt disappointed, knowing this enjoyable time was about to end. As the bus pulled away, Clark again mounted his courage and asked, “What do you do for dinner?”

“I generally heat up something in my apartment and eat in front of the television,” she answered.

“I’ve really enjoyed talking with you,” he admitted, “And I kinda hate for this to end. Would you join me at the pizza place around the corner?”

Karen hesitated a few seconds before answering with a broad smile, “That would be very nice, Clark. A night away from the TV would be a treat.”

He was thinking, “Just as long as I get you back to your computer around 10:00. I don’t want to miss the show.”

The following hours passed quickly as the two computer nerds put aside their normal introverted behavior. They ate pizza and drank beer while laughing and getting acquainted. Karen felt good about herself because she had stepped out of her comfort zone to allow this to happen. Clark felt proud of himself for having been so bold as to start a conversation.

They exchanged stories about their college days when Clark noticed a clock behind the bar. It was nearly 10:00. “I’m sorry, Karen,” he exclaimed. “I’ve been very thoughtless. We’ve been sitting here for almost three hours.” He smiled warmly, saying, “I have so enjoyed our time together, but you probably have things to do at home.” He felt a twitch in his trousers thinking about her masturbating in front of her computer again. Tonight it would be more exciting than ever before for him.

Karen would have loved to suggest they stay longer but decided she would see him again tomorrow. “He lives so close to me,” she thought to herself. As she started to get up from the table, she asked him, “Would you mind giving me your cell phone number?”

When he looked a little surprised, she said, “I just thought since we’re friends now and because we live so close, it might be nice to exchange phone numbers.”

“Oh, absolutely,” Clark exclaimed as he dug for his phone. He wrote his number on a napkin, handed it to her and tapped her name and number into his phone. They left the restaurant, talking as they walked back to their apartment building. As she got off the elevator on her floor, she waved at Clark, saying, “See you in the morning.”