Episode 308: BEGGIN’ STRIPS

3:40 PM!

Amber Hawthorne had her steaks and baked potatoes in the oven. It felt nice to cook for someone again after four months of loneliness since her former boyfriend Nick Jordan had moved on. She took it a lot harder than most having not dated much in her lifetime. At 26 she thought Nick would be her soulmate; boy was she wrong. She was beautiful too in a nerdy sort of way, not a perfect body but not far off either. She liked jogging so that maintained balance at least. Wearing glasses was honestly her only mismatched feature. Nothing to worry over, she only wore them around the apartment when working, reading, or cooking such as now.

Time to kill while her food baked in the oven, she cleared off her dining table of work-related items and set out utensils and napkins. Amber wanted desperately to make a solid impression on her handsome new roommate Tony Gunther. Outside of streaking in her free spirit mode, she aimed to show her appreciation that he had offered her a chance to stay rent free. She had never known such kindness and it was a relief not having to move back home with her handicapped father. Her dad would understand her decision, but she was not going to admit to him that she had a male roommate after all of the bawling over her ex. Better to just say it was a girl. Tony could easily be spelled Toni with an I.

Taking a seat on her sofa to ponder her future she heard Tony let out a deafening Grizzly bear snore and smiled. “Nick was louder, so I won’t complain.” While sitting in thought she found company in the form of Cora, Tony’s large white Rottweiler. Whining a bit the pup ventured over to Amber and sat there staring. “Did Tony’s snoring run you out of the cave?” The dog whined again and lowered her eyes. “Aww! Such a pathetic expression. Are you hungry? Thirsty? Tony didn’t set out any dishes or dogfood. Hopefully he has some. Here! I can at least get you something to drink.”

Hopping up Amber wiggled to the kitchen and found a large unused salad bowl and filled it with precious water. Sitting it near the front door out of the way the dog nearly drained it dry. “You were parched, weren’t you? I’ve never owned a dog, so you are going to have to let me know when you need anything, okay?” The dog licked her lips and sat pretty looking up at Amber. “We girls have to stick together.” Cora could not agree more.

Checking her steaks, they still required time, so she closed her oven door then went to the spare bedroom to snoop into Tony’s possessions. “He has to have dogfood in here somewhere.” No luck! “I shouldn’t be snooping. He can feed you when he wakes up, Sweetie.” She looked as equally pathetic as Cora had earlier. Leaving the spare room, she dared to take in her first glance at Tony as he lay sleeping in her bed.

“This is going to be hell.” She nibbled a nail between her lips. Finding Tony lying on his back he had gone to take a much-needed nap right after his trip home from West Memphis. He was lying there naked atop the blankets, his huge cock slightly aroused as it dangled over his thigh. “How can we sleep together side by side naked and not consider the possibilities? I’m grateful for the guy’s kindness and respect but ... stop staring Amber!” She had to walk away or touch herself yet again. Bedtime was going to be challenging and she almost dreaded it. Even if he or she wore clothing to bed the tension at least on her part was going to prevent slumber. Since her lost love Nick Jordan left, she often suffered insomnia without taking full cup doses of Zzz-Quil to force her eyelids shut.

“We’re two strangers and this is how we intend to get comfortable with one another?” She headed back to the kitchen for another inspection of her steaks, this time unwrapping foil and stabbing the potatoes for softness. “Getting close! I almost hate to wake Tony, but he did tell me too.” With Cora trailing her every move Amber felt closed in. “Sweetie please go lay down, I’m afraid I’ll trip over you. I know you must be hungry but until we eat, I can’t even give you a bone to chew on. Patience!” The dog instead went to the front door and sniffed.

“Do you need to go potty again? It’s been almost three hours since I walked you.” A wag of a cropped tail let Amber know she was reading Cora’s mind. “Let me go put some clothes on and turn the oven down then I’ll take you out.” She stepped away slightly fearful of going into her bedroom. With it getting darker outdoors from overcast skies the bedroom was losing visibility. Blackout curtains did not help. She didn’t want to turn the ceiling light on and risk waking Tony so she fumbled as best she could.

Knowing where she had placed her earlier shorts and t-shirt, she found them with very little sound effects. Roomie resting on the dresser side of the bed she was right next to Tony. A glance behind her as she bent over to put her feet through her cotton shorts, she found the shock of her life. Tony’s left arm which lay draped over the side of the mattress rose up as he snored and spooked himself. His hand went right up between her inner thighs, knuckles trapped for a moment.

“Shit!” She mumbled at the unexpected sensation of a warm intruding knuckle touching her labia. Lifting a leg to escape her tangled adventure she teetered in step worried she might fall backwards over him. Rolling over in bed Tony took his hand with him and left her wheezing. “What are the odds of that happening?” She trembled and pulled her shorts up. T-shirt taken with her she stopped in the doorway to look back at him. “Lord, that man is buff!” Was he feigning sleep? Had he intentionally done that? Fingers crossed he had. No such luck as his snores resumed.

A wet spot quickly grew between her legs the stained grey shorts hiding nothing. Shirt and sandals on her feet, Amber Hawthorne hooked Cora’s leash to her collar. Abandoning it for two minutes to lower the oven temp and leaving the door ajar so as not to burn her dinner she plucked up the leash handle. “Let’s go, Ms. St. James.” Out the door they went. Cora Belle had a new best friend!

In the bedroom Tony Gunther waited until he knew Amber had left the room before rolling to his back smirking. “That got her juices flowing.” Sneaky bastard! And the Oscar caliber performance for visiting Sleepy Hollow goes too Coach Ichabod Gunther. Hung like a horse but hardly headless! Sniffing his knuckle, he rather enjoyed the scent. Rubbing where his hand had made contact along his dick, he chose the better part of valor and fell back to sleep. Not just a sneaky bastard he was a sleepy bastard!

Outside, Amber took Cora beyond the outer shrubs along the parking area and let Cora do her duty. Thankfully just a piss because she didn’t think to bring any baggy to pick up droppings. Inexperience owning a dog her excuse was valid. “What if Tony did that on purpose?” Back to that fantasy. “Could he have seen me there and played it off as ... no, he was pretty tired. I’m reading way too much into it. I better double my dose of Zzz-Quil tonight or I’m so in trouble.”

Convinced that Cora was done Amber made kissing noises to coax her into heading back inside. Easy going, the dog walked side by side with her sitter. It was nice not having to be tugged around like she expected to be. Cora was a pretty well-adjusted dog. At the buildings exit door she met up with the drop dead gorgeous Russian tenant who lived across the hall from her. Svetlana Goboldsky was skintight to kill in a short red stretchy dress that was so snug that every inch of her perfect flesh was begging to escape. A red jacket in her hands matched her dress. Jiggle, jiggle nip slip. Uncaring! The bold part of GoBOLDsky was right to the point.

“Hey, Svetty!” Amber aimed to overlook what the mad Russian and her Sugar Da Da did out there in the parking lot earlier today. It was her life; her choices; and Amber really wasn’t appalled by it. Even she had voyeuristic tastes!

“How is new man?” Svetty stopped long enough to be cordial instead of her usually aggressive self.

“Sleeping! I was left to babysit. She’s a good puppy though.”

Svetty knelt down to pet Cora and even kissed her snout. “Tell Master ... Mistress say hello.”

“Dancing tonight?”

“Da! Must make millionaire by 30. You should dance.”

“Oh, no! I’d fall off the stage.” Amber giggled! “I’ve never once worn stiletto heels like you’re getting away with. I’d break my neck.”

“Into lap of cash. You have what takes.” She favored her accent with broken English her second language.

“Come on!” She blushed! “I’m too nerdy for that.”

“Point made! Men like librarian look. Check you out like book.”

“I’m sure they do. It’s just not my style. I’m shocked Tessa doesn’t dance with you.”

“I work on Roomie! You work on Roomie! He look like good man.”

“Seems to be. He’s letting me stay rent free now that he took over my lease. Worth a shot but it’s kind of scary, perfect strangers and all.”

“Get mind off dumb Jordan ... get off on yum Tony!”

“We’re only roomies, Svetlana! I don’t want to scare him off when he’s being so kind to me.”

“No gut, no glory!”

“Have fun dancing. I have steaks in my oven, I don’t want them to burn.”

“You buy wine.”

“I don’t want to go shopping again. It never occurred to me to buy any. Besides, I don’t want this to look romantic.”

“Snooze lose! Risky Frisky!” Svetty dared to pinch Amber’s nose. “Go get naked now!” She meant herself but Amber presumed she meant her own free spirit lifestyle. Of course, Svetty shouldn’t technically know of her activities in the privacy of her own apartment. Surely, she had to be talking about Cashanova.

“Have a good night, Svetty!”

“Amateur night! You keep in mind.” Wink! Wink!

“Thursday nights! Got it!” Nope and nyet!

Parting ways Amber headed back to her apartment and released Cora to roam. Washing her hands quickly she removed her food from the oven and set it on the range top. Preparing plates, she took them to the dinner table and playfully warned Cora not to touch. The dog simply sniffed the air but remained vigil. Convinced the pup wasn’t going to ruin dinner by stealing the food, Amber went to the bedroom door and peered into the darkness. “Tony? Dinner’s ready.” It took knocking on her door to revive him.

“Be right there.” He rolled over to look at her and stroked his cock knowing she couldn’t see him coming from a well-lit room into darkness. Fun just for inspiration he only did it for about ten pumps then sat up on the side of the bed.

“You want salad?”

“Sure!”

“What kind of dressing?”

“Creamy Raunch?” He chuckled!

“French and Thousand Island.”

“Oui Oui!” French it was! He wagged his tongue again knowing she couldn’t see him do it. This was fun. Torture and deny was his game for the next few weeks. He wanted to see if she would break. But again, like her him, he didn’t want to spook Amber. Sleeping nude and she being a free bird were awkward enough. “I better put my sweats on and try to keep my hard on down.” Not likely!

Trying to be presentable was part of Tony’s devilish plan. While he didn’t want to offend or spook Amber, he did sense her attraction toward him. No objections really, she was pretty darn cute herself especially nude. The thing was, he didn’t want to push her too fast, too soon. Even if she led him to believe she wanted something sexual, he fully intended to refuse and let her down easily just to build up any tension developed over time. Oh, he wasn’t going to lose her as a roomie he needed that backup income when the time came. Slow burn, Gunther! Slow burn!

Leaving his shirt off he stepped out in only his grey sweat trunks. In his sleepiness he hadn’t realized that she too was wearing clothing again. Wait! “That’s right, she was putting on shorts with I goosed her. Man, I’m out of it.” Cora greeting her master he bent over and rubbed his dog’s ribcage and back, it was met with dancing about. “Slow it down! I’m too worn out for any dance competition.”

“I took Cora out just before I woke you for dinner.”

“Thanks! I wondered why you were fully dressed.” He intentionally scratched his nose with the same knuckle he had collided with her wet snatch. The sly move went right over the nerdy brunette’s head.

“I’m not like our neighbors Svetty and Tessa. I don’t think my walking the dog naked would go over as well.” She carried a pair of smaller salad bowls from the kitchen with two bottles of dressing held under her arms. She preferred Thousand Island. “Oh? I hope you don’t mind but I snooped into your room for dogfood. Did you bring any back with you, I couldn’t find any. Water was the best I could offer her.”

“Shit! I swore my mom put a bag in the truck. I guess I took off from my folk’s house without it. I’ll share my thick, juicy steak with you ole’ girl.” Why was every little comment making Amber horny? She was already picturing Tony sharing his big stake. Bad girl! Amber was fighting hard and losing fast.

“I’ll run to the store before it rains, there’s an Aldi about a mile away.”

“You don’t have to do that, Hawthorne. Cora’s my responsibility, not that I don’t appreciate your offer. Let’s eat and I’ll run out afterwards. I could use a beer.” He paused to look at Amber with caution, “Do you drink?”

“Wine on occasion. Beer hardly ever but not opposed. I might join you for one if you hand a bottle my way.”

“Don’t go thinking I’m a drunk.” He chuckled! “Six pack a week usually. Just as a stress reliever.”

“Good to know. I don’t think I could stay if you drank a lot.”

“No worries!” He sat down at the dinner table. “Food looks delicious.”

“Thank you! I love cooking.” She plopped down across from him. “Oh, I ran into Svetlana on her way to work. She told me we should have bought a bottle of wine to celebrate our co-inhabitation.”

“Wine would hit the spot with this steak. We could toast to good times.” Devilish grin following up his comment she froze like a deer in headlights.

As if on cue a knock at the door lured their attention away from one another’s eyes. “You just sit down, I’ll get it.” He hopped up whispering to her on the way by. “Let’s hope it’s not Kyle and Doreen.” Agreed! Opening the front door, he saw no one standing there.

Cora who was right behind him drew his attention to the floor. On the hallway rug were two bottles with ribbons and a note. Cocking an eyebrow, he bent down and plucked them up. Remaining in the doorway he realized a nice Chardonnay as the wine, it’s note saying, “Spin the bottle sometime? Tessa!” He looked up and at his neighbor’s door to find it creaked open and Tessa flipping her tongue at him then using a finger to keep him quiet. He shook his head, both of them. Wagging his hips his erection darted from side to side just for laughs.