Chapter 1: The Interview

My knock on the brownstone door was answered by Amy. I knew it was Amy because she had a nametag for Provident Realty on her blazer. She was a sharp dresser, obviously on her way to work, and I guessed about two years older. That would put her around twenty-eight.

She introduced me to Ross, Ryan, and Laurel as I came into the meticulously decorated living room. The room was modern, however, there were a few antiques that blended in nicely with more modern look. The place was outstanding. The neatness surprised me given there were seven people supposedly living in the house just then. Further, I expected a cheap look to the boarding house given the proximity to so many colleges, but that was not the case. It looked seriously upscale.

Amy took the lead in the interview. I got quizzed about my background and the reason that I was on the market looking for a room.

I introduced myself: Matt Granger, twenty-five, newly minted and broke Ph.D. in computer science specializing in robotics from nearby Boston University, and now about to become a new engineer for a New England company named 4Sight Robotics. Given rental rates around Boston, I knew I couldn’t even afford a studio apartment, let alone a one-bedroom until I had several months of pay at my new job under my belt. I needed a room before that, however. I explained that to the group, and then asked, “And what is the rent for the room? The statement about affordability in your ad made me wonder whether I should even be here.”

Ross, a fit-looking man about thirty said, “We’ll come to that. I’d like to know if you have a girlfriend or have dated? Will you want to bring somebody here for social reasons?”

I thought that an odd question, but I responded, “Errr, no girlfriend at present. If I meet somebody, I would certainly like to bring her around. As for any guy friends, as we’ve graduated, they’ve all fled to lower cost surroundings in other cities, along with my casual women friends from school, too. At best, they might drop by if they’re in town.”

Laurel said, “Are you monogamous?”

“Huh?” I wasn’t even sure I heard her correctly. The question seemed blunt and totally out of context for renting a room to someone.

“Are you monogamous? When you date, do you only go out with one person at a time ... or when you’re in a sexual relationship?”

I blurted out my answer, aware that this was a very unusual way to rent a room. “I have been and I haven’t. I’ve only ‘gone steady’ a few times in my life. Recently, I’ve been consumed with a walking robot named Robbie and getting my doctorate, so the few dates I went on over the past four years were spread across different women.”

Ryan asked, “What would we find is your most annoying trait as a housemate?”

I stammered, “I can’t predict that. I’m quiet and have been studious. I had a residence hall advisor job on campus that gave me free room and board, but can’t do that anymore since I’ve just graduated with my Ph.D. That’s why I need a room. I have to be out of my dorm by next Wednesday. I won’t play the radio loud and I don’t own a drum set or trumpet. I’m reasonably pleasant to be around, I think. I don’t know what else to say. If I’m obnoxious in some way, I would hope one of you would tell me to shape up or ship out.”

Amy asked, “As an RA, did you interact with the others in your dorm?”

I nodded, “Frequently. We’d often eat together – pizza, for instance, or go out to eat, and we started having monthly socials at my suggestion so people knew each other as more than just a face in the building’s elevator. I also tutored a couple of the students to make some more money. The dorm was co-ed, so my friends were of both sexes. Mostly, though, I studied and worked in the robotics lab.”

Laurel asked, “Tell us something daring that you did?”

I shrugged, “That’s relative, too. After I graduated college at age twenty-one, I got on a plane to Thailand with no knowledge of what my life would be like for the weeks that I would be there. I just let it unfold. I met some great people. I’ve hiked mountains throughout New England. I did a one-night gig as a stand-up comic once. I’m not sure how to answer that. I like to do things. Despite studying a lot, I’m not really sedentary. I jog and exercise. Right now, my life is in a huge state of flux as I change from education to working.”

Amy jumped up and said, “Let me show you the room we have for you and the house for a minute.” I stood and the others watched us leave the living room. I felt sure they’d talk about me when I was out of earshot.

Amy showed me the kitchen – neat but lived in, dining room, a den with a large TV set, a mud-room, the crowded parking area behind the building, a musty basement full of storage stuff, and then we went upstairs. I stayed on my best behavior.

At the top of the stairs there was a landing, a few chairs and a TV, and a hallway with various doors exiting off the area. Amy pointed, “That’s my room – a mess right now, Ryan’s room, Cecil’s room – he’s away for the weekend with his parents who are over from London, and...”

Just then one of the doors opened, obviously to a shared bathroom. A gorgeous woman about thirty strolled out of the room with a towel around her midsection that did little to hide her charms.

The new girl looked at me and smiled, “You must be Matt. I’m Claire. Sorry I’m not downstairs to welcome you, but I will be in a couple of minutes. I overslept. I was out late last night.”

I acknowledged her remark and tried to keep from staring. The towel was slipping off of her body, and then ‘Poof’ it fell to the floor. Claire bent over and picked it up without any embarrassment, but also proving that she had pendulous breasts and a killer body. I couldn’t help but stare. I mumbled, “Don’t be embarrassed. That happened all the time in the dorm I worked in.”

Claire sauntered into the last of the bedrooms on that floor, revealing a perfect ass as she disappeared and shut the door. Amy said, “I’m glad you got to interact with Claire. Isn’t she gorgeous?”

“She is. All of you are pretty and handsome. This house raises the bar on what group living should be like.”

“Well, you’re no slouch yourself.”

I blushed.

As we toured the floor and went up another level, I thought about the people I’d met. I was prolific user of porn, so thought about which stars the women looked like.

Claire was almost dead-ringer for Alyssa Lynn, only younger. Amy looked kind of like an actress named Molly Bennett, only prettier. Laurel had touch of blue hair dye so I pegged her as an offshoot of Jewelz Blu. I didn’t make comparisons for Ross or Ryan.

The next level up had four more bedrooms. The room that would be mine was there. I was surprised at how large the room was. Besides a king-size bed, the room had a desk, chair, table that could also double as a desk, and a sofa. There was a small bathroom with shower plus a closet.

I learned that ‘my’ next-door neighbors in the house would be a girl named Eva, who was also away for the weekend, and on the other side of what would be my room would be Laurel. Ross also had a room at the end of the hallway. There was a final door that Amy said went up to an unfinished attic that had a lot of everybody’s stuff stored in it.

As we walked downstairs, Amy elaborated, “Eva actually went with Cecil to see his parents. They’re worried that he’s gay – which he’s not – and so she volunteered to play the role of his steady girlfriend. They’re at some inn up on the seacoast of Maine and his parents are there, too.”

I chuckled, “That’s great. I’d certainly volunteer to help out anybody doing something like that. I have a great need to pay-it-forward for all the help people have given me over the past few years as I went through college and graduate school.”

We ended back in the living room. I caught some nonverbal communication between Amy and the others in the room. I figured that it involved my acceptability, so politely ignored it.

I said, “I love your set up and each of you would be great chums, but what is the rent? I may not even be able to afford it. This looks very high end for my pocketbook.”

Laurel stood and came in front of me, “Will you take a risk?”

“I don’t understand.”

“We want you to move in, live with us for a while, become involved in the ethos of the house and with us, and then see if you wish to continue to live here. We are unconventional and that may not suit you. As for the rent, it is whatever you can afford, at least for now.”

I was silent as I digested her comment. I asked, “How are you unconventional? Do you have habits or behaviors that will annoy me? I can only afford about $800 a month right now, but after I’m working, I’ll be able to more than double that I think. If I can go on the low side now, I could make it up in a few months after I get on my feet financially with a real paycheck and not just a partial scholarship.”

Laurel came closer to me and had me sit down again. She made to sit in my lap, and I allowed her that space, but I was really surprised. After sitting, she pulled my arm around her and put the palm of that hand directly atop one of her breasts. I could feel that she was not wearing a bra under the t-shirt top she wore.

Laurel kissed me, and as the surprise kiss progressed, I felt the tip of her tongue dart into my mouth. I welcomed her assertiveness, and responded back in kind. I had the feeling this was some kind of test. The others in the room watched and grinned at us.

After a long kiss – more than a minute, Laurel pulled away and looked deep into my eyes. She said, “We’re unconventional in that we do that with each other a lot. Frequently, the result is two or three of us making love with each other several times a day. We’re very sexual. Also, we often don’t wear much in the way of clothing around the house. One reason for that is to invite sexual behavior. FYI, we tend to have an open-door ethos. If your door is open, you’re inviting company ... and especially playful and loving company.”

I was going into shock but I kept my cool. I told Laurel but the others could hear, “I don’t have that much sexual experience. I’ve had girlfriends, but we were pretty plain vanilla, and not all of them were intimate with me. I’ve had a few one-night stands. Just so you know that I’m not some porn star lothario. Also, I’m afraid that I’m not into guys at all.”

Amy said, “That’s all right. The other guys won’t be into you either, but you may be called upon to cooperate with one of them occasionally.” I noted that Ross and Ryan were laughing.

I asked, “Also, if you’re seriously considering me at the low rent I mentioned, then I worry now about the sustainability of the house.”

Everyone looked at Laurel. She said, “This house is mine. I inherited it three years ago from my grandfather. I moved in with seven friends so we had four girls and four guys, and we’ve kept it up. Some of them moved on for various reasons and we replaced them. Eight is the right number to live here, it seems. That’s why you’re here interviewing. We do have to maintain it and pay the property taxes, but there’s no mortgage. We’re trying to build up a little excess cash so that I can do repairs, as needed.”